California has surpassed 1 million COVID-19 cases, according to covid19.ca.gov.

The news came a day after San Diego County was moved into the most restrictive purple tier.

In San Diego County,  the 62,397 cases equal an 11% positivity rate.

To move back into the red tier, the positivity rate must drop below 7%.

The latest on COVID-19 in San Diego and the state is part of this week’s edition of Newscene, the student-produced weekly newscast that this week won a National Pacemaker Award for excellence in college journalism.

Because of the new restrictions, restaurant owners can no longer operate with indoor dining.

In a Facebook video, Pushkin Russian Restaurant and Bar owner Ike Gazaryan said his neighbors were “going out of business, and the only way the city can help us out is by allowing us to do indoor dining.”

County public health official Wilma Wooten said she understands that people are developing COVID-19 fatigue.

“We have to stay the course,” she said, “and we have to do what we know works.”

The new restrictions begin tonight at midnight.

In other news:

Biden prepares advisory board for pandemic response: President-elect Joe Biden announced a new COVID-19 advisory board ahead of his inauguration.

The 13-member advisory board will advise Biden’s administration during the transition of Biden taking office.

The board consists of public health officials and infectious disease researchers.

“The advisory board will help shape my approach to managing the surge in reported infections; ensuring vaccines are safe, effective, and distributed efficiently, equitably, and free; and protecting at-risk populations,” Biden wrote in a statement on his transition website.

Thanksgiving guidelines shared: State officials shared a list of guidelines for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Gatherings should be no longer than two hours and with no more than three households at one location. 

“I read somewhere some folks asserting we put out guidelines for the holidays… They simply were misled or, intentionally, were misleading people. We have not put out Thanksgiving guidelines,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said.

Residents are encouraged to wear a mask and gather outdoors to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

King tides could lead to coastal flooding: San Diego coastal communities are expected to get hit by king tides Sunday and Monday mornings.

The tides will peak at 8:20 a.m. on Sunday and on Monday at 8:58 a.m.

Waves could reach up to six feet and coastal flooding is possible.

King tides happen as a result of the moon’s gravitational pull.

Padres’ players in running for MVP: The Padres didn’t end the season the way they wanted, but their young stars were not completely overlooked.

The performances by Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr boosted the Padres to a winning record for the first time since 2010.

Machado, 28, finished third in the voting for the season’s MVP, while Tatis, 21, placed fourth.

Although being a finalist in the MVP race, Tatis was not a Gold Glove finalist.

He reacted on Twitter, writing it’s “more motivation to a monster (in) the making.”

Newscene multimedia journalists Assad Khalilzadeh, Jesus Lopez  and Zach Wilson contributed to this report.