Governor Newsom extends California’s COVID ‘state of emergency’ through March 2022

As COVID cases continue to rise in many parts of California, the government has deemed it necessary to extend the state of emergency, first declared on March 2, 2020.

According to a release from Newsom's office, the state of emergency will stay in effect until March 31, 2022. Citing the fact that California has "stopped recording week-over-week declines in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations," the governor warned that the virus could potentially spike yet again.

Also factoring into the decision is the ensuing flu season. As Governor Newsom put it, "last year we didn’t have much of a flu season. This year, I just want to remind people, that we want to avoid the Twindemic."

As Deadline reports, a patient in LA died from the flu this week, marking the first such casualty of the season.

Given the fact that more people will be gathering indoors due to colder temperatures and the holidays, many are concerned that winter will lead to a rise in COVID cases and deaths. As the LA Times reports, conditions in California were similar at this time last year, and over the winter months, things got much worse.

During the California Economic Summit in Monterey on Tuesday, Governor Newsom remarked that "Winter is coming," reminding people that "COVID is not taking the winter off."