Los Angeles area beaches will be closed for the holiday weekend due to the startling rise in coronavirus rates in the county.
The temporary closure will be from July 3-6.
“We cannot risk having crowds at the beach this holiday weekend,” Supervisor Janice Hahn tweeted, citing Monday’s cases.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department will be patrolling the beaches over the weekend and enforcing the closure, which also includes piers, beach bike paths, and beach access points.
Violators could face a $1,000 fine.
7:18 p.m. ET, June 29, 2020
Nearly half of Covid-19 deaths recorded in long-term care facilities, according to new numbers
From CNN’s Shelby Lin Erdman
In this April 17 file photo, first responders load a patient into an ambulance from a nursing home where multiple people have contracted Covid-19 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. Scott Eisen/Getty Images
Long-term care facilities and similar institutions account for just 14% of cases of coronavirus, but 45% of deaths, according to the latest count from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
KFF’s survey of institutions finds more than 52,000 deaths have occurred in nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, adult care centers, intermediate care facilities, or other long-term care facilities in 40 states, plus Washington, DC.
More than 10,000 facilities in 43 states plus Washington, DC, have confirmed cases of Covid-19.
The KFF survey gleans different information from different states, but finds nearly 254,000 cases of coronavirus in 42 states plus Washington, DC, linked to nursing homes or other long-term care facilities. That’s 14% of the total cases in those states.
The definition of a long-term care facility differs by state, but the “data reflect a combination of nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, adult care centers, intermediate care facilities, and/or other long-term care facilities.”
There is limitation in the data. “Given the considerable variation in how states are reporting data, data cannot be compared between states,” KFF said on its website.
Four states — Alaska, Hawaii, Montana and South Dakota — are not reporting on positive cases or deaths in long-term care facilities.
7:27 p.m. ET, June 29, 2020
Arizona closes bars, gyms, movie theaters and water parks for at least 30 days
From CNN’s Kim Berryman
The workout facilities at the Legacy Foundation Chris-Town YMCA in Phoenix are seen closed on May 13, in Phoenix. David Wallace/The Republic/USA Today
Gov. Doug Ducey announced an executive order beginning at 11 p.m. ET today that closes bars, gyms, movie theaters, water parks and tubing for at least 30 days.
Ducey said the eventual reopening of affected facilities will require businesses to follow public health regulations and post them for the public to see. Restaurants will be allowed to remain open with physical distancing guidelines in place.
The governor is also limiting indoor and outdoor mass gatherings. Events of more than 50 people are now prohibited. Groups of more than 10 people will be prohibited from gathering at outdoor pools, including those at apartment complexes and private facilities.
The number of cases in the state is now nearing 75,000. The largest increase is from those between the ages of 20 and 44 who now make up 22% of hospitalizations in Arizona.
Ducey painted a bleak picture saying, “our expectation is that next week, our numbers will be worse. It will take several weeks for the mitigations we are putting in place to take effect.”
Watch:
7:10 p.m. ET, June 29, 2020
San Diego County closes all bars, wineries and breweries to reduce coronavirus spread
From CNN's Alexandra Meeks
All bars, wineries and breweries in San Diego County are ordered to temporarily close beginning July 1, county health officials announced Monday.
This comes as several California counties are dialing back plans to reopen some businesses after observing a decrease in compliance with social distancing guidelines and an increase in hospitalizations.
"We will take action to close bars wineries and breweries that do not serve food beginning midnight Wednesday morning," Public Health Officer Wilma Wooten said Monday. "Now more than ever, it is vital that we all take precaution to guide our personal, as well as our collective health."
Bars represent 27% of all of San Diego County's active community setting outbreaks, Wooten added. San Diego currently has 65 active outbreaks, the county's data shows.
"Bars are purely social settings where different people and groups often mix," San Diego Supervisor Nathan Fletcher said. "The reality is, alcohol consumption impairs judgment which may lead to less compliance with physical distancing guidelines. Loud settings require loud conversations, which spreads droplets more efficiently and effectively and then people who do not know each other often congregate in bars, making it difficult to engage in thorough contact tracing about who may have been exposed."
