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 Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, ordered bars closed and
restaurants, movie theaters, zoos and museums across the nation's
most populous state to cease indoor operations. Gyms, churches and
hair salons must close in the 30 hardest-hit counties.
"It's incumbent upon all of us to recognize soberly that COVID-19 is
not going away any time soon, until there is a vaccine and/or an
effective therapy," Newsom said at a news briefing.
The governor called the move critical to stemming a surge in
COVID-19 cases that have strained hospitals in several of
California's rural counties.
The public school districts for Los Angeles and San Diego, which
instruct a combined 706,000 students and employ 88,000 people, said
in a joint statement they would teach only online when school
resumes in August, citing "vague and contradictory" science and
government guidelines.
The districts said countries that have safely reopened schools have
done so only after establishing declining infection rates and
on-demand coronavirus testing.
"California has neither," the statement said, adding, "The
sky-rocketing infection rates of the past few weeks make it clear
the pandemic is not under control."
The union representing Los Angeles teachers applauded the strategy
in a separate statement released shortly after the school shutdowns
were announced.
"In the face of the alarming spike in COVID cases, the lack of
necessary funding from the government to open schools safely and the
outsized threat of death faced by working-class communities of
color, there really is no other choice that doesn't put thousands of
lives at risk,” United Teachers Los Angeles said.
Brenda Del Hierro, who has two children in Los Angeles schools, said
resuming traditional instruction was important but the hazards had
to be considered. "For their social and emotional wellbeing they
need to go back to school. But at the end of the day there is too
much of a risk," she said.
DISTRICTS CLASH WITH TRUMP
The decision to cancel in-person classes puts the districts at odds
with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has said he might withhold
federal funding or remove tax-exempt status from school systems that
refuse to reopen. Most education funding comes from state and local
governments.
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Administration officials have said data do not suggest attending school would be
dangerous for children because their infection rates are far lower than the
population at large.
In response to the California districts' announcement, the White House
reiterated that the ideal scenario is for students to go to school. "Hopefully
Los Angeles and San Diego can get there soon as well, as that is what is best
for children.” spokesman Judd Deer said.
Newsom, who has said during the pandemic that it was up to local school
districts to determine how best to educate their students, cheered the
announcements by Los Angeles and San Diego.
But Republicans criticized the governor for failing to issue statewide
guidelines for schools during the health crisis.
"While he continues to blame Californians for his failure in leadership, his
demands to close our small businesses and lack of direction on opening schools
will further harm California's school children and the small businesses that
fuel our economy," Jessica Millan Patterson, chairwoman of the California
Republican Party, said in a written statement.
California, along with Florida, Arizona and Texas have emerged as the new U.S.
epicenters of the pandemic. Infections have risen rapidly in about 40 of the 50
states over the last two weeks, according to a Reuters analysis.
Despite nearly 28,000 new COVID-19 cases in the last two days in Florida, Disney
World in Orlando welcomed the public on Saturday for the first time since March
with guests required to wear masks, undergo temperature checks and keep
physically apart.
(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles, Steve
Gorman in Eureka, California, Rich McKay in Atlanta, Lisa Lambert and Doina
Chiacu in Washington, and Nathan Layne in Wilton, Connecticut; Writing by Lisa
Shumaker and Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Howard Goller, Bill Tarrant and Cynthia
Osterman)
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