California Gov. Gavin Newsom reimposed pandemic restrictions across 19 counties experiencing spikes in cases Wednesday in an effort to stave off further outbreaks over the Fourth of July weekend.
The state Health Department is requiring 19 counties that have been on the “monitoring list” for at least three days to close indoor services at restaurants, wineries, movie theaters, family entertainment centers, zoos and museums, and card rooms. Bars must shut down all operations. Closures will remain in place for “at least three weeks.”
“This doesn’t mean restaurants are shut down,” Newsom said Wednesday. “It means that we’re trying to take the activities, as many activities as we can — these mixed activities, these concentrated activities — and move them outdoors, which is a way of mitigating the spread of this virus.”
Newsom warned that the virus could spread from family gatherings on the Fourth of July weekend. California public health officials, he said, have “raised a lot of concern” about the holiday weekend. State public health officials also suggested Wednesday that counties that have been ordered to close down businesses should consider canceling fireworks shows, which usually encourage large gatherings of people.
He has often referred to a “dimmer switch” since beginning the state’s reopening procedure in May, saying that he could reinstate some restrictions if coronavirus cases jump without having to shut the state down again. Newsom has mandated that all California residents wear masks when in public but has otherwise resisted enacting more heavy-handed restrictions since May.
California has confirmed about 223,000 coronavirus cases and nearly 6,000 deaths.
