Newsom: CA sees lowest positivity rate since start of COVID pandemic

lCoronavirus vaccines offer protection against variants that originated in California

Dr. David Montefiori, PhD spoke to Mornings on 2 on Saturday about new research on how well coronavirus vaccines are working against variants.

OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) - California has the lowest positivity rate it's seen since the start of the pandemic, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday.

Newsom said the state's positivity rate fell to 1.5%, another indicator the state is moving in the right direction as it continues to reopen around the state.

California still has the lowest infection rate in U.S. and 20 million vaccines have been administered so far.

Last week, Newsom signaled an end to more than a year of closures in California, announcing that state plans to fully reopen on June 15.

"We can confidently say by June 15 that we can start to open up as business as usual, subject to ongoing mask-wearing and ongoing vigilance," Newsom said.

California has had some of the nation’s strictest pandemic rules, becoming the first to institute a statewide stay-at-home order last spring and adopting a complex color-coded tier system in August that dictated which businesses could open and at what capacity depending on how widespread the virus was in a county.

The pandemic has taken its toll on California, with more than 58,000 people dead, businesses closed and students who have been out of classrooms for much of the year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.