California’s top health official on Labor Day weekend: 'Keep it small, keep it outside'

California's top health official provided an update on the state's COVID-19 pandemic Tuesday, and called on residents to prevent transmission of the virus over the upcoming Labor Day weekend.

Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said "keep it small, and keep it outside" in regards to gatherings that usually happen over the holiday.

Ghaly reminded people to wear masks, keep six feet apart and wash hands to avoid the spread of the virus.

"If you have symptoms please stay home so we reduce transmission and we don't see the surges we saw in cases over the summer," said Ghaly.

He was asked about many jurisdictions opting to close beaches over the weekend to prevent crowding and whether this would result in more indoor gatherings and increased spread. Ghaly said that he can't speak to the local conditions that determine an individual county's decision to close beaches, but he emphasized the need to keep activities outside.

"If the decision is to bring the gathering indoors, we know that increases the risk for transmission," he said.

At the briefing, Dr. Erica Pan, acting state health officer, gave an update on numbers, noting the state continues to see "downtrends in both new cases and hospitalizations."

Over the past week, new cases are down 14%, hospitalizations are down 24%, and ICU bed use is down 25%.

"Labor Day is coming up this weekend," said Pan. "We have made incredible progress together as a state, and we do not want to lose ground. It's time to stay vigilant. Our masks are not only protecting each other, but they do protect you as well. There's more and more data proving that."

She added, "The safest thing you can do is stay at home with the people you live with."

Ghaly also announced the state is making progress on creating a standalone COVID-19 data repository after last month's data glitch resulted in a reporting backlog. "We hope by October it's ... ready to go," he said.

Amy Graff is the news editor for SFGATE. Email her: agraff@sfgate.com.