Health and Human Services Agency Director Mark Ghaly. (Photo: CHHS.ca.gov)
California Health and Human Services Agency Denies it has Documents to Justify Lockdown or Re-Opening Policy
California Globe public records request answered in record time – by producing nothing
By Katy Grimes, May 13, 2020 5:57 pm
California Globe filed a Public Records Request May 13th with the California Health and Human Services Agency Director Mark Ghaly, Chief Information Officer Adam Dondro, and General Counsel Gabriel Ravel seeking documents, facts, opinions, data, and analysis, that have been used to guide or inform on the public health justification for the latest of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s updates on California’s re-opening policy, as well as state or local social distancing measures to prevent Covid-19, as well as 2020 California mortality data.
The Specific documents requested in the CPRA include:
- Details on the Public Health Justification for latest (May 4, 2020) Governor Newsom Update on California Reopening policy (https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/05/04/governor-newsom-provides-update-on-californias-progress-toward-stage-2-reopening/)
- Daily data on California total mortality (deaths from major causes and all causes) by county since January 1, 2020, equivalent to the daily California state death data contained in the CDC NCHS NVSS Report (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/index.htm)
- Documents describing alternate social distancing scenarios that have been considered by the state
- Minutes of meetings of intra or inter-agency meetings to discuss alternative scenarios
Within hours of sending the records request in, we received a written response back from Attorney Michael Palmisano, Office of the Agency General Counsel for the California Health and Human Services Agency. In a dismissive letter, Mr. Palmisano responded:
“CHHS has determined it possesses no documents responsive to your request. By providing you with this information, CHHS considers your Public Records Act request fulfilled, and the file is now closed. Thank you for your interest in this matter.”
We aren’t sure if Mr. Palmisano is saying the agency doesn’t have the records we requested because they are not using data to justify the statewide shutdown, and the re-opening policy. Or if Mr. Palmisano doesn’t feel he has to turn the documents over to the Globe.
We have been in contact with Epidemiologists, Professors of Medicine and Public Health, Professors of Medicine and Research scientists who say they know that these records must indeed exist. Some of these medical professionals have been public health officers who say they never issued such a dismissive letter to a public records request.
So is Gov. Gavin Newsom really using science and data to base his decisions on the ever-expanding re-opening of California, as he says in every daily briefing? Is Health and Human Services Agency Director Mark Ghaly M.D. basing his recommendations on data, or are both Ghaly and Newsom still using the flawed, discredited models, and not considering total mortality?
Reputable Epidemiologists say these COVID-19 models are “grounded in important assumptions about which there is currently little knowledge.”
While most other states are beginning to safely relax Coronavirus restrictions, Gov. Newsom is doubling down with each vague video press conference and additional Executive Order he writes.
“The CDC has stated that the number of flu hospitalizations estimated for this season is lower than total hospitalization estimates for any season since the CDC began making these estimates,” the Daily Signal reported. “Furthermore, it’s possible that the lethality of COVID-19 is no greater than that of the seasonal flu.”
California Globe will follow up on this California Public Records Act request, as well as Gov. Newsom’s ongoing four stage re-opening plan.
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It seems that the leftists in California always claim scientific superiority to justify everything they do yet they cannot produce a single page of data to justify shutting down the economy? Perhaps the Globe should request the records from the DNC instead.
It would have made more sense if Mr. Palmisaro had sent a copy of “Rules for Radicals” by Saul Alinsky in response to the Globe’s records request, because that is clearly what the governor and other politicians and bureaucrats are using as guidance in this so-called pandemic, not reliable data or “science,” no matter how often they invoke it.
Mr. Palmisaro’s dismissive letter in response to the Globe’s records request was a slap in the face to ALL Californians.
We can only hope Karma takes a big bit out these left wing NUTS!!! Our state is under siege from Gavin Newsome & Nancy Pelosi, I see no way that this can end well. In Newsom’s speech today he praised Nancy Pelosi’s strong leadership, Really? These idiot liberals with power must be stopped before it’s to late, although we are probably to late now. I know many people that are losing their business’s & livelihood because of this Tyrant, my Daughter is one of them as it looks like her Restaurant, of eleven years will not recover. Something has to change NOW!
I sent the headline and message asking the governor to explain why they do not have the documents. Got no reply back. Governor Newsome and Nancy Pelosi are criminals and should be locked up
I am a retired ICU nurse from Placer County and when I heard Newsom say 56% “attack” rate, with a 20% hospitalization rate in the next 8 weeks, I was stunned to say the least. I had already been following the pandemic since Chinese Dr Li Wenliang had reported the new virus. Since retirement, I spend hours every day doing medical research. I try very hard to use trusted, science based data. I do not use ANY journalism for answers to my research no matter if they lean Left, Right or Moderate. I check the CDC and the CA state site http://www.covid19.ca.gov, every morning and do the percentages in order to put things into perspective. 2017-2018 flu season, 155.3 million vaccines were distributed in the US ( population 330 million). With all those vaccines, 60,000 people died. Also. 186 children died. Checking covid19 stats, using # of tests done and # of positives (“attack” rate), the highest was 10% while only sick people were being tested. As more testing is done the percentages drop daily and as of today, 5/17, the “attack” rate is 6.4%. STAY AT HOME will now be Newsoms’ reason we didn’t reach 56%., when in fact, he used flawed science based data that he won’t admit to nor will he share his sources with those who question his sources.
Wow, this is great information. More confirmation that Newsom used scare numbers to shock people into compliance, or, as you say, in hopes of taking credit for a mandate that had absolutely no effect on the outcome.
Great reply. But will people listen? I doubt it.
Hi Candy,
I’m a Nurse as well and struggle with the actual science ro justify our Governor’s decisions for the lockdown.