California to end COVID-19 State of Emergency at end of February

SALINAS, California (KMUV-TV) - Governor Gavin Newsom's office released a statement in October announcing that California would lift the COVID-19 emergency mandate on February 28 of this year.

This is three months before the United States will lift the federal State of Emergency for Covid-19 on May 11, 2023.

The state of California says that doing this will expose it to losing much-needed resources during the pandemic, such as mobile clinics and free COVID tests, which were needed to combat the spread of the virus.

Some residents were surprised to learn that free testing sites and resources were already a guarantee to us.

A Salinas resident spoke anonymously to Telemundo Costa Central in an interview and commented that her family has been affected by the virus and that now they must take additional measures for the well-being of her family.

I do not agree that they remove the aid because he has had COVID twice and has been in the hospital for weeks, and well, if he will affect us

Salinas resident

However, the Governor's office also communicated that although the emergency mandate ends at the end of February, the state is already prepared with the SMARTER Plan program (Smart Plan) to be able to support the community in case of emergency.

Some experts are optimistic about the spread of COVID, but advise the public to follow health guidelines, such as wearing a mask in public and keeping their distance.

“Well, the tests are quite widely available, people can go to pharmacies to get tested, they are relatively cheap, the government has often covered them and given people the opportunity to ask for their free tests,” said the doctor. Gregory Whitley of Dominican Hospital.

People who are in the health services, we have lived in the last three years, we know that as soon as we feel more comfortable, that is when things get worse, so I don't think we can trust ourselves completely

Dr. Gregory Whitley

The statement reveals that the state of California was able to support those most in need during the pandemic, providing $18.5 million in stimulus checks and an estimated 186 million COVID tests.

Governor Gavin Newson's office said that even though California ended this mandate, the state is buoyed with enough help for residents and the community.