Regional Stay Home Order Announced Today Goes Into Effect When ICU Availability Drops Below 15%

Today the Governor announced a Regional Stay Home Order, it will go into effect within 48 hours in regions with less than 15% ICU availability. It prohibits private gatherings of any size, closes sector operations except for critical infrastructure and retail, and requires 100% masking and physical distancing in all others.

The order will remain in effect for at least 3 weeks and, after that period, will be lifted when a region’s projected ICU capacity meets or exceeds 15%. This will be assessed on a weekly basis after the initial 3-week period. Learn more about this order.

The State projects the Southern California Region, including Ventura County, to fall below 15% capacity as soon as tomorrow, and likely within a week.

When a region is placed under an order, these sectors will be closed:

• 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

• Amusement parks

The following sectors will have additional modifications in addition to 100% masking and physical distancing:

Outdoor recreational facilities: Allow outdoor operation only without any food, drink or alcohol sales. Additionally, overnight stays at campgrounds will not be permitted.

Retail: Allow indoor operation at 20% capacity with entrance metering and no eating or drinking in the stores. Additionally, special hours should be instituted for seniors and others with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems.

Shopping centers: Allow indoor operation at 20% capacity with entrance metering and no eating or drinking in the stores. Additionally, special hours should be instituted for seniors and others with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems.

Hotels and lodging: Allow to open for critical infrastructure support only.

Restaurants: Allow only for take-out, pick-up, or delivery. No indoor or outdoor dining.

Offices: Allow remote only except for critical infrastructure sectors where remote working is not possible.

Places of worship and political expression: Allow outdoor services only.

Entertainment production including professional sports: Allow operation without live audiences. Additionally, testing protocol and “bubbles” are highly encouraged.

The following sectors are allowed to remain open when a remote option is not possible with appropriate infectious disease preventative measures including 100% masking and physical distancing:

• Critical infrastructure

• Schools that are already open for in-person learning

• Non-urgent medical and dental care

• Child care and pre-K

The State could make the announcement of the Stay At Home Order being implemented in our County as soon as tomorrow.

Read more about the State orders at: covid19.ca.gov/stay-home-except-for-essential-needs

This is a critical time to work together to slow the spread. Community members are encouraged to wear masks, social distance, wash hands frequently and not gather.

Once we learn of the State's decision for our region information will be posted. Until then businesses can still operate under the guidance in the purple tier.

Siblings Bakery Coming Soon to Thousand Oaks (NOW OPEN)

UPDATE: Siblings Bakery opened on January 14th

Siblings Bakery will be opening a location at 1625 E. Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks in the former home of Jaime Cakes.

Siblings Bakery has an existing location in Ventura that makes custom birthday cakes, wedding cakes, specialty cakes and more.

This new location will continue the custom work as well as sell retail goodies at the store. Deepti, the owner, anticipates opening sometime in December. Learn more at www.siblingsbakery.com.

Currying Flavors in Agoura Hills Recently Closed Its Doors

Currying Flavors, which opened at The Shops at Oak Creek in Agoura Hills in August 2019, recently closed its doors. I personally enjoyed the food here, but the concept didn’t really seem to take off in 2019, then COVID undoubtedly had some impact on this Los Angeles County based business.

City of Ventura Launches Winter Weather Response Plan to Help Homeless Individuals

As Ventura enters this year’s winter weather season, the City has partnered with the River Community Church to launch a response plan to provide stay warm packs and temporary shelter to homeless persons during severe weather events, such as severe rain, wind or low temperatures.

Now through March 31, 2021, the City is accepting community donations to create stay warm packs for sharing with Ventura’s unhoused individuals during harsh weather events. Desired donations include rain ponchos, blankets, jackets, hand-warmers, socks, toiletries, snacks, tarps, and carrying bags for items.

Residents wishing to donate items for the Stay Warm Packs can bring materials to the ARCH, a homeless shelter in the City of Ventura, located at 2323 Knoll Drive. Donations can be brought to the rear of the building and dropped off near the exterior sliding glass door. Monetary donations are also being accepted by mail through the River Community Church. Checks should be labeled “Winter Weather Response Plan” and mailed to 859 E. Santa Clara Street, Ventura, CA, 93001.

The City’s winter weather response plan also includes an emergency temporary shelter that can accommodate motel rooms for up to 20 individuals. Shelters will be activated at least 48 hours in advance when temperatures are projected to fall below 40 degrees or if weather projections show more than half an inch of rain overnight.

Priority will be given to homeless individuals who are 65 and older or live with chronic health conditions. All remaining motel rooms will be distributed on a first come, first served basis. Individuals who receive a room must arrive at the River Community Church, located at 859 E. Santa Clara Street in Ventura, between 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. on the day of the winter weather response plan event. Those who are unable to secure a room will be provided with Stay Warm Packs.

The winter weather response plan will run from December 1, 2020 through March 31, 2021.

To learn more about the winter weather response plan, visit www.cityofventura.ca.gov/351/Safe-Clean-Initiative.

Ubatuba Acai Opened at the Camarillo Premium Outlets in Late August

Ubatuba Acai opened a new location at the Camarillo Premium Outlets several months ago in the former Yogurtland location. Somehow I missed this.

Ubatuba offers acai bowls, empanadas (including one with Beyond Meat) and drinks. The Thousand Oaks Ubatuba has been open since spring 2015.

Otherwise at the Outlets, gone are Los Arroyos, Smashburger and PizzaRev.

Roma Italian Deli & Restaurant in Newbury Park Has Closed Its Doors

The note on the door says “To Our Roma Customers: We are saddened to say Roma’s has closed its doors permanently. The economy / pandemic got the best of us. We would like to thank the community for over 30 years of support and love!”

