California became the first US state where the number of the confirmed new type of COVID-19 cases exceeded 2 million, RIA Novosti reports referring to Johns Hopkins University.

A total of 2,002,494 cases of COVID-19 infection were recorded, 23,558 patients died, according to the latest data. Currently, 4 out of 5 California regions, covering over 98% of the state's population, have mandated home isolation due to a shortage of intensive care beds and over the growing number of new cases.

California authorities introduced a stay-at-home regime in early December, which should be enforced in the region if the capacity of intensive care units (ICU) falls below 15%. The decree came into force on December 5. Thereafter, if the region's ICU admission reserves fall below 15%, local authorities have 24 hours to enact the stay-at-home regime.

According to the authorities, the restrictive measures must continue for at least three weeks from the introduction date and can be extended later on.