A new surge in COVID-19 cases within California – the state reported over 20,000 new cases on Wednesday – has led to tough potential new measures.

To date, California has reported more than 1.2 million COVID-19 cases and over 19,300 deaths.

The move will no doubt impact the casino and tribal gaming community within the state, with Newsom warning "drastic action" if the state's COVID-19 numbers did not improve.

Los Angeles County, in particular, has imposed tighter stay-at-home restrictions and a three-week ban on in-person restaurant dining.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is quoted as saying LA “is now close to a devastating tipping point that could overwhelm the hospital system."

Other measures include the city of Santa Ana authorising a mandatory face mask rule, to be enforced by the police.

California is by far not the only US state affected by potential new measures, or indeed ones that have already been enacted.

Recently, casinos in the state of Rhode Island were forced to close for the second time as the region undergoes another COVID-19 lockdown.

This adds to further temporary closures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Illinois, Detroit (Michigan) and Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), among others.