Gov. Newsom On Coronavirus: Thousands Of Health Professionals Coming Forward To Help
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - California continues to aggressively take steps to minimize the impact of the deadly coronavirus. Governor Newsom gave his daily coronavirus update on Tuesday and said thousands of people on Monday have volunteered to help.
On Tuesday, Newsom said that so far, 25,000 people have come forward to help. On Monday, he announced the California Health Corps, a group that would be comprised of current and former healthcare professionals including doctors, nurses, EMTs, and phlebotomists, who would be called on to help handle the estimated large increase in coronavirus cases.
"I'm inspired. I've never been more damn inspired in my life. To see that number -- 25K yesterday alone -- professionals willing to come back out of retirement to put their lives on the line...that makes me sleep well at night," he said.
He went on to say that as California moves beyond meeting its own healthcare needs, it would also offer help to other states.
"We are going to make ourselves available to anybody across this country that needs support, as well," he said.
Californians are also being asked to check on others, neighbor-by-neighbor. Everyone is being asked to call five calls to check in on someone. A hotline has been set up to deliver supplies to those in need. The phone number is 1-833-544-2374.
Newsom also said that 32.4 million N95 masks have been distributed in California and that 100 million more are needed to meet the needs of workers.
Coronavirus By The Numbers in California
- 6,932 confirmed #COVD19 cases
- 150 deaths
- 1,617 hospitalized with #COVID19
- 657 in the ICU
See the full stats.