California hair salons and barber shops defy lockdowns and reopen so they can pay the bills, despite state recording its deadliest day of the pandemic

California, the nation's most populous state, recorded its deadliest day yet in the pandemic, with 115 fatalities in the 24 hours from Wednesday to Thursday.  

But the news came as some businesses defied lockdowns to reopen so workers could pay their bills. 

The death toll in the state now stands at 1,469 with at least 37,369 confirmed cases, Governor Gavin Newsom said Thursday. 

He said: 'It's a reminder we're not out of the woods yet. I know there's a deep desire, people are making calls on an hourly basis, saying it's time to open back up — consider the deadliest day in the state of California the last 24 hours. 

'This disease continues to spread, and we need to continue to spread the word of vigilance. There's no such thing as reopening and back to normal. It's normal with caveats. It's reopening with conditions.'  

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California, the nation's most populous state, recorded its deadliest day yet in the pandemic, with 115 fatalities in the 24 hours from Wednesday to Thursday. The death toll in the state now stands at 1,469 with at least 37,369 confirmed cases, Governor Gavin Newsom said Thursday

CA Governor Newsom announces deadliest day in coronavirus battle

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Newsom expressed worry Californians will hit beaches on the upcoming warm weekend. In an attempt to keep people social distancing due to COVID-19, a temporary closed sign is posted at the beach near the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, Calif. on Thursday, April 23

Newsom, in his daily remarks on the response to the outbreak, appeared to concede that the state's famous golden beaches would be an irresistible lure to residents who have been largely confined to their homes since mid-March.

'We're walking into a very warm weekend. People are prone to want to go to the beaches, parks, playgrounds and go on a hike, and I anticipate there will be significant increase in volume,' the governor said.   

'But I also think if there is and people aren't practicing physical distancing, I'll be announcing again these numbers going back up,' Newsom said, referring to a slight downward tick in the number of patients admitted to hospitals and intensive care units.

Clip Cage owner Breann Curtis in Auburn told Fox40: 'I have to do what I have to do. I'm fighting to provide for my children and myself and my family right now. It's been very hard. I'm pregnant. I have children at home.'His comments came as some business owners said they were forced to defy lockdown orders and reopen their hair salons in order to pay their bills. 

Beauty Bar Salon owner Tisha Fernhoff said: 'How much longer am I supposed to go down the rabbit hole before I just throw in the towel and go back to work?'

Both Curtis and Fernhoff say their Paycheck Protection Program applications were denied and neither qualify for unemployment.  

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Beauty Bar Salon owner Tisha Fernhoff said: 'How much longer am I supposed to go down the rabbit hole before I just throw in the towel and go back to work?'

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Clip Cage owner Breann Curtis in Auburn told Fox40 : 'I have to do what I have to do. I'm fighting to provide for my children and myself and my family right now. It's been very hard'

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A lone cyclist wearing a protective mask against the coronavirus rides past a closed Santa Monica Pier, Thursday. Newsom, in his daily remarks on the response to the outbreak, appeared to concede that the state's famous golden beaches would be an irresistible lure to residents who have been largely confined to their homes since mid-March

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A lone pedestrian walks past closed businesses in Hollywood, California. Some business owners said they were forced to defy lockdown orders in order to pay their bills

California's governor has been credited with taking early action to lock down the state as cases of COVID-19, spread in early March, and California has seen fewer cases than New York and other East Coast states.

California's beaches are under a patchwork of state and local jurisdictions, which means some have remained open while others were shut.

While Los Angeles County closed all its beaches - including parking lots, bike paths, showers and restrooms - during the coronavirus outbreak, leaders in neighboring Orange County voted to keep some open.

Hundreds of protesters lobbying to ease Gov. Gavin Newsom's tight stay-at-home orders rallied around the California Capitol on Monday, even as Newsom continued to urge restraint, saying the worst thing state leaders could do is 'make a decision that's based on politics and frustration.' 

Amid a debate over whether residents are safer in open spaces such as the beach, officials in San Clemente in southern Orange County voted this week to reopen city beaches that they closed two weeks ago, the Orange County Register reported.

This week in Huntington Beach, an Orange County city which has both state and local beaches as well as the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, surfers could be seen in the water on either side of closed pier as sunbathers watched from the sand and joggers used pedestrian paths.     

Newsom on Tuesday said it is 'unrealistic' to think life will go back to 'normal' anytime soon and warned the worst may not be over for California. 

The lawmaker told CBS his state 'could see a second wave that makes this pale in comparison' if people 'pull back' from adhering to social distancing rules. 

He noted that ICU admissions are 'beginning to flatten', but added: 'We're not seeing yet the significant decline that we need to see ultimately to toggle back.'

Newsom said: 'I don't anticipate that normalcy that many of us wish for happening any time soon.'