During his daily briefing on Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom had strong words for those who crowded onto beaches in Southern California this weekend, saying “this virus doesn’t take the weekends off.”
While noting that not all beaches experienced overcrowding, Newsom said the state must confront certain locations — like Newport Beach and Ventura — where social distancing guidelines were clearly not being followed.
Officials in Orange County plan to meet tonight to determine if beaches there should be closed again due to public health concerns. Newsom said he will also consider more aggressive enforcement of the statewide stay-at-home order if crowds continue to gather.
"The only thing that will set us back is our behavior," Newsom said.
Over the past 24 hours, there were 1,300 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in California, and 45 deaths.
Additionally, Newsom announced that Colorado and Nevada have joined California, Washington and Oregon in a Western states coronavirus compact, allowing for greater cooperation and data-sharing between the states.
— Michelle Wiley (@MichelleEWiley)
