Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
You Can See Friends And Relatives During The Pandemic Surge — But Do It Carefully
Even as most U.S. states and authorities reimpose many of the restrictions they had prematurely lifted, public health experts say you can still have a safe social life — just not the one you were used to before the pandemic hit. (Bernard J. Wolfson, )
Young People Who Smoke, Vape Have Higher Risk of Dying From COVID-19, UCSF Study Finds: Smoking was the most common risk factor for severe COVID-19 complications among otherwise largely healthy young people, according to a UCSF study published Monday in the Journal of Adolescent Health. For young men, smoking or vaping may more than double the potential of being hospitalized, needing intensive care or even dying from the virus. For young women, it could increase the possibility 1½ times. Read more from Mallory Moench of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Despite Guidelines, Few Californians Able To Visit Relatives In Nursing Homes: For months, families have pined to see their loved ones who live in California’s skilled nursing facilities, which have been shut down to outside visitors. California health authorities recently issued guidance for visits to resume, but few are happening as infection rates surge. “I have not heard from anybody since the new policy went into place on June 26 who said, ‘Hey, I am now able to visit my loved one in a nursing home, at least outdoors,’” said Sue Mathis, who hasn’t seen her 94-year-old mother in San Francisco in four months. Read more from The Associated Press.
Below, check out the roundup of California Healthline’s coverage and the best of the rest of the news.
More News From Across The State
CalMatters:
Coronavirus Testing Experiences Differ Widely In California
It’s the new conversation starter: Have you been tested? Was it hard to get an appointment? How quickly did you get results? As Californians rush to get tested to reassure themselves and their families they aren’t carrying the virus, many have echoed frustrations: Appointments that are weeks out. Tests being denied. Growing delays for results, and lost tests. Confusion about what insurance will and will not cover. (Ibarra, 7/12)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Why A Coronavirus Vaccine Won’t End The Pandemic By Itself
A vaccine may not be enough to end the coronavirus pandemic and restore society to some semblance of normalcy, according to doctors and researchers who say effective treatments for COVID-19 are equally important. While many parts of public life, from crowded stadiums to San Francisco’s beloved cable cars, are on hold until the threat posed by the virus abates, a vaccine alone will likely not allow those functions to resume. And even if scientists find a vaccine that works and is safe, it may take a long time to reach everyone who needs it. (Morris, 7/13)
San Francisco Chronicle:
As Bay Area Coronavirus Cases Surge, Focus On Sonoma And Alameda Counties Intensifies
Sonoma County restaurants, wineries and bars are no longer able to serve patrons indoors — the latest example of a Bay Area county being told by the state to do more to curb the coronavirus. The state ordered the restrictions, in place Monday at 12:01 a.m., after the rate of infections in the county continued to climb over the weekend. The new rules — which also affect movie theaters, museums and cardrooms — will remain in place at least until Aug. 2. (King, 7/12)
Sacramento Bee:
Placer County To Close Indoor Dining Amid COVID-19 Spike
Placer County, having been included on the state of California’s coronavirus watchlist for more than three days, was ordered by the California Department of Public Health to limit its economy once again, as many other nearby county have already done. The state health department’s director issued an amended order to the county on Saturday, to take effect Sunday, that effectively shut down bars, limited restaurants to outdoor seating and closed many entertainment venues. (Moleski, 7/12)
Fresno Bee:
Clovis Restaurants Cited By State Over Indoor Dining Ban
Two Clovis restaurants were cited recently for allowing customers to eat inside, a violation of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s orders to slow the spread of COVID-19. Fresno County is among the counties affected by the state of California’s crackdown due to the rising numbers of positive cases. House of JuJu and Luna’s Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant each received misdemeanor citations from the California Department of Beverage Control on Friday. The ABC is part of multi-agency strike team the governor assembled to enforce the dining rules. (Rodriguez, 7/12)
Sacramento Bee:
Northern California Counties Start Coronavirus Enforcement
No longer shy about challenging scofflaw businesses, two Sacramento-area counties now say they will fine or suspend permits of businesses that resist coronavirus safety measures. The threat of fining or shutting down recalcitrant businesses is one that most local governments in California have been loathe to take, fearing it would stir anger among constituent businesses who believe their rights are being infringed. (Bizjak and Kasler, 7/13)
Fresno Bee:
COVID-19 Has Been Rough On Fresno County In Recent Weeks
In just over four months, a previously little-known organism has managed to change the everyday lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Fresno County and millions across California and the United States. The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, and the word “pandemic” have imprinted themselves on the consciousness of the world as the contagion continues to spread. (Sheehan, 7/13)
Fresno Bee:
COVID-19 Outbreak Hits Harris Ranch In Selma, California
In California, there are no clear, enforceable rules for private companies — or public health officials — to report COVID-19 outbreaks at workplaces. That’s a potentially life-threatening problem for vulnerable essential workers, advocates told The Fresno Bee. (Tobias, 7/10)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento County Coronavirus Deaths, Cases Increase
The COVID-19 death toll in the Sacramento area continues to rise, as coronavirus hospitalization rates locally and across California reach their highest points yet. Sunday brought two more deaths in Sacramento County, bringing the total number of dead in the coronavirus pandemic up to 83. One of these was below the age of 65, the tenth person so far in this age group to have died in the county. (Moleski, 7/12)
Fresno Bee:
Kings County Adds 52 Coronavirus Cases, Nearly 3,000 Total
