California Gov. Gavin Newsom says expect 'new normal' after stay-at-home order is eased: 'Normal it will not be'
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Tuesday outlined numerous conditions for modifying the state's stay-at-home order amid the coronavirus crisis but noted residents should expect a "new normal" to follow until there is a vaccine.
Newsom on Tuesday said California easing its statewide stay-at-home order will be dependent on its "ability to do six things": expand testing, protect vulnerable populations, address the needs of hospitals, develop therapeutics, ensure facilities allow for social distancing, and determine when the state might need to "reinstate more vigorous controls." Newsom didn't provide a date for when the stay-at-home order could potentially be loosened but said he wants to see hospitalizations and ICU numbers decline.
At the same time, Newsom cautioned "there's no light switch here" and that there will be a "new normal" in California's next phase.
"Normal, it will not be, at least until we have herd immunity and we have a vaccine," he said, going on to provide one example of what restaurants might look like in this next phase.
"You may be having dinner with a waiter wearing gloves, maybe a face mask," he said. "Dinner where the menu is disposable, where half the tables in that restaurant no longer appear, where your temperature is checked before you walk into the establishment. These are likely scenarios as we begin to process the next phase and next iteration."
Schools, Newsom also said, could potentially need to "stagger the times that students come in" going into the fall in order to reduce physical contact. As far as when large events can resume, Newsom said that "the prospect of mass gatherings is negligible at best until we get to herd immunity and we get to a vaccine," and so large events involving hundreds or thousands of people are currently "not in the cards."
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