California governor urges people to avoid holiday gatherings

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday urged Californians to turn to their “better angels” and use common sense over the holiday weekend by wearing a mask and skipping traditional gatherings with family and friends.

“We’re not going into everybody’s backyard and enforcing,” he said. “We’re just encouraging people to be safe, to be thoughtful about themselves and others.”

He also announced a new public awareness campaign, involving billboards, TV and radio ads in multiple languages, urging Californians to follow the state’s mandate to wear a face covering.

One ad shows a person breathing on a ventilator with a mask that reads: “Even without symptoms, you can spread COVID-19. And people can die. People like your mom.”

In his emotional appeal for people to consider the health of their family, Newsom said, “If you think this hasn’t or wont impact you because it hasn’t impacted you, I hope to disabuse you of that.”

The ads are starting in English and Spanish and will eventually run in seven languages. The effort also includes social media ads and will focus specifically on Black and Latino communities, which are being disproportionately impacted by the virus.

Previous awareness campaigns by the state featured prominent celebrities such as Larry David and Julia Louisdreyfus urging people to stay home and practice social distancing.

The new campaign is funded in part by Silicon Valley groups and philanthropists, including Tom Steyer, a former Democratic presidential candidate and head of Newsom’s Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery.

California enters the holiday weekend at a critical juncture. Hospitalizations and infection rates are on the rise and some businesses have again been shuttered in an attempt to limit big gatherings. Officials closed some beaches and cancelled fireworks shows.