Gov. Newsom Facing Criticism For Reopening California Too Soon

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It seems like there is no winning in the fight to reopening California.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has recently come up with a reopening strategy for the state to follow but is now facing major criticism from lawmakers and public health officials. They fear that Newsom is making decisions based on political pressure rather than science.

Newsom's plan officially started two weeks ago allowing a handful of rural counties to allow restaurant dining and shopping in stores. Since then, most of the state has been given the go-ahead to reopen churches, malls, and hair salons.

Gyms will be getting guidance within a week or so.

Democrat Sen. Steve Glazer believes that this is all happening too soon. He is publicly arguing that the governor is only making these choices because of the political pressure he's been getting. Glazer then argues that he's ignoring the state's blind spots in health data. He said the governor’s first priority should be mandating widespread testing.

“The political calculation is not what we should be doing right now,’’ Glazer said in an interview Wednesday. If the virus is to be contained for good, “this can’t be about being popular."

“Nobody wants to challenge that,’’ Glazer said of colleagues who are going along with Newsom's suddenly swift reopening pace. “They’ll question his budget, and how he’s spending the money, but not about reopening,’’ because confronting the growing calls for loosening restrictions “goes against all their political instincts.”

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