By Hannah Nightingale – The Postmillennial
On Wednesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency over the bird flu. In the proclamation, Newsom wrote that “all residents are to obey the direction of emergency officials with regard to this emergency in order to protect their safety.”
The proclamation stated that avian influenza A (H5N1) was first detected in the US wild bird population in South Carolina in January 2022, and that an outbreak of the bird flu was first reported in dairy cows in March 2024. The first case recorded in California in a dairy cow was on August 30, 2024. Since then, 61 dairies have confirmed positive tests for the bird flu across nine counties in Central California.
Despite testing and containment efforts, dairy cows at four Southern California dairies tested positive for bird flu on December 12, 2024, “necessitating a shift from regional containment to statewide monitoring and response to active cases.” The document noted that since March, there have been 61 human cases reported across eight states, 34 of which were in California.
The document stated that there are currently 985 dairies currently under surveillance testing across the state by the California Department of Food and Agriculture and 614 dairies under quarantine.
Under the emergency declaration, “state agencies shall enter into contracts to arrange for the procurement of materials, goods, and services necessary to quickly assist with the response to and recovery from the impacts of this emergency” as needed to “assist local governments and for the protection of public health and the environment.”
The declaration also states that “work hour limitations for retired annuitants, permanent and intermittent personnel, and state management and senior supervisors, are suspended.”