California has experienced its highest coronavirus-related death toll for a single day in the state since the outbreak began, with 115 fatalities reported in the past 24 hours, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday.

That figure represented an 8.5% increase the previous day, according to the governor. The total number of cases also rose by 5.6%.

“It’s … a reminder we’re not out of the woods yet. I know there’s a deep desire, people are making calls on an hourly basis, saying it’s time to open back up — consider the deadliest day in the state of California the last 24 hours,” Newsom said.

The number of coronavirus hospitalizations and ICU patents dropped for a second straight day, however, decreasing by 0.4% and 1.2% respectively.

Original story: Gov. Gavin Newsom is set to give the latest update on California’s response to COVID-19 after one influential coronavirus forecast suggested that the state has passed its peak and that social distancing measures could be relaxed as early as later next month.

The governor’s daily news news briefing is scheduled to get underway at noon.

At Tuesday’s briefing, Newsom again refused to lay out a date for when the statewide stay-at-home order might start to be relaxed.

However, one highly-cited coronavirus prediction model that has been tracking the pandemic projects that California could reopen as early as May 19.

The forecast, from the University of Washington’s Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, says that relaxing social distancing could be possible after May 18 assuming the state has containment strategies, such as increased testing and contract tracing, as well as limiting the size of gatherings.

On Tuesday, Newsom did announce a small step in that direction when he said that essential surgeries — which were previously postponed to free up space hospitals and health care centers during the pandemic — can resume again.

Essential surgeries include tumor removal, heart replacement or other issues that could become critical if left untreated, Newsom said.

The decision to allow such medical procedures to be rescheduled was based on the state’s progress to prepare hospitals for a potential influx of COVID-19 patients, according to a news release from the governor’s office. That is one of the six critical indicators the governor outlined in his plan to gradually relax California’s stay-at-home restrictions.

According to California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly, the number of patients in intensive care has remained at stable levels since March 27, giving the state some confidence that it could go forward with some modifications.

California saw a slight decrease in hospitalizations and ICU patients, the state’s latest official figures released Tuesday showed. Coronavirus hospitalizations were down by 0.2% over the previous 24 hours, while ICU numbers dipped by 1.8% in the same period, Newsom said.

Other key goals the state must meet to allow modifications include: expanded testing, tracking, tracing and isolating those diagnosed with or exposed to the virus; preventing at-risk populations from being infected; developing potential treatment to meet demand; ensuring physical distancing can be supported in places outside the home, like at businesses and schools; and the state’s ability to be able to reinstitute stay-at-home restrictions, if necessary.

Newsom addressed the first key indicator, expanded testing, and noted the state has made significant progress on that front since last month.

California has ramped up testing since the end of March, going from averaging 2,000 tests a day to the current average of 16,000 daily, the governor said. He expressed hope that the state will meet and exceed its goal of 25,000 tests per day by the end of the month.

At the same time, the number of testing sites has also increased, with more than 600 now available throughout the state, according to Newsom.

https://ktla.com/news/california/gov-newsom-to-provide-latest-update-on-states-covid-19-response/