Purple-tier California counties will get curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., state says

Nearly all Californians will be subject to a 10 p.m. curfew starting Saturday in an effort to curb spiking coronavirus infections, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced Thursday afternoon.

The curfew, which administration officials are calling a limited stay-at-home order but affects 94% of state residents, will cover only nonessential activities and will be in place nightly from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

People will still be allowed to perform essential tasks like walking their dog, picking up prescriptions at the pharmacy or getting takeout at restaurants, Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said. But nonessential businesses and activities will be prohibited. For example, restaurants will have to close their outdoor dining by 10 p.m.

It will apply in counties in the state’s purple tier, where coronavirus transmission rates are highest. The vast majority of California counties are currently in that tier. It will be in effect for a month, from Nov. 21 through Dec. 21.

The state plans to leave enforcement to local governments at first, Ghaly said. Some local elected officials are already balking at the order. Sacramento and El Dorado sheriff’s offices said they won’t enforce it.

It’s important for counties to at least have the option of enforcing the curfew, Ghaly said, particularly in areas where coronavirus levels are well above the threshold for even the state’s most restrictive tier.

The state can step in to enforce the curfew if needed, Ghaly said, but he says he doesn’t have a specific threshold for when that might happen.

The 41 counties affected are: Alameda, Butte, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, Madera, Mendocino, Merced, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo and Yuba.

California’s COVID-19 case rates are rising at their fastest pace since the pandemic started in March, Ghaly said.

“Activities you normally do are higher risk today than they were a month ago,” because more people are infected across the state, Ghaly said during a press conference announcing the curfew. “This is going to help us stop the surge faster and avoid more severe restrictions.”

The goal is to curb spread of the coronavirus by reducing gatherings at night when most activities that take place are nonessential. By issuing the curfew now, Ghaly said the state hopes to keep case rates from escalating out of control and overwhelming hospitals.

“We are sounding the alarm,” Newsom said in a statement. “It is crucial that we act to decrease transmission and slow hospitalizations before the death count surges. We’ve done it before and we must do it again.”

The state has seen the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests, known as the positivity rate, climb over 5% this week, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tracking system. That is the positivity rate that the World Health Organization considers unsafe for businesses to be open.

Notably, though, California’s positivity rate remains among the lowest in the nation. Only six states have lower positivity ranks than California: Maine, Vermont, Hawaii, New York, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

In Sacramento County, COVID-19 cases are rising sharply, hitting an all-time high of 459 new cases on Thursday. COVID-19 hospitalizations are on a rapid rise in the county as well. The capital county’s positivity rate has hit 6.4% and is moving up quickly. The county’s all-time high occurred two months ago, when the rate topped 8%.

Sacramento County health chief Dr. Peter Beilenson said a curfew is not likely to get at the core of the problem, which is family gatherings that typically occur before 10 p.m. and infections in nursing homes.

“The gatherings of the most concern to us are Thanksgiving and the holiday season,” he said. “Very few of them go after 10 p.m. at night.”

Also on Thursday, county health officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye said it is a tough decision for the governor to make. The goal is to anticipate later-night gatherings and discourage them.

“It is a tough decision,” she said. “We are all trying to make decisions on what we can do to slow the spread. We know that gatherings are a big issue, especially people gathering in private homes, and in bars.”

State Sen. Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber, said the state’s decision to leave enforcement details to local law enforcement agencies will create widespread confusion, particularly because he says the state’s curfew rules are not specific enough.

“What about a gas station? What about a 24-hour convenience store?” he said. “What are the rules going to be for in our homes? What if you get a call from grandma, she’s got a need?”

Assemblyman Devon Mathis, a Visalia Republican who’s long criticized Newsom’s executive actions during the pandemic, called the latest order “huge overreach.”

“The real question is, do we live in a free society or not?” Mathis said. “If you live in a free society and want to go out and don’t want a 10 p.m. curfew and want to go to gatherings, then that’s on you.”

Several other states have experimented with curfews as a response to rising COVID-19 case rates.

In Massachusetts, the curfew requires businesses including restaurants, fitness centers and casinos, as well as indoor and outdoor events, to close by 9:30 p.m. and not reopen until 5 a.m. the following morning. The state also restricts the sale of alcohol and cannabis during that mandatory closing period.

The order is enforced by state agencies and local police, with violations punishable by fines of $500.

There are similar restrictions in place in New York, Vermont and Maine.

Virginia, too, has a curfew in place. The state forbids the on-site sale, possession or consumption of alcohol at all dining establishments after 10 p.m.

Ohio on Tuesday implemented a more restrictive curfew. For 21 days, the state is under a 10 p.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew that restricts most non-essential activities, though it makes exceptions for people going to or from work, those who have an emergency or those seeking medical care.

This story was originally published November 19, 2020 at 2:20 PM.