Gov. Newsom warns of more restrictions if COVID-19 cases continue to rise in California

Rollback on reopening California’s economy

Beaches are closed this weekend in LA County and get ready for the possibility of going back to those stay at home orders.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday the state will add more enforcement procedures if Californians and state businesses continue not to comply with coronavirus guidelines.

The latest announcement comes after the day after Newsom ordered bars to close in seven California counties due to a recent spike in coronavirus cases.

During Monday’s briefing, Dr. Mark Ghaly with California Health and Human Services said the state continues to monitor three counties, and added an additional four counties to the list.

San Bernardino County was listed on the state’s watch list due to outbreaks at its local jails, skilled nursing facilities and community spread, Dr. Ghaly said.

At San Quentin, 1,011 inmates have tested COVID-19 positive.

Family gatherings have led to an increase of coronavirus cases in Sacramento County and Imperial County remains a concern due to its increased movement, along with its location bordering Arizona and Mexico, Ghaly said.

Imperial County has been unable to move forward with reopenings due to "the state of the virus and inability to protect citizens" during its surge. Coronavirus patients have been transported to hospitals in surrounding counties, Newsom said.

On Monday, Orange County became one of the latest areas to make the state’s watch list, along with Solano, Merced, and Glenn counties.

Newsom pointed out that California is unique to other states due to its scale, size and scoop, which has an equivalent to 21 states combined.

The state rolled back on reopenings Sunday as Newsom ordered bars to close in Los Angeles, Fresno, Imperial, Kern, Kings, San Joaquin and Tulare counties.

In addition, the state recommended bars to close on Contra Costa, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Stanislaus and Ventura counties.

The California governor has left it up to individual counties in the first three phases of its four-phase reopening process as long as they met the mandatory criteria.

"We have been clear that we will allow counties to move forward on their own times through 3 phases," Newsom said.

However, the fourth and final reopening stage will be a statewide order and will not be left up to individual counties. This includes the reopening of large events such as conventions, festivals, concerts and sporting events.

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Newsom stated he is concerned about the uptick in the state's positivity rate. Two weeks ago, the positivity rate was 4.4% and has now risen to 5.5%.

The number of ICU patients is also on the rise. Newsom reported that the state has reached 13% of its ICU capacity to accommodate COVID-19 positive patients.

The state has a capacity of 73, 867 hospital beds and as of Monday, 4,776 patients, equating to 7% of those hospitalized, were coronavirus patients.