Californians have not significantly reduced their outside-the-home ventures despite new coronavirus lockdown orders imposed by the state’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom.
A review of the mobility trend data collected by Google from the cellphones of Californians showed that residents have not changed their travel habits much since new restrictions were imposed earlier this month, according to the Modesto Bee.
Visits to California stores and eateries were down roughly 31% between Dec. 12 and Dec. 18 when compared to a January baseline, which is only slightly more than the 27% decline from a month earlier, before the governor’s new shutdown orders.
Visits to workplaces were only down 4% more during those same dates than the month before. Dr. Brad Pollock, associate dean for Public Health Sciences at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine, says that although phone tracking is not the only metric, it appears that “people are exhausted” and “just going nuts just not having the social connection.”
Californians across the entire state have been vocally pushing back against lockdown orders since earlier this year in the form of large protests, business owners remaining open in defiance of closure orders, lawsuits, and a recall effort against Newsom, which has been gaining enough momentum to worry members of his staff.
Newsom has also received pushback from law enforcement officials across the state, and several sheriffs, including Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, announced they would not be enforcing Newsom’s latest lockdown order.
“These closures and stay-at-home orders are flat-out ridiculous,” Bianco said in a video message, adding that “all jobs are essential to someone.”
