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2020-11-14 -Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
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Newsom attended French Laundry party with more households than California advises during pandemic
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 [SF Chronicle] Gov. Gavin Newsom attended a birthday party for one of his political advisers last week that included people from several households, the type of gathering his administration has discouraged during the coronavirus pandemic.
The dinner the night of Nov. 6 at the famed French Laundry in Yountville in Napa County brought together at least 12 people to celebrate the 50th birthday of Jason Kinney, a longtime friend and political adviser to Newsom who is also a partner at the lobbying firm Axiom Advisors. In addition to the governor, his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, was in attendance.
State guidelines limit gatherings, defined as "social situations that bring together people from different households at the same time in a single space or place," to no more than three households. Representatives for Kinney and Newsom declined to specify how many households the diners represented, but did not dispute that it was more than three.
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Nathan Click, communications director for Newsom, initially defended the birthday celebration because it took place outdoors at a restaurant, which must follow separate coronavirus safety regulations developed by the state for the dining industry. That guidance is silent on whether people from more than three households can dine together.
Newsom and Siebel Newsom "followed public health guidelines and the restaurant's health protocols ‐ all in line with the state's rules for restaurant operation," Click said in a statement. "He and the first partner paid for their own meals."
After The Chronicle published this story online, Newsom issued an additional statement acknowledging that attending the party was an error in judgment.
"While our family followed the restaurant's health protocols and took safety precautions, we should have modeled better behavior and not joined the dinner," the governor said.
Throughout the pandemic, Newsom has urged Californians to maintain social distancing and to minimize mixing between households. He has redoubled those calls as coronavirus rates have risen this fall.
On Monday, he pointed to private gatherings, such as extended families getting together, as a driving factor of the increase in new cases in the state.
"It's for obvious reasons. People are letting their guard down," Newsom said at a news conference. "They're taking their masks off. They're starting to get together outside of their household cohorts. They're starting to see businesses reopen and we're starting, again, to see more people mixing. As it gets colder, we'll see more still."
The California Department of Public Health issued guidelines Oct. 9 allowing small private gatherings for the first time during the pandemic. Under the guidelines, gatherings that include more than three households are prohibited. The state also requires that gatherings be held outside, where virus transmission is less likely, and recommends that they be kept to two hours or less.
Click said the birthday dinner for Kinney was permitted because state guidelines require only that restaurants "limit the number of patrons at a single table to a household unit or patrons who have asked to be seated together."
A spokesperson for the public health department was unable to answer questions about whether the state considers it acceptable for residents from an unlimited number of households to mix if the gathering is at a restaurant.
At a news conference Friday, state Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly reiterated that activities where it is difficult to wear a mask the entire time, such as dining, and mixing with people from other households are higher-risk situations during the pandemic.
"As we look at surging cases, we have the guidance and the tips for a reason," he said. "We believe they are the strategies to keep ourselves and our communities safe, and we hope and expect people to take them seriously."
Janet Upton, a public information officer for Napa County, said the county was not limiting groups dining out to three households, citing the state's guidelines for restaurants.
"It's a balanced right, between public health and not devastating the economy," she said.
But John Swartzberg, an infectious disease expert and a clinical professor emeritus at UC Berkeley's School of Public Health, said state and county officials were drawing an arbitrary distinction that is not based on any science.
Although he was glad Newsom's group sat outdoors, he said dining out with 12 people could be a much riskier activity than other types of gatherings, because people must take off their masks to eat and drink.
"The idea that it's OK to do that because it's at a restaurant is upside down," Swartzberg said. "Whether or not it abides the letter of the guidance, I think it's not a good idea."
The mayor-elect of Fresno, Jerry Dyer, revealed this week that he tested positive for the coronavirus after attending a dinner on election night with Fresno County Supervisor Steve Brandau, who did not know at the time that he was infected, and four others, the Fresno Bee reported. A local developer who attended the dinner, which was held at the home of a government relations manager for Kaiser Permanente, has since tested positive as well, according to television station KSEE.
While everyone must define their own tolerance for risk during the pandemic, Swartzberg said, Newsom modeled poor behavior for the public by attending the birthday dinner.
"Is this a major breach by Newsom? No. But it's not the best judgment," he said. "He has to be the grownup in the room. And he has to be the one that people model. That's what comes with the responsibility of being a leader."
A spokesperson for the French Laundry said the restaurant follows all state and county health regulations and requires any party that dines there to do the same.
Molly Weedn, a representative for Kinney, said the restaurant was open for normal dining and all party guests followed safety protocols. She declined to comment on why the celebration brought together more than three households.
"This was a small, intimate, 12-person dinner held outdoors with family and a few close friends to celebrate a 50th birthday," Weedn said in a statement. 
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