During Governor Gavin Newsom’s daily briefing today he announced “Californians For All”, a new initiative to “build an army of volunteers” who can help deliver a meal, reach out to neighbors, check-in on seniors, assist disabled individuals with grocery shopping, donate blood, volunteer at the food bank, more. People who want to help, Newsom said, should visit: http://californiansforall.ca.gov. The goal of the website is to match Californians with safe volunteer opportunities so they can support their communities. Josh Fryday, California’s Chief Service Officer, also offered some remarks regarding the effort.
The Governor reiterated his commitment to provide a detailed update regarding the six critical indicators that will be considered prior to modifying the statewide Stay-At-Home Order. Specifically, he promised “a deep dive” on testing. His administration has done a “very detailed survey” of all testing providers. Tomorrow, he’ll release the results.
Consistent with past briefings, the Governor provided the latest COVID-19 hospitalization and intensive care unit (ICU) patient figures. The hospitalizations went up to 3,365, a 3.3 percent increase. The number of coronavirus patients in ICU beds is 1,241, a 3.8 percent increase from the previous day.
During the Q&A, Governor Newsom was asked about Legislators wanting more of a say in the state’s COVID-19 spending. At yesterday’s Assembly Budget Oversight hearing, several members made comments about not being included in his policy-making process. As an example, Jim Wood (D-Santa Rosa) said, “It’s clear the administration is working with stakeholders but not with the legislature or the legislative staff. I have a health committee staff that has over a hundred years of health policy experience and we have not been engaged.” In response, the Governor conveyed that he speaks twice a week with Legislative Leadership and has spoken with 63 Legislators personally, in addition to being on Zoom Calls with various caucuses. He also said he has a responsibility to keep all Californians, not just lawmakers, informed.
Regarding some cities and counties loosening their rules, Newsom said locals “have the ability to make those decisions as long as they don’t contravene state orders.” However, he cautioned local officials that pulling back too quickly could spike COVID-19 cases. Further, he stated, “to the extent that they get a little further than our guidance, we’ll try to encourage them to pull back.”
Following yesterday’s update, the Governor’s office issued a press release with additional details regarding new cross-sector partnerships to support the state’s distance learning efforts and help bridge the digital divide. The press release highlights commitments from companies, business leaders, and philanthropists to provide Internet access for hundreds of thousands of households and laptops, Chromebooks, and tablets for over 70,000 students. It was also notes that the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) will make $30 million available to help school districts ensure that families have Internet access and computing devices for distance learning. Additionally, the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) will partner with the City of Sacramento to convert and deploy seven transit buses to be used as “super hotspots.” A copy of the press release can be found here.
Additionally, yesterday, the State Compensation Insurance Fund (State Fund) released another series of actions “designed to support policyholders and workers affected by the COVID-19 crisis.” Among the announcements, State Fund is, effective immediately, accepting any claim by an essential worker, as defined by Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-33-20, for a diagnosed case of COVID-19 regardless of whether or not that worker can demonstrate the virus was contracted during the course of employment. A copy of the State Fund news release can be found here.
This morning, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra joined a coalition of 20 attorneys general in sending a letter to Michael Roman, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of 3M, a principal manufacturer of N95 respirators and other personal protective equipment (PPE). In the letter, the attorneys general acknowledge the initial steps 3M has taken to increase production of these vital masks for healthcare providers and counter price gouging by those seeking to take advantage of the COVID-19 outbreak. However, they urge 3M to take enhanced measures to help combat price gouging in order to get these critical medical supplies to those who need them most. A copy of the letter can be found here.
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced the most recent statistics on COVID-19 – there are a total of 30,978 confirmed positive cases and 1,208 deaths in California. As of April 19th, local health departments have reported 3,584 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 19th, more than 290,400 tests had been conducted in California. At least 283,317 results have been received and another 7,200 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.