California Governor Newsom expected to lift stay-at-home orders

Sources suggest that lockdowns will be lifted sometime this week, possibly as early as Monday. The decision comes just days after the inauguration of President Joe Biden.

The strict orders, supported by Governor Newsom, were highly controversial in the state, especially after Newsom was caught dining in violation of his own lockdown rules at a restaurant in Napa in November. A petition has since been launched to recall Newsom, having already garnered more than 1.2 million signatures according to petition organizers.

Stay-at-home orders in California are strict and affect most of the state, automatically being triggered in any county which has topped 85 percent of the capacity of their intensive care units (ICUs). All personal care businesses were forced to close in affected counties, while restaurants are prohibited from allowing people to dine in their vicinity.

Most counties north of the Bay Area are not under lockdown, however.

"We see promising signs that California is slowly emerging from the most intense stage of this pandemic," wrote an official from the Governor's Office of Emergency Services. "We continue to look at what that means for the Regional Stay at Home order and anticipate that the state Department of Public Health will provide a formal update tomorrow morning."

Golden Gate Restaurant Association President Laurie Thomas said in a statement that she is "optimistic outdoor dining will resume by the end of the week."

Counties are ultimately given the final say on public health order implementation if the state government decides to lift stay-at-home orders, meaning some areas of California could remain under the strict lockdown rules.

It is unclear what kind of measures will continue to remain in place at the state level after stay-at-home orders are lifted.