Coronavirus New Normal: Gov. Newsom Prioritizing Health And Preventing Spread Of Virus
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Governor Gavin Newsom was expected to announce a plan to return to normal Tuesday morning, but he didn't. Instead, he outlined a six-point plan to stay the course.
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"It's frustrating because how long can somebody endure and continue on like this. For months and months and months?" Jessica Prater, a nursing assistant and mom of three, said.
Governor Newsom is prioritizing public health and preventing the spread of the virus until we build immunity.
The exact criteria are as follows:
- The ability to monitor and protect our communities through testing, contact tracing, isolating, and supporting those who are positive or exposed.
- The ability to prevent infection in people who are at risk for more severe COVID-19.
- The ability of the hospital and health systems to handle surges.
- The ability to develop therapeutics to meet the demand.
- The ability for businesses, schools, and child care facilities to support physical distancing.
- The ability to determine when to reinstitute certain measures, such as the stay-at-home orders, if necessary.
Newsom noted that California is not out of the woods yet, with the state still seeing an increase in positive coronavirus cases.
Jeffrey Klausner, a professor of Medicine and Public Health at UCLA, says wearing masks could be the new normal.
"People with a cough, fever, sore throats — if they do go out they're going to be wearing masks," Klausner said.
Professor Klausner says wearing masks already a common practice in other parts of the world, but admits for us, it'll be an adjustment. Governor Newsom says schooling as we know it may also look drastically different.
"We could conceivably stagger the individual students to come in as cohorts in the morning. Some in the afternoons," Newsom said in a press conference Tuesday.
The other option, of course, is to find a vaccine.
"Many of these vaccines we require ... so if we do have a COVID-19 vaccine, it's likely that vaccine might be added to the required list," Klausner said.
