Governor Gavin Newsom Monday talked about California's troubled Employment Development Department, which continues to struggled to with the overwhelming number of unemployment claims during the COVID-19 pandemic. The department has been victimized by fraudsters.
The Governor offered a few more details on the strike team report on the EDD issued over the weekend. That report contains dozens of recommendations for clearing up the backlog unemployment claims. Chief among those recommendations is a suspension of new claims for two weeks.
Watch the full Monday briefing below.
The Governor also touched on the progress being made with the multiple wildfires in the state, and positive trends during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The positivity rate in California is down to 3.1 percent over a 14-day period and 2.8 percent over a seven-day period.
The number of coronavirus cases requiring hospitalization also continues to drop.
Still, Newsom is not offering a specific date for reopening the state economy more fully. He once again teased that such an announcement is coming at some point.