Gov. Gavin Newsom warns more than half of all Californians could become infected with coronavirus


In a letter to President Trump, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) gave a stark warning: Over an eight-week period, 25.5 million Californians — more than half of all residents — could become infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus.
As of Thursday evening, 958 Californians have tested positive for the virus, and 19 have died. In preparation for an influx of hospital patients, Newsom also asked Trump to deploy the USNS Mercy hospital ship to the port of Los Angeles through Sept. 1.
In a separate letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Newsom asked for $1 billion in federal funds to help the state purchase ventilators, deploy mobile hospitals, subsidize childcare, and support small businesses through zero-interest loans and cash assistance.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"The economic disruption caused by this public health crisis will have immediate and devastating effects on our entire country, including too many families in California," Newsom wrote. "The magnitude of this crisis is extraordinary and federal-state-local government coordination will be more critical than ever before."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
How is Chili's saving casual dining? Could others follow?
Today's Big Question Value and TikTok virality bring in the diners
-
NASA is abandoning the climate
The Explainer Climate missions could be going dark
-
Every MCU movie since 'Avengers: Endgame,' ranked
The Week Recommends How did the recent 'Fantastic Four: First Steps' stack up?
-
Trump said to seek government stake in Intel
Speed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney
Speed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages