The situation many of us feared has become a reality for California. Many of the state’s businesses are re-closing indoor activities. But frankly, it’s probably for the better.
According to Deadline, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Monday that the state is “moving back into a ‘modification mode’ of our original stay-at-home order. This is a new statewide action, effective today.”
NEW: #COVID19 cases continue to spread at alarming rates.
CA is now closing indoor operations STATEWIDE for:
-Restaurants
-Wineries
-Movie theaters, family entertainment
-Zoos, museums
-CardroomsBars must close ALL operations.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) July 13, 2020
Included with this new modification mode is the order that all restaurants, movie theaters, family entertainment centers, wineries, and zoos stop their indoor operations. For movie theaters and most museums, this essentially means the closing of their businesses. For restaurants, this means going back to focusing on take-out service and outdoor dining.
But that’s not all. As The Hill reports, Governor Newsom has also announced that all bars must close all operations. In addition, 30 counties within the state have been given additional orders of closing indoor operations to fitness centers, places of worship, offices for non-critical sectors, personal care services, hair salons and barbershops, and malls.
NEW: As #COVID19 cases and hospitalizations continue to rise, 30 counties will now be required to CLOSE INDOOR OPERATIONS for:
-Fitness Centers
-Places of Worship
-Offices for Non-Critical Sectors
-Personal Care Services
-Hair Salons and Barbershops
-Malls— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) July 13, 2020
The reason for this change is the fact that the state of California has seen a surge in coronavirus cases. In this past week, the state’s seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases rose to 8,211. This is compared to the 7,876 cases reported last week. In addition, hospitalization has increased 28 percent over the past two weeks, and 23 new deaths were reported in one day. Unfortunately, this is similar to the situation in other states. In the past few weeks, California, Arizona, Florida, and Texas have seen significant increases in coronavirus cases. This has led to the re-closing of many businesses that opened prematurely.
Governor Newsom’s announcement has also already caused a drop in the U.S. stock market, according to Fox Business. U.S. equity markets took a sharp turn lower an hour after the governor’s announcement.
But with the people’s health as his main concern, perhaps Governor Newsom was correct in making this call to re-close most businesses. But with COVID-19 cases on the rise, will other states follow suit and make similar announcements?
Source: Deadline, The Hill, Fox Business
