Over 70% of California’s economy has reopened with limitations, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday during his daily update on the state’s response to #COVID-19
“I know 70% is not 100%, and I recognize that ‘with modifications’ means ‘with restrictions,’ and ‘with restrictions’ means a struggle for businesses to get back where they were pre-pandemic,” Newsom said.
Last Friday, the state moved into the next phase of reopening its economy by allowing some nonessential retailers — including clothing, music, toy, sporting goods and book stores — to reopen for curbside pickup.
Still, the impact of the pandemic on the economy has led to unemployment numbers to have “skyrocketed” in the state, the governor said. Since March 12, 4.5 million Californians have applied for unemployment insurance and pandemic unemployment assistance, while $13.1 billion in unemployment claims have since been distributed.
Newsom added that leaders of California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Colorado have jointly signed a letter to Congress requesting $1 trillion as “direct and flexible relief to states and local governments.”
“This aid would preserve core government services like public health, public safety, public education and help people get back to work,” the letter said.
It's clear that COVID-19 will be with us for the foreseeable future — and without federal support, states and cities will be forced to make impossible decisions. That's why our Western States Pact is urgently requesting $1 trillion in relief to states & local governments. pic.twitter.com/nWkqiR5i7M
— Governor Kate Brown (@OregonGovBrown) May 11, 2020
In California, there have been a total of 67,939 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state and 2,770 deaths to date. Just under 992,000 of California’s 39.5 million residents have been tested.