Gov. Newsom pledges $52M to Central Valley, Kern expected to receive $7M

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California is sending strike teams and tens of millions of dollars into eight Central Valley counties struggling to contain the coronavirus. During his press briefing Monday, Gov. Newsom pledged $52 million for the Central Valley, $7 million of which is expected to come to Kern.

Aside from Kern, the counties Gov. Gavin Newsom referenced Monday are Fresno, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Tulare and Stanislaus counties.

Newsom said all have test positivity rates between roughly 11% and 18%. That's above the state's goal of 8%.

The governor announced he would be granting roughly $52 million to support coronavirus response efforts in these counties. Officials with the Kern County Public Health Department said they are still waiting to hear more details, but anticipate Kern will receive roughly $7 million.

According to local representative Rudy Salas, this funding is set to go towards expanding testing, medical supplies, contract tracing, and support for local medical systems and essential workers.

The focus on the Central Valley comes after Newsom pledged to do more to help California Latinos fight the virus. Latinos are the majority of workers in many essential jobs in those heavily agricultural counties.