California governor vows to hold "bad actors" accountable over coronavirus spread

Record ID: 1560904

  • Title: California governor vows to hold "bad actors" accountable over coronavirus spread
  • Date: 6th July 2020
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JUNE 26, 2020) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WEARING MASKS / NOT WEARING MASKS IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES
  • Embargoed: 20th July 2020 22:22
  • Keywords: COVID-19 California governor coronavirus deaths enforcement young people
  • Location: SAN DIEGO / SACRAMENTO / LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES;
  • City: SAN DIEGO / SACRAMENTO / LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES;
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Health/Medicine
  • Reuters ID: LVA003CLOASSN
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: NOTE: NBC MATERIAL IS VIDEO OF THE BEACH ONLY
    New coronavirus cases soared in California over the July Fourth weekend, stressing some hospital systems and leading to the temporary closure of the state capitol building in Sacramento for deep cleaning, officials said on Monday.
    The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has increased by 50% over the past two weeks to about 5,800, Governor Gavin Newsom said at a briefing.
    About a third of those hospitalized were in Los Angeles County, state and local records showed, with about 630 confirmed and suspected coronavirus patients requiring intensive care.
    "Six people lost their lives on Sunday to the coronavirus and 18 people lost their lives on Saturday," Newsom said rounding out the data.
    And 25% of the hospitalizations in the county in July were among patients aged 18 to 40, health officials said, as new cases increasingly hit a younger population that may have been lax about safety precautions in recent weeks.
    All told, 271,684 Californians have tested positive for the virus, including 11,529 in the past 24 hours, state records show. About 6,300 have died.
    Determined to slow the spread of the disease over the holiday weekend, state alcohol regulators visited nearly 6,000 bars and restaurants to make sure they were complying with new rules banning indoor dining and closing bars that do not serve food, Newsom said.
    Nearly half a million businesses were contacted by the state over the weekend and warned that failing to enforce social distancing guidelines, including a statewide mandate to wear face coverings, could lead to a citation, he said.
    "Enforcement is not just about being punitive, it's also about educating people, allowing people to make modifications but moreover to address the bad actors - the folks that are simply just disregarding these orders and to hold them to some account as well. But this is the primary focus of the enforcement, education along with the criteria that we put out and the guidelines in the modifications that we made, again focusing on how to safely reopen sectors of our economy," Newsom said.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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