Governor Newsom Extends EO N-81--20

The protections against price gouging as set forth in Executive Order N-81-20 were extended through May 22, 2021.  See below from the Governor’s office:

On March 24, 2021 Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order to further assist communities across the state recovering from devastating wildfires last year. The order extends the state’s prohibition on price gouging for counties impacted by various wildfires in August and September 2020.

The full text of today’s executive order can be found here and a copy can be found here.

https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/03/24/governor-newsom-issues-executive-order-to-support-communities-recovering-from-wildfires-3-24-21/.

Naomi Padron

Legislative Advocate

McHugh Koepke & Associates

1121 L Street, Suite 103

Sacramento, CA 95814

(916) 930-1993

www.mchughgr.com

Can My Employee Refuse to Come Back to Work Post COVID?

As the COVID-19 hospitalizations and vaccinations increase, more employers are requiring employees to return to the office. A frequent question we're getting is whether an employer can fire an employee if they refuse to come back to work.     Read more >>

On Thursday, March 4^th, 2021, at approximately 11:45 a.m. PDT, Governor Gavin Newsom was in San Joaquin County to discuss the state’s focus on addressing COVID-19 health inequities in disproportionally impacted communities as part of the pandemic response.

Previous to the press conference the Newsom Administration announced that the state will set aside 40 percent of vaccine doses for the hardest-hit communities and established a vaccine equity metric – which seeks to increase vaccinations in those communities – as a prelude to adjusting the Blueprint for a Safer Economy.  Specifically, the modification will shift Blueprint tier thresholds to allow slightly higher case rates per 100,000 population once more inoculations have occurred in the communities suffering the most, allowing counties to move to less restrictive tiers.  Additional information can be found here: https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/03/04/california-leads-with-public-health-and-vaccine-equity-to-safely-and-sustainably-reopen/.

To kick off today’s event, Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln provided introductory remarks.  Assemblymember Carlos Villapudua and Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman were among those present at the press conference who provided remarks.  They both offered complimentary comments regarding the Governor’s actions to address the pandemic. 

When the Governor took the podium, he addressed the latest COVID-19 figures.  California’s 7-day positivity rate has fallen to 2.1 percent, the lowest in four months, he reported.  Additionally, hospitalizations are down 41 percent and ICU cases are down 43 percent.  Further, in the last seven days, 224,000 doses of vaccines have been administered.  Nearly 10 million total.

In more detail, Newsom spoke about mass vaccination sites and this morning’s announcement to focus on “the hardest-hit communities.”  He said the new vaccine equity plan will help California better “meet the moment.”  As noted above, under the new system, California will earmark 40 percent of its COVID-19 vaccine doses for low-income communities spread out across 400 of the state’s ZIP codes, largely in Los Angeles County, the Inland Empire, and the Central Valley.  Newsom acknowledged the complexities of the issue in discussing the state's shift in vaccine/reopening strategy.  Also notable – the Governor’s office has confirmed neither Newsom nor the First Partner has been vaccinated. 

Finally, the Governor stated that at least four states have “bad plans” for reopening and that California will not go down a rushed path. The state’s approach will continue to focus on masking and effective use of testing, contact tracing, quarantine, and isolation. Today, the Newsom Administration also updated its recommendations about the most effective use of masks and when to consider double masking. “With more vaccines online and administered, California is now in a position to take steps toward ending this pandemic by keeping our guard up and by vaccinating those Californians most at risk and most exposed,” said Newsom.

During the Q&A, Newsom was asked about the vaccination access codes.  The Governor said the state is being careful to provide personalized codes to people, as opposed to one code for many, to address misuse/sharing of codes to those who are not eligible to book vaccine appointments.

When asked, Governor Newsom said he does not have details on the settlement on youth sports out of San Diego today.

Governor Newsom and Dr. Mark Ghaly also said there will be more outdoor activities allowed in the red tier.  However, they did not offer specifics.