Kings County reported 52 additional coronavirus cases Sunday, pushing the total since the pandemic begin to 2,970. No new deaths were reported, leaving total fatalities at 39, including a Corcoran State Prison inmate who reportedly died at an outside hospital earlier this week. Of the latest cases, 47 were among the county’s general population, according to an update provided by the Kings County Department of Public Health in Hanford, bringing that total to 1,673. (Valenzuela, 7/12)
The Bakersfield Californian:
County Announces 163 New COVID-19 Cases Sunday
The Kern County Pubic Health Services Department announced 163 new COVID-19 cases Saturday morning. The total case count in Kern now stands at 6,512 since the first was reported locally March 13. A total of 4,190 have recovered from the virus and there have been 97 COVID-19 related deaths announced by the county. (7/12)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Two More San Quentin Prisoners Die From COVID-19
Two San Quentin inmates died Saturday from what appears to be complications with COVID-19, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced Sunday, bringing the total number of prisoner deaths at the state prison to nine. The inmates died July 11 at outside hospitals. No additional information is provided to protect individual medical privacy, the department said. (Narayan, 7/12)
Sacramento Bee:
Prison Workers Assigned To San Quentin Fear Spreading Virus
California’s prison system is forcing Sacramento-area correctional officers and mental health care nurses to transfer to San Quentin State Prison, the site of the system’s largest COVID-19 outbreak. The mental health care nurses are worried for their safety and they fear they could carry the virus back to the institutions where they normally work, including prisons in Folsom and Ione, when they are finished at San Quentin, said Eric Soto, president of the California Association of Psychiatric Technicians. (Venteicher, 7/11)
Sacramento Bee:
Coronavirus: State Prisons Set To Release 8,000 Early
California will release about 8,000 prison inmates early between now and the end of August, with the state corrections department on Friday introducing a combination of measures to free up space during the coronavirus pandemic. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation expanded upon a letter sent Thursday, which informed most inmates they’d have a 12-week credit applied to their sentences, with an announcement Friday of three additional cohorts that will qualify for release over the next several weeks. (McGough, 7/10)
CalMatters:
Some California Schools Delay Start Of In-Person Classes
In the first week of June, a food services employee in the El Centro Elementary School District in Imperial County tested positive for coronavirus. By early July, about a dozen nutrition and transportation workers had been infected. The positive test result briefly halted the meals distribution many low-income students and families depend on and was part of an increasing body of evidence that led the district to prepare for classes, set to start Aug. 24, to begin virtually instead of in person. (Cano, 7/10)
Politico:
California Teachers Fight Back Against Pressure To Reopen Schools
The California Teachers Association, one of the largest and most powerful unions in the country, is insisting on prolonging distance learning instead of forcing its army of more than 300,000 educators back into schools. “We hope we don’t have to go there, but if it comes to it, we do retain the right to refuse to work under unsafe conditions,” said David Fisher, president of the Sacramento City Teachers Association. (Mays, 7/11)
Sacramento Bee:
School Dental Care Helped Low-Income Kids Until Pandemic
Lanessa Pinkney has always struggled to bring her four kids to the dentist. She would have to take time off work, yank her kids out of school, and juggle appointments on multiple days. Pinkney, of Sacramento, wanted them to have the regular oral healthcare they were entitled to on Medi-Cal, but usually she only visited the dentist in an emergency. And even then, like when her daughter fell and knocked out a tooth, she and her toddler had to spend hours in the waiting room. Pinkney found out that Northwood Elementary School was offering on-site cleanings and immediately enrolled her eligible children. (Lange, 7/13)
Los Angeles Times:
California Home Day Care Providers To Vote On Unionizing
After close to two decades of organizing and legislative struggle, tens of thousands of babysitters, early childhood educators and home day care proprietors will vote this month on whether to unionize, a move many hope will reinvigorate California’s ailing child care system in a moment of unprecedented crisis for millions of working families. “People need to understand, we’re not any regular union,” said Zoila Carolina Toma, a longtime organizer with Child Care Providers United, which could soon represent home-based child care workers in negotiations with the state. “We’re not just fighting for us as workers; we’re also fighting for our children’s future.” (Sharp, 7/12)
Sacramento Bee:
COVID-19 Devastated One Northern Nursing Home. Here’s How
Donna Scully said a last goodbye to her mother on March 19, as California closed its doors in hopes of slowing the spread of the new coronavirus. Scully didn’t know that at her mother’s funeral that day she would also say a final farewell to her father. (Pohl and Chen, 7/11)
Los Angeles Times:
How Californians Are Adapting To Coronavirus Job Losses
Calling the impact of the coronavirus an economic crisis undersells it. “Crisis” suggests something acute, of finite duration. But for the almost 1 in 5 Californians out of work, and the millions more who’ve lost income and the support systems that allow them to earn it — there is no obvious end in sight. It’s less crisis than new era. (White, 7/10)
Fresno Bee:
Will Fresno Live Entertainment Venues Survive Pandemic?
Laurence Abbate tries to be optimistic about the future of the Tower Theatre, but it’s not easy. The 81-year-old theater — and Tower District namesake — has been dark since early March, when state and local governments shut down live entertainment venues to stop the spread of the conornavirus. It has endured the hardship so far, despite having zero income coming in and bills piling up. But Abbate isn’t sure how much longer the theater can last without help. (Tehee, 7/11)
Sacramento Bee:
Vacationers Flock To Shores Of South Lake Tahoe Coronavirus
In May, all nonessential travel into the El Dorado County portion of the Lake Tahoe basin was banned as part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order and county regulations. When restrictions lifted several weeks ago, California vacationers returned to Lake Tahoe’s shores. (Heeter, 7/11)