Newsom considering statewide curfew as COVID-19 cases surge in California
LOS ANGELES - Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday said he was considering implementing a statewide curfew as coronavirus cases in California nearly doubled in the last 10 days, the "fastest increase yet," he said.
Newsom said during his weekly COVID-19 press briefing that he would be looking at studies and other cities and countries that have implemented some form of curfew, such as Paris, to see how effective they were at slowing the spread of the virus.
"All of that is being assessed," he said. "We want to socialize that. We have a lot of questions about what that looks like, what that doesn't look like, who does it impact, who doesn't it impact, what does a real curfew mean in terms of certain kinds of industry and business activities. That's what we're referring to in this space."
This comes as Newsom announced that he was pulling the “emergency brake” on the state’s efforts to reopen its economy due to the surge in COVID-19 cases.
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"We are sounding the alarm," Newsom said in a statement. "California is experiencing the fastest increase in cases we have seen yet — faster than what we experienced at the outset of the pandemic or even this summer. The spread of COVID-19, if left unchecked, could quickly overwhelm our health care system and lead to catastrophic outcomes."
As of Monday, 41 counties, roughly 94 percent of the state, were placed in the most restrictive purple tier. Purple means that the virus rates and "widespread" and many non-essential indoor business operations must be closed.
Some people believe it's a good idea to implement a state-wide curfew to curb the spread of COVID-19.
"I think it's good with everything going on with COVID. It would be safer and if executed efficiently, I think it would be good. If it does happen then I think people should listen because it's important. There's no point in making a curfew if people aren't going to listen so they should," Maggie, a viewer, tells FOX 11.
"I think it's OK as long as it helps people not catch Covid, and it's for the greater good. I know people want to have fun and people are getting anxious staying inside this whole time, but we have to keep everyone's health in mind so I'm OK with it personally," said Will Choi, another viewer.
Los Angeles County was also considering implementing a curfew due to the rise in COVID-19 cases.
County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said Monday that the county will be discussing the possibility of additional restrictions this week, including a possible curfew for business operations or other restrictions on operating hours.
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"While we should not jump to any conclusions before the Board of Supervisors has had time to fully consider all options, I trust we will be guided by ways to safely keep the economy open," he said in a statement. "We must also look for structural ways to remind everyone that the safest place to be right now is at home. Potential options could include instituting a curfew, so businesses do not have to close again. Rather, businesses would have limited hours for essential activities."
Supervisor Janice Hahn echoed that possibility, particularly for restaurants.
"The fact of the matter is, this is a dire warning to all of us. It's an alarm that the cases have spiked so dramatically," Hahn told KNX Newsradio Monday. "The suggestion is that we ask our businesses, our restaurants, to close maybe by 10 p.m. so that they don't essentially become bars where people are just sitting around drinking, laughing and talking without their masks on. So it's not a general public curfew for everybody."
The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to meet in closed session Tuesday.
FOX 11's Koco McAboy, the Associated Press and CNS contributed to this report.