California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday he is considering imposing a statewide curfew to try to keep the rising number of coronavirus cases from exploding out of control.
But what exactly does that mean?
We don’t know for certain, but other areas that have imposed or considered curfews offer clues.
Officials in Los Angeles County have set a 10 p.m. curfew starting Friday for restaurants, breweries, wineries and non-essential retail.
New York last week imposed such a curfew — mandating that businesses with liquor licenses shutter both indoor and outdoor dining by 10 p.m. While businesses can still offer takeout and delivery dining, orders cannot include alcohol.
The prime minister of Spain implemented a nationwide nighttime curfew there, while a judge in El Paso, Texas, also imposed a two-week nighttime curfew to curb cases — only allowing travel for emergencies and essential services.
It isn’t clear whether or when a curfew could go into effect in the Golden State — Newsom didn’t say in his Monday briefing. It also isn’t clear whether a state-imposed curfew could be broader and include big box stores like Target or grocery stores, although such stores have been permitted to remain open — with limited capacity — throughout the pandemic.
Ultimately, a California curfew would almost certainly not mean that anyone out after a certain time would be fined or arrested. But it would very likely limit which businesses could remain open after certain hours, with the goal being to keep people at home as much as possible and limit the spread of the deadly disease.
It remains to be seen whether Newsom moves forward with the idea, but on Monday the state moved counties that house roughly 94% of residents into California’s most restrictive purple tier, which will mean no more indoor activities at gyms, restaurants, theaters, churches and other businesses.
The move comes as hospitalizations in California have increased 48% over the last two weeks and ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, which public health officials worry could lead to even more cases, with families planning to gather with multiple households despite pleas to remain home.
A curfew would likely draw significant pushback from businesses on the brink of financial ruin after months of pandemic restrictions. Already the notion is prompting criticism from some elected officials.
“We are facing a complete lockdown and economic devastation because some people think the threat of COVID-19 is gone, but they are absolutely wrong,” San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa said in a statement. “However, talks of curfews and shutting down society completely at night sounds like an overreaction to me.”
Is there any evidence that curfews work?
“There’s no good science to support that they work and there’s no good science to support that they don’t work,” said John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus of infectious diseases and vaccinology at UC Berkeley. “We don’t really know.”
But, Swartzberg said, a curfew might signal to residents that the pandemic is worsening and they need to adjust their behavior, which could help reinforce practices that do reduce the spread of the virus, such as masking and social distancing.
Source: Orange County Register
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