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California shuts bars, indoor dining and most gyms, churches

SACRAMENTO,
Calif. (AP) — Bars and inside restaurant dining are banned throughout
California, while indoor religious services, gyms and hair and nail
salons are again off-limits in most of the state, Gov. Gavin Newsom said
Monday in issuing a sweeping set of closures to head off surging
coronavirus cases and hospitalizations.

The order is part of the
state’s new strategy to control the spread of the virus by focusing on
limiting indoor activities to reflect public health officials’ evolving
understanding of how the virus spreads.

Earlier in the pandemic
California closed beaches, campgrounds and state parks as it sought to
limit interactions of people from different households. But as data
showed the virus was most likely to be transmitted indoors, the Newsom
administration began modifying public health orders, including ordering
people to wear face coverings and leaving outdoor activities alone.

Newsom
has repeatedly implored people to refrain from social gatherings and he
expressed frustration that many aren’t following the guidance.

“COVID-19
is not going away anytime soon, until there is a vaccine and or an
effective therapy,” Newsom said. “Limit your mixing with people outside
of your household. It’s just common sense, but the data suggests not
everyone is practicing common sense.”

Newsom’s move faced
immediate resistance from religious groups and business organizations.
Fred Jones, attorney for the Professional Beauty Federation of
California, suggested many hair salons may not comply with the order.

He said there is “no evidence that a single contagion has been spread in a salon since we’ve been allowed to reopen.”

“He should be partnering with his state licensed-professionals, not shutting us down,” Jones said.

Robbert
Tyler, the attorney for California-based Advocates for Faith and
Freedom, said he believes Newsom’s order on religious services is
unconstitutional. While Newsom says churches can meet outdoors, Tyler
said many don’t have the facilities for that.

“We have not only an
economic crisis but we have a spiritual and mental health crisis that
requires as much attention as COVID-19,” said Tyler, whose nonprofit
organization represents churches on religious liberty issues. “To tell
churches they can no longer meet indoors is just a further restriction
upon the incredible services provided by churches across the state that
are desperately needed.”

California was the first state in the
country to issue a mandatory, statewide stay-at-home order aimed at
slowing the spread of the coronavirus. Most businesses and churches
voluntarily complied, scrambling to let employees work from home and
moving worship services online.

Public health officials praised
Newsom, crediting the March 19 order with limiting the virus’ impact in
the nation’s most populous state, which has about 40 million residents.
But the order devastated the economy, causing more than 7.5 million
people to file for unemployment benefits.

Newsom moved quickly to
reopen the economy in May but by mid-June there were signs that the
virus was resurgent and when July arrived Newsom took action. For
counties on the state’s watch for rising virus cases, he ordered bars to
close and indoor operations halted at restaurants, wineries, tasting
rooms, zoos, museums and family entertainment centers like bowling
alleys and miniature golf courses. On Monday, Newsom extended that order
statewide.

In the last two weeks, the number of counties on the
watch list has swelled from 19 to 30, covering roughly 80% of the
state’s population. During that period coronavirus-related
hospitalizations have risen 28%, including a 20% increase in patients
requiring intensive care. The state’s death toll now is above 7,000.

Also
Monday, Newsom imposed new restrictions for counties on the state’s
watch list, ordering them to halt indoor operations for gyms, nail
salons, tattoo parlors, hair salons and barbershops, shopping malls and
offices for nonessential sectors. The affected counties include Los
Angeles and virtually all of Southern California.

Francesca
Schuler, advisory board member for the California Fitness Alliance, said
her group appreciates the challenge Newsom is facing but is
disappointed by the closures. She said fitness centers worked with the
state to develop high standards and strict guidelines, including having
people wear masks when they work out.

“We’re all in on supporting
doing the right thing to flatten the curve, but we do believe physical
and mental health is the second crisis that’s emerging right now,” she
said. “Fitness is key to that, particularly to mental health.”

In
Los Angeles County, where 10 million people live, Public Health Director
Barbara Ferrer said she would update the county’s public health order
to reflect Newsom’s new directives. She said data shows “everything is
pointing toward an alarming trend,” noting that “every day thousands of
people in our community are being infected.”

“I know this step
back in our recovery journey is disheartening but we must do everything
in our power to stop the virus from spreading, from making the people we
love sick and from causing untimely deaths,” Ferrer said.

Other
county leaders were frustrated. Butte County Supervisor Bill Connelly
said he has not changed his behavior during the pandemic, except when he
was forced to wear a mask while attending church on Sunday. He blamed
Newsom for making the “cure worse than the disease.”

“He’s putting
these small businesses under extreme strain, they are going to go
under,” said Connelly, whose county is not on the state’s watch list.
“We should have more discretion as to what to do in our communities.”

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.

Associated Press reporters John Antcazk in Los Angeles and Amy Taxin in Orange County contributed to this report.