California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that he is temporarily closing all beaches in Orange County, where thousands of people flocked to sunbathe last weekend despite confinement orders. This "density" of people concentrated in the same place has been "a notable concern" and "we will therefore order the total closure" of the beaches in Orange County, a republican stronghold located in the south of the state, said Governor Newsom in his daily press briefing on the health crisis.
Thanks to temperatures above 30 ° C, many Californians cloistered since mid-March had flocked Saturday and Sunday to beaches in Orange County, which were not closed by local authorities, unlike those of the county from neighboring Los Angeles. Police and lifeguards were on hand to remind visitors of the social distancing guidelines and no incidents have been reported, pleaded Orange County authorities, who had closed parking lots bordering the beaches to limit the influx of bathers.
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This did not convince Governor Newsom, who said on Thursday that it "sounded the alarm . " “People who ended up there without respecting social distancing may have gone home, outside Orange County, without even knowing that they have contracted the disease. And now they are putting others at risk and our health care system at risk, ” he said.
The Democratic Governor has so far taken only measures specifically targeting beaches in Orange County, noting that no notable incident has been reported in the rest of California.
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One of the county officials accused the leader of "over-reacting . " "Healthcare professionals tell us about the importance of airing and sunbathing in the fight against infectious diseases, including the positive impact on mental health," wrote Donald Wagner on Twitter.
According to the latest report, California has recorded some 49,000 cases of Covid-19 and nearly 2,000 deaths, including 95 in the past 24 hours.
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