California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the COVID-19 State of Emergency would end on Feb. 28 in a Monday press release.
The Feb. 28 date reportedly allows California’s health care system flexibility to handle a potential COVID-19 surge this winter along with providing state and local partners necessary time to transition from the health emergency.
According to the state’s SMARTER plan released in February, the state will continue to employ the encouragement of vaccines, masks, awareness, readiness, testing, education, and prescription treatments to combat COVID-19 in California’s transition away from the state of emergency.
“Throughout the pandemic, we’ve been guided by the science and data – moving quickly and strategically to save lives,” said Governor Newsom in the statement. “The State of Emergency was an effective and necessary tool that we utilized to protect our state, and we wouldn’t have gotten to this point without it. With the operational preparedness that we’ve built up and the measures that we’ll continue to employ moving forward, California is ready to phase out this tool.”
CA’s COVID-19 response saved lives, protected the economy, distributed nation-leading financial assistance, & built up public health infrastructure.
Our SMARTER Plan will maintain CA's preparedness to support communities & respond to outbreaks.https://t.co/mDwivcEMyb
— Office of the Governor of California (@CAgovernor) October 17, 2022
Newsom is seeking the continued ability of nurses to administer COVID-19 therapeutics along with the continued ability of laboratory workers to solely process COVID-19 tests when the state legislature begins their new session this January.
“California’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has prepared us for whatever comes next. As we move into this next phase, the infrastructure and processes we’ve invested in and built up will provide us the tools to manage any ups and downs in the future,” said Secretary of the California Health & Human Services Agency, Dr. Mark Ghaly. “While the threat of this virus is still real, our preparedness and collective work have helped turn this once crisis emergency into a manageable situation.”
The statement cites 81 million vaccines administered by the state along with the distribution of billions of personal protection equipment (PPE) units and 186 million COVID-19 tests processed. Other noted efforts from the Newsom administration along with California’s state legislature include the allocation of billions of dollars supporting hospitals, community organizations, frontline workers, schools and more. $18.5 billion in stimulus funds were directly paid to Californians, $8 billion in rent relief, $10 billion in small business grants and tax relief, and $2.8 billion in overdue utility bills, according to the statement.
California’s death rate is reportedly the lowest among large states citing Texas’ additional 27,000 and Florida’s 56,000 increased deaths, though the statistics don’t appear to note age range or those with preexisting health conditions regarding COVID-19 related deaths. The statement further cited 20,000 lives saved post-vaccine availability along with the reported creation of over 1.6 million new jobs and 569,000 businesses started in California since the beginning of 2019.
After surviving a recall attempt last September, Democratic incumbent Governor Newsom will face Republican challenger Brian Dahle in the state’s Gubernatorial election next month.
