All CA Bars Ordered Closed, Seniors Home Amid Coronavirus Crisis

CALIFORNIA — California is asking all bars to close and residents age 65 and older, along with those with chronic health conditions, to stay home in an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Sunday.

The policy applies to bars, nightclubs, wineries and brewpubs. Restaurants have not been ordered closed, as they have been in Illinois and Ohio, but Newsom said the state will require them to reduce capacity by half and practice "deep social distancing" by separating patrons by about six feet.

Officially, the closure is a "guideline" that businesses are expected to follow, Newsom said, but the state could enforce it if necessary as the COVID-19 crisis grows

SEE ALSO: What You Need To Know About California's Lockdown Of Seniors And The Chronically Ill

The home isolation order for seniors is effective immediately, Newsom said.

“We are doing so with our eyes wide open at the magnitude of what that means," Newsom said of the order.

What's more, Newsom also said people should not visit hospitals unless it was for the "end of life."

NEW: Those that are 65 and older or vulnerable to #COVIDー19 must practice home isolation.

Bars, night clubs, wineries, and breweries should close in CA.

Restaurants -- focus on takeout for those isolating. Maximize social distancing.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 15, 2020

As of the Sunday afternoon press conference during which Newsom announced the sweeping measures, the state had confirmed 335 cases of COVID-19, along with six deaths, Newsom said. He said the state has conducted 8,316 tests, but widespread shortages of testing kits suggests that the true number of COVID-19 cases is larger than the official totals.

SEE ALSO: Starbucks Closing Stores, Removing Seating To Slow Coronavirus

Meanwhile, Newsom also announced new plans Sunday to protect the state's homeless population, considered especially at risk of contracting the virus. Newsom said the state will convert hotels and motels to house the more than 100,000 unsheltered homeless people in California.

Increasingly, patients are contracting the virus though unknown exposures, a process known as community transmission. It means the coronavirus may already be circulating within the community. On Thursday, Newsom called for all large gatherings of more than 250 people to be canceled. Some counties in the state have since gone so far as to ban community gatherings of just 50 or more people.

In announcing a national emergency on Friday, President Donald J. Trump promised a series of measures to aid states impacted by the outbreak.

"We’ll remove or eliminate every obstacle necessary to deliver our people the care that they need and are entitled to," he said.

Within the Golden State, daily life was upended almost overnight this week. Disneyland and other theme parks announced closures and the state’s largest school districts — Los Angeles and San Diego — will close schools for more than a million students.

The governor's action on Sunday falls short of an official quarantine, which separates people by restricting movement outside the quarantine area. In a quarantine situation, health experts identify a population of people who may have been exposed to a contagious disease such as COVID-19.

SEE ALSO:

• Coronavirus United States: Updates For Sunday, March 15
• Products That Kill The Coronavirus Identified By EPA
• Trump Bans Air Travel From Europe To Combat Coronavirus Pandemic
• Tom Hanks And Rita Wilson Sickened With Coronavirus

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The World Health Organization this week declared the new coronavirus a global pandemic. Cities and states around the nation have responded with quarantines of varying degrees of harshness. In Wuhan, the Chinese city where the outbreak first hit, residents have been under strict quarantine for seven weeks, largely housebound in a city under lockdown. Conversely, in Northern Italy, where 16 million people are under quarantine, residents are largely allowed to go about their business.

According to Johns Hopkins University, there have been nearly 3,000 confirmed cases in the United States and 57 deaths as of Sunday morning.

On Monday, more than 1,400 passengers disembarked from the Grand Princess cruise ship since it docked in Oakland after being held off the coast for several days due to an outbreak on the ship. Tests found 21 passengers and crew members infected with the new coronavirus.

Americans on that cruise were sent immediately to quarantine centers at U.S. military bases in California and two other states.

— Story by Paige Austin, Nick Garber and Renee Schiavone