California released first ‘next phase’ COVID-19 plan in the nation: ‘It’s not the end of the war’

• California Governor Gavin Newsom publically announced the “SMARTER Plan” Thursday.
• It will focus on informing and preparing residents for the ongoing pandemic. 
• “This disease is not going away,” he told The Associated Press

California Governor Gavin Newsom showed off a “SMARTER Plan” – which he calls the first of its kind in the nation — as the state grapples with how to continue navigating the Coronavirus pandemic.

“It is clear the virus will remain with us for some time, if not forever. It is less clear how often and how much it will continue to impact our health and well-being,” the beginning of the 30-page plan reads. 

SMARTER — Shots, Masks, Awareness, Readiness, Testing, Education, and Rx — will focus on allowing Californians to continue everyday life while also keeping them safe, informed, and prepared for the everchanging pandemic.

“Building on proven tools – rooted in science and data – that have been honed over the past two years, we’re keeping our guard up with a focus on continued readiness, awareness, and flexibility to adapt to the evolving pandemic,” Newsom said at a Thursday press conference in Fontana, California. 

While teasing the plan earlier this month, the Democrat referred to it as an “endemic” — a term he did not use during his press conference. 

A shift to COVID-19 being “endemic” would mean that the coronavirus will be constantly present, like flu, but that the pandemic level threats are over, The World Health Organization said in January, arguing that is not the case for the coronavirus yet.

However, Newsom’s language shifted and he called it “the next phase” of the pandemic.

While maintaining that California has pioneered how states manage COVID-19 throughout the pandemic, he said other states may again follow suit with the new “SMARTER Plan.”

“This disease is not going away,” he told The Associated Press ahead of the press conference. “It’s not the end of the quote, unquote, war.”

—Office of the Governor of California (@CAgovernor) February 17, 2022