Bars in seven California counties, including Los Angeles County, are once again shut down over the coronavirus pandemic.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued the order Sunday. He also recommended local officials in at least eight other counties take similar action to close down those types of businesses.
Newsom said, "COVID-19 is still circulating in California, and in some parts of the state, growing stronger. That’s why it is critical we take this step to limit the spread of the virus in the counties that are seeing the biggest increases."
The order came as California health officials announced almost 5,000 new cases of COVID-19 in the state Sunday. That number is down from the record-breaking daily case numbers the state saw earlier in June. But it's still much higher than the daily counts seen in May, when the state slowly started rolling back parts of its coronavirus lockdown.
Bars in California had just been able to fully open back up on June 18, under previous state guidelines. The Los Angeles Times reports that as of Sunday, those businesses had not yet resumed operations in four of the counties mentioned in Newsom's order.
Officials in Texas and Florida have also ordered bars in their states to close as coronavirus cases continue to spike.
