California orders indoor restaurants, entertainment closed indefinitely amid COVID-19 surge

California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered all dine-in restaurants, bars, movie theaters, museum and other indoor enterprises statewide to close immediately – and indefinitely – as the number of COVID-19 cases in that state continue to increase.

According to a Johns Hopkins University tally, California has confirmed a total of 326,188 novel coronavirus cases, resulting in at least 7,053 deaths to date.

Newsom said the state recorded 8,358 new cases on Sunday, alone, and the state’s positivity rate, or the percent of all tests returning positive, has increased to 7.4%. Meanwhile, California hospitals also reported an increase in coronavirus patients, growing 28% over a two-week period, with a total of 6,485 COVID-19 hospitalizations reported Sunday, CNBC reported.

“The data suggests not everyone is acting with common sense,” Newsom said during a Monday news conference.

“We’re moving back into a modification mode of our original stay-at-home order, but doing so utilizing a dimmer switch, not an off-on switch,” Newsom said.

The list of closures also includes wineries, tasting rooms, cardrooms and family entertainment centers, among others.

In addition to the statewide order, Newsom said he will also close indoor operations for fitness centers, personal care services, hair salons and barbershops, malls, offices and worship services for all counties falling on the state’s monitoring list for worrisome coronavirus trends.

According to The Mercury News, 80% of Californians live in the 30 counties currently on the watch list.

Cox Media Group