The press conference concluded at approximately 12:14 p.m. PDT.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has announced the most recent statistics on COVID-19.  There is now a total of 3,484,963 (+0.1 percent increase) confirmed positive cases and 52,775 (+0.5 percent) deaths in California.  As of March 2^nd, there have been 49,028,048 tests conducted in California and reported to the California Department of Public Health. A total of 9,458,722 vaccines have been administered. More information regarding the most recent COVID-19 statistics can be found here.  

Naomi Padron

Legislative Advocate

McHugh Koepke & Associates

1121 L Street, Suite 103

Sacramento, CA 95814

(916) 930-1993

www.mchughgr.com

As COVID-19 Cases Decline, Seven Counties Move Into Less Restrictive Reopening Tiers

On March 2^nd, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released the most recent statistics on COVID-19.  Statewide, the 7-day positivity rate is 2.3% and the 14-day positivity rate is 2.6%.  In response, Governor Gavin Newsom tweeted, “Only 7 other states have a lower positivity rate than we do.”

Additionally, CDPH provided some positive tier updates under the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy.  Specifically, seven counties moved to a less restrictive tier, from Purple (widespread) to Red (substantial).  Those counties include El Dorado, Lassen, Modoc, Napa, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Clara.  This raises the number of Californians living outside the most restrictive category from about 1.6 million to 5 million, representing about 13 percent of the state’s population.  Additionally, no counties moved to a more restrictive tier.  In total, forty counties remain in the Purple (widespread) tier, sixteen in the Red (substantial) tier, and two remained in the Orange (moderate) tier.  No county is currently in the least stringent Yellow (minimal) tier.

“I’m very encouraged by the stabilization — the case rates, the positivity rate,” Governor Gavin Newsom said earlier in the week. “We do anticipate a majority of Californians in the next few weeks to be residing in counties that have moved out of the most restrictive purple tier.”

For more information, please see https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/OPA/Pages/NR21-070.aspx.

Naomi Padron

Legislative Advocate

McHugh Koepke & Associates

1121 L Street, Suite 103

Sacramento, CA 95814

(916) 930-1993

www.mchughgr.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Governor's Press Office Monday, March 1, 2021 (916) 445-4571 Governor Newsom, Pro Tem Atkins and Speaker Rendon Highlight New $6.6 Billion Package to Reopen Schools and Deepen Student Supports    SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon today highlighted an agreement on a $6.6 billion budget package to accelerate the safe return to in-person instruction across California and empower schools to immediately expand academic, mental health and social-emotional supports, including over the summer.    “Since the height of the winter surge, we have successfully shifted the conversation from whether to reopen schools to when,” said Governor Newsom. “Now, our collective charge is to build on that momentum and local leadership, and – just as critically – do whatever it takes to meet the mental health and academic needs of our students, including over the summer.”   The Governor was joined by Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and other legislative leaders at Franklin Elementary School in the Elk Grove Unified School District. The state’s fifth largest public school district was among the first to close for in-person instruction last year. Last week, based on deep partnership between school staff and leaders, the district announced plans to reopen grades K-6 in mid-March and grades 7-12 in early April. Elk Grove Unified and public schools throughout the state will be allocated $6.6 billion under the proposed budget package. $2 billion would fund safety measures to support in-person instruction, such as personal protective equipment, ventilation upgrades and COVID-19 testing. $4.6 billion would fund expanded learning opportunities, such as summer school, tutoring and mental health services. Together, the funds empower schools to develop and execute comprehensive strategies to both reopen and expand programs to address the social-emotional, mental health and academic needs of students. All public schools would be required to offer in-person instruction to grades K-2 for all students and for high-needs students in all grades by the end of the month, losing 1 percent of eligible funds every day thereafter if they do not. Schools in the state’s Red Tier or better would be required to offer in-person instruction to all students in all elementary grades and at least one middle or high school grade, or risk the same penalty. Together, these requirements help ensure schools begin to reopen as soon as possible, in order to build trust and confidence to continue phased reopenings. As students return to in-person instruction, all public schools would also be empowered to meet the needs of the whole child. The Expanded Learning Opportunities Grants allocate $4.6 billion to local educational agencies based on the equity-based Local Control Funding Formula, with an additional $1,000 for each homeless student. These funds would be for supplemental instruction and support for social and emotional well-being. Schools would be able to use the funds for providing more instructional time, such as summer school, and accelerating progress to close learning gaps through tutoring, learning recovery programs, mental health services, access to school meal programs, programs to address pupil trauma and social-emotional learning, supports for credit-deficient students and more.    The package would also codify multiple successful state programs to support safe school reopenings: ·         Vaccine Prioritization for K-12 School Staff. The package codifies the Governor’s commitment to set aside 10 percent of vaccines for education workers. This commitment ensures that the state prioritization of school staff, in place since January, is made real in all 58 counties. Since the Governor’s announcement two weeks ago, the state has collaborated with county health departments, the Biden Administration and providers such as Kaiser Permanente to accelerate vaccine access for K-12 school staff starting March 1. ·         Data Reporting. The package codifies data reporting requirements, including requirements for schools to report reopening status and COVID-19 safety measures. These statutory requirements will help build on efforts to increase transparency, including interactive geospatial maps displayed on the Safe Schools Hub. ·         State Safe Schools Team. The package also allocates $25 million to the State Safe Schools Team, which serves to provide technical assistance, oversight and accountability to the over 10,000 public schools in the state. The capacity will enhance the Team’s reach, and the Team will conduct a safety review of any school with two or more COVID-19 outbreaks. The budget package is the result of months of work by the Governor’s Office, Senate and Assembly. The Governor, Senate Pro Tem Atkins and Assembly Speaker Rendon also thanked Senators Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) and Connie Leyva (D-Chino), along with Assemblymembers Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) Patrick O’Donnell (D-Long Beach) and Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) for their tireless work and leadership on this effort. The state’s efforts to accelerate safe school reopenings to date include delivery of three months of PPE and safety supplies to all schools at no cost, direct support to over 1,000 schools in 41 counties to implement COVID-19 testing and direct technical assistance to over 300 school districts. For more information, please visit: https://schools.covid19.ca.gov/.  ###

