Newsom to end California’s COVID-19 state of emergency

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced on Monday that he plans to end California’s COVID-19 state of emergency in February.

He cited a dramatic decrease in hospitalizations and deaths due to public vaccination efforts.

In a news release, the governor’s office said the timeline will give the state’s health care system the flexibility to handle a future surge that could occur during and after the holiday season.

Newsom also plans to ask the state legislature, upon its return, to consider two “statutory changes” involving nurses being able to dispense COVID-19 therapeutics and lab workers being able to solely process COVID-19 tests, according to the release.

“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,” Newsom said in a statement. “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.”

The state has administered at least 81 million vaccinations and allotted billions of dollars to support medical facilities, community organizations, front-line workers, schools and more throughout the ongoing pandemic.

“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,” Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency, said in a statement. “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.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 68 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated against the virus.