Gov. Gavin Newsom orders the closing of indoor activities at restaurants, bars, movie theaters and more
Besides eateries, Newsom said indoor wineries, tasting rooms, movie theaters, family entertainment centers, zoos, and museums should close now. Those that can should offer outdoor areas of service. Bars must close all operations.
Newsom said there have been increases in the rate of positive cases and instances of community transmission.
“We’re seeing an increase in the spread of the virus,” the governor said. “That’s why it’s incumbent upon all us to recognize soberly that Covid-19 is not going away any time soon.”
Thirty of the 58 counties that are on the state’s monitoring list will need to close fitness centers, places of worship, offices for non-critical sectors, personal care services, hair salons and barbershops, and indoor malls under the new order.
The California Department of Public Health reported 8,358 new cases and 23 new deaths on Monday. There are a total of 329,162 cases and 7,040 deaths in the state.
Hospitalizations for Covid-19 have increased by 28% over a two-week period, according to the governor.
California is one of almost three dozen states in which cases are rising, and it’s not the only one rolling back measures meant to combat coronavirus.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham put new restrictions on indoor seating at restaurants and breweries, a statement from her office said. Indoor dining at restaurants had been allowed with limits since June 1 but that is now prohibited. Breweries were permitted to have customers inside as of June 15.
The facilities are allowed to seat people outside at 50% of their capacity.
In the past two weeks, the state has seen 3,049 new positive cases of Covid-19, representing 20.2% of the total positive cases statewide over the course of the pandemic, according to the governor’s office.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced indoor gatherings such as birthday or dinner parties will be limited to 10 or fewer people. Faith-based events, gyms and restaurants are on the exempt list under the governor’s order.
Florida has more than 27,000 new cases in two days
At least 35 states are seeing a rise in new cases compared to the previous week, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Across the world, 12.9 million people have tested positive for the virus.
But precautions have been met with heavy backlash from many officials and residents and some governors have stayed away from statewide mask orders, including Florida.
People need to ‘follow the rules’
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said on CNN’s “New Day” on Monday that the numbers are “out of control.”
Americans need to follow the rules on social distancing and wearing masks, which are required for citizens in public in the city of Miami, the mayor said.
“If they don’t follow the rules, things are going to continue the way they are going,” he said.
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said on CNN that Kemp had not criticized other cities in Georgia for issuing mask mandates.
“I think that it’s unfortunate that when we know the science says wearing a mask is one of the easiest ways to stop the spread, that we had the leader to our state taking exception with it,” she said.
Miami’s Suarez said officials need to have a consistent message at the local, state and national levels.
“A lot of the decisions have been pushed down to local officials that probably should have been done at the federal and state levels,” he said.
“There’s a total disconnect between what is happening and being said out of Washington and even Tallahassee and what is happening in some of these communities right here,” Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said.
The moves to undercut Fauci come just days after he gave an unvarnished look at his relationship with President Donald Trump, including that they have not spoken in weeks.
During a webinar with the Stanford School of Medicine, Fauci said the pandemic is “clearly the most challenging” public health crisis he’s ever dealt with, including HIV, the Ebola virus, anthrax and Zika virus.
“We haven’t even begun to see the end of it yet,” Fauci said of the novel coronavirus.
CNN’s Sarah Moon, Stella Chan, Kay Jones, Mitch McCluskey, Artemis Moshtaghian and Hollie Silverman contributed to this report.
