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San Diego County and counties in the Southern California region will fall under new, strict health restrictions beginning Sunday Dec. 6, 11:59 p.m., state officials confirmed Dec. 5 .

A state-mandated “regional stay-at-home” order was triggered after intensive-care unit bed availability fell below 15% after Saturday’s daily update, according to the California Department of Public Health.

The 11-county Southern California region’s available ICU capacity was 12.5%, a decrease from 13.1% the day before. San Diego County had 23% of its ICU beds available as of Friday, but that number could fall if recent trends continue.

Governor Gavin Newsom had said that the Southern California region could meet that trigger within days. The 10-county Southern California’s region consists of San Diego, Riverside, Los Angeles, Orange, Imperial, Inyo, Mono, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

The new stay-at-home order will apply more broadly to five “regions” in the state: Southern California, the Bay Area, the greater Sacramento area, Northern California and the San Joaquin Valley.

The stay-at-home order will be in place for three weeks and will bar gatherings of people from different households. Under the order, the following businesses/recreational facilities will be forced to close:

– indoor and outdoor playgrounds;

– indoor recreational facilities;

– hair salons and barbershops;

– personal care services;

– museums, zoos, and aquariums;

– movie theaters;

– wineries;

– bars, breweries and distilleries;

– family entertainment centers;

– cardrooms and satellite wagering;

– limited services;

– live audience sports; and

– amusement parks.

Schools with waivers will be allowed to remain open, along with “critical infrastructure” and retail stores, which will be limited to 20% of capacity. Restaurants will be restricted to takeout, pick-up and delivery service only. Hotels would be allowed to open “for critical infrastructure support only,” while churches would be restricted to outdoor-only services.

Some of those restrictions are already in effect in select counties.

Before the Dec. 5 briefing, San Diego County District 5 Supervisor Jim Desmond — who has been a vocal opponent of certain elements of coronavirus health measures and their impact on local businesses — released a statement taking issue with the state’s broad, regional categories under which the order is being applied.

“This ‘regional’ approach from the State of California is absurd. We are being lumped into the ‘Southern California’ region with jurisdictions as far as San Luis Obispo and Mono County. And, San Diego County is at 23% capacity, well above the 15% requirement. If you count our available overflow ICU beds then we are at 36% capacity,” Desmond wrote, in part.

“The Governor and State did not consult with San Diego County and unilaterally implemented a ‘regional’ approach that unfairly puts people out of work. Again, San Diego did not have an opportunity to review and provide input and did not agree to this system.”

Of San Diego County’s 696 licensed ICU beds, 154 were available.

San Diego County has 90,468 COVD-19 cases and 1,055 deaths as of Dec. 5.