California Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu condemned the hundreds of protesters who turned out in Huntington Beach on Friday to demand the reopening of the state and its beaches, saying they probably spread the novel coronavirus with their demonstration.
“There were over 30,000 new US cases reported yesterday & over 34,000 today. #COVID__19 is a highly contagious virus. These folks at Huntington Beach undoubtedly spread the virus even more,” Lieu wrote on Twitter. “And Dr. Fauci said 15% of those who get the virus get so sick they need hospitalization.”
Lieu does not represent Orange County, where the protesters gathered, but represents a nearby district that includes the beach towns of Venice Beach, Santa Monica and Redondo, among others. Those beaches, and all Los Angeles County beaches, are still closed.
Reports on Friday estimated that there were more than 500 people who turned out in Huntington Beach to protest after Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) closed Orange County beaches in response to massive gatherings last weekend that went against stay-at-home orders.
Orange County had previously opened its beaches, and even after the large gatherings drew a rebuke from Newsom, the city of Newport had voted to keep them open.
Protesters on Friday were heard chanting “freedom” and “no more Newsom.” Some carried signs lamenting the need for a hair cut, while others held signs calling to reopen businesses so people could get back to work.
Police officers mounted on horses were present to control the crowd, with most, if not all protesters, reportedly violating social distancing guidelines of six feet of separation.
Newsom said on Friday the state is “days, not weeks” away from reopening, but cautioned people to stay home until the all-clear.
“If we can hold the line and continue to do good work and just avoid the temptation to get back and congregate with people in ways where we can see an increase in the spread, we’ll get there much sooner than many people perhaps think,” he said.