On July 2 of 2020, when the initial spring surge of Covid-19 was fading, health officers and local elected officials across Southern California ordered virtually every beach shut down from Santa Barbara to the Mexican border.
Cities around California cancelled fireworks displays. Governor Gavin Newsom closed bars and mandated masks in public spaces.
What officials couldn’t stop, however, were household gatherings and travel over the Fourth of July weekend.The result was a more than 150% increase in new daily cases from 570 on July 1, 2020 to 1,476 on August 2, 2020.
Health officials linked the rise to gatherings held across the long weekend.One year later, the beaches and bars are open for the Fourth.
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