Watch: Gov. Gavin Newsom gives coronavirus update

California Gov. Gavin Newsom gave an update Friday on the state’s progress with the COVID-19 pandemic. You can watch a recording of the livestream by clicking on the video below:

At Thursday’s press conference, Newsom defended his decision to send 500 ventilators to the national stockpile by saying that California won’t need the machines for weeks, while the demand is much greater right now in other states.

“Some people have expressed some concern about California’s willingness to extend a hand to New Jersey, New York, Illinois, D.C., to Maryland, to Nevada and to other states across this country by lending ventilators to deal with the crisis at hand in those states,” Newsom said during his daily COVID-19 press conference. “We thought it was the right thing to do, but I also want you to know it was the responsible thing to do as American citizens, from a moral and ethical imperative, to save lives.”

Newsom said he was in a position to lend the ventilators due to efforts his administration has made in procuring new and donated machines. The governor said Thursday that the state has 11,747 ventilators.

California has almost 20,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, resulting in more than 500 deaths as of Thursday evening. More than 1.65 million people have been infected worldwide, including 475,000 cases in the United States.

This story was originally published April 10, 2020 at 11:36 AM.