SANTA ANA (CNS)—With COVID-19 cases spiking, Orange County officials July 1 ordered the closure of all bars effective at midnight and continuing until further notice.
The order affects all bars, pubs, breweries, and brew pubs that do not offer dine-in meals. Establishments that do serve dine-in food can only sell alcohol in the same transaction as a meal.
The closure order was expected ahead of the Fourth of July weekend, given similar action already taken in the surrounding counties of Los Angeles, San Diego, and Riverside. Orange County officials expressed concern that if they did not act, the county would become a magnet for holiday revelers from across Southern California.
“While we would prefer not to close bars at this time, many of our neighboring counties have closed their bars, and it’s important to take precautions to ensure the safety of the general public,” County Supervisor Michelle Steel said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Newport Beach City Council members called an emergency meeting on the afternoon of July 1 to consider a closure of its beaches for the holiday weekend after two city lifeguards tested positive for COVID-19. Twenty-three other lifeguards who were exposed are quarantining, according to city spokesman John Pope.
The bar closure decision comes on a day when county health officials announced 570 more COVID-19 cases and five more deaths, bringing the county’s totals to 14,413 cases and 345 fatalities. On June 30, the county reported a one-day record 779 newly confirmed cases.
The week ending June 27 was the deadliest of the pandemic in Orange County, with 56 deaths reported. Since June 28, the county has reported 22 fatalities.
The number of hospitalized patients in Orange County rose from 510 on June 30 to 542 on July 1, with the number of patients in intensive care increasing from 176 to 192.
The county has performed 241,027 COVID-19 tests, with 7,642 documented recoveries as of June 30.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said earlier this week that Orange County, along with Solano, Merced, and Glenn counties, had been added to the state Department of Public Health’s watch list due to increasing percentages of positive tests.
The county’s case rate rose from 115.2 per 100,000 residents on June 30 to 126.4 per 100,000 on July 1. The positive test rate increased from 9.9 percent to 10.4 percent on July 1, according to health officials.
The state has set a desired standard average of 25 positive cases per 100,000 over a 14-day period, and a seven-day average positivity rate of 8 percent.
The three-day average increase of hospitalized patients is 9 percent, creeping up on the state’s threshold of 10 percent. But that is down from 9.7 percent on June 30.
Health officials insisted Orange County is in good shape in terms of hospital beds available. The county has 38.2 percent of its intensive care unit beds available, above the state threshold of 20 percent, and has 64.6 percent of its ventilators available, above the state standard of 25 percent.
Although all bars were ordered to close, the county has not moved to close beaches, despite the coastline being closed in neighboring Los Angeles County and in Ventura County. San Diego County beaches were also set to remain open as of July 1.
The city of Laguna Beach, which had already canceled its planned Fourth of July fireworks display, will close its beach on July 4. The City Council also left open the possibility of extending the closure throughout the weekend if large crowds begin to gather.
County Supervisor Andrew Do urged all residents and business owners “to be extra cautious this holiday weekend.”
Supervisor Lisa Bartlett warned June 30 that since the county has been managing cases at congregate living facilities, the current spike in cases is the result of community transmission.
The best way to stem the tide of community transmission is to encourage facial coverings and social distancing, she said.
Do on June 30 announced a contract with Latino Health Access for a new program providing more outreach to residents in the county’s hot spots of Santa Ana and Anaheim.
“There is no question in my mind now for the need for social distancing, good sanitation practices, and face coverings,” Do said. “With the Fourth of July weekend coming, if we are not careful about protecting each other, we may reach a point where we need to shut down parts of the county and economy.”
The escalating numbers of infections and deaths “should really silence to a large degree any debate over the necessities for these measures I mentioned earlier,” Do said. “It’s no longer a political question or issue—it’s really a health issue.”
Do said he expected a rise in cases when the economy was reopened, “but I have to admit ... within the last two to four weeks they have been a little bit alarming.”
Do emphasized that people living in the nation illegally should not fear participating in the new outreach program for local residents.
“Undocumented immigrants should not be fearful about being tested,” Do said. “No immigration status will be asked or shared with anyone ... We want to be culturally sensitive and respond effectively in a way that will penetrate these disadvantaged communities.”
The program will also include a mobile response team to help stem any spread in schools when they reopen, Do said.
