With the harshest of initial pandemic closures lifted around Memorial Day, many Californians seemed to think the danger from the novel coronavirus was over and rushed out to make up for three terrible months of quarantine.

We partied, we protested, we patronized salons and stores. And too often, we did so without maintaining a safe distance from others or wearing a face mask. Businesses ignored infection-control rules in large numbers, and some county sheriffs refused to enforce the rules…

Newsom likened the new orders to lowering the dimmer switch on reopening. It’s an analogy he’s quite fond of using when discussing pandemic restrictions. But it feels as if the lights just went out. Again.

Some of the restrictions seem reasonable. Bars, for example: Drinking alcohol generally makes people less cautious, and crowding a bunch of drinkers together seems like a particularly bad idea right now. But why pick on salons and tattoo parlors? I haven’t seen any evidence suggesting they are a major source of transmission.