Gov. Newsom orders churches, gyms, nail salons closed in Fresno, surrounding counties
Two weeks after Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the closure of restaurants and bars within Fresno County, on Monday he added a new list of businesses that will be re-shuttered in an effort to stop the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak.
That includes shopping malls, gyms, nail salons and churches doing indoor services.
Newsom announced the latest orders during a news conference on Monday, saying the state was heading “back into a modification mode ... as the trend lines become points of concern.” By that he means the continued spike of COVID-19 cases in California. There have been nearly 321,000 infections as of Sunday, with more than 7,000 dead.
The positivity rate, the number of positive COVID-19 tests compared to the total number of tests, has risen to about 7.7 percent over the past seven days.
The new restrictions apply to the growing list of counties that are being monitored by the state. There are now 30 counties on the list, representing 80% of the state population. Five of the six counties in the central San Joaquin Valley — Fresno, Kings, Madera, Merced and Tulare — are monitored. Mariposa County, which has seen just 32 cases of the coronavirus, is not.
Churches: Outdoor, online options
Local churches missed several big celebrations due to the original restrictions on places of worship at the start of the pandemic in Fresno. The Fresno Catholic diocese suspended all church services in the midst of Lent and churches had to find workarounds to connect with congregants for Easter.
Even when services were allowed to resume at the end of May, it was with capacity guidelines and a ban on singing or chanting. Fresno’s Cornerstone Church defied those guidelines in its first services back.
The church has been critical of the governor’s guidelines regarding worship services.
As of Monday, no decisions had been made on how Cornerstone Church would handle the latest restrictions, according to Pastor Jim Franklin. He said plans would be announced by Tuesday evening, when the church hosts its weekly YouTube update for the congregation.
“We recognize the pandemic is real and that it is a danger,” Franklin said. But the safety of congregants and the community must be weighed with the essential aspect of the church and the religious freedoms it is guaranteed by the First Amendment.
“Our position has always been that churches are an essential part of our society.”
Saint Rest Baptist Church will continue holding outdoor drive-in style services at 10 a.m. on Sundays.
The church stopped doing indoor services March 15 and chose not to go back inside, even after restrictions on indoors services were eased.
“It’s hard to tell Christian folk not to hug each other,” said Pastor DJ Criner.
“We thought it was wiser to be patient. Just because Disneyland opens tomorrow, doesn’t mean you have to go tomorrow.”
The only real difference people will see in services this Sunday will be that congregants will be asked to remain in their cars, he said.
Fitness centers, others also
All gyms were initially closed in late March and they were packed with members when they reopened last month — with limited capacity and new safety precautions.
That first day back in mid-June, Fresno gym chain GB3 saw a larger-than-normal flow of patrons, starting when the gym opened at 4 a.m.
GB3 and another Fresno chain, Fit Republic, did not immediately respond to requests for comment to the latest regulations Monday.
The new restrictions weren’t the only news to come out of Newsom’s news conference Monday. He also announced that the indoor closure of restaurants, wineries, theaters, zoos, museums, card rooms, bars and family entertainment centers have been extended to the entire state.
“COVID-19 is not going away anytime soon,” Newsom said.
“This continues to be a deadly disease.”