Fresh Air? Check. Social Distancing? Check. But Yosemite, It Turns Out, Isn’t Immune To COVID: Like a lot of the rural West, Yosemite National Park stood as a safe haven from the coronavirus. No park employees or residents tested positive. No visitors reported being sick. But this week, lab analysis of sewage from Yosemite revealed the presence of the virus. Dozens of people in Yosemite Valley are believed to have been infected. “It’s one thing to live in denial: We live in the mountains, no one’s sick,” said Eric Sergienko, the health officer for Mariposa County, who is overseeing coronavirus testing in the Yosemite area. “But we can now confirm it’s here.” Read more from Kurtis Alexander of the San Francisco Chronicle.
UCSF Scientists Turn Attention From Vaccine To Treatments: Disturbing new revelations that permanent immunity to the coronavirus may not be possible have jeopardized vaccine development and reinforced a decision by scientists at UCSF and affiliated laboratories to focus exclusively on treatments. “I just don’t see a vaccine coming anytime soon,” said Nevan Krogan, a molecular biologist and director of UCSF’s Quantitative Biosciences Institute, which works in partnership with 100 research laboratories. “People do have antibodies, but the antibodies are waning quickly.” And if antibodies diminish, “then there is a good chance the immunity from a vaccine would wane too.” Read more from Peter Fimrite of the San Francisco Chronicle.
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
Los Angeles Times:
Coronavirus Now Spreading Faster In Suburbs Like Orange County Than In L.A. County
In the first months of the pandemic, Orange County leaders looked at the frightening coronavirus outbreaks and rising death toll to the north in Los Angeles County and felt their communities were doing pretty well in comparison. “Orange County has the lowest rate of confirmed cases in comparison to our neighboring counties,” Michelle Steel, chair of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, said on May 21, just two days before the county was cleared by the state to reopen restaurants for indoor dining. “Orange County is in good condition.” (Lin II, Greene, Sheridan and Money, 7/17)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Tesla Admission: Some Employees Caught The Coronavirus At Work
Working the graveyard shift at Tesla’s sprawling Fremont factory is hard enough without worrying about the coronavirus. For Matthew Krizan, working on vehicle bodies on the overnight shift has meant taking his safety into his own hands. After he heard about coworkers contracting the virus, he decided to get tested on his own. (DiFeliciantonio, 7/16)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Charts Show How Coronavirus Positive Test Rates Have Roller-Coastered In Bay Area Counties
As California reverses course this week and shutters many reopened businesses in the counties on its coronavirus watch list, one crucial metric guiding health officials’ decisions is the positive test rate. That figure, which officials refer to as the “positivity rate,” is the percentage of tests conducted that come back positive for coronavirus. The state threshold for counties to reopen faster is 8% over a seven-day period. California’s current positive test rate sits at 7.1%, and the latest 7-day moving average for the U.S. is 8.7%. (Hwang, 7/16)
Sacramento Bee:
A Majority Of California Believes COVID-19 Is ‘Very Serious’
The expression “don’t blame the messenger” couldn’t be more appropriate than when it comes to the work of public health officials during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have been harassed and threatened with death just for advising Americans on how to avoid spreading the virus. (Iton, 7/17)
Sacramento Bee:
Economy Hit In CA, Sacramento By Newsom COVID-19 Shutdown
Jay Brown, owner of King of Curls on Freeport Boulevard, has survived in the Sacramento business scene for 50 years by being nimble and finding market niches, starting with hair-styling for Black customers, then adding dreadlocks and hair braiding. He now faces a new challenge. Amid a dangerous surge in COVID-19 cases, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday ordered the shutdown of a broad swath of businesses in most of California, including hair salons. (Kasler and Bizjak, 7/17)
Fresno Bee:
Fresno’s Pismo’s Ends Indoor Dining, Turns To Tent, Takeout
