California became the first US state to unveil a road map for lifting its coronavirus lockdown, while President Donald Trump continued to assert his authority over how governors will ultimately ease restrictions they have imposed to curb the pandemic.
Governor Gavin Newsom said on Tuesday that the social distancing practised by California over the past month had “bent the curve” of new cases and deaths, and that his administration was “finally seeing some rays of sunshine on the horizon”.
However, Mr Newsom said that he would only loosen the strict requirements of California’s stay-at-home order with six criteria in place, drawing up his vision of the transitional phase of life between lockdown and an eventual vaccine or herd immunity.