That brings the total number of those lost — each one representing an individual and a family “torn asunder,” as Mr. Newsom has repeated in his daily news briefings — to 1,469.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported 68 new deaths on Thursday. “Covid-19 is rapidly becoming one of the leading causes of death among L.A. County residents,” Barbara Ferrer, the county’s director of public health, said in a statement.
According to The Times’s tracking, there have been 37,866 confirmed coronavirus cases in the state.
Nonetheless, the White House remains resolutely upbeat. Vice President Mike Pence predicted on Thursday that epidemic will be “largely … behind us” by Memorial Day, on May 25: “Honestly, if you look at the trends today, I think by Memorial Day weekend we will largely have this coronavirus epidemic behind us,” he said on Geraldo Rivera’s Cleveland radio show.
We’re getting there, America,” Mr. Pence said at the nightly White House news conference.
The California governor was more somber than that. While Mr. Newsom noted that hospitalizations and patients in intensive care had decreased slightly from the day before, he said the number of deaths should serve as a warning that even as the weather warms and Californians may be tempted to flock to beaches or gather outdoors, the virus was still an insidious force.
“Let’s not dream of regretting,” he said. “Stay home to the extent possible.”
He also urged patience for local leaders and other Californians who had asked when the state would ease orders to stay at home. “It’s not a date, it’s an indicator,” Mr. Newsom said, referring to the list of six broad measures his office laid out last week that would determine when it would be safe to loosen some restrictions.
One major issue is that the state will need to significantly ramp up testing capacity, which Mr. Newsom’s office and a state task force have been working on. Legions of contact tracers are also being trained to help track and halt any outbreaks.
Still, Mr. Newsom on Wednesday announced a first modest step in that direction: Hospitals would again be scheduling what are called elective procedures, a term that can include medically necessary procedures like tumor removals.
Reference: The New York Times
