(CNN) California Gov. Gavin Newsom sent a clear message to his state's residents after images circulated of throngs of crowds on Ventura and Orange County beaches this weekend: stop flouting social distancing guidelines or it could delay the state's reopening.

"Those images are an example of what not to see, people, what not to do if we're going to make the meaningful progress that we've made in the last few weeks extend into the next number of weeks," Newsom, a Democrat, said during a news conference Monday.

"I cannot impress upon you more, to those Californians watching, that we can't see the images like we saw, particularly on Saturday in Newport Beach and elsewhere, in the state of California," he added.

Newsom's comments come as a slew of other governors have moved to act on or schedule reopenings of their states despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp allowed the state's hair and nail salons, barber shops, massage businesses and gyms to reopen last week, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, announced Monday that he will allow state's stay-at-home order to expire on Thursday and open businesses on Friday , although at reduced capacities.

Newsom, who issued a stay-at-home order in March, emphasized that California was approaching a point of safely loosening some restrictions put in place to staunch the spread of the virus -- but that such a shift was dependent upon residents' behavior.

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