CALIFORNIA—Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Tuesday, April 6 that the state of California can fully reopen on June 15 if two conditions are met: hospitalization rates are low and enough coronavirus vaccines are available for anyone age 16 and older who want it.
The state of California has administered 20 million vaccines. The governor said in a news conference that the state can “anticipate over 30 million people will have been vaccinated with at least one dose” by the end of April “with the expectation of an abundance of doses coming in from the federal government through the end of this month and into May.”
If there are enough vaccines for people 16 and older and hospitalization rates remain low, “we can start to open up as business as usual,” said Newsom. COVID-19 is “still prevalent, still deadly, still a challenge that we need to tackle,” Newsom added at the press conference.
California has the lowest coronavirus positivity rate in the country and “over 70% of our 65+ population has received at least 1 dose” as well as “over 40% of our 16+ population has received at least 1 dose” with more than 4 million vaccines given to the state’s “hardest hit communities,” the governor indicated in an April 6 tweet.
California will continue to test and contact trace “to detect cases early and contain spread of the virus,” as well as monitor “hospitalization rates, vaccine access and vaccine efficacy against variants, with the option to revisit the June 15 date if needed,” in a press release from the governor’s office.
While California expects to fully reopen its economy, “common-sense health measures such as masking will remain” and “testing or vaccination requirements will remain in relevant settings.”
The news comes after San Francisco discovered a “double mutant” COVID-19 strain, which was first reported in India. According to the SF Chronicle, “double mutant” is when the “variant carries two mutations that helps latch itself onto cells.”
The announcement that the state could fully reopen comes the same day President Joe Biden revealed that the May 1 deadline to have all American adults eligible for the vaccines has been moved up to April 19.
During an April 6 news conference, President Biden said as of April 5, the United States administered 150 million coronavirus vaccines “in the first 75 days” since taking office with “an average of 3 million shots a day” and “over 20 million shots a week.”
As of April 6, CA reported 1,367 new COVID-19 cases and 7 new deaths with 20.26 million vaccines administered.
