LOS ANGELES – The rapid decline in new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in California has left the most populous state in the country on a path to loosen the trade restrictions imposed when the most deadly outbreak of the pandemic was gaining momentum.
“The good news: parts of the state are already starting to reopen,” Governor Gavin Newsom said on Tuesday, adding that he hopes to allow more counties to reopen more next week.
He spoke at the site of a new federally supported mass vaccination site in Los Angeles that opened on Tuesday along with a similar location in Oakland. The two sites are expected to receive around 6,000 doses of the vaccine daily and aim to vaccinate people in communities hard hit by the pandemic.
The inaugurations of mass vaccination sites, announced by several state and federal officials, occurred at a time when the number of California viruses continued to improve, even though the demand for vaccines far exceeded capacity.
About 3.5% of people tested for coronavirus are getting positive results, said Newsom, a rate that has plummeted in recent weeks. The number of people in hospitals and intensive care units and case rates are decreasing – all factors in determining when counties can begin to reopen.
California created a four-tier reopening system last summer that controls how businesses and schools operate and sets guidelines for face-to-face meetings. In the coming week, a “substantial” number of counties are likely to enter the “red” level, which allows for indoor meals with a 25% capacity, and the opening of other indoor spaces, such as cinemas, museums and limited gyms, said Newsom .
Half a dozen rural counties in northern California and along the Sierra Nevada mountain range are already in the red or orange layers. State data indicates that at least five small counties are moving towards the red layer.
The most populous counties will take longer.
Public health director Barbara Ferrer said that if positive trends continue, the county could move out of the purple to red layer “the moment we enter spring.”
Meanwhile, California received about 1.08 million doses of vaccine from the federal government this week, the governor said. The state expects 1.28 million doses next week and 1.31 million doses after that. The slow increase in the number of doses continues to frustrate local and state authorities.
LA County now has the capacity to distribute 600,000 doses of vaccines per day, if there were enough vaccines. “The big problem with all of us is that we need more supplies,” said Ferrer.
Under a new vaccine distribution contract with insurance company Blue Shield, the state has set a goal of being able to administer 3 million doses per week, according to details of the contract released Monday.
But in recent days, mass vaccination sites like Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles and the Moscone convention center in San Francisco have been temporarily closed due to a lack of supplies. Newsom said the state’s goal is to build enough capacity so that the state can vaccinate people quickly when more doses arrive.
“We are building the infrastructure where the only constraint is supply,” said Newsom. “But when the supply is large, we can move aggressively and quickly.”
Mass vaccination sites opened in conjunction with the federal government on Tuesday will not use the same state supplies, Newsom said.
The sites were opened on the east side of the country’s second largest city, at California State University in Los Angeles, and on the east side of the San Francisco Bay area, at the Oakland Coliseum. In Cal State LA, groups of cars stopped at tents run by the military. People could arrive on foot or by public transport.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency hopes to open similar sites in Texas and New York, said Bob Fenton, regional administrator for FEMA in California. In opening the venues, the government is focusing on areas where minorities represent more than 40% of the population, poverty rates and homelessness or access to vehicles. The locations will also have mobile clinics that can serve people without transportation.
“We are looking at areas with a large population between states, but also ensuring that the data takes us to the most socially vulnerable,” said Fenton.
Also on Tuesday, Republican members of the California Congressional delegation wrote to Newsom a letter demanding more transparency about the vaccine’s release in the state. They highlighted recent complaints from local health officials about state data problems and the frequent changes in state direction about who is eligible for vaccines.
“We wrote to express our serious concerns about the state of California’s slow and opaque decision-making process and the ever-changing approach to COVID vaccine distribution, which was met with confusion and frustration by our constituents, local public health officials. and front-line health care providers, “said the letter.
___
Ronayne reported the contribution of Sacramento and Associated Press journalists John Antczak and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles.
___
Californians can find out if they are eligible for the vaccine at https://myturn.ca.gov/ or call 1-833-422-4255.