Governor Outlines Plan to Reopen California

Newsom says state is looking at 6 factors
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 14, 2020 5:56 PM CDT
Governor Outlines Plan to Reopen California
California Gov. Gavin Newsom discusses an outline for what it will take to lift coronavirus restrictions during a news conference at the Governor's Office of Emergency Services in Rancho Cordova, Calif., Tuesday, April 14, 2020.   (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, Pool)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he is working on reopening the country's most populous state—but it's not going to happen overnight. At a press conference Tuesday, the governor outlined six factors the state will look at when deciding whether to loosen the stay-at-home order that has been in place since March 19, the Los Angeles Times reports. He said the state needs to expand coronavirus testing, protect people most at risk, including the elderly, ensure hospitals have enough supplies, see progress in developing COVID-19 treatments, ensure schools and businesses can continue physical distancing, and be able to decide if and when stay-at-home orders should be reinstated, the Sacramento Bee reports.

"This cannot be a permanent state,” Newsom told reporters. "These stay-at-home orders have a profound impact on the economy." But the orders, he said, would not be loosened until hospitalizations "flatten and start to decline," and large gatherings are still "not in the cards," the AP reports. Newsom and Dr. Sonia Angell, director of the California Department of Public Health, warned that as restrictions start to be lifted, Californians should not expect things to look the same way they did before the pandemic. "This is not about going back to where we were before," Angell said. "It’s about going forward in ways that are healthy for all of us. But it won’t look the same." (More California stories.)

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