California Backpedals on Reopening as Coronavirus Cases Surge
NOT QUITE THERE
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced executive orders Friday that will prohibit the majority of the state’s school districts from holding in-person classes in the fall due to the new coronavirus. When they do open, Newsom said, students and teachers will be required to wear masks and follow other safety measures. The announcement comes just days after the state’s largest districts, Los Angeles and San Diego, disclosed that they would no longer pursue in-person instruction in the fall. The same day, San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced the closure of malls and offices in the city, which had reopened in recent weeks. Counties on the state’s “monitoring list” are required to close gyms, churches, malls, offices, salons, and spas. Currently, 32 of the state’s 58 counties are on the list. The state added San Francisco to the group this week as hospitalizations in the city climbed to 80 people. “What I’m afraid of is the complacency. People are tired of the virus, but the virus is not tired of us,” Breed said at a press conference. Cases in the Golden State are rising after it instituted lockdown orders earlier than most states, which kept cases low in the initial months of the pandemic. As the state reopens, however, the virus has spread with a vengeance, particularly in Southern California.