California Health Experts: Mass Gatherings Should Be Canceled To Slow Spread Of Coronavirus

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Gov. Gavin Newsom Wednesday night issued guidelines on mass gatherings in the wake of the growing coronavirus pandemic.

The state's public health experts said that gatherings should be postponed or canceled across the state until at least the end of March. They further recommended that non-essential gatherings should be limited to no more than 250 people, while stating that smaller events could continue if the organizers were able to implement social distancing of 6 feet per person.

Furthermore, gatherings of individuals who were at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19 should be limited to no more than 10 people, while also following social distancing guidelines, the experts said.

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"Changing our actions for a short period of time will save the life of one or more people you know," Newsom said in the statement. "That's the choice before us. Each of us has extraordinary power to slow the spread of this disease. Not holding that concert or community event can have cascading effects — saving dozens of lives and preserving critical health care resources that your family may need a month from now. The people in our lives who are most at risk — seniors and those with underlying health conditions — are depending on all of us to make the right choice."

The full policy was posted to the California Department of Public Health's website.