California Governor Gavin Newsom has said that his administration was unaware of research showing that the coronavirus was more contagious in indoor settings when it decided to close churches and leave Hollywood open during the pandemic.
He defended his decision, saying “We didn’t know the magnitude and the virulence of this virus when we made those decisions. This virus is incredibly contagious, not only in closed spaces, but when we started to adjust our policies with respect to faith-based communities, the Hollywood issue was already in play.”
Newsom also pointed out that California has re-opened places of worship since May, and most movie theaters have closed. He did, however, express a regret for certain decisions made early in the pandemic.
“The challenge here was that this virus moved quicker than any of us could imagine. The hindsight allows us to see what could have been done better,” he said.