On Friday, February 26, 2021, at approximately 11:30 a.m. PDT, Governor Gavin Newsom visited Fresno County to highlight the state's new initiatives to bolster vaccination in the Central Valley.  

Previous to the press conference the Fresno Bee reported the following:

“In a letter sent to Newsom on Thursday, organizations as diverse as the California Farmworker Foundation, the Fresno County Farm Bureau, Cultiva La Salud, the Central Valley Community Foundation and the California Fresh Fruit Association and others described vaccines for farm workers as a matter of “moral imperative and economic urgency.”

Both Thursday’s letter, and an earlier Feb. 19 letter to the governor, noted inequities in the rollout of coronavirus vaccines to agricultural workers who are spread out in rural areas of the state and are often isolated by economic, cultural and language differences from much of the state’s population.”

To kick off today’s event, Vice President of the Fresno City Council Nelson Esparza provided introductory remarks.  Assemblymembers Rudy Salas, Robert Rivas, Joaquin Arambula and Senators Melissa Hurtado, Anna Caballero were among those present at the press conference who provided remarks.  Comedian George Lopez also spoke and highlighted California’s efforts to vaccinate farmworkers.  He said farm workers are essential to the state – "If you work at putting food on the table, then you belong with your place at that table."  Each speaker also offered complimentary comments regarding the Newsom Administration and the Governor’s actions to address the pandemic. 

Additionally, it was noted that on Monday (2/22), Governor Gavin Newsom’s Administration said that the state would set aside 34,000 vaccine doses for California farmworkers and open 11 new vaccine sites in the Central Valley.  Today, just 4 days later, the Governor is back in the Central Valley visiting one of those new sites using the doses which were promised.

