Gov. Newsom hints at 'endemic plan' for California as omicron surge eases

SACRAMENTO — As the calendar flips to February, California's coronavirus numbers are still improving steadily from sharp peaks during the omicron surge, which took root in mid-December and continued to disrupt businesses, schools and government operations throughout much of January.

The state's COVID-19 infection rate, test positivity percentage and totals for COVID-positive patients in hospital beds and intensive care units are all on the decline, though the figures remain well above pre-omicron levels.

The California Department of Public Health on Tuesday reported the state's daily case rate at 180 per 100,000 residents, down 39% from an all-time high of 295 per 100,000 recorded two weeks earlier.

Seven-day positivity fell to 13.8%, the state's lowest mark since the week ending Dec. 27 and down from the omicron wave's peak of 22.8% on Jan. 10.

The state had 13,367 virus patients in hospitals Monday, including 2,494 in ICUs, down from respective peaks of about 15,500 and 2,600 around mid-January.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, during a Monday news conference centered on housing, said his administration will be releasing an "endemic plan" for the state's COVID-19 response within "the next couple weeks."

A disease is considered endemic when infection totals are relatively stable and follow established patterns, as opposed to major outbreaks continuing and prompting emergency response as has happened throughout the pandemic phase. Seasonal influenza is an example of an endemic disease.

Newsom has not laid out what an endemic plan might include. The state's mask requirement for indoor public places, which returned in mid-December and was extended by a month in January, is set to end Feb. 15 unless state health officials extend it again.

Newsom faced criticism after photos, including one posted to Instagram by NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, showed the governor without a mask as he attended Sunday's NFC Championship game between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium.

That violates stadium rules, which say masks must be worn at all times regardless of vaccination status, except while actively eating or drinking.

Newsom during a Monday news conference said he was "very judicious" and removed his mask to pose for the photo. The incident drew ire from Republican critics.

"Quite the message for @GavinNewsom to send to California parents, that they still must send their children to school in masks while he ignores his rules and gets to watch some football mask free," California Republican Party Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson tweeted, in part.

Other photos showed San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, also not wearing masks.

Hospital trends vary by region. Los Angeles County remains on the downslope, and its omicron surge ultimately peaked at about 60% as many patients as its peak during the winter 2020 surge. Patient totals are also dropping in other Southern California counties, as well as in the Bay Area and most of the Sacramento region.

Hospital surges have continued in some parts of the state, including rural and foothills counties. Amador, Merced, Nevada, Placer and Yuba counties all broke their all-time hospitalization records amid the omicron wave, CDPH data show.

Sacramento County has recorded 262,408 total lab-confirmed cases and 2,696 deaths from COVID-19 over the course of the pandemic, according to local health officials.

The county on Tuesday reported the daily case rate at 115 per 100,000 residents, down from an all-time high of 243 per 100,000 recorded Jan. 10.

According to CDPH, Sacramento County's latest test positivity rate is 18.1%.