Newsom orders shutdown of indoor dining services, calls for beach closures, further restrictions on social gatherings

Story updated at 9:30 p.m.

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Gov. Gavin Newsom today called upon restaurants in 19 counties -- including Riverside County -- to shut down indoor dining services before the Fourth of July weekend. He also ordered the closure of indoor operations at wineries, theaters, family entertainment centers, cardrooms, zoos and museums.

Restaurants are still allowed to serve food via curbside service. The order is in effect for at least three weeks.

Newsom also ordered bars to close all operations and for state beaches to close parking lots this weekend. In addition, he announced a list of "multi-agency strike teams", including CalOSHA and the Department of Consumer Affairs, that will be authorized to enforce compliance, in partnership with local public health officials.

In the last two weeks, there has been a dramatic spike in COVID-19 confirmed cases, according to state and local public health officials. The state’s hospitals went from about 3,300 patients with confirmed cases on June 15 to more than 5,000, according to the Sacramento Bee. In Riverside County, ICU beds are near capacity.

During a televised news conference, Newsom ordered state beaches to close parking lots for the Fourth of July weekend and said the state would support any counties that were closing beaches on their own.

As part of his announcement, Newsom said people "should not gather with people you don't live with," and called upon residents to avoid crowds this weekend, including the traditional holiday weekend family gatherings.

"I recognize it is a tradition to celebrate the Fourth of July with family gatherings, barbecues and the like," Newsom said. "I hope you will reconsider those gatherings. Even if people show up wearing masks, after a while the masks come off. This is about keeping you safe and mitigating the spread of COVID-19. Please do not let your guard down."

Newsom announced that there have been 110 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, and he cautioned against listening to narratives suggesting the death rate has dramatically decreased.

"We have a responsibility to go after people who are thumbing their nose at this, who are being reticent about compliance," he said. "I'm not coming out with a fist; we want to come out with an open heart. We want to educate, to give people time to come into compliance."

City of Menifee officials today began the process of reaching out to local businesses about the changes and will provide more information in the next week or so.

"The City’s economic development team worked to notify our restaurants of the new orders, to make sure they are aware of the resources available to them ,and to encourage them to apply for grants to sustain the closures, while also ensuring that the general health and safety of our residents is met to rid ourselves of COVID-19," said Gina Gonzalez, economic development director.

During tonight's City Council meeting, City Manager Armando Villa told council members that they should be prepared to attend a special meeting next week concerning local reaction to the governor's orders.