Newsom Directs Closure of Gyms, Hair Salons and More

Governor cites “alarming rates” of COVID-19 spread

By Sam Catanzaro

California Governor Gavin Newsom has ordered gyms, churches, salons and other businesses to close in Los Angeles County citing “alarming rates” of COVID-19 spread.

The order, announced Monday, calls for the closures of restaurants, wineries, movie theaters, zoos, museums and cardrooms statewide and fitness centers, places of worship, offices for non-critical sectors, hair salons and barbershops and malls in 30 counties where hospitalizations continue to rise, including Los Angeles County.

“We’ve made this point on multiple occasions and that is, we’re moving back into a modification mode of our original stay-at-home order,” Newsom said during a press conference.

On Monday the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) confirmed 13 new deaths and 2,593 new cases of COVID-19.

Los Angeles County continues to see evidence of increased community spread of COVID-19, according to Public Health. There are 2,056 people hospitalized, 28 percent of these people are confirmed cases in the ICU and 20 percent are confirmed cases on ventilators. This remains substantially higher than the 1,350 to 1,450 daily hospitalizations seen four weeks ago.

Testing results are available for over 1,338,000 individuals with 9 percent of all people testing positive.

To date, Public Health has identified 136,129 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of LA County, and a total of 3,822 deaths. In Venice, there have been 130 cases and 2 deaths among residents.

“We continue to see inreased number of new cases and hospitalizations. To slow the spread and prevent more hospitalizations and deaths, everyone should limit their time with others not in your household. We must take this opportunity to get back to slowing the spread, but to do so, we need everyone’s help. Please find ways to enjoy and celebrate summer only with those from your household, wear your face covering when out and wash your hands frequently,” said Barbara Ferrer, Director of Public Health.