Gov. Gavin Newsom announced guidance on restaurants, bars and wineries. Kim Tobin reported on NBC4 News at 6 p.m. on Sunday, March 15, 2020.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced several new directives Sunday afternoon to further try and limit the spread of the novel coronavirus in California.
The governor asked all bars, nightclubs, brewpubs and wineries to close, but stopped short of calling for all restaurants to close, as Illinois and Ohio have done.
Newsom indicated restaurants could remain open with reduced capacity to allow for social distancing.
Additionally, the governor called for the home self-isolation of everyone 65 and older and those people with chronic conditions, an estimated 5.2 million people.
He also suggested people have little to no visitation to seniors living in assisted living facilities.
The directives are only considered to be guidelines at this point, with Newsom noting "we have the capacity to enforce if necessary."
He also announced a new plan for virus testing to be deployed to critical areas in the state by partnering with Verily, a sister company to Google. The company would be part of an online portal that will help determine if they should be tested and would direct them to mobile testing units, in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties to start.
Newsom said additional testing kits are on the way to California, and as more people are tested, he expects the number of people diagnosed to rise.
So far the state has 335 cases of the virus confirmed and six people have died.
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He also announced the broad outline of a plan to find temporary shelter for the state's homeless by using hotels and trailers, but did not go into great detail.
The hope is that by removing people from encampments with little sanitation and close quarters, the spread of the virus can be prevented in the homeless communities throughout the state.
