California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) laid out the criteria needed for him to lift California’s shelter-in-place order.
The criteria consists of six benchmarks: using testing, tracing and isolation to curb the spread of COVID-19; protecting those most at-risk of becoming severely ill from the virus; having the proper healthcare infrastructure in place to handle a potential surge in cases; having treatment for the virus; making sure businesses and schools can implement proper social-distancing measures; and the state government having the ability to re-institute certain measures to combat the coronavirus.
#COVID19’s impact on the economy, on poverty & on healthcare is hard to sustain. In the future, we will need to modify our Stay-at-Home order.
Today, Governor @GavinNewsom lays out the road map to do that, including 6 key indicators that will be considered. #StayHomeSaveLives pic.twitter.com/LrshImUFUV
— Office of the Governor of California (@CAgovernor) April 14, 2020
“There’s no light switch here,” Newsom said. “I would argue it’s more like a dimmer.”
Newsom did not provide a timeframe on when the shelter-in-place order will be lifted; he said he needed to see hospitalization and intensive care unit (ICU) numbers decline.
“We will be driven by facts,” Newsom said. “We will be driven by evidence. We will be driven by science. We will be driven by our public health advisers, and we will be driven by the collaborative spirit that defines the best of us at this incredibly important moment.”
He added that he would re-evaluate the situation in two weeks.
Newsom suggested that when the state does begin to re-open, restaurants would have fewer tables available and people will be wearing face coverings when outside. He also said it would be a while before people could engage in large-scale events.
“We talk about what the new normal will look like,” Newsom said. “Normal, it will not be.”
Newsom told California residents the state will get through this. “This can’t be a permanent state, and it’s not,” he said.
Newsom implemented the indefinite shelter-in-place order on March 19.
As of this writing, the state has 22,341 confirmed cases and 724 deaths from the coronavirus. The number of daily COVID-19 fatalities in the state have steadily declined since April 8, according to CNN.
