A central California city has declared itself a “sanctuary city” for businesses and will open up in defiance of the state’s stay-at-home order.
The city council in Atwater passed a resolution Friday allowing businesses to open despite Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order for businesses to remain closed, according to ABC30’s Vanessa Vasconcelos.
#BREAKING City of Atwater declares itself “Sanctuary City” for all businesses. Non profits like churches are covered in this resolution. @ABC30 pic.twitter.com/DQGjqhkZwa
— Vanessa Vasconcelos (@VanessaABC30) May 15, 2020
“A resolution of the city council of the city of Atwater affirming the city’s commitment to fundamental rights of life, liberty, and property, and declaring the city of Atwater a sanctuary city for all businesses,” the resolution stated.
California issued a statewide shelter-in-place order on March 19, and gradual easements have begun recently as some counties were approved to move to “Phase 2” of the reopening plan. But Atwater’s county, Merced, was not included.
“We’re not going back to normal,” Newsom said earlier this month. “It’s a new normal, with adaptations and modifications, until we get to immunity and a vaccine.”
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti issued a similar sentiment saying that life in his city won’t go back to normal until there is a coronavirus vaccine.
“I think we have to all recognize that we’re not moving beyond COVID-19,” Garcetti said earlier this week. “We’re learning to live with it.”
“We’ve never been fully closed. We’ll never be completely open until we have [a] cure,” he added.
