California Governor Releases Stages for State Reopening, Sports Returning
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has released a plan for the state to gradually reopen and allow sports to return.
In a series of tweets, Newsom revealed his four stages for easing his stay-at-home order amid the coronavirus pandemic. He said that although California is flattening its curve, it needs to be mindful that the coronavirus will not disappear quickly.
California is currently in Stage 1 of his plan, which involves staying home and flattening the curve and building out its coronavirus testing, personal protective equipment and hospital capacity. Stage 2 consists of opening lower risk workplaces, including retail and manufacturing.
Stage 3 includes gradually reopening higher risk environments, including sporting events without live audiences. As part of Stage 4, California will reopen its highest risk environments entirely, but only once "therapeutics have been developed." That stage would include conducting live sports with fans.
In mid-April, Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti told a group of high-level staffers that "large gatherings" including sporting events may not be approved until 2021, according to Dakota Smith and Ben Welsh of the Los Angeles Times.
While an internal Los Angeles Fire Department email obtained by the Times reportedly paraphrased the mayor's thoughts, a spokesperson for Garcetti told the Times, "The mayor was generally referencing studies of current and historical data and best practices for safely reopening our economy."
The decision to halt large gatherings until 2021 would serve as a hinderance to a number of Los Angeles sports teams, including the Rams and Chargers, both of whom were set to play their upcoming seasons in the newly built SoFi Stadium.
The MLS's two Los Angeles teams had just opened their seasons before the pandemic hit and the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA had the start of their 2020 campaign postponed.
Following President Donald Trump's April 4 conference call with a number of major sports commissioners—in which Trump said he thought the NFL would start on time—Newsom said he did not think NFL teams nor fans would return to stadiums this fall.
In mid-April, Trump released a document entitled "Opening Up America" with the nation's governors. In the document, per CBS News' Ed O'Keefe, large venues, including sporting venues, are listed in Phase One as being able to operate "under strict social physical distancing protocols."
As of Tuesday evening, there are more than three million confirmed cases of the coronavirus, causing at least 200,000 deaths. There are more than one million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States.
