Santa Clara Co. to roll back fitness, personal care facility and mall openings on Wednesday

Santa Clara County health officials said on Monday that hair and nail salons, fitness centers, and shopping malls that just opened Monday will have to close again by Wednesday because of the governor's new guidance on COVID-19. 

One of the business owners we spoke with on Monday said this latest rollback is both heartbreaking and devastating. Some of the hair salons had just finished re-booking four months worth of clients. 

Before the guidance changed, some members at WestCA gym in Downtown San Jose were thrilled to be able to work out at their gym, even if it meant wearing a mask and limiting cardio.

"There's only so many home workouts you can do before you're like, 'I want to push a barbell,'" said Logan Carrington of San Jose.

"I've been waiting for this day for four to five months," said Hope Hunter of San Jose.

Monday's business reopenings were announced earlier this month and were a highly-anticipated return to some normalcy, but the recent spike in California's novel coronavirus cases have thwarted business owners' economic aspirations. 

The county health department said it was added to the governor's monitoring list on July 12. The governor's order goes into effect for Santa Clara County on July 15 at 12:01 a.m.

Other indoor activities affected by the governor's new guidelines include cardrooms, tattoo parlors, zoos and museums, family entertainment centers, and even indoor protests. 

“The fight against COVID-19 is unfortunately far from over, but our residents and businesses have shown how we can collectively make an extraordinary difference in saving lives and safeguarding our community,” said County of Santa Clara Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody.  “We strongly urge everyone to rigorously and consistently follow the State and local health orders.”

On Monday, Santa Clara County announced 253 new COVID-19 cases over the past few days for a case total of 6,542. Health officials also announced one new death from the disease. 167 people have died from COVID-19 in the county. 

KTVU's Maureen Naylor contributed to this report.