Central Coast retracts to heavier health & and safety restrictions

As 41 counties in California roll back into the most restrictive purple tier, two Central Coast counties prepare for renewed restrictions.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has given counties 24 hours to prepare.

In Santa Cruz, businesses say they already got the notice to start reducing services, but for those with little or no outdoor space to continue their operations, they say their options are limited.

A manager at Vivas restaurant in Santa Cruz says his business will likely resort to online orders and take-out to keep his small business going.

“Small businesses, we just struggle you know, we have to get more creative, we don’t have that outside space so we just have to get more creative and just get smarter about running business."

Casey Beyer, CEO of the Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce says this will only add to the financial hardships most businesses suffered throughout the pandemic.

"The challenges are: can the businesses return back to that type of work flow versus the one they were in two weeks ago? They’re spending a lot of their own resources to actually accommodate the social distance requirements," says Beyer.

Governor Newsom says California saw a 51.3 percent increase in COVID-19 cases during the first week in November.

Officials say the spike in cases may be attributed to gatherings on Halloween.

As the holidays quickly approach, officials say their concern is reducing the spread and warning people to avoid gatherings.

“There is a strong likelihood that this will be a pretty brutal winter when it comes to coronavirus in our community so we’re trying to get a handle on that by pulling the emergency break," says County Spokesperson Jason Hoppin.

County officials say businesses must have new restrictions and guidelines set in place by Tuesday, November 17.

Face masks will be enforced at all times and Governor Newsom mentioned he is considering implementing a curfew.

In the meantime, officials encourage the public to follow all health and safety guidelines.