Newsom Updates COVID-19: “There Is No Date” To Reopen State

Governor Gavin Newsom live address

Sacramento, CA – California Governor Gavin Newsom provided an update on the state’s COVID-19 pandemic stating that great strides are being made allowing him to modify the “stay at home order.”

Pointing to the six indicators, as earlier reported here, that will guide the state’s decisions to give “the green light” to lifting the order, Newsom made clear the reopening will be gradual.

“I wish I could prescribe a specific date to say…we can turn out the light switch and go back to normalcy, advised Newsom. “We have tried to make it crystal clear that there is no light switch and there is no date in terms of our capacity to provide the kind of clarity that so many of you demand and deserve.”

Noting that the number of coronavirus hospitalizations, including those in intensive care units, declined slightly, Newsom announced the modification to the order will allow hospitals to resume scheduled surgeries. Examples include surgeries for cancers, heart valves and chronic diseases, but not for purely cosmetic procedures, including plastic surgeries.

“That’s the first significant effort to begin modifying that stay at home order,” stated the governor.

Regarding reopening businesses and allowing people to go back to work, the governor says testing and tracing will be fundamental to getting back to a semblance of normal. To date, California has tested more than 465,000 people, or just over 1% of the state’s nearly 40 million residents. He outlines what testing is needed to reduce restrictions, detailing, “16,000 on average today, get to 25,000 by the end of this month. Our goal is north of 60,000 to 80,000 test a day and that is a phase one goal.”

Newsom added that he had a positive conversation with President Donald Trump earlier in the day about increasing testing supplies. He says the President promised a minimum of 100,000 swabs this week and committed to 250,000 next week.

California has more than 35,900 coronavirus cases and 1,350 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.