COVID Update: San Francisco Health Officer To Lead CDPH As State Enters 'Challenging Phase' In Pandemic
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- As the state continues to experience a new surge of COVID-19 cases, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that San Francisco Health Officer Tomas Aragon has been chosen to lead the California Department of Public Health.
Newsom, a former San Francisco mayor, announced Aragon's appointment as new CDPH director in a briefing Monday in Sacramento.
"Tomas has been very active in the fight to eliminate this pandemic, to mitigate not just the spread of this virus but to mitigate the number of deaths related to this virus and has put out a lot of protocols that have been replicated all across the state," Newsom said. "We're very, very enthusiastic to have him now on the team, to continue to supplement our efforts as we move into the next and challenging phase."
So far, California has recorded more than 1.3 million COVID-19 cases, with nearly 20,000 deaths.
Aragon, who has served as San Francisco's health officer since 2011, will replace Sandra Shewry, who had been as the CDPH's interim director since previous director Sonia Angell stepped down in August.
The appointment of Aragon, who has also been volunteer faculty for the University of California at Berkeley School of Public Health since 2004,
requires state Senate confirmation.
San Francisco Supervisor Matt Haney offered his congratulations to Aragon via Twitter and also said he has requested that Aragon join Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting regarding the latest citywide stay-home order that went into effect Sunday night.
Supervisors are set to appoint a new public health officer to replace Aragon at a later date.
Mayor London Breed issued a statement Monday about the departure of Aragon from his post with the city.
"Thanks to the early and sustained action we have taken under the guidance of our public health officials like Dr. Aragon, San Francisco has the lowest death rate of any major city," Breed said. "Our state has a long and difficult road ahead and we know Dr. Aragon will continue to serve us all in his new role with the state."
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