Today, Wednesday April 22nd, Governor Gavin Newsom, joined by California’s Health and Human Services Agency Secretary, Dr. Mark Ghaly, held his daily briefing. The focus today was on providing an update regarding the six critical indicators that will be considered before modifying the statewide Stay-At-Home order. Specifically, Newsom offered a “deep dive” on the following indicator: The ability to monitor and protect our communities through testing, contact tracing, isolating, and supporting those who are positive or exposed.
As expected, Newsom did not offer an exact date today for when California can begin to reopen its economy. “When we’re ready, we’ll make those announcements in real-time,” he stated about getting back to normal.
On the health care front, Newsom announced that effective immediately hospitals can begin scheduling surgeries again, the first way in which the state is beginning to loosen its COVID-19 restrictions. He said, “California will work with our hospitals and health systems to resume delayed medical care like tumor removals and key preventive care services, which were deferred to prep for the COVID-19 surge.”
On testing, Newsom suggested the state needs the capacity to do 60,000 to 80,000 a day. He is hoping to get to 25,000 daily tests by the end of the month. For context, the state went from an average of 2,000 tests a day in March to an average of 16,000 tests in recent days. Newsom also said he spoke with President Donald Trump on the phone right before the briefing. President Trump has promised that California will receive an additional 100,000 swabs this week, with significantly more coming in the weeks to follow. That shortage has been one of the biggest obstacles to increasing testing capacity in the state. Additionally, Newsom stated that California will build out its testing capacity by training an additional 10,000 people to track and trace the spread of the virus.
On serological testing, Newsom announced a partnership with Abbott Laboratories. Abbott Laboratories has committed to 1.5 million serological tests at 130 facilities across California. Newsom said these tests will be used for diagnostics. He cautioned that more research needs to be done on their utility.
Finally, Newsom announced that the state will add 86 new testing sites, specifically focused on underserved communities and communities of color “that are often harder hit by COVID-19.”
During the Q&A, the Governor was asked about Google & Apple and an App for contact tracing and whether or not CA was engaged with them in that effort. The Governor stated that there is an “abundance” of resources in California, including leading edge technology companies. He further stated that his office has been provided “all sorts” of apps and tools. He shared that CA is working on tracing and will be promoting apps on in this area, including the announcement of a new website the state will be rolling out. He stated that this coming Friday the state will release a “preview” of the website tool, a tool that will have various resources for people.
Following Newsom’s comments, Dr. Ghaly spoke. He noted that in terms of California’s hospitalization trend lines, the state is “tracking in what we call a range of stability.” The current trend lines give the state confidence that it can begin to modify the stay-at-home orders to allow medically necessary surgeries. Newsom said this is “the first significant effort” to move back toward normalcy.
More specifically, the hospitalization figures were at 3,357, which represents a 0.2 percent decrease. The number of coronavirus patients in ICU beds is 1,219, a 1.8 percent decrease from the previous day. Newsom stressed, “California is flattening the curve, but only if we continue to take this seriously. Stay home. And practice physical distancing.”
Dr. Ghaly also reiterated the information Newsom provided on testing. He said it is critical to be able to test and trace potential cases to avoid another spread of COVID-19 infections.
During the Q&A, Newsom was asked about the uncertainty surrounding reopening. His response: “If there’s a date, then we’re denying the facts on the ground, we’re denying the spread of the virus, which is dynamic. We don’t want to debate a date. We’re focusing on science and health. Community surveillance, testing sites, and tracing are so foundational.”
Asked about Tuesday’s report that Santa Clara had the first known death in the U.S., Newsom said, “We’ve directed coroners to go back even deeper on autopsies, back to December, to help guide a deeper understanding of when pandemic began to affect Californians.”
Following yesterday update, the Governor’s office issued a press release with additional details regarding California Volunteers’ #CaliforniansForAll service initiative. The initiative aims to connect individuals with safe volunteer opportunities and encourage those unable to physically volunteer to think creatively about ways to make a difference in their communities. A copy of the press release can be found here.
Additionally, on April 21st, the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) issued a third Notice of Regulatory Relief regarding virtual wine tastings. As with the prior measures in the First Notice and Second Notice, this Notice of Regulatory Relief was designed to support the alcoholic beverage industry in its efforts to assist California in slowing the spread of the virus while assisting the industry in dealing with the economic challenges it is facing as a result. A copy of the Notice can be found here.
This morning, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, as part of a coalition of 27 attorneys general, sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) asking them to join the coalition in urging the telecommunications industry to make further commitments for consumers during this pandemic. A copy of the letter can be found here. A copy of the AG’s press release can be found here.
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced the most recent statistics on COVID-19. There are now a total of 33,261 confirmed positive cases and 1,268 deaths in California. As of April 20th, local health departments have reported 3,704 confirmed positive cases in health care workers. This includes on-the-job exposures, and other exposures, such as travel and close family contact. Also, as of April 20th, more than 300,000 tests had been conducted in California. At least 292,905 results have been received and another 7,200 are pending. More information regarding the most recent COVID-19 statistics can be found here.