Governor Newsom declares state of emergency for California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KION) Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for California in a press conference Wednesday afternoon.

Newsom said the measure was intended to help procure supplies quickly. It also allows for local emergency declarations to extend without having to update every 30 to 60 days.

The measure is in part because of a coronavirus death in Placer County. Officials said the elderly patient apparently contracted the COVID-19 virus on a cruise.

Health officials said the patient had underlying health conditions and died at a hospital in Roseville, near Sacramento.

Newsom said one of the main concerns is the cruise the patient was on. It left San Francisco for Mexico on the 10th and returned on the 21st. About 50% of the 2,500 of passengers on the cruise are California residents, and state officials along with the CDC are working to contact everybody who was aboard.

Another person who had been on the cruise ship tested positive for the virus Tuesday.

After arriving in San Francisco, the ship left for another cruise to Hawaii. It was set to arrive in San Francisco Wednesday evening, but it was delayed to give time for officials to conduct tests because some passengers and crew members have developed coronavirus symptoms.

Health officials are flying testing kits to the ship to find out whether the passengers and crew have a cold or flu or if they have coronavirus. Newsom said some passengers from the Mexico trip held over and are on the Hawaii cruise.

The ship will not come to shore until it has been assessed.

The governor said the state currently has 53 cases of COVID-19.