On the heels of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order Monday forcing the closure of several indoor business sectors in California, the recent reopening of Santa Clara County’s gyms and salons will be especially short-lived.
Starting Monday, gyms, salons and barbershops were among businesses allowed to once again serve customers in the county. However, as coronavirus cases surge in California, the governor Monday afternoon ordered the suspension of indoor operations in salons and fitness centers in the 30 counties on the state’s watch list.
While Santa Clara County has not appeared on the public watch list, county officials said they had been monitored since Sunday and expected to be added to that list Wednesday. On Monday afternoon, the county alerted businesses and residents that the state will require sectors of business to close indoor operations effective first thing that day.
Santa Clara County Executive Jeff Smith acknowledged the news may be frustrating to residents and business owners, but said a statewide approach is best to blunt the spread of the virus.
“It looks like an old regressive action by the governor to try and control the virus, which is something I’ve been advocating for a while,” Smith said. “The county-by-county approach was not working. It only causes inconsistency and the virus doesn’t know what county it’s in.”
Santa Clara County is second among the 10 Bay Area counties with 6,298 total COVID-19-related cases and has the most deaths, with 166. On Sunday, it reported 315 new coronavirus cases.
Closing sectors include places of worship and shopping malls, in addition to gyms, salons and barbershops.
Places of worship and malls have been open in Santa Clara County since June, but gyms and salons only received approval to reopen after a four-month hiatus on Monday. Essentially, they will be able to operate for two days before having to close again.
At CrossFit Willow Glen, clients returned to their gym Monday, but under strict modifications. Masks were required and temperatures were taken upon entry, while class sizes were limited to 10 people.
The gym had been offering daily Zoom fitness classes for its clients while indoor operations were suspended. Come Wednesday, those distanced classes will return.
“Just being able to walk in the door and work out with other people — even if it is from 12 feet away — means a lot to everyone,” Owner Audra Soltis said. “I’m surprised everything changed so quickly, but I guess it’s not unexpected, sadly.
“I think it was nice to have even just a couple days for people to be able to come together and see each other, but we’re prepared to keep doing what we’ve been doing if we have to.”
