San Francisco

Newsom made the announcement during a news conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported. 

"This is a big day in terms of the pandemic... We will be moving beyond the blueprint and getting rid of coloured tiers, moving past the dimmer switch. 

"Getting rid of the blueprint as you know it today. That's on June 15 if we continue our good work," Newsom was quoted as saying at the news conference. 

California is set to surpass more than 20 million vaccine doses administered, including 4 million in the state's hardest-hit communities, according to the state government. 

With hospitalisations continuing to steadily decline, Newsom said the next step in the Covid-19 pandemic recovery is moving beyond the state's Blueprint for a Safer Economy. 

In a statement issued by his office later in the day, the Governor said: "We can now begin planning for our lives post-pandemic. 

"We will need to remain vigilant, and continue the practices that got us here – wearing masks and getting vaccinated – but the light at the end of this tunnel has never been brighter." 

California, one of the hardest-hit US states by the pandemic, has so far reported 3,583,830 coronavirus cases and 58,541 deaths.

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