California to end COVID-19 state of emergency in late February

Oct. 18 (UPI) -- California's COVID-19 state of emergency will end in February, Gov. Gavin Newsom said, while citing a dramatic reduction in hospitalizations and deaths.

The state of emergency will end Feb. 28, which Newsom said Monday will give healthcare systems the tools needed to combat any potential surges of the coronavirus during the holiday months and time to properly phase out the emergency measures.

"The state of emergency was an effective and necessary tool that we utilized to protect our state, and we wouldn't have gotten to this point without it," Newsom said in a statement.

"With the operational preparedness that we've built up and the measures that we'll continue to employ moving forward, California is ready to phase out this tool."

With the emergency measures ending, Newsom said that when the state's legislature reconvenes early next year he will seek to immediately make two statutory changes that will continue to permit nurses to dispense COVID-19 therapeutics and allow laboratory workers to continue processing COVID-19 tests.

"California's response to the COVID-19 pandemic has prepared us for whatever comes next," said Dr. Mark Ghaly, the head of the state's health and human services agency. "As we move into this next phase, the infrastructure and processes we've invested in and built up will provide us the tools to manage any ups and downs in the future."

According to state data, more than 82.3 million COVID-19 vaccines were administered throughout California, which officials say saved some 20,000 lives while keeping 73,000 from needing to be hospitalized and another 1.5 million people from being infected in the first place.

The state of emergency armed the governor with powers that allowed him to institute mitigating measures, such as lockdowns and mandatory maskings, some of which were met with push back from conservatives.

On Monday, Newsom's administration defended their decisions, stating California's economic output shrank only 2.8% compared to the U.S. average of 3.5%. It also said that California had the lowest death rate among large states.

State data shows that more than 10.4 million cases of COVID-19 were recorded in California amid the pandemic, resulting in 95,604 deaths.

About 72.3% of eligible Californians have been vaccinated against the virus, compared to 68% of the nation's total eligible population.

California's announcement comes as only a handful of states maintain their COVID-19 emergency powers.

Late last week, the Biden administration extended the nationwide COVID-19 public health emergency until Jan. 11.