Nearly all of California (including Los Angeles) is under a limited curfew as of this weekend

You kind of knew this was coming, but here it is for real: Los Angeles and most other counties in California will be subject to a curfew—sort of.

All counties that are currently in the most-restrictive purple tier of California’s reopening plan (that includes L.A.) will be required to put in place “a limited stay-at-home order” that prohibits gatherings and activities with members of other households between the hours of 10pm and 5am. However, this does not prevent you from leaving the house with members of your own household.

That’s according to a statement from Erica S. Pan, California’s acting State Public Health Officer. The release also notes that the curfew will go into effect on Saturday, November 21 at 10pm and will last through 5am on December 21, with the possibility of an extension. Since Monday, all of Southern California, including Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, currently sits in the purple tier. In total, 41 of California’s 58 counties—which represents about 94% of the state’s population—were listed in the purple tier.

For Angelenos, this announcement doesn’t actually change too much. On Wednesday, Los Angeles County announced that it was instating a 10pm curfew for non-essential businesses, as well as capping outdoor dining at 50 percent. This statewide order now adds gatherings to that curfew, as well.

But we could also be heading for some even more strict orders. That same county announcement laid out a path for more restrictions: If the county surpasses a five-day average of 4,000 daily coronavirus cases of more than 1,750 hospitalizations, then outdoor dining would have to close; at 4,500 average cases or 2,000 hospitalizations, we’d face a nightly curfew and a Safer at Home Order for a minimum of three weeks. With over 5,000 new cases reported in the county on Thursday, such a scenario could arrive as soon as Sunday.

Back to today’s state order, Pan says it’ll “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,” specifically because people tend to engage in activities after 10pm that have a higher likelihood of reducing inhibition and adhering to public health measures (in short: people like to get drunk).

Otherwise, we’ll leave you with the full text of the most relevant section, below:

“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.”

Stay safe, Angelenos (and remember, please don’t travel for Thanksgiving).