In a press release and presentation issued today, California Governor Newsom outlined a data- and science-driven framework that will guide their review of the state’s stay-at-home and other COVID-19-related policies.

The state of California has announced their “Roadmap to Modify the Stay-at-Home Order,” a way to move toward more openness during the period before the population builds immunity to the Coronavirus. While the governor recognizes the impact the shutdown has had on poverty, the economy, as well as health care, there is no specific timeline set for the process, and “any consideration of modifying the stay-at-home order must be done using a gradual, science-based and data-driven framework.”

Furthermore, the Governor expressed: “[W]e must understand that things will look different than before.”

The report stated the following four goals to drive their process:

• Ensure our ability to care for the sick within our hospitals;
• Prevent infection in people who are at high risk for severe disease;
• Build the capacity to protect the health and well-being of the public; and
• Reduce social, emotional and economic disruptions

The six indicators California will use for modifying the stay-at-home order are:

• The ability to monitor and protect our communities through testing, contact tracing, isolating, and supporting those who are positive or exposed;
• The ability to prevent infection in people who are at risk for more severe COVID-19;
• The ability of the hospital and health systems to handle surges;
• The ability to develop therapeutics to meet the demand;
• The ability for businesses, schools, and child care facilities to support physical distancing; and
• The ability to determine when to reinstitute certain measures, such as the stay-at-home orders, if necessary.