SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the lifting of the COVID-19 State of Emergency on Monday.
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The State of Emergency will expire at the end of February, four months away.
But, state officials on background have told KCBS Radio that the runway is needed to make sure that governments at all levels, businesses and the healthcare system are all on the same page.
According to UCSF Dr. Peter Chin Hong, the timeline is helpful in prepping for managing COVID-19 post-declaration.
"The other thing that I would really love is that we retain some sort of flexibility," he said. "With emerging outbreaks, not just with COVID-19 but with other challenges not yet known."
This timeframe also allows for flexibility to respond if there is another big surge over the holidays or if a new, dangerous variant emerges.
This State of Emergency has been in place since March 2020, which means when it ends on February 28, 2023, it will be almost three years old.
Many of the provisions of the State if Emergency have already been scaled down. Hospitalizations and deaths have been on a downturn for months now, despite the influx of new subvariants emerging at a steady pace.
Administration officials say Newsom has issued 74 executive orders under the authority of the State of Emergency and only 27 remain in effect.
When the emergency declaration ends in February, measures that will dissipate apply to vaccines and boosters, testing, treatments, masking and indoor ventilation.
"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 Newsom in a statement on Monday. “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.”
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