SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Governor Gavin Newsom ordered beach closures in Orange County after a warm weekend drew crowds to the area, with little emphasis on social distancing.
Newsom was expected to order all beaches and state parks closed starting Friday, according to a police memo.
Eric Nuñez, president of the California Police Chiefs Association, said it was sent to the group's members Wednesday evening, so they have time to plan ahead of Newsom’s expected announcement Thursday.
During a Thursday press conference, Newsom said the order he gave wasn't a pull back and was consistent with what officials had been discussing.
The California Police Chief's Association issued an apology on the situation in a statement.
"In an ever-changing environment, we sent out information regarding decisions that were still evolving, which was regrettably shared outside of our police chief membership and we apologize for the undue concern that caused to the public, our colleagues, the Governor and his staff," the association said.
The Orange County-targeted order came as some communities reopened their beaches and pressure continues building to cautiously ease stay-at-home restrictions that have throttled the state's economy and kept millions at home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Last weekend dozens of boats were out at Discovery Park on the Sacramento River and officials at Folsom Lake Recreation Area closed the parking lot to keep people from other areas from coming in.
However, it was the nearly 80,000 people who flocked to Newport Beach and thousands more at Southern California beaches that caught the governor’s attention this weekend.
“The images down in Orange County and Ventura County on our beaches - those images are an example of what not to do,” Newsom said Monday at a press conference.
Many state parks are already closed, and a lot of communities have closed their beaches. However, the new order focuses only on Orange County.
“The conditions last week, the images we saw on a few of our beaches were disturbing. I was very candid about that,” Newsom said on Thursday.
He named dropped areas like San Diego, Los Angeles, Mendocino, and Sonoma Counties as outstanding examples for areas that have been meeting the moment with their leadership during the warm weekend.
He hopes the closure will be a short term adjustment.
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