Activities such as sporting events may not return "until at least Thanksgiving," a California county official said this week, citing the need to remain vigilant in the fight against the coronavirus.

Jeffrey Smith, a Santa Clara County executive officer told the county's board of supervisors on Tuesday that some social distancing policies should remain in place after the county's shelter-in-place order is lifted, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"There will definitely be individuals who will get sick. And because there are individuals who get sick, there will be individuals who die after the order is released, unless we come up with a foolproof immunization, which is highly unlikely," Smith said.

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The shelter-in-place order that took effect March 16 is slated to be lifted May 3. Gov. Gavin Newsom Gavin NewsomCalifornia family frustrated that governor, Harris used fire-damaged property for 'photo opportunity' Pac-12 moves toward 'return to competition' after Big Ten announces resumption of football season Ben Shapiro's Daily Wire leaving California: 'Terrible governance has consequences' MORE (D) issued a similar statewide order that took effect March 19, but it does not have an end date.

Smith told Santa Clara County's board of supervisors that sports activities would probably not resume until November.

"We'd be lucky to have them by Thanksgiving," he said. "This is not something that's going to be easy to do."

Santa Clara, the epicenter of California's outbreak, has reported 1,380 coronavirus cases and 46 deaths, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

The county is expecting anywhere from 2,500 to 12,000 coronavirus deaths.