California governor orders bars, wineries and indoor dining to close as COVID-19 spikes
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday ordered all counties in California to close indoor restaurants, bars, movie theaters and wineries as the state combats a surge in coronavirus cases. A list of 30 counties has further restrictions.
"We are moving back into a modification mode of stay at home orders," said Newsom in his Monday press conference. "It's a dimmer switch, not on or off."
As of 11 a.m. Monday, there were 329,162 total cases in California and 7,040 deaths.
Newsom said they are looking at conditions and trend-lines, both which are becoming points of concern. All counties in the state must close the following indoor activities effective Monday:
— Inside restaurant dining
— Winery tasting rooms
— Zoos
— Theaters
— Museums
— Bars
— All bars must close (indoor and outdoors), indoor restaurants, wineries, movie theaters, family entertainment, zoos, museums, and card rooms must close.
All 30 counties on the state's monitoring list have further directives:
— Fitness businesses
— Churches
— Offices for noncritical workers
— Personal care — hair salons, nails, massages
— Indoor malls
The 30 counties on the monitoring list represent 80 percent of the state's population. Placer County is there along with Sacramento, Colusa, Contra Costa, Fresno, Glenn, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Merced, Napa, Orange, Riverside, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara, Solano, Sonoma, Santa Barbara, Solano, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tulare, Yolo, Yuba, and Ventura counties.
Masks are still required to be worn in outside and inside in the state.
Newsom said he and state health officials are concerned with the current trends of increasing cases and hospitalizations on the rise in rural counties.
"This virus is not going away anytime soon," said Newsom. "It doesn't take off summers or weekends, even in areas where it is over 100 degrees."
In neighboring Nevada, Gov. Steve Sisolak announced last week the requirement of additional table distance restrictions on restaurants statewide. Also there are seven counties — including Washoe, Lyon and Clark counties — in which bars are now temporarily closed down to slow the rate of virus spread.
California Governor Newsom stressed how important testing for COVID-19 is. He said they are trying to get all tested. Those who have been found to be positive can self-quarantine.
South Lake Tahoe testing is available at Lake Tahoe Community College for those without symptoms, as well as CVS in El Dorado Hills and a new testing site in Placerville. Alpine County has set aside testing dates at Kirkwood and the Bear Valley area. To find the closest testing site near South Lake Tahoe, and for more on the California response to COVID-19, visit https://covid19.ca.gov/
South Lake Tahoe city officials issued the following statement Monday afternoon:
“We have asked during this entire pandemic that people comply with state, county, and local regulations in an effort to keep people safe,” said City Manager Joe Irvin, “None of us wanted to see this happen, but none of us want to see more people get sick as a result of not following the rules.”
This regulation goes into effect immediately. Additionally, bars, brewpubs, breweries, and pubs must close all operations both indoor and outdoor statewide.
The State of California said they have been teaming up with counties, including El Dorado County, to fight the COVID-19 pandemic with every tool they have. El Dorado County is not on the watch list yet. Counties on the watch list have to also close gyms, places of worship, personal care services etc. The State said their Public Health Officer could add additional counties, or take additional action as needed.
“We will be educating local businesses and taking action when needed to make sure the Governor’s order is being enforced,” said Lt. Dave Stevenson, “The health and safety of our residents and visitors is our top priority and though we are a smaller police department, we are taking this seriously.”
The Governor’s Office didn’t give a timeline on reopening.
— This story was written by Paula Peterson, editor and publisher at South Tahoe Now. Go here for updates to this and other stories.
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