California Gov. Gavin Newsom during a news conference in San Francisco this month. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
California's COVID-19 state of emergency will end on Feb. 28, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced Monday.
The big picture: Newsom declared the emergency in March 2020 to redirect funds to more rapidly respond to the pandemic, but Republicans said his decision to keep the measure in place so long was an abuse of the governor's powers, per the Los Angeles Times.
What they're saying: "Throughout the pandemic, we’ve been guided by the science and data — moving quickly and strategically to save lives," Newsom said in a statement.
- "The state of emergency was an effective and necessary tool that we utilized to protect our state, and we wouldn’t have gotten to this point without it," he added.
- "With the operational preparedness that we've built up and the measures that we'll continue to employ moving forward, California is ready to phase out this tool."
Driving the news: Newsom's office cited a drop in COVID deaths and hospitalizations due to California's vaccination and public health measures as the reason for terminating the emergency order.