In a written statement by Governor Newsom and Public Health Officer Dr. Sonia Angell all bars in Tulare and Kings Counties must close immediately. Seven counties in total received the mandate including Fresno, Imperial, Kern, San Joaquin and Los Angeles.
The statement also made a recommendation that eight other counties close their bars but it was not mandatory. Those counties are Contra Costa, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Clara, Stanislaus, Ventura and Sacramento counties.
According to the California Department of Public Health, “Counties on the County Monitoring List are under active monitoring by the state….Counties that do not demonstrate substantial progress at 14 days are candidates for reinstituting community measures.
“As of June 27th, there are 15 counties on the County Monitoring List. As of June 27th, all of them will have been on the list for three or more days. Seven will have been on the list for 14 days or more.
“To reduce disease transmission and to protect residents across the state, one strategy available to the state is to work with counties to reverse some or all of the sector openings currently allowed under the State order.”
The state order to close bars is a result of California experiencing a spike in COVID-19 including among younger people who frequent restaurants and bars. In the past seven days, hospitalizations have increased by 22 percent in California.
“COVID-19 is still circulating in California, and in some parts of the state, growing stronger. That’s why it is critical we take this step to limit the spread of the virus in the counties that are seeing the biggest increases,” Newsom wrote in a statement.
“Beyond the higher risk of transmission in bar settings, contract tracing, a key measure needed to control spread, is also more challenging in bars because of the constant mixing among patrons and a lack of record-keeping of those in attendance,” a statement from the governor’s office read.
This new closure comes 10 days after Newsom mandated Californians wear masks when out in pulbic.