Governor Closes Bars, Reduces Number of Diners in Restaurants and Orders Seniors To Stay Home Throughout California

Gov. Gavin Newsom Sunday ordered all bars in California to close temporarily due to the coronavirus, directed restaurants to reduce their capacity by half, and said all state residents older than 65 are required to self-quarantine in their homes.

When pressed about whether he was prepared to enforce the order, Newsom said he didn’t think it would come to that, and expressed confidence that the public, businesses and local governments would follow the directive.

Pasadena officials worked to keep up with the shifting situation.

“These directives are new to us … we need to assess at a local level with our policymakers and leadership team then try to determine how to meet with our respective business districts to discuss and assign the appropriate personnel to gain compliance through education and outreach and reinforce preventive measures (social distancing, etc),” city spokesperson Lisa Derderian said Sunday.

Derderian said City Manager Steve Mermell has been in touch with department heads, elected officials and other staff continuously over the weekend.

“Ongoing communications will continue as long as the need exists to coordinate our community response and outreach to keep everyone up to date during these unprecedented times,” Derderian said.

Officials also announced that six people in the state have died of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. The number of those confirmed to have been infected in the state rose to 338 Sunday, a 14 percent increase from the prior day.