Governor Gavin Newsom urged Imperial County to reinstate its shelter-in-place order on Friday, as new coronavirus cases overwhelm its hospital system, but did not say that other counties should do the same.
Southern California Imperial County is one of 15, including Santa Clara and Contra Costa counties, that the state has targeted to increase monitoring. It is home to the highest per capita case rate in California, with 3,000 cases per 100,000 residents, and has seen a test positivity rate of 23% in the past two weeks, dramatically higher than 5.3% California general.
“We are now in a position where we are working with county officials and advise them to withdraw and re-institute their orders to stay home,” Newsom said at a press conference on Friday, adding: “Yes They ‘can’t reach a consensus, I am committed to intervening.’
As the outbreak has worsened in the county, which borders San Diego county and Mexico, more than 500 sick people have been moved out of the overburdened hospital system. In the coming days, the state will meet with local officials to decide next steps and to press for an immediate tightening of the restrictions.
Newsom’s comments seemed limited to Imperial County. Other coronavirus epicenters, such as Los Angeles, have been approved for variations despite the increase in the number of cases and hospitalizations, a move Newsom defended earlier this week.
When asked directly if he would consider reversing the restrictions at the state level, the governor said counties can “consider the details” of their own jurisdiction, but that the state also reserves the right to do so.
“California is not one size fits all … when you look at the California prism, the only responsible way to look at it is through a bottom-up lens,” Newsom said.
The state confirmed another 5,052 positive COVID-19s on Thursday and another 81 deaths, bringing the state’s confirmed case count to 200,476, according to data compiled by this news organization.
Before this week, there had been two days when the number of new cases in California exceeded 4,000. Of the four days this week, there has only been one with fewer than 5,000 cases.
Evan Webeck contributed to this report.
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