(KGTV) — Gov. Gavin Newsom admonished beachgoers who crowded beaches over the weekend, saying those ignoring public health orders threaten California's progress made against the coronavirus.
Speaking in his now-daily news conference, Newsom said that images seen of people crowding Southern California beaches over the weekend are an example of how not to proceed with lifting restrictions amid the pandemic.
"The images down in Orange County and Ventura County on our beaches, those images are an example of what not to see people, what not to do, if we're going to make meaningful progress that we've made in the last few weeks extend into the next number of weeks," Newsom said.
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Saturday, photos showed thousands of people in Huntington Beach and Newport Beach enjoying the coast amid hot weather.
Newsom added that, in contrast, beaches in San Mateo, Los Angeles, and San Diego acted this weekend with adequate guidelines to social distance.
"The reality is we are just a few weeks away, not months away, from making measurable and meaningful changes to our stay-at-home order," Newsom added. "However, that's driven by data. Driven by behavior. And as we change our behavior, we can impact the science, the health, the data. This virus doesn't take the weekends off."
The governor said he plans to work more with local agencies on enforcement of the state's health orders.
Newport Beach's city leaders have already said they plan to reassess beach closures on Tuesday.
