Gov. Gavin Newsom quarantines after more staffers test positive for COVID

California Governor Gavin Newsom has gone into quarantine after more staff members have tested positive for COVID-19. This comes after other folks in the governor’s circle tested positive earlier this month, and also while the Golden State sees an upward swing of positive tests.

A spokesperson let the public know about Newsom’s quarantine on Sunday.

“As soon as our office was informed of this positive test, our director of operations initiated the state’s COVID-19 protocols for state emergencies,” the spokesperson said. “We are working with the California Office of Emergency Services and the California Department of Public Health on contact tracing.”

This is the second time in two months the governor and his family have isolated themselves. Last month, three of the governor’s children came into contact with a California Highway Patrol officer who tested positive, so the family quarantined for a short time then.

The news late Sunday night was also reported by Los Angeles Times reporter John Myers.

“The individual in question came into contact with the Governor and a few other staff members. The Governor tested negative today as did the other staff members. In an abundance of caution, the Governor will begin a ten day quarantine per state guidelines. The Governor and staff will be tested again in the next few days and continue to follow state and CDC guidelines,” the statement read.

Just last week, California became the first state in the U.S. to record at least 50,000 new COVID cases in one day. Then, the state hit that milestone again the next day.

Hospitalizations in California surged so quickly that officials projected the state to run out of beds by New Year’s Eve, which is just under two weeks now.

The greatest surge seems to come from from the greater Los Angeles area, where there have been an average of two deaths per hour.

“Every hour, on average, two of our neighbors, family members and friends are dying from COVID-19,” the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said in a statement last week.

“The devastation we are experiencing now is in part because many people ignored warnings and made the decision to travel or visit with people from outside of their home over the Thanksgiving holidays,” the health department concluded.

California is on pace to become the first state to hit 2 million positive COVID cases, with nearly 1.9 million cases reported through Sunday night. The state has reported nearly 23,000 deaths since the pandemic began.

There have been various measures around the state to curb the pandemic, from the Bay area to Los Angeles. On Saturday, it was announced that the annual Rose Bowl football game would be moved to the Dallas, Texas-area.

The United States is the only country to hit 300,000 deaths from the coronavirus. No other country has reached 200,000 deaths. Brazil, India and Mexico are the only other countries to have at least 100,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics.