May 18, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                   

Contact: Sara Floor, Communications Manager
916-926-8769; email: sfloor@counties.org

SACRAMENTO – California State Association of Counties (CSAC) issues the following reaction to the revised County Attestation Criteria announced today that may allow more counties to accelerate within Stage 2 of Governor Newsom’s Resilience Roadmap. 

Every county across California has taken great strides to protect the health of its communities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Two dozen rural and suburban Counties across Northern and Central California have submitted approved variances and are advancing faster than the rest of the state through Phase 2 of Governor Newsom’s Resilience Roadmap. CSAC appreciates the modified County attestation criteria announced today as it will allow the majority of California’s Counties to safely plan to reopen by securing variances in Stage 2 in the coming days and weeks.   

The modified attestation criteria include a new case ceiling of 25 COVID-19 positive cases per 100,000 residents or an 8 percent positive case rate over the previous 14 days, adequate testing capacity and contact tracing resources. Like the original variance model, all counties must still attest to adequate hospital surge capacity, develop a plan for vulnerable populations and outline how the county will contain any increase in cases or outbreaks. 

“California’s counties were swift to act, flatten the curve and protect the public’s health during this crisis. CSAC appreciates Governor Newsom’s continued support for local flexibility and safety and working with counties on a case-by-case basis. This is an excellent example of the county- state partnership in action,” said CSAC President and Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett. “We are deeply appreciative of the hard work of California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly and state Public Health Director Dr. Sonia Angell in amending these criteria to consider the local expertise, knowledge and resources at hand across California, and for meeting with Counties with unique situations at all hours of the day or night.” 

CSAC and California’s counties look forward to continuing to work with Governor Newsom, his Administration and the Legislature to ensure a safe and data-driven reopening of California that preserves the public’s health, local authority, and our Counties’ ability to provide critical safety-net services to all Californians.  

California State Association of Counties (CSAC) is the voice of California’s 58 counties at the state and federal level.                                                                                 # # #