Newsom hopeful about ‘progress’ on virus

With key data points improving, governor could soon unveil reopening guidelines for schools

With near-record wildfires momentarily replacing the coronavirus pandemic in the headlines, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday noted encouraging signs of improvement in the state’s pandemic battle but warned the virus remains a dangerous threat.

“Progress is being made,” Newsom said in a noon news conference as the number of new daily cases fell below 5,000, to 4,946, after averaging 7,622 over the last two weeks. The new tally brought the state’s cumulative total to 668,615 cases. “We’re continuing to trend in a very encouraging direction.”

Hospitalizations also eased to 4,467, below a 14-day rolling average of 5,000, and intensive care patients dropped to 1,397 from a 14-day average of 1,590. The number of counties on the state’s monitoring list dropped too, with Orange, Mono and Sierra counties clearing criteria Sunday to come off the list, which adds restrictions on business activities and schools.

The state added just 18 new fatalities from COVID-19 on Monday, though Newsom cautioned that reports after the weekend often reflect an undercount. The state has averaged 128 deaths a day from the disease over the last two weeks.

“Just to remind you how deadly this disease is,” Newsom said as he rattled off that figure and urged people not to be “misled” by the 18 deaths reported Monday. “This pandemic has not gone away.”

The governor said his administration has been working on reopening guidelines for counties coming off the monitoring list and may have more to say on that later in the week, particularly as it pertains to bringing children who must attend online virtual classes in watchlist counties back to the classrooms.

“My personal point of view is education should be in-person as long as it’s safe,” Newsom said, adding that local health and education officials will ultimately decide whether classrooms reopen to students based on state guidance. “On that basis, localism is a big part of the

thrust of our framework.”

Asked whether wildfire evacuations and shelters for evacuees pose a threat of new outbreaks, Newsom said that after visiting

a shelter in Santa Cruz County over the weekend, he was confident that steps being followed will minimize that threat.

“Going to these shelters, I was subjected to screenings, assessments . ... The nurse who screened me didn’t just take my temperature but asked a series of

questions before I could go in,” Newsom said, adding the he he saw cots “well in excess of 10 feet apart.”

“They are taking this very, very seriously,” Newsom said. “I couldn’t be more pleased.”