No gatherings, restaurant meals in California now, Gavin Newsom directs

Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday evening that Californians should stop gathering in groups entirely for the foreseeable future and that he now recommends restaurants stop serving meals in their establishments.

Newsom also called on health clubs and movie theaters to shut down.

One day after advising restaurants to restrict seating to create more “social distancing,” the governor broadened his directive on the coronavirus pandemic, saying restaurants should close down with the exception of take-out meals.

“We are asking our restaurants to close down for the moment, offer takeout if they wish,” he said in a Facebook Live briefing from the Office of Emergency Services.

Newsom said he was reacting to comparable restrictions already put in place in Los Angeles and San Diego counties, as well as a “shelter in place” order imposed by six Bay area counties earlier Monday.

He added that gatherings of large groups also must be discouraged.

“If we’re asking people to shelter in place and isolate at home, the point of gatherings is lost on all of us,” he said, adding that he is “directing that no gatherings be considered in this state. That’s the new guideline we’re putting out .... Disruptive, I know, for some, but rational.”

Newsom spoke on the same day the Trump administration advised against gatherings of more than 10 people and six Bay Area counties issued a sweeping “shelter in place” order.

The counties’ directive, which lasts through April 7, bans all non-essential travel and social activities.

The Democratic governor said his new recommendation for restaurants is intended to align the rest of the state with the Bay Area counties, which allowed restaurants to continue operating, but only for take-out and delivery.

After Newsom’s announcement, his Department of Public Health issued more detailed guidance for grocery stores, food trucks and farmers’ markets that encourages them to limit customers and clean their spaces more frequently.

The directive asks stores to ensure that customers can maintain at least six feet of distance between each other rather than crowding closely in lines.

In addition, Newsom said he was directing the Department of Motor Vehicles to waive, for 60 days, all “enforcement of expired licenses or expired registrations.” The move was aimed at alleviating the huge crowds at DMV offices at a time when health officials are insisting that individuals maintain at least six feet of “social distancing.”

This story was originally published March 16, 2020 at 8:26 PM.