At the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he will deploy the California National Guard to help distribute food. There has been a shortage of volunteers in food banks, and the National Guard will assist a food bank distribution warehouse in Sacramento County. 

Since those first days of the outbreak, Gov. Newsom has created a task force to help the state recover from the economic consequences, and a website where citizens can volunteer to help out in their community. 

The Governor has invited Riordan alumnus, Derrick Kualapai ‘89, to join the Task Force. 

Kualapai said, “In short, it is called,  The Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery. My position will be to represent Labor, in particular,  the 460,000 Building and Construction Trades members in California. Ultimately, as we focus on opening our industries back up, we will do it in a way that is slow but concise, safe, and expediential.”

Kualapai is currently the International Representative of the United Association of Journeyman and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe fitting Industry of the United States and Canada. Headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland, he oversees 40,000 pipe trades workers in California and Hawaii.

Furthermore, he added, “The Task Force’s primary goal is to focus on establishing policy and protocols for the reopening of California after COVID-19 begins to decline its number of cases currently in California. Governor Newsom has mandated that the team help develop and ensure a just and equitable recovery for all Californians, and that we will focus on tangible actions we can take together as business and labor leaders to support the quick and safe recovery of California’s economy. We will focus on sectors and regions hit by the pandemic-induced recession. I believe this task force will last until the end of 2020.”

Last week, on April 14, Governor Newsom revealed six indicators that will ensure safety for California residents. These modifications will help reduce the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Despite the fact that there has been progress in flattening the curve and increased preparedness of the healthcare delivery system, these actions have impacted the economy, poverty, and healthcare in California. He stated that science and data are heavily impacted when he determines what aspects of the stay-at-home order should be modified. 

According to Governor Newsom’s Office, California’s six indicators 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.”

When California schools reopen, their main challenge is to ensure physical distancing among students and teachers. Governor Newsom is proposing that schools implement schedules, with some students coming in the mornings and others in the afternoon. Students may not be able to gather in large groups, assemblies, physical education, and recess. Furthermore, schools will go under strict sanitation requirements. 

The Governor said that these modifications to the stay-at-home order will help reduce the spread of the coronavirus. However, he stated that there is no specific timeline when it will be placed. 

Yesterday, during his noon news conference, Gov. Newsom unveiled a new website where Californians can log on to and volunteer in various ways to help the state and its people deal with, and recover from, the health, economic, and psychological impacts of the COVID-19 shutdowns of schools and businesses, and shelter-in-place ordinance for citizens. 

The website, CaliforniaVolunteers.gov, includes facts about COVID-19 and ways to “get involved,” which includes joining AmeriCorps, helping the homeless, and volunteering in neighborhoods. 

During today’s news briefing, Gov. Newsom said in response to when California will loosen the shelter-in-place restrictions, “There’s no date. If there’s a date, then we’re denying the facts on the ground, we’re denying the reality of the spread of the virus, which is dynamic. We need to be adaptive in our decision-making. We don’t want to debate a date. We want to focus on science and health as a predicate for all our decision-making…”