Gavin Newsom urges cancellation of large public events in California to avoid coronavirus spread

Californians should cancel or postpone events with more than 250 people, while smaller gatherings should space people at least 6 feet apart to avoid spreading coronavirus, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and top health officials announced Wednesday night.

Officials recommend organizers further limit gatherings of people for whom the virus presents a greater risk, including the elderly and chronically ill, to no more than 10 people.

In a statement, Newsom said Californians must cancel non-essential events like concerts to reduce strain on the health care system and save lives.

“Each of us has extraordinary power to slow the spread of this disease,” he said in a statement. “The people in our lives who are most at risk — seniors and those with underlying health conditions — are depending on all of us to make the right choice.”

Newsom announced the new guidance the same day the World Health Organization declared worldwide coronavirus outbreak a pandemic and hours after President Donald Trump announced he would suspend travel from European Union to the United States.

Globally, more than 120,000 people have tested positive for the virus, which causes the disease COVID-19, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

In California, where testing has been limited, officials have found 177 cases of the virus, according to the state’s Department of Public Health.

The Newsom administration’s new guidance applies to events where people will gather in the same room or space, including stadiums, conference rooms and cafeterias. Organizers of essential events should only hold them if they can’t be held virtually, according to the new recommendations.

Newsom acknowledged that the new policy will harm businesses, and promised to act to help them, although his office did not provide specific plans to do so in its Wednesday announcement.

Newsom said people employees who can’t work as a result of the virus may be eligible for existing California policies on paid family leave, paid sick leave, disability insurance, unemployment insurance and workers compensation.

This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 11:51 PM with the headline "Gavin Newsom urges cancellation of large public events in California to avoid coronavirus spread."