Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Visalia Crash Sends Car Into Marie Callender’s After Driver Runs Red Light

8 hours ago

Gifford Fire Expands to 83,933 Acres in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

9 hours ago

S&P 500 and Nasdaq Lifted by Earnings, Fed Hopes

10 hours ago

Israeli Military Chief Opposes Gaza War Expansion, Raising Pressure on Netanyahu

10 hours ago

Israel Considers Full Gaza Takeover as More Die of Hunger

1 day ago

US to Initially Impose ‘Small Tariff’ on Pharma Imports, Trump Says

1 day ago

Cruz Criticizes Hochul for Wearing Headscarf at Slain Officer’s Funeral

1 day ago

Trump Says Banks Discriminate Against His Supporters While White House Prepares Order

1 day ago
Yuba, Sutter Counties Set to Reopen Despite Stay-Home Order
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
May 4, 2020

Share

Two counties in Northern California were set to allow many businesses to reopen Monday as a direct challenge to Newsom’s order.

Yuba and Sutter counties north of Sacramento would join Modoc County, which began allowing hair salons, churches, restaurants, and the county’s only movie theater to reopen Friday as long as people stay 6 feet apart.

Modoc County Sheriff Tex Dowdy said the zero confirmed cases of COVID-19 among Modoc’s 9,000 residents were a deciding factor in the allowing for a “staged, safe” reopening. No problems were reported over the weekend, officials said.

Businesses in Rural and More Populated Areas Have Opened Their Doors

Yuba and Sutter counties are not only much bigger with a combined population of about 175,000 people — many of whom commute to jobs in the capital region — but have had 50 confirmed cases of the disease and three deaths.

Jesse Villicana, the owner of Cool Hand Luke’s steakhouse in Yuba City, said 25 employees who were laid off during the stay-at-home order returned to work Sunday to help prepare for the reopening. He was eager to welcome customers back into the bar and dining room but wary of the slow return to business as usual. Customers must sit a booth apart, meaning he can only fill half of the restaurant.

“We were running at 80% capacity before all this. It’s going to be tough to pay all the bills,” Villicana said.

Elsewhere, a variety of businesses from restaurants to hairstylists in rural and more populated areas have opened their doors in individual acts of defiance.

Newsom acknowledged the building economic anxiety while repeatedly teasing the possibility the state could begin relaxing aspects of the restrictions this week.

“We are all impatient,” the governor said during his daily briefing Friday.

But the governor also noted that while hospitalization statistics are heading in a better direction, the state still has a growing number of infections and deaths. More than 2,200 Californians have died from coronavirus and nearly 55,000 have been confirmed to have it, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The number of infections is thought to be far higher because of a shortage of testing.

Orange County beach cities argue that most of the people who hit their shores between April 24 to April 26 did practice anti-virus safety measures and fumed that they were being unfairly singled out.

Newsom Has Promised a Cautious, Phased Reopening of the State

On Friday, a judge refused a request by Huntington Beach and others to block Newsom’s order to close the beaches. Judge Nathan Scott said he weighed the harm the closures caused the city and others, but the virus’s threat to public safety should take priority. He said he will consider the issue again May 11.

While Newsom has promised a cautious, phased reopening of the state, protesters don’t want to wait.

In Northern California, Santa Cruz County began on Saturday to close all beaches between 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. to let residents visit the beach in the early morning or sunset hours and keep day-trippers away.

But small groups of people ignored closures and set down their towels and umbrellas on Orange County’s warm beaches on Sunday, defying stay-at-home orders to slow the spread of the coronavirus as pressure to reopen parts of California continues to build.

City spokesman John Pope said lifeguards and police officers asked more than 2,500 people to leave. The previous weekend, a heatwave drew tens of thousands of people to Newport Beach, prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom to shut beaches in Orange County.

Cameras from news helicopters captured dozens of people scattered across a stretch of sand known as The Wedge in Newport Beach. The crowds were sparse but offered proof that despite stepped-up patrols and warnings to stay away, some people were determined to get to the beach.

City spokesman John Pope said lifeguards and police officers asked more than 2,500 people to leave. The previous weekend, a heatwave drew tens of thousands of people to Newport Beach, prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom to shut beaches in Orange County.

A Huntington Beach police spokeswoman said people were cooperating, and no citations had been issued as of Sunday afternoon.

‘Defend Freedom’

Beaches are just the latest focus for frustrations over Newsom’s six-week-old order requiring nearly 40 million residents to remain mostly indoors. Businesses not deemed essential are closed until COVID-19 testing, hospital and death rates indicate the state outbreak is beginning to ease. Millions have been unable to work.

While Newsom has promised a cautious, phased reopening of the state, protesters don’t want to wait.

In Huntington Beach, police estimated 2,500 to 3,000 people gathered for May Day on a beach-side street. In Sacramento, as police lined steps outside the Capitol, protesters on Friday waved signs that said “Defend Freedom” and broke into “U-S-A” chants. A few rallies took place over the weekend, though attendance was significantly smaller.

