California Governor Gavin Newsom has faced strong online criticism after describing the state’s COVID-19 beach closures as “insane in hindsight” in a CNN interview. He also said California’s largest public school systems stayed closed for too long and suggested early pandemic priorities focused excessively on hand sanitiser rather than the virus itself.

California issued a statewide stay-at-home order on 19 March 2020 affecting nearly 40 million people, while also imposing mask mandates, business restrictions and prolonged school closures. Critics said the decisions were already clearly misguided at the time, pointing to inconsistent rules, enforcement controversies and Newsom’s attendance at a 2020 dinner while restrictions were in place; he later survived a 2021 recall election.