Governor Gavin Newsom started is daily briefing a little later because he had a phone call with President Trump, Vice President Pence, and other governors regarding reopening of the U.S. economy. Governor Newsom conveyed that the Federal Government will release guidelines today at 3:00 PM PDT.
The Governor then shifted his focus to essential workers on the frontline of the food delivery system. He announced signing an executive order (EO) that will allow for two weeks of supplemental paid sick leave for workers that have contracted or been exposed to COVID-19 or exposed to quarantine or isolation orders from local health officer. The EO impacts not just the grocery sector, but also delivery services, fast food chains, agricultural workers, among others. The Govenro said the EO arose out of negotiations between the California Grocers Association (CGA), which represents grocery stores, and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union, which represents grocery workers.
Consistent with past briefings, Governor Newsom provided the latest COVID-19 hospitalization and intensive care unit (ICU) patient figures. The number of coronavirus hospitalizations is went up to 3,141. The number of coronavirus patients in ICU beds is 1,191, a 1.4 percent increase from the previous day.
During the Q&A, the Governor was asked about testing. He said the state is making progress towards its goal of conducting 25,000 tests per day, revealing that about 18,000 were conducted in the past 24 hours in California. However, he cautioned there is more work to be done.
On homelessness, he said he will make a “specific announcement” on Saturday regarding the state’s efforts to house the homeless individuals.
Also, today, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced the creation of a new task force to close the digital divide for California students who lack access to resources such as internet connectivity and devices. The Closing the Digital Divide Task Force will be co-chaired by California State Senator Connie Leyva. The Closing the Digital Divide Task Force will help facilitate donations, create more publicity, and cast a bigger spotlight on those who can help. It also plans to hold a public hearing where internet service providers may be called upon to testify on their efforts to improve internet access during the pandemic. A copy of the Department of Education (CDE) can be found here.
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced the most recent statistics on COVID-19, there are a total of 24,424 confirmed positive cases and 821 deaths in California. As of April 14th, local health departments have reported 2,789 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 14, more than 227,600 tests had been conducted in California. At least 214,387 results have been received and another 13,200 are pending. More information regarding the most recent COVID-19 statistics can be found here.
The https://www.covid19.ca.gov/ website is being updated continuously.