Immediately following Governor Gavin Newsom’s order on Monday that forced the closure of several indoor business sectors in California, the recent reopening of Santa Clara County gyms and salons will be especially short-lived.
As of Monday, gyms, salons, and hair salons were among the companies authorized to serve county customers again. However, as coronavirus cases in California increase, the governor ordered Monday to suspend indoor operations in salons and fitness centers in all 30 counties on the state’s watch list.
While Santa Clara County has not appeared on the public watch list, county officials said they had been monitored since Sunday and were expecting to be added to that list on Wednesday. On Monday afternoon, the county alerted businesses and residents that the state will require commercial sectors to shut down indoor operations first thing that day.
Santa Clara County Executive Jeff Smith acknowledged that the news can be frustrating for residents and business owners, but said a statewide approach is better to slow the spread of the virus.
“It seems like an old regressive move by the governor to try to control the virus, which is something I’ve been advocating for a while,” Smith said. “The county by county approach was not working. It just causes inconsistency and the virus doesn’t know what county it’s in. ”
Santa Clara County is second among the 10 counties in the Bay Area with a total of 6,298 COVID-19 related cases and has the highest number of deaths, with 166. On Sunday, it reported 315 new cases of coronavirus.
Closing sectors include houses of worship and shopping malls, as well as gyms, salons, and hair salons.
Houses of worship and shopping malls have been open in Santa Clara County since June, but gyms and salons were only approved to reopen after a four-month hiatus on Monday. Essentially, they will be able to operate for two days before having to close again.
At CrossFit Willow Glen, customers returned to their gym on Monday, but under strict modifications. Masks were required and temperatures were taken upon entry, while class sizes were limited to 10 people.
The gym had been offering daily Zoom fitness classes to its clients while indoor operations were suspended. Come Wednesday, those remote classes will be back.
“Just being able to walk in the door and exercise with other people, even if you are 12 feet away, means a lot to everyone,” owner Audra Soltis said. “I am surprised that everything has changed so quickly, but I suppose it is not unexpected, unfortunately.
“I think it was nice to have even a couple of days for people to get together and see each other, but we are prepared to continue doing what we have been doing if necessary.”
