Update from the governor: California companies making ventilators, changes to eviction rules coming
California Gov. Gavin Newsom described the state’s scramble to acquire more masks and ventilators Saturday and urged people to use common sense in obeying his order for all Californians to stay at home to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
Here’s a look at where he said things stand on the COVID-19 pandemic at a Saturday evening news conference:.
Shortages of masks, ventilators
Hospitals are running short on supplies like gloves and masks as the number of COVID-19 cases rises. The nurses union National Nurses United says its workers lack access to masks and other protective gear.
“They fear for their safety, for their patients’ safety, for their family’s safety, and for their co-workers’ safety,” the union’s executive director Bonnie Castillo said in a statement Saturday. “If they are not protected and safe, more people will die.”
Newsom said he’s talking with private companies in the state about manufacturing critical equipment to treat the expected surge in COVID-19 patients. Gap and other clothing manufacturers have already stepped up to help manufacture masks and other protective gear for medical workers, he said.
He’s also spoken with KR Sridhar, CEO of Bloom Energy, who has turned his company’s fuel cell manufacturing abilities to update old ventilators. The manufacturer of the ventilators has told the state it will take a month to repurpose the old ventilators the state has so they can be used again.
Earlier Saturday, Newsom said, Sridhar sent him a photo of 24 ventilators that his team updated in a few hours. If they pass inspection, Newsom said he’ll send over more for Bloom Energy to retrofit.
Newsom said he’s also talked with entrepreneur Elon Musk about manufacturing equipment through his companies Tesla and SpaceX.
The Democratic governor said Musk is committing to provide more than over 1,000 ventilators to the state of California in just a few days, “working through his supply chains and partnerships.”
The state also plans to spend more than $8.6 million on new and refurbished ventilators and IV fusion pumps out of an emergency appropriation by the Legislature to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
The federal government has sent California hundreds of thousands of masks, face shields, surgical gowns and gloves to protect health care workers treating COVID-19 patients. The state is also requesting more equipment from the national stockpile, including 20 million N95 masks, 2 million testing swabs and 10,000 ventilators.
Preparing for a surge in COVID-19 patients
Ahead of the news conference Saturday afternoon, Newsom announced that the state will spend $30 million leasing two hospitals in Daly City and Los Angeles for three months to help treat the surge in COVID-19 patients.
Newsom said he’s looking at ways to add more doctors and other health workers to treat COVID-19 patients and will likely announce more in the coming days and weeks. On Saturday night, he issued an executive order waiving some staffing requirements at clinics, adult day health care centers, hospices and mobile health units to free up workers to handle the surge.
He said he’s also spoken with the CEOs of California-based pharmaceutical companies Genentech and Gilead about advancing COVID-19 treatments. The University of California system and its hospitals are also testing drugs that could help treat the disease.
Gilead, specifically, is testing a compound called remdesivir in the United States and China in the hopes that it will successfully treat COVID-19, according to PhRMA, the trade group representing pharmaceutical companies.
“We are, in the state of California, in deep partnership with those companies,” Newsom said. “California is trying to amplify that research.”
You can walk your dog, just not in a group
Californians still need to get outside to walk their dogs, “take a deep breath,” or exercise, the governor said. But Newsom said it’s still important for people to use common sense and avoid human contact outside.
“I want people to feel free to walk their dog,” Newsom said. “I just don’t want them to walk their dog where there are hundreds of other people congregated.”
People should avoid long lines at the grocery store and social gatherings even when outside, Newsom said. People can still leave the house to visit essential services like grocery stores, laundromats and medical appointments.
Without careful consideration, the governor warned, carriers of COVID-19 who might not have symptoms could risk spreading the coronavirus.
“Those young people that are still out there on the beaches, thinking this is a party, time to grow up,” Newsom said. “Time to wake up, time to recognize that it’s not just about the old folks, but about your impact on their lives. Don’t be selfish.”
Stay-at-home order will ‘take a little time’ to fully work
Newsom said that so far, his stay-at-home directive issued Thursday night has been “remarkably well received.”
He doesn’t plan to enforce the order “with a hammer,” but said authorities hope social pressure, along with up-to-date and detailed messaging, will go a long way.
He added that in a diverse state of 40 million people, many of whom speak a language other than English, it’s going to take a little time for the directive to sink in.
“It’s been less than 24 hours since our stay-at-home order went into effect,” Newsom said. “This is part of the process and protocol. It’s going to take a little time. People are going to start changing their behaviors in real time.”
Newsom said some people still don’t know about the order, so the state has launched a public information campaign through advertisements on Facebook, billboards and other media platforms.
Mayors and state authorities are working together to figure out the best enforcement methods for their communities, Newsom said. If necessary, where people “remain stubborn,” greater enforcement measures will be used.
Testing still limited
California needs more equipment like swabs to run coronavirus test so it can expand testing to asymptomatic people to get a better sense of how far the disease has spread, Newsom said.
The state has already conducted community surveillance testing in Orange County, Los Angeles and Santa Clara, Newsom said, although he didn’t give specifics about what those surveys found.
Tests were done on young healthy people who did not think they had the virus and have given officials a sense of how many people are transmitting the disease without knowing they are infected.
Although Newsom said he would like to expand the community surveillance, the state’s limited testing ability means California must prioritize people with symptoms and those with essential jobs like health care workers.
Need a job? Grocery stores are hiring
Unemployment claims reached a high of 135,000 in one day, two days ago, Newsom said: “It gives you a sense of the magnitude of those that are struggling at this moment.”
Many restaurants and non-essential businesses have had to close and lay off employees, while grocery store workers are putting in nearly double time to stock shelves.
Newsom said there are open jobs, 10,000 right now just in the grocery sector alone. “Call your local grocer” to find employment, he said.
Eviction rules will change
Last week, Newsom issued a statewide order allowing cities and counties to ban evictions and to slow home foreclosures through May 31. He also barred utilities from shutting off power and other services.
Housing advocates, however, say the order should be expanded to ban evictions statewide and extended beyond May.
On Saturday, Newsom said his team is assessing how cities and counties are implementing the order. He said he plans to “strengthen provisions” of the order based on what his office finds over the next few days.
This story was originally published March 21, 2020 at 7:45 PM.