Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Twitter today that the state is rolling back its reopening plans. As a result, restaurants, wineries, movie theaters, family entertainment centers (e.g., bowling alleys, miniature golf, batting cages, and arcades), zoos, museums, and card rooms statewide are required to close all indoor operations. Bars are required to cease all operations – in- and outdoor.
The governor imposed additional restrictions in 30 specified counties (Colusa, Contra Costa, Fresno, Glenn, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Merced, Monterey, Napa, Orange, Placer, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tulare, Yolo, Yuba, and Ventura). In those counties, fitness centers, places of worship, offices for non-critical sectors, personal care services (nail salons, body waxing and tattoo parlors), hair salons, barbershops, and malls are required to close indoor operations.
As tends to happen when announcements like this are made by social media, detailed guidance can be lacking. According to the LA County Dept. of Public Health, however, the definition of “offices for non-critical sectors” ties into the state’s definition of “essential critical infrastructure workers.” So it includes, among other things, “professional services, such as legal or accounting services, when necessary to assist in compliance with legally mandated activities and critical sector services,” when working remotely is not practical.
These steps are a response to the continued increase in the number of new cases in California. At latest count, California had 331,626 cases of COVID-19.