California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday he is considering a statewide curfew and researching studies from countries like Germany and Saudi Arabia on possible implementation strategies.
In addition to sweeping new restrictions due to the uptick in coronavirus cases in the state, Mr. Newsom briefly mentioned how he was looking at the efficacy of curfews.
“We also are considering, full disclosure, a little bit of a preview, the notion of a curfew,” he told reporters. “Now, before you jump in terms of your mindset on whether that’s a good idea or a bad idea, we are assessing that as well. I have on my desk quite literally three studies from France, Germany and Saudi Arabia, interestingly, that have done comprehensive studies on the efficacy of their strategies as it relates to curfews.”
Mr. Newsom also cited Portugal as a potential model, as well as the statewide curfew implemented in Massachusetts, which requires certain businesses to close between the hours of 9:30 p.m. and 5 a.m, and the “alcohol-based curfew” in Virginia, where restaurants and bars have to stop serving alcohol by 10 p.m.
“We’re assessing all of that, we want to socialize that,” the governor said. “We have a lot of questions about what that looks like, what that doesn’t look like, who does it impact, who doesn’t it impact — what does a real curfew mean in just the kind of industry and business activities? That’s what we are referring to in this space. But we really want the data to bear out and we want the information not to be anecdotal, we want to really take a look at those studies.”
Mr. Newsom on Monday pulled what he called the “emergency brake” on reopening the state’s economy and put almost all counties back under the strictest set of restrictions that ban indoor church services and keep schools closed.
