Today, Monday May 11th, Governor Newsom began his briefing with an overview of the topics he planned to cover, ranging from disease trend lines, personal protective equipment (PPE), action taken by the Western States Pact, and the state budget.
The Governor first addressed the state budget, reminding the audience this time last year the state enjoyed a $21.4 billion-dollar surplus and this year a $6 billion-dollar surplus, and as lawmakers contemplated how to handle the surplus, the COVID-19 crisis hit. Prior to the crisis, the state enjoyed five straight years of 3.8% GDP growth—”substantially outpacing the rest of the nation.” The state had record job growth and record low unemployment. California also succeeded in paying down the “mountain of debt” which led bond rating agencies to, twice in one year, raise the state’s bond rating. The Governor reminded the audience that within 90 days the state’s fortunes turned and “we now face a multi-billion-dollar deficit, cuts to programs and services all because of the COVID-19 pandemic.” The Governor noted the unemployment numbers are now topping 13% and he expects them to increase to as high as 20% or more. He also made the point that the budget crisis is going to result in a significant impact on counties and cities—which means education, public health and public safety. The Governor emphasized this is not unique to California but is an example of the impacts likely to occur in every state and, in fact, across the globe.
The Western States Pact – Governor Newsom went on to discuss what he called the “spirit of cooperation that exists in working with the counties looking to move further into Stage 2 of the Stay-at-Home Order and with the Western States Pact.” He noted the states have all agreed to work on leveraging their purchasing power for equipment such as PPE. The Governor announced the governors and leadership in Nevada, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and California have all agreed to approach federal Congressional leadership together through a letter addressed to House Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Leader Mitch McConnell requesting $1 trillion dollars to support states, counties, and cities in financial recovery from the impacts of the pandemic. The Governor stated he is so pleased with the work of the Western States Pact in this area that he is “honored to sign this letter with the executives and leadership from the partner states and California’s Legislative leadership.” Read more about the Western States Pact agreement, including the letter to Congressional leaders here
PPE- The Governor went on to provide an update on the distribution of PPE, noting the state distributed 11 million surgical-grade masks last Friday, May 8, including 5 million to childcare facilities across the state and tens of thousands to facilities under the Department of Social Services, including skilled nursing and senior adult living faculties, which total more than 8,000—”where some of our most vulnerable people are at risk.” Another 750,000 were distributed to grocers and food supply chain organizations, 500,000 to education organizations, and tens of thousands to transit.
The Governor then reminded the audience testing and tracing efforts continue, as the state moves “cautiously and judiciously “into Stage 2, while keeping an eye on the state’s Pandemic Road Map here. He told the audience he has “had very constructive conversations with 19 counties regarding regionalism and variances to the Stage 2 requirements and anticipates speaking with another nine tomorrow.” Governor Newsom noted he expects to have additional announcements tomorrow regarding dining-in, offices, and shopping malls. He noted he believes the state has made great progress in working with individual counties to meet their needs. He also noted 70% of the state’s economy is open with modifications, and while that is not 100%, “we must move in a thoughtful and judicious way in making these decisions to deviate from the path that is a foundational principle that guided us into the stay-at-home order and will guide us out of the stay-at-home order–data and evidence.” The Governor also encouraged the audience to use the state’s testing location tool to find a COVID-19 test location near them and consider begin tested (find the site here).
The Governor told the audience state public health leaders will be flexible—recognizing there are regional differences because no two counties and no two cities are alike. He noted the conversations are dynamic and require an enormous amount of work to determine appropriate variances to the Stage 2 requirements. He reminded the audience there are “stubborn data points that are impediments, including total number of hospitalizations, capacity and surge capacity in hospitals, testing and tracing, and of course, the death rate.” The Governor noted that while some of the numbers are encouraging, the COVID-19 virus is still active and a significant risk to our people and our economy and the state must move deliberatively through each Stage. He cautioned the counties, cities, and citizens to not get ahead of themselves and move too quickly, as it risks a second wave of the virus. The Governor stated he expects new announcements coming from the Department of Public Health regarding variances, modifications, and steps to open the economy. Governor Newsom reminded county and city officials “that is may not feel like you are moving forward fast enough—just remember, you are moving forward with the state, as we continue moving forward to modify the stay-at-home order—always with modifications in consideration of public health. We are not locked into the status quo, as long as we continue to see a downward trend in the numbers.”
Q&A – The first question from media focused on the Governor encouraging people to get tested for the virus. The reporter asked who should be tested and who bears the cost, as the test could cost some people upwards of $100. The Governor responded he encourages people to use the OptumServe tool to find a testing location and he noted Medi-Cal reimburses for the cost of the test.
The second question focused on regional variability, noting Kern County cannot meet the criteria because the infection rate and death rate are higher due to cases confined to a single skilled nursing facility. The Governor responded to this by noting skilled nursing facilities are not isolated, as staff members come and go in the facility and then back to home and in the community, which does create a risk of spreading the virus.
Two questions focused on an issue between Elon Musk and the reopening of the Tesla plant in the Bay Area. One reporter noting Musk has threatened to move the plant to Nevada or Texas. The Governor reminded the audience manufacturing has been open for a longer period of time with modifications to protect employees, and he anticipates by next week this issue will resolve itself. Anther reporter went back to the Tesla question, this time adding that there is a picture circulating on the internet showing Tesla’s parking lot being full, and asking the Governor to comment on it.
Another reporter asked about the issue of Yuba and Sutter Counties defying the state’s guidelines and the Governor sending letters to county officials threatening to cut funding for emergency services. The reporter also asked about an anticipated return of professional sports, including professional baseball. The Governor noted he had mentioned last week contacts made with businesses in both counties and after those conversations the businesses complied with the state’s guidelines. He reiterated the conversations with counties continue to be cooperative and collaborative, as everyone works together to determine variations to the state’s guidelines, as appropriate. The Governor noted he and many others look forward to the return of professional sports.
The final question focused on the issue securing PPE and other needs through procurement contracts. The reporter noted a Senate oversight hearing is scheduled for this week. The reporter asked if the Governor was concerned about this, given some recent reporting of no-bid contract and deals that have fallen through? The Governor responded he is not concerned, as they have made significant strides in working though the appropriate process for procurement. He acknowledged some missteps in the early days of the crisis, as California, every state in the U.S., and countries around the world scrambled to secure PPE for their healthcare workers, first responders, and essential workers, but is confident the state has a handle on procurement and has succeed in securing many of the state’s PPE needs.
The Governor concluded by reminding everyone the state is making progress against the virus and the credit for that is in large part due to the hard work of 40 million Californians for following the stay-at-home order and the state’s public health guidelines. The Governor concluded by wishing everyone good health.
Key milestones – COVID-19 numbers update today (5.11.20)
- More than 2,770 deaths up .09%
- 67,939 positive cases, up 1.9%
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991,897 tests conducted. Still averaging over 30k daily
- Latinos continue to have the highest percentage of positive cases at 50.9%, followed by Caucasians at 24.1%, Asians at 11.1%, and Blacks at 6.2%.
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Hospitalizations decreased by 30 since Saturday (+.09%%) to 3,248
- The majority of hospitalizations are in LA County 1,731, followed by San Diego County at 334; Orange County 230; Riverside 199; San Bernardino 144; Alameda 77; San Francisco 66.
- ICU – 1,093, down by 4 (-.04%)