Coronavirus US: LA mayor warns of another shutdown as California orders indoor restaurants, bars to close

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles' mayor said the city is on the verge of nearly shutting down again as California ordered the shutdown of all indoor restaurants, bars and movie theaters.

Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered several sectors to once again shut down Monday amid an increasingly concerning coronavirus surge.

California has more than 320,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 7,000 deaths.The death toll climbed by 23 since Sunday.

"This continues to be a deadly disease," Newsom emphasized Monday.

Bars, both indoor and outdoor, will be forced to close down statewide. Bars that offer sit-down meals outdoors will be allowed to continue operating under current guidelines. Restaurants are being told to cease indoor operations. Outdoor dining and takeout are still allowed.

All counties also have to close all indoor operations at wineries, tasting rooms, movie theaters, family entertainment centers, zoos, museums and cardrooms.

In counties on the state's watch list -- including Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties -- even more businesses are being required to close their doors. That includes gyms, hair salons, barbershops, other personal care services, indoor malls, offices in non-critical sectors, and places of worship.

"We've made this point on multiple occasions and that is why we're moving back into a modification mode of our original stay-at-home order," Newsom said.

As of Monday, 31 counties were on the state's monitoring list, which represents about 80% of the state's population.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti warned residents the city is on the cusp of reaching the red status on the city's color-coded system that describes Angelenos' risk of developing a coronavirus infection.

Reaching the red level means people would only be able to leave their homes for work or for essential tasks. It indicates there is a high risk and people should stay home at all times.

"We are on the border of going to red," Garcetti said during a briefing. "It is up to all of us to make sure that we don't."

The color-coded system is currently in the orange threat level, which signals people should stay home as much as possible.

Counties on the state's watch list, such as Los Angeles, were ordered Monday to close fitness centers, places of worship, offices in non-critical sectors, personal care services, hair salons, barbershops and indoor malls.

Businesses that can adapt to an outdoor setting and outdoor activities can still operate.

"Outdoor activities are as we've learned in this considered safer, including outdoor dining, which remains open," Garcetti said. "But if you do an outdoor activity, please do it either by yourself or with other members of your household."