Today, Monday April 27th, Governor Gavin Newsom held his daily briefing to provide an update on the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Newsom opened by stating that “we have made real progress, 40 million Californians have not only bent the curve, but stabilized it.” However, he also addressed the photos of people flocking to certain beaches over the weekend. “Those images are an example of what not to do,” he stated. In terms of what additional enforcement looks like, Newsom stated that local law enforcement and others could get involved. “We will avail ourselves to more aggressive enforcement of the Stay-At-Home Order that we expect to be followed across the state of California.” However, he does not want individuals to be cited unless they are clearly flouting the rules and putting others in danger.
Throughout the briefing, Newsom promised another update tomorrow regarding the six critical indicators that will be considered before modifying the statewide Stay-At-Home Order. Specifically, he stated, “the hope and expectation is that in a number of weeks we’ll be in a position to make meaningful changes, but the only thing that can disrupt that is behavior inconsistent with the order.”
Newsom said there will be a “digital roundtable” tomorrow, open to the press and public, where administration officials and businesses will discuss economic recovery strategies. Over the next few weeks, Newsom plans to host more conversations with small business owners, workers, and industry leaders to hear directly from those impacted by the pandemic and how they are working to modify operations.
On unemployment insurance (UI) claims, Newsom said $4.4 billion in unemployment checks have been distributed since March 15th. He said the number of claims are still increasing and acknowledges that an “old IT system” is slowing things down.
Consistent with past briefings, Newsom provided the latest COVID-19 hospitalization and intensive care unit (ICU) patient figures. He reported that the hospitalization rates increased 1.4 percent from the previous day. The number of coronavirus patients in ICU beds is “basically flat” when compared to yesterday, a mere 1 patient more than in the last 24 hours. Specifically, there are 3,372 hospitalization cases and of those are 1,185 ICU cases.
Earlier today, the Governor’s Office issued a press release stating that, “Colorado Governor Jared Polis and Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak today announced their respective states are joining California, Oregon and Washington in the Western States Pact – a working group of Western state governors with a shared vision for modifying stay-at-home orders and fighting COVID-19.” A copy of the Governor’s Office press release can be found here.
Following last Friday’s daily briefing, the Governor’s Office issued a press release with additional details regarding a series of initiatives to support vulnerable older Californians who are isolating at home during the Stay-At-Home Order. California is launching a first-in-the nation meal delivery program, a partnership to make wellness check-in calls, and the expansion of Friendship Line California to help combat social isolation. The press release states, “these actions will support the approximately 1.2 million Californians over the age of 65 who live alone.” A copy of the Governor’s Office 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 42,164 confirmed positive cases and 1,710 deaths in California. As of April 25th, local health departments have reported 4,593 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 24 reported deaths statewide. As of April 26th, more than 526,083 tests have been conducted in California and reported to the California Department of Public Health. More information regarding the most recent COVID-19 statistics can be found here.
Also today, the Assembly Budget Subcommittee 6 on Budget Process Oversight and Program Evaluation met at 10:00 AM to discuss COVID-19 recovery and economic stimulus. A copy of the agenda can be found here. One of the more interesting comments came from Jerry Nickelsburg, with the UCLA Anderson Forecasting School, who said that the recovery picture is looking like the 3rd or 4th quarter of 2021 and that it will be skewed towards technology and that technology solutions (like remote workforce) will be important.