California governor Gavin Newsom has outlined a new six-point plan for getting the state’s economy back on its feet in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.
The governor said the state was attempting to move from a population approach to a more individual approach to achieve suppression of the virus within California.
In a press briefing on Tuesday the Democrat spoke about a framework the government had been developing to re-open the state but specified that it would depend on the state’s ability to do six things.
The first was to expand testing to identify and isolate the infected, to stem the spread of the virus within the state.
The second phase was to maintain vigilant and protect vulnerable groups who are more at risk of the serious effects of the virus such as seniors and those with pre-exisiting conditions.
Number three was to address the ongoing needs of hospitals to cope with potential surges in the disease with necessary medical equipment and resources such as a “myriad of protective gear for that workforce”.
The governor said the state would need to move into frame four by continuing to collaborate with experts to develop therapies and treatments “to engage academia, to engage our research partners to engage those that are on the front lines”.
The “redrawing our floor plans” for businesses and facilities large and small to allow social distancing measures to continue to be implemented was the fifth point.
Finally was the through the redrafting of regulations and development of enforcement mechanisms to “toggle from stricter to looser interventions” such as stay-at-home orders.
The governor has been collaborating with Washington's Jay Inslee and Oregon's Kate Brown, to develop joint criteria to reopen their states.
This was the first instance in which Mr Newsom revealed insights into these discussions with the public.
The state has recorded over 23,000 cases of the novel coronavirus as of Tuesday, with over 700 deaths, according to The John Hopkins University.
