California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) remains in hot water over his COVID-19 restrictions.
This week, five more businesses in the Golden State announced legal action against the Democrat governor and top health officials, citing the state’s stay-at-home orders.
The merchants — led by the ‘Pineapple Hill Saloon & Grill,’ ‘Luxury Nail Lounge,’ ‘Pomp Salon,’ ‘Bella and Harmony’ and ‘Coachella Valley Hospitality Unites’ — argue there is no science behind the forced closures.
The legal representation of the businesses contests that the blanket restrictions enacted by Newsom’s office violated the retailer’s constitutional rights and caused significant financial losses to the companies.
“This is not brain surgery, we have been misled by the health officials,” Attorney Mark Geragos stated. “They don’t know what they are doing, it’s been demonstrated again and again. They are the ones causing the deaths by forcing people indoors.”
Friday, the ‘Professional Beauty Federation of California,’ which represents more than 620,000 beauty professionals and thousands of barbers, announced they would also be suing the governor over the closures.
Indoor and outdoor dining has been banned in several areas for months, specifically in Los Angeles. However, the county reportedly continues to see a rise in cases, which leads some restaurant owners to believe the ban is actually making the pandemic worse.
“If they have no place else to go, they’re going to go home inside their homes and gather there together, where there are no regulations, no protocols,” California restaurant owner Tara Punzone stated. “[And] there they won’t sanitize things and they’ll take their masks off.”
Infectious disease expert Dr. Robert Winters also backed up this claim, adding there is clearly higher risk of transmission within a private residence.
“The reality is a ban on indoor and outdoor dining is going to drive people indoors, into their own private houses,” Dr. Winters noted. “There is clearly going to be an increased risk of COVID transmission. You are not going to have the established procedures to prevent COVID transmission in a restaurant.”
Meanwhile, a group of 50 restaurants and wineries in the Sonoma and Napa counties have already moved to sue Newsom, as well.
These businesses claimed they were unfairly targeted while other retailers in the area were allowed to continue to operate with little to no regulation.
(OANN).