After 35 minutes, the Governor took the podium.  Consistent with other site visits, when Newsom spoke, he addressed the state's ongoing work to ramp up vaccination efforts.  California has now administered over 8.2 million vaccines and the state is averaging about 1.4 million distributed doses per week.  The Governor said that more doses are coming.  More specifically, California's weekly vaccine dose allocation from the federal government will increase to about 1.6 million next week.  Newsom also said an anticipated 380,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine are expected to come to the state next week pending approval.  He noted that a single dose "provides opportunities to bring those doses and vaccines to where people are."  Statewide, the Governor reported, that the test positivity rate has plummeted to 2.7 percent over the last 30 days. Hospitalizations rates are also down. “We are making progress, there is not just a light at the end of the tunnel, there is bright light,” he reiterated.  

During the Q&A, Newsom was asked about the state’s third part administrator, Blue Shield. In response, he promised ‘more transparency’ and greater information on a larger scale next week. Newsom also stated beginning Monday, March 1^st counties will be getting a three-week window on expected vaccine allocations.

Regarding a mass vaccination site in the Central Valley in conjunction with President Joe Biden’s Administration,  Newsom said “other states weren’t as pleased as we were” that California received 2 other sites. This being the case, he suggested, the Central Valley site may be delayed a while.

On reopening schools and the discrepancies around in-person instruction, Newsom said negotiations with the Legislature are ongoing but they are in the ‘final stages.’  He renewed his impassioned plea to reopen public schools. A deal may be announced early next week, Newsom stated.

Finally, Newsom was asked whether single-dose vaccines will be prioritized for populations who could benefit from single dose.  In response, he said it'll go through Blue Shield and we'll "figure out" where that fits in. He also stated that Californians should not be picky regarding which vaccine they get (Pfizer, Moderna, or J&J) – "Take the shot when it's your turn," he said.

The press conference concluded at approximately 12:18 p.m. PDT.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has announced the most recent statistics on COVID-19.  There is now a total of 3,460,326 (+0.1 percent increase) confirmed positive cases and 50,991 (+2.2 percent) deaths in California.  As of February 24^th, there have been 47,814,160 tests conducted in California and reported to the California Department of Public Health. A total of 8,232,420 vaccines have been administered. **Deaths reported on February 25, 2021, include a backlog of 806 deaths from Los Angeles County that were not initially recorded as COVID-19 deaths. The majority of these deaths occurred between December 3, 2020, and February 3, 2021.  More information regarding the most recent COVID-19 statistics can be found here.  

Naomi Padron

Legislative Advocate

McHugh Koepke & Associates

1121 L Street, Suite 103

Sacramento, CA 95814

(916) 930-1993

www.mchughgr.com

On Monday, February 22, 2021, at approximately 9:00 a.m. PDT, Governor Gavin Newsom visited a vaccination site in Long Beach to highlight the city’s leadership in administering vaccinations to its residents.  The Governor has recently visited mass vaccination and mobile sites in Los Angeles, Hayward, Coachella, San Francisco, Fresno, San Diego and Santa Clara.

To kick off the press conference, Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia provided introductory remarks.  He offered complimentary comments regarding the Newsom Administration and the Governor’s actions to address the pandemic. He also highlighted Long Beach’s vaccination efforts and stated that the City begin immunizing teachers weeks ago.  This being the case, today some Long Beach teachers are receiving their second doses of the vaccine.  This is noteworthy because vaccinations have become an impasse in the school reopening debate.

By way of background, last week, it was announced that elementary school students in the Long Beach Unified School District will return to campus for in-person instruction on March 29^th.   See additional information here: https://www.lbschools.net/Asset/Files/District/Coronavirus/School-Reopening-Board-Update-2021-02-17.pdf.

Consistent with other site visits, when Newsom spoke, he addressed the state's ongoing work to ramp up vaccination efforts.  California has now administered over 7.4 million vaccines. The state ranks 6th in the world.  In the last week, California administered 1.4 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and the state is averaging 200,000 shots/day. Statewide, the Governor reported, that the test positivity rate has plummeted from 8 percent to 3 percent over the last 30 days. Hospitalizations rates are also down. “We are making progress, there is not just a light at the end of the tunnel, there is bright light.”  

Additionally, the Governor spoke about prioritizing vaccinations for teachers.  He acknowledged the City of Long Beach for "not waiting around" to get kids back in school, stating they have vaccinated more teachers than any county.  "I encourage that to be replicated around the state..," he said.

