California launched a new, albeit modified, stay at home order last week in response to rapidly rising positive COVID-19 tests. The new lockdown prohibits indoor and outdoor dining, limiting restaurants to takeout, and reduces retail and grocery store capacity. Retail owner Newmark Merrill is growing frustrated with the yo-yo of California closures. The firm's CEO and president Sandy Sigal says that the government needs to enforce safety guidelines, not shut down businesses.

"I don't think that we should prioritize retailers' well being over other people's well being, but this is terrible policy to have new rules every few months," Sigal tells Globest.com. "At the beginning, no one knew what we were dealing with. I understood that. Now, we know, so why are we continually changing the rules? It is enforcement."

Sigal was flexible early on in the pandemic, understanding the importance of public safety, but says that the government should have a better strategy this far into the pandemic. "It is mind boggling to me that we have to paint everything with such a broad brush," he says. "There were a number of restaurants that put money into outdoor dining, and at the last minute, that was thrown away. After nine or ten months, we should be able to differentiate between the good guys and the bad guys."