California COVID-19 Update

Created on April 24, 2020 by Richard Kelly
Tags: covid-19, california

How We Got Here

Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, California has been under a State of Emergency since March 4th, and under a “stay-at-home” order since March 19th.1 California was the first US state to institute a shelter in place order.2 The California government Frequently Asked Questions page clarifies that the order does not prohibit certain activities, including outdoor recreation, if done in compliance with social distancing guidelines.3

Studies for years to come will analyze the impact the order has had on the spread of the virus, but what can be seen so far is that California has managed to stay at the lower end of model projections.

chart4

75% of Californians support shelter in place for “as long as needed.”5. 83% of Californians approve of Gov. Newsom’s COVID-19 response.6

Newsom has said that the current order “will not be a permanent state”.7 And on April 22nd, Gov. Newsom announced health organizations would be resuming delayed medical care.8 So, what might some of the next reopening steps be?

The Way Forward

The 6-point plan announced April 14th can be a guide to what’s next. Here are some recent actions related to each point.9

Test and surveil

Six new testing sites will become operational soon. Testing swabs are on their way.10

Protect the most vulnerable

California will team up with the federal government to pay restaurants to provide three meals a day to needy seniors.11

Supply health systems

State officials have signed a contract with BYD North America to deliver 200 million masks each month.12

Develop therapeutics

UC Davis Health has two clinical trials underway for hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19.13

Support businesses, schools, and child care facilities

As a workaround, most schools have switched to distance learning, and most restaurants to take-out only. However, the vision is for changes to be made to all businesses to allow for social distancing to continue once they reopen.

Gov. Newsom coordinated with Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on a plan for restaurants. Describing that we’re not going back to the status quo, he said,

“you may be having dinner with a waiter wearing gloves, maybe a face mask, a dinner where the menu is disposable, where the tables, half of the tables in that restaurant no longer appear, where your temperature is checked before you walk into the establishment.”14

And when schools start back up again, arrival times could be staggered and classrooms reconfigured to enforce social distancing among students, teachers and staff.15

Decide if orders need to be tightened again

Once proper testing is in place, the state intends to monitor closely, and if the data warrants it, orders may be tightened up again.

“There is no light switch here. I would argue it’s more like a dimmer,” he stated, “this toggling back and forth between more restrictive and less restrictive measures, more individual accountability, more individual responsibility.”16

Summary

We should be proud that California was the first to institute a stay-at-home order, and has continued to show much needed leadership during this crisis.

Resources

“California Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response.” https://covid19.ca.gov/

“California Takes Action to Combat COVID-19.” https://www.gov.ca.gov/california-takes-action-to-combat-covid-19/


  1. “Executive Order N-33-20,” https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/EO-N-33-20-COVID-19-HEALTH-ORDER-03.19.2020-002.pdf↩︎

  2. Jorge L. Ortiz, Grace Hauck, “Coronavirus in the US: How all 50 states are responding – and why eight still refuse to issue stay-at-home orders,” USA Today, March 30, 2020, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/03/30/coronavirus-stay-home-shelter-in-place-orders-by-state/5092413002/↩︎

  3. “Stay home except for essential needs”, ca.gov, https://covid19.ca.gov/stay-home-except-for-essential-needs/↩︎

  4. Brian Goebel, “California Substantially Flattened the COVID-19 Curve in March,” Noozhawk.com, April 5, 2020, https://www.noozhawk.com/article/brian_goebel_california_flattened_covid_19_curve_in_march_20200405↩︎

  5. Kristof Stremikis, “COVID-19 Tracking Poll: 75% of Californians Support Shelter in Place ‘As Long as Needed’,” California Health Care Foundation, April 24, 2020, https://www.chcf.org/blog/covid-19-tracking-poll-75-californians-support-shelter-place-as-long-as-needed/↩︎

  6. Dhrumil Mehta, “Most Americans Like How Their Governor Is Handling The Coronavirus Outbreak,” FiveThirtyEight, April 10, 2020, https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/most-americans-like-how-their-governor-is-handling-the-coronavirus-outbreak/↩︎

  7. Tracy Bloom, “Gov. Newsom unveils his plan to lift California’s stay-at-home order,”, ktla.com, April 14, 2020, https://ktla.com/news/california/gov-newsom-to-reveal-details-of-plan-to-lift-californias-stay-at-home-order/↩︎

  8. Adam Beam, “California takes small step toward reopening amid outbreak,” Associated Press, April 22, 2020 https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/california-takes-small-step-reopening-amid-outbreak-70300936↩︎

  9. “Governor Newsom Outlines Six Critical Indicators the State will Consider Before Modifying the Stay-at-Home Order and Other COVID-19 Interventions,” April 14, 2020, https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/04/14/governor-newsom-outlines-six-critical-indicators-the-state-will-consider-before-modifying-the-stay-at-home-order-and-other-covid-19-interventions/. https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/California-Roadmap-to-Modify-the-Stay-at-Home-Order.pdf.↩︎

  10. Maura Dolan, Marisa Gerber, Alex Wigglesworth, “It’s becoming easier to get a coronavirus test in California,” MSN, April 23, 2020, https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/its-becoming-easier-to-get-a-coronavirus-test-in-california/ar-BB136S4w↩︎

  11. Paige Austin, “California To Pay Restaurants To Feed Needy Seniors,” Patch, April 24, 2020, https://patch.com/california/pacificpalisades/california-pay-restaurants-feed-needy-seniors↩︎

  12. Kathleen Ronayne and Adam Beam, “California to buy 200 million masks a month amid outbreak,” ABC News, April 8, 2020, https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/california-buy-200-million-masks-month-amid-outbreak-70053498↩︎

  13. “UC Davis Launches 2 Clinical Studies to Treat COVID-19,” UC Davis Health Public Affairs, March 31, 2020, https://www.ucdavis.edu/coronavirus/news/uc-davis-launches-2-clinical-studies-treat-covid-19↩︎

  14. Mike Pomranz , “Here’s What Dining at Restaurants Could Look Like When COVID-19 Restrictions Are Lifted,” Food & Wine, April 15, 2020, https://www.foodandwine.com/news/california-restaurant-reopening-plan-coronavirus↩︎

  15. Tracy Bloom, “Gov. Newsom unveils his plan to lift California’s stay-at-home order,”, ktla.com, April 14, 2020, https://ktla.com/news/california/gov-newsom-to-reveal-details-of-plan-to-lift-californias-stay-at-home-order/↩︎

  16. Mike Pomranz , “Here’s What Dining at Restaurants Could Look Like When COVID-19 Restrictions Are Lifted,” Food & Wine, April 15, 2020, https://www.foodandwine.com/news/california-restaurant-reopening-plan-coronavirus↩︎