California has instituted its most stringent coronavirus restrictions since the beginning of the pandemic in an effort to quell the surge of cases and relieve the pressure on strained healthcare facilities.

Residents in the COVID hotbeds of Southern California, the San Joaquin Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area are now under a firm stay-at-home order as of midnight on Monday, Dec. 7, which was enacted because of intensive care units (ICUs) that could soon be overwhelmed with patients. The order includes another round of business closures and a prohibition on gatherings of people from more than one household.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the new restrictions as ICU capacity in Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley dropped below 15%; they will remain in effect until at least Dec. 28. Meanwhile, Bay Area officials in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Santa Clara and San Francisco counties, along with the city of Berkeley, decided not to wait for a fall in ICU capacity and, as it stood at 24%, proactively announced restrictions on Friday, Dec. 4. The new mandate affects 6 million people and will be in place from this week until at least Jan. 4.

The three regions of the country’s most populous state are home to about 33 million of California’s 39 million people.

Region breakdown: pic.twitter.com/YxUcDGSKTy

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) December 4, 2020

“We must do whatever is necessary in order to get the virus under control,” said San Francisco Mayor London Breed on Dec. 4. “This is about protecting people’s lives. We see how quickly it moves and how devastating the effects. We need to do everything we can to prevent our hospital system from becoming overwhelmed and to save lives.”

That same day, the state reported over 1.3 million cases and 20,000 deaths.

The new regional orders require residents to stay at home as much as possible, apart from essential errands like grocery and pharmacy runs. Retail stores can stay open at 20% capacity, while restaurants may only offer takeout or delivery. Meanwhile, bars, salons, movie theaters and playgrounds are closed. Open schools can remain open, while those with virtual learning will continue it, and places of worship will only be allowed to hold outdoor services with restricted capacity. Likewise, those recreational facilities that can serve clients outside, such as fitness centers, museums, zoos, gardens, aquariums, batting cages, mini-golf and go-kart racing, can do so at 50% capacity.

“We do not anticipate having to do this once again,” Newsom said upon announcement of the new measures. “There is light at the end of the tunnel. We are a few months away from truly seeing real progress with the vaccine. We have distribution, we have accessibility, we have availability.”

The orders will continue to have an impact on the promo industry in the Golden State, where sales before the pandemic were among the highest in the nation. California’s promo product revenue in 2019 was $2.1 billion (second only to Texas’ $3.4 billion) according to the most recent data from ASI, and it’s home to a number of Top 40 firms. Memo Kahan, owner of Top 40 distributor PromoShop (asi/300446), headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in Encino, Orange County, and San Diego, CA, as well as Boise, ID, Detroit, and Toronto and Windsor, ON, said his firm is still seeing sales opportunities with custom packaging and drop-shipping, but it’s feeling the pressure across all locations.

“Our biggest frustration is production and inventory challenges,” he said. “Labor and logistics are in a bad place as well. Everyone’s having difficulties with the same. We all need to stay patient through his holiday season.”

Nine months after the pandemic first began, Kahan continues to encourage his team and keep morale boosted. “We’re trying to keep our teams in a cohesive, forward-thinking mindset,” he says. “We’re making lots of calls to clients and touching base daily. We’re thankful for everyone who’s enabled us to stay afloat, and yet I believe there will still be some casualties from this.”

Business is still going well for Top 40 supplier Sweda Co. (asi/90305) in City of Industry, just outside Los Angeles. Kellie Claudio, senior vice president of sales and marketing, said the company has seen “an incredible influx” of orders and demand for custom projects. “It’s a ‘make hay while the sun is shining’ time for us,” she said. “But we hope this isn’t just a holiday surge. Drop-shipping to homes will continue throughout 2021, so we’re positioning our business to accommodate this new normal.”

Smaller firms are finding opportunity where they can as the virus and other natural disasters this year have wreaked havoc on once-booming markets. Printpal Promotions & Printing (asi/299946) is located in the seaside community of Arroyo Grande. It’s about three hours up the coast from Los Angeles, but still affected by the new order in Southern California.

President Shelley McConnell said she’s continued selling to healthcare clients, particularly imprinted reusable masks, apparel and thank you gifts for staff. But in hospitality, it’s hit-or-miss. The area’s wine country, including vineyards and hotels, has been decimated this year due to the lack of tourists and wildfire damage. But in recent months, McConnell has continued to serve the nearby coastal hotel and resort market.

“The oceanfront hotels on the beaches and cliffs are doing great,” she says. “Even though huge annual events were canceled, their sales are above their planned budgets. People want to get away, escape the smoke from the wildfires and head to the beach.”