Over the weekend, California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered bars to close in seven of the state's counties but San Diego was not on that list.
"San Diego County was not included in the action taken by the state but we believe it is appropriate," Fletcher said. "We believe it is wise for us to take this action now given the increases we've seen in cases and percentage of positive cases and outbreaks."
7:12 p.m. ET, June 29, 2020
Nevada governor pauses state's reopening
From CNN's Dave Alsup
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak. Samuel Metz/AP
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak paused the state's reopening, saying it will remain in phase two during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sisolak’s office issued a statement Monday saying the governor “will sign an emergency directive extending the length of Phase 2 through the end of July, due to the trends in COVID-19 infection rates, the time needed for expanded contact tracing to identify trends, and to see the impacts of the Governor’s new face covering directive.”
The statement from his office said if statewide trends do not improve or get worse, Sisolak "will not hesitate to take any action necessary to protect the public and prevent exceeding our hospital capacity, including reinstituting previous restrictions."
7:01 p.m. ET, June 29, 2020
Houston, Texas reporting a 10% increase in Covid-19 positivity rate, mayor says
From CNN's Jamiel Lynch
Houston's Covid-19 positivity rate has gone up 10% since April and May, Mayor Sylvester Turner said at a briefing today.
Turner said in April and May the positivity rate was 3%, and it is now 13%.
“We are experiencing a surge currently in the city of Houston. We cannot lose focus that our goal is to bring the number down to blunt the progression of this virus,” he said.
Turner and public health officials said that doctors are seeing more cases among young people in their 20s, 30s and 40s.
Dr. David Pearse with the Houston Health Department said that 15% of the patients in intensive care units right now are in their 20s and 30s.
The city reported at least 1,317 new cases Sunday and Monday, Turner said.
The city is averaging about 700 new cases a day, he said.
6:46 p.m. ET, June 29, 2020
More than 500 inmates test positive for coronavirus in Fresno County jail outbreak
From CNN's Jon Passantino
More than 500 inmates at the Fresno County Jail have tested positive for Covid-19 in a coronavirus outbreak at the Central California facility, sheriff’s officials said Monday.
After testing nearly 1,200 inmates for Covid-19, 507 were positive and 472 were negative, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said. An additional 186 inmates were still awaiting results.
The number of infections reported Monday was a significant increase from Thursday, when the sheriff’s office reported a total of 108 inmates had tested positive.
Earlier this month, the approximately 1,200 inmates at the North Jail Annex were quarantined after 13 inmates who had transferred from the Fresno County jail to the Wasco State Prison tested positive for the coronavirus.
At the time, the sheriff’s office called the cases “the largest spike in cases we have seen associated with our jail."
"There will be no inmate movement within the North Jail until further notice," it added.
The sheriff’s office said Monday that the 14-day quarantine period, which began on June 19, is now more than halfway over and there is still no movement within the North Jail.
“This only occurs if someone there tests positive,” it said. We then move them to another area where they quarantine with other positive inmates.”
6:45 p.m. ET, June 29, 2020
Miami Beach mandates face masks in public spaces effective Tuesday
From CNN's Denise Royal
An aerial drone view as beachgoers take advantage of the opening of South Beach on June 10 in Miami Beach. Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images
The city of Miami Beach is now mandating the use of face masks to help prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Any person not wearing a facial covering is subject to a $50 civil fine, according to a statement from the city.
Effective at 11:59 p.m. Monday night, all establishments that are licensed to serve alcoholic beverages, must stop serving liquor on-site between the hours of 12:01 a.m. and 6 a.m. each day.
6:55 p.m. ET, June 29, 2020
Jefferson Parish president: "No mask, no service"
From CNN’s Janine Mack
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, President Cynthia Lee Sheng has signed an emergency declaration that will require all people to wear masks to curve the spread of Covid-19, starting on Wednesday.
“No shirt, no shoes, no mask, no service,” Sheng said during a news conference on Monday.
She said she is concerned about the asymptomatic spread of the coronavirus.
The mask ordinance will be enforced with a misdemeanor charge, including a $500 fine and possibly time in jail, according to Sheng.