Next, Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn spoke.  She praised Newsom’s leadership and said his tough decisions have protected jobs, the economy, and public health. She said the Long Beach vaccination program "has been a model," noting again that the City is vaccinating teachers.  State Senator Lena A. Gonzalez offered similar comments in both Spanish and English.

During the Q&A, Newsom said the City of Long Beach has been cited during school negotiations in Sacramento as “an example.” 

Newsom also pointed to major Medicaid transformation "CalAIM" when discussing his commitment to reforming public health.

Regarding the limited supply of vaccine doses, the Governor reiterated that vaccine distribution could ramp up in March and April if Johnson & Johnson vaccine could get emergency use authorization this week.

The press conference concluded at approximately 9:40 a.m. PDT.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has announced the most recent statistics on COVID-19.  There is now a total of 3,441,946 (+0.2 percent increase) confirmed positive cases and 49,105 (+0.6 percent) deaths in California.  As of February 20^th, there have been 47,043,348 tests conducted in California and reported to the California Department of Public Health. A total of 7,320,679 vaccines have been administered. More information regarding the most recent COVID-19 statistics can be found here.  

Also, on February 19^th, CDPH issued new guidance for “Outdoor and Indoor Youth and Recreational Adult Sports.” This guidance applies to all organized youth sports and recreation— including school- and  community-sponsored programs, and privately-organized clubs and leagues — and adult recreational sports (hereafter youth and adult sports). This guidance does not apply to collegiate or professional sports. For guidance, please see https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/outdoor-indoor-recreational-sports.aspx.

