Coronavirus Update: California Gov. Gavin Newsom Directs All Bars, Brew Pubs and Wineries to Close, Tells Those Over 65 to Stay Home

How is the governor targeting some industries for closure and not others which also serve the public?

California Gov. Gavin Newsom held a Sunday afternoon press conference and issued new directions to the state’s residents due to coronavirus: Newsom has called for the closure of all bars, brew pubs, and wineries, and directed those 65 and older to stay home and self-isolate.

The state is prohibiting visitors to nursing homes.

In order to even remain open, the governor ordered all restaurants to allow for 6-foot “social distancing” and only fill to half capacity.

However, there are no such directives with grocery stores and markets, big box stores, pharmacies, hardware stores, fast food restaurants, and the like – all of which are opened and serving customers, which begs the question, how is the governor targeting some industries and not others which also serve the public?

Other Tweeters were solely focused on the Newsom’s “Martial Law:”

“Democrat Governor declares martial law, cracks down on old people,” Gay Patriot Tweeted.

“Well, old people should be imprisoned,” Kurt Schlicter responded.

This week Gov. Newsom ordered all “gatherings must be limited to no more than 250 people” – except strangely, Disneyland, Magic Mountain, Universal Studios Hollywood, and other large theme parks, and gambling casinos. The next day Disneyland announced it would voluntarily close until the end of the month.

School districts all across the state have closed, and many employees are working from home.

And still, there are more than 18,000 total deaths this year from the seasonal flu, and 41 in the U.S. from coronavirus, according to the Center for Disease Control. During a typical flu season, up to 500,000 people worldwide will die from an influenza illness, according to WHO.

No governor or President ordered the closure of businesses during the outbreaks of SARS, MERS, or Hantavirus, each of which is also considered deadly.

There are no estimates yet on what these business closures will do to the state’s economy. Many are questioning how Gov. Newsom has the authority to order businesses to close.

California Globe will report updates as they are available.

UPDATE: Per the Johns Hopkins University website, as of Sunday night, there are 3,499 confirmed cases in the U.S. and 70 fatalities, for a death rate of 2%.  The total world-wide infections are 167,811 confirmed cases with 6,471 fatalities, for a death rate 3.8% but with 76,856 reported recoveries. The first death in the U.S. was on February 29, in a Kirkland, WA, hospital.

This is from the Johns Hopkins dashboard: https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6