Facing a surge in COVID-19 cases on the eve of a major holiday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered Southern California counties to close indoor operations at restaurants, wineries and tasting rooms for at least three weeks.
“This doesn’t mean restaurants shut down,” Newsom said at a noon news conference Wednesday, July 1. “It means we’re trying to take as many activities as we can … and move them outdoors.”
The governor’s orders affect 19 counties on the state’s watch list, including Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino.
Newsom called the order a “dimmer switch, not an on-and-off switch.” It also affects indoor movie theaters, family entertainment venues, zoos, museums, and card rooms, which will also be shuttered for at least three weeks. Newsom also ordered the closure of bars.
State beaches will be closed in counties that have closed their local beaches, he said, and all parking facilities at state beaches in Southern California will be shut down for the holiday.
The shutdown of indoor dining is “definitely not ideal,” according to Chris Simms, founder of Lazy Dog Restaurant, which has more than a dozen locations throughout Southern California. In a phone interview he said he understands the need to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, but that shutting down dining rooms will hurt the restaurant industry.
“It’s going to be tough. I know a lot of restaurant operators that just barely made it through the last closures. And I know a lot of restaurants that don’t have any type of patio dining. It’s going to be a blow that will put more people out of business.”
Lazy Dog stayed open for pickup and delivery throughout the shutdown and reopened its dining rooms as soon as it had clearance from cities and counties. Simms said it saw a rebound in sales in the few weeks dining rooms were open. He said it can get through this setback.
“We have big patios, so we’re looking forward to having everybody joining us on our patios. It’s so important that any restaurant that stays open has good, solid seating protocols.”
California has been encouraging cities to expand outdoor dining, but many of those efforts are in early stages.
Some Southern California cities, often with quaint old town sections, have taken steps to allow restaurants to open temporary outdoor dining areas on sidewalks, in parking lots, or even in streets.
They include La Verne, Pomona and Sierra Madre in Los Angeles County; Irvine and Newport Beach in Orange County; Moreno Valley, Riverside and Temecula in Riverside County; and Rancho Cucamonga in San Bernardino County.
The governor encouraged voluntary compliance with safety measures and encouraged people to avoid large crowds.
“We recognize all the enforcement in this space is really just about people doing the right thing, which is the default of 99.9% of us,” he said.
Before the announcement, state and local officials were already trying to tamp down Fourth of July crowds with the closure of several beaches and cancellation of fireworks shows.
California began permitting counties to reopen restaurant dining rooms with social distancing on Memorial Day weekend. Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties immediately qualified, followed by Los Angeles County a few days later.
But in following weeks, there were reports of businesses failing to follow the state’s safety guidelines.
The state allowed bars to reopen on June 15, but on Monday the governor ordered Los Angeles County and six other counties to close them again. Riverside County joined the order and closed its bars and tasting rooms on Tuesday. Orange County will close its bars at midnight.
San Bernardino County has planned to close its bars on Friday, July 3, if coronavirus data didn’t improve, but Newsom ordered all bars closed during the press conference Wednesday.
June has seen a surge in novel coronavirus cases and COVID-19 fatalities.
This story is developing. Check back for updates.
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Southern California restaurants must shut down indoor dining for at least 3 weeks - OCRegister
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