For the vast majority of people, coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.

The fear is that the virus can be spread in close quarters by people who don’t know they’ve contracted it, and allowing too much contact too soon could lead to a second surge of cases.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Who Drugged and Sexually Abused Minors Sentenced to 53 Years to Life

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Arrest Four in Narcotics Bust After Five-Month Investigation

DON'T MISS

Overturned Big Rig Backs Up Highway 99 Traffic in Fresno

DON'T MISS

California Reveals 5th State Prison to Close Because of Falling Inmate Population

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Search for Robbery Suspect Near Blackstone Avenue

DON'T MISS

Trump Says US Will Charge Tariff of About 100% on Semiconductor Imports

DON'T MISS

Trump Weighs Getting Involved in New York City Mayor Race

DON'T MISS

Apple Commits Additional $100 Billion to US Investments

DON'T MISS

Fresno Taken Off Federal Sanctuary City List After DHS Reversal

DON'T MISS

Trita Parsi Shares Ex-Green Beret’s Account of Deadly Gaza Aid Sites

UP NEXT

Gifford Fire Expands to 83,933 Acres in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

UP NEXT

California Wine Industry Is Torn on Trump Tariffs

UP NEXT

Gifford Fire Is California’s Largest Blaze This Year, Tops 82,000 Acres

UP NEXT

Should Lyft and Uber Charge More if Your Phone Battery Is Low? California May Ban That

UP NEXT

California Police Misconduct Records Now Available in Public Database

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Is Freezing Over $300 Million for UCLA

UP NEXT

More Than 3,000 Boeing Fighter Jet Workers Go on Strike After Rejecting Contract Offer

UP NEXT

Gifford Fire Grows to 65,000 Acres in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

UP NEXT

Gifford Fire Grows to Nearly 40,000 Acres. Evacuation Orders Expanded in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

UP NEXT

Newsom Wants Voters to Weigh In on New Congressional Districts in November

California Reveals 5th State Prison to Close Because of Falling Inmate Population

2 hours ago

Fresno Police Search for Robbery Suspect Near Blackstone Avenue

2 hours ago

Trump Says US Will Charge Tariff of About 100% on Semiconductor Imports

3 hours ago

Trump Weighs Getting Involved in New York City Mayor Race

3 hours ago

Apple Commits Additional $100 Billion to US Investments

3 hours ago

Fresno Taken Off Federal Sanctuary City List After DHS Reversal

3 hours ago

Trita Parsi Shares Ex-Green Beret’s Account of Deadly Gaza Aid Sites

4 hours ago

First Date Turns Into DUI High-Speed Pursuit on Highway 99, CHP Fresno Says

4 hours ago

Tulare Co. Sends 86 to Drug Treatment Under Prop 36. Fresno Sends Only 3

4 hours ago

US Army Sergeant Suspected of Shooting, Wounding Five Fellow Soldiers at Fort Stewart in Georgia

4 hours ago

Fresno Man Who Drugged and Sexually Abused Minors Sentenced to 53 Years to Life

A Fresno man was sentenced Wednesday to 53 years to life in state prison for committing lewd acts involving three minors over a six-year spa...

23 minutes ago

23 minutes ago

Fresno Man Who Drugged and Sexually Abused Minors Sentenced to 53 Years to Life

Clovis Police arrested Jeremiah Gonzalez (top left), 25, Jonathan Simmavong (bottom left), 27, both of Clovis, Gursimran Mahal (top right), 25, and Zackary Torres, 26, both of Fresno, in a narcotics investigation that led to the seizure of drugs, a firearm, and illegal vape products. (Clovis PD)
2 hours ago

Clovis Police Arrest Four in Narcotics Bust After Five-Month Investigation

An overturned big rig on Highway 99 at Clinton Avenue caused major traffic backups in both directions Wednesday, August 6, 2025, afternoon in Fresno. (Fresno County SO)
2 hours ago

Overturned Big Rig Backs Up Highway 99 Traffic in Fresno

2 hours ago

California Reveals 5th State Prison to Close Because of Falling Inmate Population

Fresno police are searching for a suspect who robbed a person near Blackstone and Garland avenues and fled in a white Chevrolet sedan. (Fresno PD)
2 hours ago

Fresno Police Search for Robbery Suspect Near Blackstone Avenue

Semiconductor chips are seen on a circuit board of a computer in this illustration picture taken February 25, 2022. (Reuters File)
3 hours ago

Trump Says US Will Charge Tariff of About 100% on Semiconductor Imports

President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters at the White House in Washington, July 30, 2025. The conversation between President Trump and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo came at a time when Cuomo was publicly pushing Mayor Eric Adams and other rivals to drop out of the race in hopes of consolidating the support of voters who oppose the frontrunner, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani. (Eric Lee/The New York Times)
3 hours ago

Trump Weighs Getting Involved in New York City Mayor Race

3 hours ago

Apple Commits Additional $100 Billion to US Investments

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend