CALIFORNIA Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the state will exit its state of emergency in February 2023, almost three years after it was first declared.
Newsom on Monday, Oct. 17 said that the state will end the pandemic response on February 28, 2023.
This timeline gives the health care system needed flexibility to handle any potential surge that may occur after the holidays in January and February, in addition to providing state and local partners the time needed to prepare for this phaseout and set themselves up for success afterwards.
With hospitalizations and deaths dramatically reduced due to the state’s vaccination and public health efforts, California will continue using tools to fight COVID-19, including vaccines and boosters, testing, treatments and other mitigation measures like masking and indoor ventilation.
As the state of emergency is phased out, the SMARTER Plan continues to guide California’s strategy to best protect people from 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,” said Governor Newsom. “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.”
To maintain California’s COVID-19 laboratory testing and therapeutics treatment capacity, the Newsom Administration will be seeking two statutory changes immediately upon the Legislature’s return: 1) The continued ability of nurses to dispense COVID-19 therapeutics; a nd 2) The continued ability of laboratory workers to solely process COVID-19 tests.
“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,” said Secretary of the California Health & Human Services Agency, Dr. Mark Ghaly. “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.”
California’s death rate is the lowest amongst large states. If California had Texas’ death rate, 27,000 more people would have died in the state, the release from Newsom’s Office said. If California had Florida’s rate, that figure jumps to approximately 56,000 more deaths, it added.
The federal government extended its COVID-19 public health emergency through Jan. 11, 2023. n