Roma Italian Deli & Restaurant at 2247 Michael Drive in Newbury Park originally opened in 1979. Original owners up until a few years ago.

Roma Deli in September 2020

California Public Health: Gatherings with Members of Other Households Between 10PM and 5AM Banned November 21st through December 20th

Upon assessment of the recent, unprecedented rate of rise in increase in COVID-19 cases across California, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is taking immediate actions to prevent the spread of the virus. These immediate actions will help reduce community spread, protect individuals at higher risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19, and prevent the state's health care delivery system from becoming overwhelmed. Reducing movement and mixing of individual Californians is critical to decreasing transmission, hospitalizations, and deaths.

Therefore, as the State Public Health Officer, I am issuing a Limited Stay at Home order, effective in counties under Tier One (Purple) of California's Blueprint for a Safer Economy, requiring that all gatherings with members of other households and all activities conducted outside the residence, lodging, or temporary accommodation with members of other households cease between 10:00pm PST and 5:00am PST, except for those activities associated with the operation, maintenance, or usage of critical infrastructure or required by law. This order does not apply to persons experiencing homelessness.

Nothing in this order prevents any number of persons from the same household from leaving their residence, lodging, or temporary accommodation, as long as they do not engage in any interaction with (or otherwise gather with) any number of persons from any other household, except as specifically permitted herein.

This Limited Stay at Home Order will reduce opportunities for disease transmission with the goal of decreasing the number of hours individuals are in the community and mixing with individuals outside of their household. Every intervention to decrease mixing of households is critical during this unparalleled increase in case rate rise of about 50 percent during the first week in November. In particular, activities conducted during 10:00pm to 5:00am are often non-essential and more likely related to social activities and gatherings that have a higher likelihood of leading to reduced inhibition and reduced likelihood to adhere to COVID-19 preventive measures (e.g., wearing face coverings and maintaining physical distance).

This order shall take effect on November 21, 2020, at 10:00pm PST.

For counties that move into Tier One (Purple) after the effective date of this Order, the terms of this Order shall apply at 10:00pm PST on day two after the county is assigned to Tier One (Purple). For the purpose of counting days, day one shall be the first full day following the date of the tier assignment.

This order remains in effect until 5:00am PST on December 21, 2020, and may be extended or revised as needed.

www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/limited-stay-at-home-order.aspx?

State of California Moved Back to the More Restrictive "Purple Tier" Effective November 18th

On Monday, the State of California announced new COVID-19 Tier assignments for counties. Due to increasing case rates, Ventura County and 40 other counties will move back to the more restrictive Tier 1 Purple. Businesses that are impacted by this are asked to make their operational modifications by midnight on November 17th.

In Purple Tier 1, the following sectors are permitted for OUTDOOR operations only until further notice. These sectors must still maintain mitigation measures (social distancing, face covering, and sanitization):

• Card rooms, satellite wagering

• Family entertainment centers (e.g. bowling alleys, miniature golf, batting cages, kart racing, and arcades)

• Gyms and fitness centers

• Movie theaters

• Museums, zoos, aquariums

• Places of worship

• Playgrounds and recreational facilities

• Restaurants

• Wineries

Bars, pubs, brewpubs and breweries may operate outdoors if they are offering sit-down, outdoor meals. Outdoor operations may be conducted under a tent, canopy, or other shelter if no more than one side is closed.

In alignment with Purple Tier 1, the following sectors are open for INDOOR operations. These sectors must still maintain mitigation measures (social distancing, face covering, and sanitization) and specific modifications in parentheses below:

All retail ​(maximum 25% capacity)
Critical infrastructure
Hair salons and barbershops
Libraries (maximum 25% capacity)
Nail salons and electrolysis operations
Personal care services (e.g. body waxing, estheticians, tattoo, massage)
Professional sports (without live audiences)
Shopping centers (e.g. malls, destination centers, swap meets, excluding food courts and common areas) (maximum 25% capacity)

​Schools

In alignment with California Department of Health requirements, schools (all grade levels) that have reopened for in-person instruction, either under a waiver or while Ventura County was in Red Tier 2, are permitted to continue to conduct in-person instruction. Schools that have not reopened must wait until they are eligible again, either by acquiring a waiver from Ventura County Public Health (grades TK-6 only) or by waiting until Ventura County returns to Red Tier 2 for at least two weeks.

If a school was implementing a phased re-opening (e.g., only opened grades K-2 for in-person instruction with set plans to phase in grades 3-6) while Ventura County was in Red Tier 2, the school site may continue their phased re-opening. This is only applicable to individual school sites. If a district has a phased reopening of their schools, the schools in that district that did not open for in person instruction may not reopen until Ventura County has returned to Red Tier 2 for two weeks.

Schools that wish to begin providing in-person instruction for select students in grades 7-12 must follow the CDPH Cohort Guidance; this guidance is not meant to bring all students back for in-person instruction, but those that meet the Cohort Guidance criteria.

Schools conducting in-person instruction must maintain mitigation measures, including social distancing, face coverings, and sanitization, in compliance with schools guidance from CDPH and Ventura County Public Health. Waiver information can be found at www.venturacountyrecovers.org/school-information/.

Tier Advancement

Counties are required to remain in an assigned tier for a minimum of three weeks and must meet the criteria for the next tier for two consecutive weeks before being able to advance to the next tier.

https://vcportal.ventura.org/CEO/VCNC/20-11-16_Ventura_County_Moved_Back_to_Purple_Tier_Effective_November_17_Midnight.pdf