As Californians tried to enjoy the warm Memorial Day weekend by heading to beaches, parks and Wine Country restaurants, the number of people infected with the coronavirus continued to climb statewide to more than 94,000 Sunday.
According to data compiled by this new organization, California recorded 94,210 cases as of Sunday — 1,673 more than the day before. There also have been 3,751 deaths since the start of the pandemic. The state only recorded 16 new deaths Sunday, though that could be due to some counties not reporting data over the holiday weekend.
Los Angeles County continues to record about half of COVID-19 cases in the state, with 44,988 cases reported as of Sunday, the data shows. A total of 2,104 people also have died in Los Angeles of coronavirus, or 56% of the state total.
In the Bay Area, 12,618 people had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Sunday, 198 more than the day before, the data shows. The Bay Area also has recorded a total of 427 deaths since the start of the pandemic. But there was just one fatality in the Bay Area Sunday, in Alameda County, which also has the highest number of cases — 2,847.
While the numbers grow, the state and counties have continued to ease restrictions on shelter-in-place orders and allow parts of the state’s economy to reopen in a way that promotes social distancing and prevents surges in new cases.
On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced that places of worship could reopen, pending approval from their county public health officials, but must limit attendance to 25% of building capacity or a maximum of 100 attendees — whichever is lower.
Over the past week, state parks began to re-open parking lots to accommodate an increasing number of visitors. When shelter-in-place orders first went into effect, officials closed the parking lots as a way to reduce crowd size and to keep parks limited to local visitors.
Restaurants in Napa and Sonoma counties also re-opened for dine-in service over the weekend — although with social distancing and other caveats, including tables limited to members of the same household.
Small crowds were reported at restaurants in Napa County, though some diners had come from outside the county, which violates the Bay Area’s and state’s shelter-in-place order prohibiting travel outside one’s local area.
Sonoma County’s dine-in service only allows outdoor seating for now. Sonoma County health officials also allowed wineries, breweries and bars to open for patrons, but only for outdoor seating and only if they also serve meals. Such businesses could continue curbside to-go pickup.
