On Monday, the state of California lifted the “stay at home” safety protocol and opened up a way for non-essential activities like outdoor dining as the strain of the COVID-19 pandemic showed signs of relaxation, reported AFP. 

The eastern state of California experienced one of the deadliest spikes in US with cases doubling since December 2020 and crossing the three million mark. The period had an overwhelming impact on the state’s medical facilities and staff. 

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The orders were given on December 3, 2020, for over 20 million people residing in the central and southern parts of the state. 

Mark Ghaly, the secretary of health for the state of California released a statement that said, “California is slowly starting to emerge from the most dangerous surge of this pandemic yet, which is the light at the end of the tunnel we’ve been hoping for. Seven weeks ago, our hospitals and front-line medical workers were stretched to their limits, but Californians heard the urgent message to stay home when possible and our surge after the December holidays did not overwhelm the health care system to the degree we had feared.” 

The decision for the termination of the order comes after the forecasts suggest that capacities of Intensive Care Units have been improving across the state, reported AFP. 

After the estimated rate of cases in the following weeks shows a significant decline, over 15% of the ICUs are expected to be vacant. 

However, the previously engaged restrictions in the counties are no expected to roll back which would mean that a ban on activities like live sports and bars would be retained. 

Individual counties can choose to impose stricter rules than the state requires, meaning severely affected regions including Los Angeles may even opt to retain current restrictions.

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California has recorded more than 3.06 million COVID-19 cases, including almost 36,000 deaths, reported AFP. 

The state has delivered just under 1.8 million vaccine doses so far, having converted sites including Disneyland and the Dodger baseball stadium in Los Angeles into mass inoculation centers.