California governor dismisses sporting events, mass gatherings as unlikely without vaccine

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said on Tuesday that the chances of mass gatherings in California such as sporting events taking place in the summer is low, as the state continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The prospect of mass gatherings is negligible at best until we get to herd immunity and we get to a vaccine,” Newsom told reporters at his press briefing.

“Large-scale events that bring in hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of strangers … [are] not in the cards based upon our current guidelines and current expectations,” he said.

He continued, specifying that large gatherings in June, July and August were “unlikely.” 

In his briefing, Newsom laid out a “roadmap to recovery” for California, outlining six guidelines that the state would need to be able to meet before businesses and other aspects of society could begin to reopen.

He also cautioned that even when places begin to reopen, forms of social distancing such as less seating in restaurants and the use of surgical masks in public could be continued to ensure that a second wave of the virus doesn’t occur.

The governor did not give a specific timeline detailing when the state could meet these guidelines, but he said that a concrete plan would be possible if California continues to see a flattening of the hospitalization and ICU curves.

“I know you want the timeline, but we can’t get ahead of ourselves,” he said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, California had over 24,500 confirmed cases of the virus and at least 726 deaths, according to data compiled by The New York Times.