Placer County faces bleak winter for jobs as COVID-19 stay-at-home order takes effect
Placer County, which ended its local COVID-19 emergency in September, is now under a new regional stay-at-home order, bringing on bleak prospects for its already dwindling employment rates, according to a county report.
Placer is part of the 13-county Greater Sacramento area that will become the third of five California regions to fall under the new shutdown orders issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom for areas with intensive care unit capacity of 15% or less. The San Joaquin Valley and Southern California regions are already under the strictest mandates.
Placer County’s three hospitals used an average of 80% of their adult inpatient hospital beds, with 21% occupied by COVID-19 patients, according to new federal data. Roseville’s largest hospital, Kaiser Permanente Roseville Medical Center, reported 100% of its beds were in use during the last week of November.
According the county’s COVID-19 dashboard, it has 146 confirmed cases in its hospitals. Twenty-two of those are in ICU beds, leaving 20 percent available ICU capacity.
“We are in regular contact with our hospitals (at minimum weekly), who are each part of large, integrated health systems,” Dr. Rob Oldham, director of health and human services and interim health officer, said in an email. “They have robust, layered surge plans, and remain confident that they will continue to be able to meet the needs of our community. They have made many additional preparations since the spring.”
Placer County’s daily case rate reached 30.9 cases per 100,000 residents Wednesday, down from a peak of 36 per 100,000 in late November. For comparison, the case rate was 2.5 per 100,000 in early October. The county’s most populous areas, such as Roseville and Rocklin, continue to be the largest sources of new cases detected, with south Placer reporting more than 1,100 new cases in November.
Household transmission is still the leading cause of new COVID-19 cases, according to a county report, with attendance at large gatherings the second-leading cause.
As of Dec. 2, there were 22 congregate living facilities with confirmed cases.
The governor’s mandate forces non-essential businesses to close, including salons and outdoor dining during the busy holiday season.
The stay-at-home order is a point of contention with Board of Supervisors Chair Bonnie Gore, who has been an advocate for the county’s small business community.
“Businesses are not a significant contributor to the spread of COVID-19 in Placer County,” Gore said in a statement. “Our data tells us that. Businesses and restaurants have been innovative and proactive yet here we stand again with another lockdown. ... The livelihoods of our friends and neighbors are not bartering chips to coerce people into compliance. Businesses will close permanently, and jobs lost, due to these dictates.”
Between August 2019 to August 2020, Placer County lost 89,500 jobs, with the leisure and hospitality sector shedding the most at 32,200 jobs. The accommodation and food services industries were hardest hit next, losing 23,600 jobs.
The county has already allotted $14 million of its $41 million in CARES Act funding on grants for small businesses through its Placer Shares program. But according to a report by the county executive on Dec. 1, more funding is still needed to meet the growing demand for business assistance.
This story was originally published December 9, 2020 at 6:31 PM.