Naomi Padron

Legislative Advocate

McHugh Koepke & Associates

1121 L Street, Suite 103

Sacramento, CA 95814

(916) 930-1993

www.mchughgr.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Governor's Press Office Wednesday, February 17, 2021 (916) 445-4571 Governor Newsom, Legislative Leaders Announce Immediate Action Agreement for Relief to Californians Experiencing Pandemic Hardship  SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon today announced that they have reached an agreement on a package of immediate actions that will speed needed relief to individuals, families and businesses suffering the most significant economic hardship from the COVID-19 Recession. The compromise builds on the initiatives in the Governor’s state budget proposal to provide cash relief to lower-income Californians, increase aid to small businesses and provide license renewal fee waivers to businesses impacted by the pandemic. In addition to these measures, the agreement provides tax relief for businesses, commits additional resources for critical child care services and funds emergency financial aid for community college students. “As we continue to fight the pandemic and recover, I’m grateful for the Legislature’s partnership to provide urgent relief and support for California families and small businesses where it’s needed most,” said Governor Newsom. “From child care, relief for small business owners, direct cash support to individuals, financial aid for community college students and more, these actions are critical for millions of Californians who embody the resilience of the California spirit.” “We’re nearly a year into this pandemic, and millions of Californians continue to feel the impact on their wallets and bottom lines. Businesses are struggling. People are having a hard time making ends meet. This agreement builds on Governor Newsom’s proposal and in many ways, enhances it so that we can provide the kind of immediate emergency relief that families and small businesses desperately need right now,” said Senate President pro Tempore Atkins. “People are hungry and hurting, and businesses our communities have loved for decades are at risk of closing their doors. We are at a critical moment, and I’m proud we were able to come together to get Californians some needed relief.” “Californians have been hurting. Our response tackles the human and the economic impacts of COVID in a way that echoes President Biden’s American Rescue Plan and will help those who are hurting most. We are building an economic foundation for the recovery of jobs, small businesses and, indeed, our everyday lives,” said Speaker Rendon. Separately, the Governor and legislative leaders said that discussions are continuing on measures for the safe reopening of the state’s K-12 schools, including strategies to address learning loss caused by the pandemic.  Below are key provisions of the Immediate Action Agreement: Direct Relief to Individuals and Families The agreement incorporates the Governor’s Golden State Stimulus plan to assist California households that have borne the disproportionate economic burden of the COVID-19 Recession – those with incomes below $30,000, as well as those unfairly excluded from previous federal stimulus payments. The agreement provides $600 in one-time relief to households receiving the California EITC for 2020. In addition, the agreement provides a $600 one-time payment to taxpayers with Individual Tax Identification Numbers (ITINs) who were precluded from receiving the $1,200 per person federal payments issues last spring and the more recent $600 federal payments. The agreement would provide the $600 payments to households with ITINs and income below $75,000. ITIN taxpayers who also qualify for the California EITC would receive a total of $1,200. The payments will be provided to these households shortly after they file their 2020 tax returns. The agreement broadens this initial plan and now provides direct relief to more lower-income Californians through a $600 one-time grant to households enrolled in the CalWORKS program and recipients of SSI/SSP and Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI). Grant payments for CalWORKS households are expected by mid-April; timing for the delivery of SSI/SSP and CAPI grants is currently under discussion with federal officials. Combined, the agreement represents a total of 5.7 million payments to low-income Californians. Immediate Relief for Small Businesses Quadrupled The agreement reflects a four-fold increase – from $500 million to more than $2 billion – for grants up to $25,000 for small businesses impacted by the pandemic, and also allocates $50 million for cultural institutions. The agreement also partially conforms California tax law to new federal tax treatment for loans provided through the Paycheck Protection Plan, allowing companies to deduct up to $150,000 in expenses covered by the PPP loan. All businesses that took out loans of $150,000 or less would be able to maximize their deduction for state purposes. Larger firms that took out higher loans would still be subject to the same ceiling of $150,000 in deductibility. More than 750,000 PPP loans were taken out by California small businesses. This tax treatment would also extend to the Economic Injury Disaster Loans as well. Fee Waivers for Most Impacted Licensees The agreement provides for two years of fee relief for roughly 59,000 restaurants and bars licensed through the state’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control that can range annually from $455 to $1,235. The agreement also reflects fee relief for more than 600,000 barbering and cosmetology individuals and businesses licensed through the Department of Consumer Affairs. More Resources for Critical Child Care The agreement adds just over $400 million in new federal funds that will provide stipends of $525 per enrolled child for all state-subsidized child care and preschool providers serving approximately 400,000 children in subsidized care statewide. The new federal resources will extend care for children of essential workers through June of 2022, and funds increased access to subsidized child care for more than 8,000 children of essential workers and at-risk children – who are not currently served in the system – through June of 2022. Additional Aid for Individuals and Families The agreement provides an additional $24 million for financial assistance and services through Housing for the Harvest – a program providing support for agricultural workers who have to quarantine due to COVID-19. The agreement also provides a combined $35 million for food banks and diapers. Emergency Financial Relief to Support Community College Students The agreement provides an additional $100 million in emergency financial aid for qualifying low-income students carrying six or more units, with award amounts to be determined locally and made available by early April. The agreement also provides $20 million to reengage students who have either left their community college studies because of the pandemic or to engage students at risk of leaving. CalFresh Student Outreach and Application Assistance The agreement provides roughly $6 million to support outreach and application assistance to University of California, California State University and California Community College students made newly eligible for CalFresh – the state-administered federal program for supplemental food assistance. The agreement also provides $12 million in state funds to support associated county administrative workload. In addition, the following provision is included in the agreement: Restoration of Reductions The agreement restores previously enacted reductions, effective July 1st, for the University of California, California State University, the Judicial Branch, Child Support Services and for moderate-income housing.   ###

On Wednesday, February 17, 2021, at approximately 9:00 a.m. PDT, Governor Gavin Newsom visited a vaccination clinic in the Coachella Valley. The Governor has recently visited vaccination sites in Los Angeles, Fresno, San Diego, San Francisco and Santa Clara to highlight the state’s efforts to ramp up vaccinations, which have now topped 6.2 million doses administered.

To kick off the press conference,  local leaders including the Mayor of Coachella, the Riverside County Public Health Director, Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D., and Supervisor V. Manuel Perez provided introductory remarks.  Each speaker offered complimentary comments regarding the Newsom Administration and the Governor’s early and “decisive actions” to address the pandemic.  Many offered their statements in both English and Spanish.

