Newsom asks for more COVID vigilance
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom again reported a significant rise in coronavirus cases in California on Wednesday, noting that a record-breaking 7,149 new positive results were confirmed in the state in the last day.
The news came shortly before Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, warned in a Sacramento Press Club appearance that easing restrictions to slow the spread of the virus does not mean it’s safe to resume normal life again.
At a news conference Wednesday to discuss the state’s coronavirus response, Newsom warned that COVID-19 hospitalizations, as well as the number of coronavirus patients sent to intensive care units, have been rising significantly — telltale signs that “we are not out of the first wave.”
“This virus is virulent. This virus knows no boundaries and it knows no age cohort. It is a deadly virus,” Newsom said during the briefing in Sacramento. “That’s why it’s incumbent upon all of us to step things up extent we can, be more vigilant.”
California has seen a 29% increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations over the past 14 days and nearly a 20% increase in virus patients being treated in ICUs, Newsom said.
The Democratic governor again emphasized, however, that California’s first-in-the-nation stay-athome order, which Newsom enacted in mid-March, significantly slowed spread of the coronavirus. That allowed the state hospital system to increase capacity to handle a potential surge in patients, and bought the state enough time to acquire the necessary personal protective gear, ventilators and other equipment, he said.
“We are confident in our capacity, in the short run, to meet the needs of those most in need in the state of California,” Newsom said.
Almost all counties have received permission from the state to ease up on Newsom’s original stay-at-home order, allowing stores, restaurants, salons and other businesses to reopen under certain conditions, such as limiting the number of customers, requiring face coverings and enacting sanitation protocols.
Newsom warned that counties that fail to abide by the state’s COVID-19 guidelines, including the mandate that Californians must wear face coverings while in public, could face cuts in state funding targeting the coronavirus outbreak.