The day after California officials revealed that the number of deaths related to coronavirus in the state had passed 7,000, Gov.Gavin Newsom said Monday that there have been 8,358 new cases reported in the state over the past 24 hours. The 14-day trend showed only a slightly lower number.
As a result, he announced he is requiring all counties to close their restaurants, movie theaters, family entertainment centers, wineries, zoos and bars for indoor service.
NEW: #COVID19 cases continue to spread at alarming rates. CA is now closing indoor operations STATEWIDE for: -Restaurants
-Cardrooms Bars must close ALL operations. — Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) July 13, 2020
“We’re continuing to see hospitalizations rise and we continue to see an increase in the rate of positivity in the state,” the governor said.
As a result, “We are moving back into a ‘modification mode’ of our original stay-at-home order,” said Newsom. “This is a new statewide action, effective today.”
Additionally, L.A. and 31 other counties on the state’s monitoring list must close fitness centers, places of worship, nail and hair salons and indoor malls. Other L.A.-local counties impacted include Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Diego, Orange and virtually every other county in Southern California.
Related Story Los Angeles Coronavirus Update: Mayor Eric Garcetti Says Hospitalizations Are Rising; Only 113 ICU Beds Left In L.A.
NEW: As #COVID19 cases and hospitalizations continue to rise, 30 counties will now be required to CLOSE INDOOR OPERATIONS for: -Fitness Centers
-Malls — Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) July 13, 2020
Hospitalizations in the state over the past 14 days are up 28 percent; ICU admissions have risen 20 percent. Both of those counts are down in comparison to where they were two weeks ago, from 50 percent and 39 percent, respectively.
The test positivity rate, according to state figures, has risen to about 7.7 percent over the last seven days. That’s up substantially.
What the orders did not include was an end date. Newsom did not provide a time frame for the businesses to be shut down.
“We’re staring to see in some rural parts of the state an increase in ICU use,” said the governor. Seeing it in multiple counties had state authorities worried about constraint in resource-sharing as it relates to surging in some counties.
And it wasn’t just rural counties. On Friday, Los Angeles County public health officials reported that, outside of surge beds that could be converted, the county of 10 million had just 113 ICU beds remaining.
What’s more, while testing had kept up with demand over the past few weeks, “We’re starting to see delays, once again, in test results,” said Newsom. That does not bode well for the “data-driven” decision-making process that Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti have espoused.
When asked if the closure order included protests Newsom said, “We have a framework around protests,” indicating that the new restrictions would prohibit indoor, but not outdoor gatherings of that type.
LIVE NOW: Governor @GavinNewsom provides an update on the state’s response to #COVID19. https://t.co/ISfz5xx71z — Office of the Governor of California (@CAgovernor) July 13, 2020
The superintendent of L.A. schools also announced on Monday that none of the students in his district would have in-person instruction to begin the year.
Newsom on Thursday had announced a record number of daily deaths in the state from COVID-19, with 149 lives lost over the past 24 hours. That’s up about 23 percent from the previous high of 115 deaths. That grim mark was reported on April 22, during the previous peak of the virus in California. The total number of lives lost in the state due to coronavirus is now 6,711.
allyc4t on July 14th, 2020 at 00:12 UTC »
Clearly a ploy to ensure that Bad Boys for Life remains the highest grossing movie of 2020.
TwoMiddleFingersUp on July 13rd, 2020 at 22:32 UTC »
I didn’t even know theaters had opened
shy247er on July 13rd, 2020 at 19:18 UTC »
Christopher Nolan punching air.