The curfew will begin Saturday, November 21, at 10:00 p.m., and will run from 10:00 p.m.to 5:00 a.m. for a month.

"We are not going to go out and order people to go home".

California is imposing an overnight curfew on most residents as the most populous state tries to head off a surge in coronavirus cases that it fears could tax the state's health care system, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday.

The real target of the order is socializing and gathering.

Governor Gavin Newsom said those hours were chosen because social activities tend to happen at this time where safety measures like face coverings and social distancing don't occur.

"We've seen reports of people saying, 'Well, I haven't changed my behavior".

The order is for counties in the "purple" or most-restrictive tier in the state's Blueprint for a Safer Economy plan and will order all nonessential work and gatherings to stop from 10 p.m.to 5 a.m.

In Sacramento County, where Newsom unveiled the curfew, Sheriff Scott Jones was quick to say he has no intention of enforcing the rule.

That means based on just the one-day total about 1,200 people will be in hospitals in the next two to three weeks. We're looking forward to other future events and activities as we go into the winter. The Bakersfield Police Department stated that: "We have not received any official directives and if any enforcement occurs, like any other public health violation and due to limited resources, our primary focus as always is priority emergency calls". "All of those things create opportunities for the virus to spread, opportunities where when we've put our guard down it certainly does spread". "Well, today, because the background transmission rate, the level of COVID in our communities, is higher, even our everyday activities become higher risk".

About 37 million Californians live in counties now in the purple tier, where the coronavirus transmission rates are high.

As cases and hospitalizations rise, officials have said they expect the number of fatalities to climb also. The "purple" tier severely restricts capacity at retail establishments, closes fitness centers and limits restaurants to limited outdoor-only service.

The new stay-at-home order comes as Newsom continues to weather sharp criticism for attending a birthday dinner with at least 10 people at The French Laundry, a Michelin star restaurant in Napa Valley, just days before advising Californians not to host indoor Thanksgiving dinners.

"The virus is spreading at a pace we haven't seen since the start of this pandemic and the next several days and weeks will be critical to stop the surge".

California was the first state to impose a stay-at-home order in March, and Dr Ghaly said health officials have learned many lessons since then that allow the new order to be more targeted. County Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis said the county's surging numbers have now exceeded the spike seen in mid-summer, jumping 68% since the end of October, compared to a 43% increase that occurred between mid-June and early July. "We may need to take more stringent actions if we are unable to flatten the curve quickly".