COVID-19 testing backlog decreased, more testing on the way, Gov. Newsom announces

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KGO) -- California's backlog of coronavirus tests has been substantially reduced from nearly 60,000 to 13,000, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced during a Saturday press conference in Sacramento.

Despite the improvements, Newsom recognized that more needs to be done in terms of testing.

"I own that, you deserve better and more," he said.

The backlog is the number of tests that still need to be processed in California.

As of Saturday afternoon, California reported 12,026 positive cases of COVID-19 - an increase of 12.4 percent since Friday.

Of those total cases, 2,300 Californians remain hospitalized and 1,008 are in the ICU.

During Saturday's press conference, the governor announced a state partnership with UC Davis and UC San Diego, intended to create more testing sites and increase the state's capacity for testing.

"The approach is a comprehensive one, geographically considered," Newsom said.

RELATED: I-TEAM: California ranks nearly last among U.S. states in coronavirus testing due to backlog

In terms of how many tests need to be deployed in California, the governor said, "the numbers need to multiply exponentially."

In addition to testing, Newsom also announced a new website where users can submit a form if they have personal protective equipment to provide to California.

The site was put together with the help of Salesforce, the governor said.

Despite the state's efforts, Newsom recognized that California is not "out of the woods" just yet.

"I appreciate the attention that California is doing well in some areas," he said.

He said the pandemic remains "serious" and "real."

Newsom also briefly discussed Saturday the probability of NFL games resuming in California.

He said the state does not expect to have NFL games by August.

Newsom said certain restrictions have been lifted in Asia -- but there's since been a "boomerang" of cases.

The governor, at this point, does not want to "over-promise" possible a start date for NFL games.

He says the decision to resume games in California will be based on facts and the state's ability to bend the curve.

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