Newsom instructs restaurants, wineries to close indoor operations in 19 counties
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California Governor Gavin Newsom is instructing some business sectors to close their indoor operations due to the risk of spreading the coronavirus.
These industries include restaurants, wineries and tasting rooms, movie theaters, family entertainment centers, zoos and museums, and cardrooms. Each of these industries have the option to stay open if they expand to outdoors. Those businesses where that is not realistic, must close. Bars that do not serve food must close as well.
Closures will be in place for three weeks.
#COVID19 cases are spreading at alarming rates in some CA counties.
— Office of the Governor of California (@CAgovernor) July 1, 2020
Effective immediately, @CAPublicHealth is requiring counties that have been on the County Monitoring List for at least 3 days to move certain sectors outdoors or close. pic.twitter.com/NZv7cUHf9L
The closures are aimed at 19 counties that have been listed on the state's County Monitoring List for at least three days. This encompasses about 70 percent of the state's population, including both Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
San Luis Obispo County is not on the monitoring list.
In addition to industries that are being affected, the State of California is also shutting down parking at state beaches in Southern California and the Bay Area. Other State Parks are allowed to remain open with some additional restrictions.
Ventura County already planned to close beaches over the weekend. Santa Barbara County is keeping its beaches open.
Newsom urged people to be smart and keep a distance over the holiday. Primarily he warned against families from different households mingling among each other during the Fourth of July.
These health orders will be enforced by teams made up of some statewide agencies, Newsom said. The teams will include people from the California Dept. of Alcoholic Beverage Control, CalOSHA, Dept. of Business Oversight, Dept. of Consumer Affairs, and California Highway Patrol. They'll work with local health departments and businesses to locate workplaces that aren't complying with the orders.
Newsom said there's been a 6 percent positivity rate for COVID-19 over the last 14 days, and a 6.4 percent over the last week.
5,196 people are currently hospitalized - a 51 percent increase over that time. This represents 7 percent of all hospital bed capacity.
“The bottom line is the spread of this virus continues at a rate that is particularly concerning,” Newsom said.
The governor again tried to drive home the importance of wearing a face covering when out in public.
A person wearing a mask is a "sign of someone who gives a damn," the governor said.
Wearing a mask is a sign of toughness. Of resolve.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) July 1, 2020
A sign of someone who gives a damn. Who wants to solve a problem. Who takes responsibility.
I think that’s a beautiful thing.
