On Thursday, stay-at-home orders in California are being lifted, but it’s not coming without controversy. In making this announcement, Governor Gavin Newsom’s said, “Today we can lay claim to seeing some real light at the end of the tunnel as it relates to case numbers.” But the Los Angeles Times says the “abrupt move… represents a gamble that California can avoid another deadly coronavirus surge.”
“Experts said it would not take a lot for the situation to spiral out of control again. UC San Francisco epidemiologist Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo said lifting the order can work if the public — and businesses — follow the rules and show intense caution. This is more essential than ever, she said, because so much is still unknown about these new strains, which adds a new level of uncertainty to fighting the virus.”
Now the Governor is getting heavy criticism from people on both sides of the aisle, for very different reasons.
“The reality is, a new, more contagious variant of #COVID19 has arrived in our state, vaccinations are rolling out painfully slowly, and many more people will die… @GavinNewsom should be extending, not cancelling, the stay-at-home order." Our statement: https://t.co/eEwmFrPy3a
— CALPIRG (@CALPIRG) January 25, 2021
When doctors at every hospital in southern California are being forced to decide who gets a ventilator and who dies gasping in agony on a gurney in the hallway, they can drive home at night knowing how important it was to @GavinNewsom people got their burrata and beet salads.
— Bess Kalb (@bessbell) January 25, 2021
Newsom has been also been accused of playing politics by lifting these orders as a petition circulates to have him recalled, but during a news conference Monday he said “It’s just complete utter nonsense.”
Dear Californians,
Nothing changed to make California safer.
In fact, the National Guard have been brought into because to help because there are so many dead bodies.
So why are @GavinNewsom and @MayorOfLA re-opening?
Because their re-election is more important than your kids
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) January 26, 2021
This Governor's decisions have never been based on science. Him re-opening our state is not an attempt to help working Californians, but rather an attempt to counter the Recall Movement. It’s sad and pathetic.
— Jessica Millan Patterson (@millanpatterson) January 25, 2021
Watch more from ABC San Francisco above.
