Written by Michael Palomba<\/p>\n
Just 5 days after the inauguration of President Joe Biden, California has lifted the regional stay-at-home order and curfew statewide.<\/p>\n
While some may assume that this decision was made because of some sort of change in the science surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, that isn’t the case.<\/p>\n
“COVID-19 is still here and still deadly, so our work is not over, but it\u2019s important to recognize our collective actions saved lives and we are turning a critical corner,\u201d Dr. Tomas Aragon, the state\u2019s public health director, said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The move to reopen comes after the state refused to share<\/a> key COVID-19 data with the public, claiming it may be too complex for the public to interpret.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the moment the projections are not being shared publicly,\u201d Department of Public Health spokeswoman Ali Bay said in an email.<\/p>\n While the science hasn’t changed and California still ranks dead last<\/a> for vaccine distribution, the move to reopen is not surprising. Democratic governors from New York and Illinois quickly changed their tune about shutting down the economy once Biden won the election, and Gov. Newsom is just following suit.<\/p>\n On January 20th, NY Governor Andrew Cuomo tweeted that the cost of staying shutdown is “too high,” despite being a strong proponent of the shutdowns throughout former President Donald Trump’s term.<\/p>\n We simply cannot stay closed until the vaccine hits critical mass. The cost is too high. We will have nothing left to open. We must reopen the economy, but we must do it smartly and safely.#SOTS2021<\/a><\/p>\n — Archive: Governor Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) January 11, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n