Newsom’s Roadmap to Reopen California Marks Major Pivot for SLED Market
Published: April 15, 2020
CALIFORNIACoronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic
While this roadmap does not formally kick off the reopening of the state's economy, it provides excellent insight for contractors ready to move from the reactive/crisis-oriented mode of SLED procurement toward proactive purchasing that will guide SLED government entities into a period of building resilience for future rounds of precision-targeted pandemic response.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
As detailed below, the top purchasing needs to meet key goals and indicators will be…
- Data systems and analytics to trace contacts, inventory medical supplies, keep tabs on those in isolation and inform future pandemic responses
- Rapid health/public safety response for outbreaks in public and private group facilities
- Expanded facilities and blended work/learning environments to accommodate ongoing social distancing
- Additional/modified mass transit with more routine cleaning
- Laboratory testing capacity and university R&D activities
On Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) announced his roadmap of six indicators that he will use when considering modifications to “stay-at-home and other orders during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
His roadmap is designed to meet four key outcomes as follow:
- Ensure our ability to care for the sick within our hospitals;
- Prevent infection in people who are at high risk for severe disease;
- Build the capacity to protect the health and well-being of the public; and
- Reduce social, emotional and economic disruptions
The six indicators are as follow [with analyst commentary in brackets]:
- The ability to monitor and protect our communities through testing, contact tracing, isolating, and supporting those who are positive or exposed;
[This will require significant investments in state laboratory capacity, potential Bluetooth contact-tracing solutions, and a system to keep tabs on those in isolation and in need of special support services.] - The ability to prevent infection in people who are at risk for more severe COVID-19;
[The state will need to track potentially millions of “older Californians and the medically vulnerable living in their own homes” and develop rapid containment/mitigation strategies in facilities “housing older Californians, those living with disabilities, those currently incarcerated, and those with co-morbidities.”] - The ability of the hospital and health systems to handle surges;
[This might require the ability to inventory and allocate resources such as beds, PPEs, and ventilators throughout the state.] - The ability to develop therapeutics to meet the demand;
[Expect the state’s major research universities to be engaged in local, regional, and national public/private research efforts.] - The ability for businesses, schools, and child care facilities to support physical distancing; and
[Health checking (e.g., temperature) will be required upon entry to public facilities. Additional space—possibly temporary annexes—will be required to accommodate social distancing as well as blended environment with on-premises activities combined with distance learning, telehealth, and remote work for students, citizens, and employees in isolation. Also, routine disinfecting will be a necessity. Additional and/or modified mass transit capacity and enhanced cleaning/decontamination will be necessary to support any return to public transportation.] - The ability to determine when to reinstitute certain measures, such as the stay-at-home orders, if necessary.
[Pandemic analytics based upon the Bluetooth tracking, medical inventories, and other data will be required to provide just-in-time directives that shut down and reopen geographies and populations with a minimum of socio-economic disruption.]