In summary

Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a new round of curfews from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. to slow the spread of the coronavirus in California. Businesses say they have already altered hours to comply with health restrictions and some county sheriff’s offices plan not to enforce.

Gov. Gavin Newsom today announced a curfew covering nearly all Californians to start Saturday, the latest in a series of tough new restrictions aimed at stopping the state’s alarming spike in COVID-19 cases.

The curfew starting right before Thanksgiving week will shut down non-essential work and gatherings from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. and applies to all counties in the most restrictive purple tier of California’s reopening plan. The order will remain in effect until Dec. 21. Essential businesses, such as grocery stores, will be exempted.

“We are sounding the alarm,” Newsom said in a statement. “It is crucial that we act to decrease transmission and slow hospitalizations before the death count surges. We’ve done it before and we must do it again.”

As California joins Ohio and other states in mandating curfews, public health experts are mixed on whether curfews are effective in curbing the spread of disease. Los Angeles County officials on Wednesday ordered restaurants, breweries, wineries, bars and other non-essential retail stores to close from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. — not a curfew, but a restriction on operating hours.

While business backlash has been intense to past state shutdown orders, initial reactions to the curfew were more muted. That’s in large part because many restaurants and breweries have already altered their operations more drastically — moving to takeout-only orders, investing in elaborate new outdoor dining setups or closing even earlier to keep costs down. Bars still open late are likely to bear the brunt of the new health orders.

“This curfew has very little, if any, impact on the brewing industry,” said Leia Bailey, associate executive director of the California Craft Brewers Association.

The bigger issue, Bailey said, are ongoing contradictions in broader state business guidelines.

Breweries, for instance, are classified as bars under current state rules, so they must serve a meal to open. That’s led to major expenses and logistical hassles for those that don’t already have full commercial kitchens, leaving them at the mercy of food trucks or other outside vendors to operate.

“What does the meal make inherently safer?” Bailey said. “The wineries don’t have those regulations. We’ve really struggled to get an answer.”

It’s also not clear if local law enforcement would enforce the governor’s latest restriction.

Sacramento Sheriff Scott Jones said his department wouldn’t enforce the curfew but instead route complaints to the county’s health office. And Fresno County, like most counties, has opted for voluntary compliance.

“That’s been our stance all along — we don’t go out and enforce wearing a mask or when someone is out past a certain time,” said Tony Botti, a spokesperson with Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.

Newsom had hinted at a curfew last week when he abruptly rolled back many counties’ reopenings and toughened the state’s mask order. Now, 41 of the state’s 58 counties — representing nearly 95% of Californians — are in the most restrictive purple tier of the state’s reopening plan.

The governor has faced withering criticism, including from his 2018 Republican challenger John Cox, after attending a dinner party for a lobbyist at the luxe French Laundry restaurant in Napa after exhorting Californians to stay home and cancel their Thanksgiving gatherings.

What’s a way for Gavin Newsom to make people forget about the French Laundry lobbyist dinner fiasco – announce a month long statewide curfew on Californians. Almost no data on recovery rates – it’s pure power & politics. #OneTerm

— JohnHCox (@TheRealJohnHCox) November 19, 2020

Until recently, California seemed to have escaped the startling climb in COVID-19 cases across the nation, but in the past two weeks, cases and hospitalizations have risen sharply. More than 11,000 cases and 106 deaths were reported today, bringing Califonrnia’s coronavirus death toll to 18,466.

CalMatters reporters Lauren Hepler and Ana B. Ibarra contributed to this report.

###

CALmatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.