Newport Beach gets in S.H.I.P. Shape just in time for the holiday shopping season

Shoppers wear facial masks on the 1800 block of Newport Blvd.

By Lilly NguyenStaff Writer

Dec. 11, 2020 4:48 PM PT

As California heads into a holiday season unlike any other, Newport Beach shop-owners are pledging to keep their stores in ship-shape.

The city of Newport Beach, Newport Beach and Co. and local business organizations launched an initiative this month to call for businesses throughout the city to continue safe and best practices throughout the holiday shopping season to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Businesses can sign up to take the safe health initiative pledge — S.H.I.P. Shape — at visitnewportbeach.com/ship-shape. As part of the pledge, business owners are asked to abide by California and Orange County health guidelines; frequently clean and sanitize surfaces and high-touch areas; require face coverings and encourage frequent handwashing; maintain capacities in accordance with the county and state guidelines; and monitor the health of employees.

“Providing a safe environment for employees and customers is a sure path to economic recovery,” Steve Rosansky, the president and chief executive officer of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement.

“It has been a challenging year, especially for our businesses, and we applaud their ability to pivot with every new mandate,” Rosansky said. “There’s light at the end of the tunnel and this pledge serves as a reminder for all of us to remain vigilant, thus saving lives and the economy during what we hope is the final path to conquering the virus.”

The goal of the pledge is to “instill customer confidence while encouraging the community to shop and dine local throughout the holidays and beyond,” according to a joint press release.

As of Friday, 31 businesses have taken the pledge.

The city and its tourism arm have launched other similar campaigns to encourage residents to shop and dine locally as guidance from the state continues to change operations for businesses in response to the pandemic, such as the Holiday Pass at the start of the month.

State officials recently implemented a regional stay-at-home order that went into effect on Dec. 7 as the Southern California region’s intensive care unit capacity availability fell below 15%. Data recorded by county officials state just 10.7% of ICU beds are available.

The stay-at-home order strikes a blow to businesses in the middle of the holiday season by limiting retail capacity to just 20%, returning restaurants to takeout only and shutting down businesses such as barbershops, cardrooms, bars and museums.

Orange County officials have pushed back against the state, calling the order a “top-down” approach to addressing the pandemic with restrictions being based on criteria that continues to change.

Cases climbed Friday by another 2,655, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in Orange County to 97,302. The Orange County Health Care Agency logged another 22 deaths. Four of those deaths were skilled nursing facility residents, five were assisted living facility residents and 13 were residents not living in a facility.

Hospitalizations hit a record high on Thursday — 1,025 — and continue to grow, now reported by county health officials to be 1,122. At least 265 of those cases are currently in intensive care units.

An estimated 64,716 have recovered.

Here are the latest cumulative coronavirus case counts and COVID-19 deaths for select cities in Orange County: