On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) who two months ago survived his recall election, extended the COVID state of emergency yet again. It will now extend until March 31, 2022, which is a full four and a half months from now, and a little over two years since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic.
As Tom Tapp reported for Deadline, this is the third time that Newsom has issued such an extension. He also wrote:
Newsom first declared the state of emergency on March 2, 2020, just hours after the Golden State saw its first death from what was then referred to as the coronavirus. Newsom cited “heightened anxiety” and the 53 new cases in the state. Now, 20 months later, conditions have changed dramatically.
Just the day before, Newsom had warned at the California Economic Summit that "winter is coming" and COVID is not taking the winter off."
As Luke Money and Rong-Gong Lin II reported about the remarks that day in their coverage for The Los Angeles Times:
Current case rates are roughly the same as last year at this time. For the seven-day period that ended Sunday, California was reporting 5,700 new coronavirus cases a day, according to data compiled by The Times.
Statewide, infections and COVID-19 hospitalizations have plateaued following months of decline.
...
Officials and experts largely agree that California is unlikely to experience the same type of surge as last winter, largely because many residents are vaccinated against COVID-19.
Roughly 69% of Californians have received at least one dose, and nearly 63% are fully vaccinated.
It's worth highlighting that Newsom's executive order referenced not just COVID, but the flu:
WHEREAS as flu season approaches, it is critical that California's health care facilities, already short-staffed and backlogged from the Delta variant and with high-levels of non-COVID-19 admissions, have the flexibilities that they need for additional capacity and to prevent staffing shortages...
As Katie and Leah covered earlier in the week, many were left wondering where Gavin Newsom was after he had not been spotted in eleven days. He was, however, alive and well enough to attend the wedding of Ivy Getty, officiated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
In addition to wondering about his whereabouts, people have also taken to Twitter to point out the shifting narrative from Newsom.
A play in three parts. #GavinNewsom pic.twitter.com/aWCroU1Rx8
— Peculiar Baptist (@PeculiarBaptist) November 10, 2021
Quite a change in tone from Newsom pic.twitter.com/o2ekbFfyuu
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) November 10, 2021
California's COVID "case rate" is now twice Florida's. This matters because Gavin Newsom has repeatedly cited this metric to justify his mandates.
— Kevin Kiley (@KevinKileyCA) November 9, 2021
According to data that is updated daily by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), most of California is rated as having a "high" or "substantial" community transmission rate. Most of Florida, however, has a "moderate" rate, with some counties having a "substantial" rate. Florida, meanwhile, under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' leadership has much less restrictive policies in place.
Data from Johns Hopkins that is current as of November 11 shows that Florida is one of the states to have a decrease in percentage of cases for the past week, while California saw an increase of 14.20 percent.