The move, effective Tuesday, comes a day after Governor Gavin Newsom suggested Riverside close its bars and ordered the closure of several other counties, including Los Angeles.
“People don’t distance themselves much after a couple of drinks, and it’s one of the most difficult environments to trace contacts,” said Dr. Cameron Kaiser, RiversideCounty public health officer. “I hope this is only temporary and that no more closings are needed, but it all depends on what each of us as a county does to further curb the spread.”
The county reopened its bars on June 12. But since then, Riverside and several other counties in California have seen an alarming increase in COVID-19 cases.
The move comes as almost all ICU beds in Riverside County are currently in use. The county’s website shows that UCI utilization has increased steadily in the past two weeks, from about 82% just two weeks ago to nearly 99% as of Sunday.
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