More specifically, Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia acknowledged the work of community-based organizations and also thanked Tribal Chairman, Darrell Mike of Twenty Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians, among others. Congressman Ruiz said this is the first time, in recent memory, a governor has visited the city of Coachella.  Several speakers noted that farmworkers have continued working throughout the pandemic and have disproportionately been affected by COVID-19. It was also stated that there are fewer resources available to these essential food supply workers.  

Consistent with other site visits, Newsom addressed the state's ongoing efforts to ramp up vaccination efforts across the state while at the Sea View Packing facility.  The facility supplies and packs the Coachella Valley's renown Medjool dates and other fruits, according to its website.  A spokesperson for the governor, conveyed that this is the first farmworker vaccination clinic that Newsom has visited. 

Riverside County was the first in the state to begin vaccinating farmworkers through an innovative model-- registering farmworkers in the field for upcoming vaccine pop-ups and working with local organizations to conduct education efforts.  In that vein, Newsom spoke about the importance of equity and thanked local officials working to get farmworkers vaccinated.

The Governor also highlighted the state’s progress.  The positivity rate has plummeted to 3.5 percent and  the case numbers have dropped. He reported that the state is averaging about 200K vaccines per day and ramping up as quick as possible. However, supply continues to be a challenge. The state is expected to receive about 1.3M doses of vaccine next week, up from just shy of 1.2M this week.  Federal efforts have increased state supplies, but more is still needed.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has announced the most recent statistics on COVID-19.  There is now a total of 3,412,057 (+0.2 percent increase) confirmed positive cases and 47,107 (+0.1 percent) deaths in California.  As of February 15^th, there have been 46,227,725 tests conducted in California and reported to the California Department of Public Health. A total of 6,262,781 vaccines have been administered. More information regarding the most recent COVID-19 statistics can be found here.  

Naomi Padron

Legislative Advocate

McHugh Koepke & Associates

1121 L Street, Suite 103

Sacramento, CA 95814

(916) 930-1993

www.mchughgr.com

On Tuesday, February 16, 2021, at approximately 11:00 a.m. PDT, Governor Gavin Newsom joined federal, state and local leaders at the opening of a new community vaccination site at the California State University, Los Angeles.  The site is a partnership between the state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). 

Today is a continuation of Newsom’s vaccine site visits across the state.  Last week, the Governor visited vaccination sites in Fresno, San Diego, San Francisco and Santa Clara to highlight the state’s efforts to ramp up vaccinations.

To kick off the press conference, William A. Covino, president of California State University, Los Angeles, offered introductory remarks.  Following his comments, Bob Fenton, a regional FEMA official as well as General Glen D. VanHerck, Commander, United States Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, made statements.   It was noted that FEMA selects mass vaccination sites based on a combination of factors including population, poverty rate, vehicle access of communities, etc.

Governor Gavin Newsom then spoke and thanked the Biden Administration for their leadership.  “The Biden administration gets it, and they're getting it done,” he said. 

The Governor did acknowledge vaccine supply remains a challenge.  However, he also highlighted the state’s progress.  Thus far, he reported, California has administered 6.3 million vaccinations.  Also, Newsom noted that the positivity rate has plummeted to 3.5 percent.

U.S. Representative Jimmy Gomez, Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo, Los Angles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Supervisor Hilda Solis,  Councilmember Kevin de León, were attendance at the event, among others.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has announced the most recent statistics on COVID-19.  There is now a total of 3,406,365 (+0.2 percent increase) confirmed positive cases and 47,043 (+0.4 percent) deaths in California.  As of February 7^th, there have been 45,964,127 tests conducted in California and reported to the California Department of Public Health. A total of 6,153,109 vaccines have been administered. More information regarding the most recent COVID-19 statistics can be found here.  

Naomi Padron

Legislative Advocate

McHugh Koepke & Associates

1121 L Street, Suite 103

Sacramento, CA 95814

(916) 930-1993

www.mchughgr.com