Politics

Gov. Gavin Newsom will end California’s COVID state of emergency in February

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California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Monday that California will be ending their state of emergency, which was put in place over two years ago to contain the spread of COVID-19.

“Throughout the pandemic, we’ve been guided by the science and data — moving quickly and strategically to save lives. 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,” Newsom said.

The official end date of the state of emergency will be February 28th, 2023.

As the state of emergency winds down, California’s “SMARTER Plan” will guide California’s “strategy to best protect people from COVID-19,” Newsom’s office said.

Newsom’s administration confirmed they will be looking to make statutory changes immediately upon the return of state lawmakers to the legislature, which includes permitting nurses to give out COVID-19 medicine and for laboratory workers to focus solely on making COVID-19 tests.

Mark Ghaly, who is the secretary of California’s Health & Human Services Agency, issued a statement regarding the transition out of the state of emergency.

“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. 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.”

Last week, the federal government decided to extended its COVID-19 public health emergency until January 11, 2023.

This came despite President Biden recently announcing that the pandemic “is over.” However, health officials have asked for caution due to a potential spike in cases over winter.

ARTICLE: PAUL MURDOCH

MANAGING EDITOR: CARSON CHOATE

PHOTO CREDITS: SF CHRONICLE

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Paul Murdoch

Paul, 37, is from Scotland in the UK, but currently lives and works in Bangkok. Paul has worked in different industries such as telemarketing, retail, hospitality, farming, insurance, and teaching, where he works now. He teaches at an all-girls High School in Bangkok. “It’s a lot of work, but I love my job.” Paul has an active interest in politics. His reason for writing for FBA is to offer people the facts and allow them to make up their own minds. Whilst he believes opinion columns have their place, it is also important that people can have accurate news with no bias.

Paul, 37, is from Scotland in the UK, but currently lives and works in Bangkok. Paul has worked in different industries such as telemarketing, retail, hospitality, farming, insurance, and teaching, where he works now. He teaches at an all-girls High School in Bangkok. “It’s a lot of work, but I love my job.” Paul has an active interest in politics. His reason for writing for FBA is to offer people the facts and allow them to make up their own minds. Whilst he believes opinion columns have their place, it is also important that people can have accurate news with no bias.

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