California Not Close to Easing Measures; L.A. Deaths Hit Record
California Not Close to Loosening Measures With Deaths Rising
(Bloomberg) --
California reported 87 new deaths from the coronavirus outbreak, one of the highest daily fatality counts so far, as the governor says that the state may not be close to loosening measures imposed to curb the spread.
The total death toll was 1,072, Governor Gavin Newsom said in his daily briefing. The number of cases climbed 5.3%, while patients in intensive care fell by a “modest” 0.1%, he said.
“We have certainly flattened the curve,” Newsom said. “For those that think we’re out of the woods, those who think we’ve turned the page, those who think we can go back to the way things used to be, I caution you on the basis of that 87 number.”
California was the first U.S. state to impose stay-home orders amid the outbreak, and cities such as Los Angeles have recently extended those measures by two weeks to May 15.
L.A. County, the state’s biggest by population, reported a record 81 deaths as it added 642 new cases, county officials said, calling it “a sad milestone.”
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