About two weeks after Pismo’s Coastal Grill landed in the spotlight for keeping its dining room open after orders to halt indoor dining, the restaurant has stopped seating people inside. The North Blackstone Avenue restaurant was doing only takeout Thursday. It’s in the process of setting up a large, air-conditioned tent in the parking lot that is expected to be up and running Friday, an employee confirmed with The Bee. (Clough, 7/16)
Fresno Bee:
Fresno Adds Strict Orders For Masks, Employer Of Infected
The Fresno City Council put stricter guidelines in place Thursday to require residents to wear masks. Plus, businesses must now inform employees and others when one of their workers tests positive for the coronavirus. With a 5-1 vote, the orders go into effect immediately. Councilmember Garry Bredefeld cast the sole “no” vote, and Councilmember Paul Caprioglio was absent. (Miller, 7/16)
Fresno Bee:
Salons, Barbershops Fight To Work Outdoors During Pandemic
There was a small glimmer of hope in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement on Monday modifying the businesses able to operate in the counties on the state’s cornavirus watch list. Yes, the order closed indoor operations at shopping malls, gyms, nail salons, barbershops and churches. But it seemed to allow for businesses to offer services outdoors — on patios and breezeways, on sidewalks and in parking lots — similar to the rules for restaurants and wineries. (Tehee, 7/16)
Sacramento Bee:
356,000 Californians Infected; Public Schools Close For Fall
Public school campuses in Sacramento County will not reopen when classes begin for the new school year, officials announced Wednesday, the latest widespread closure meant to curtail the rapid surge in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. The move, which affects some of the largest school districts in California and leaves tens of thousands of families and teachers scrambling to plan for longterm distance-learning programs, comes as coronavirus cases have accelerated locally and statewide. (Yoon-Hendricks, 7/16)
Sacramento Bee:
Yolo County Transit Service Says Bus Driver Has COVID-19
The Yolo County Transportation District says a Yolobus bus driver has tested positive for COVID-19, the infectious respiratory diseases caused by the coronavirus. The driver had not been at work for Yolobus since July 7 and has reportedly been in self-isolation since July 10, according to a news release. Yolobus officials said they were notified of the bus driver’s diagnosis on Monday. (Ahumada, 7/16)
Sacramento Bee:
3 Of 4 Nursing Home Workers Say A Staffer Has Had Coronavirus
In the latest poll results from the California Health Care Foundation, low-wage nursing home workers overwhelmingly see their workplaces as epicenters of transmission of COVID-19 for themselves, their families and the residents they serve. Three out of four surveyed workers said they have had known or suspected COVID-19 cases among staff at their facility. Twenty percent of the respondents said they either can’t get tested or can get tested only some of the time, and four months into the pandemic, one in four say they still don’t have adequate access to face masks or other personal protective equipment. (Anderson, 7/17)
Sacramento Bee:
CA Refuses To Cancel 2020 Bar Exam Despite Coronavirus Worries
California is refusing to cancel its bar exam despite complications created by the COVID-19 pandemic — but is offering would-be lawyers the option of taking an online test or accepting a “provisional” license that’s good for up to two years. The decision Thursday night by the California Supreme Court was a disappointment to hundreds of recent law school graduates, who had urged the court to cancel the exam altogether and simply grant them permanent law licenses through a process called “diploma privilege.” (Kasler, 7/16)
CalMatters:
This California County Has Stopped Coronavirus Contact Tracing
A month ago, everyone in Merced County infected with the coronavirus got a call from county officials, asking questions about whom they’d come in contact with. It’s a tracing process that experts say is critical to stopping the spread of the highly infectious disease. Now, facing a five-fold increase in infections, Merced County officials have abandoned the effort. They have not attempted to conduct contact tracing for several weeks. (Sohn, 7/16)
Sacramento Bee:
Coronavirus Pandemic Adds To Stress For California Latinos
California Latinos have good reason to worry in the coronavirus outbreak. They’re becoming infected at higher rates than other populations. They also disproportionately work in the kind of jobs that cannot be done at home, which puts them at great risk of contracting the virus. But the pandemic isn’t the only worry weighing on the state’s largest ethnic community. (Bojorquez, 7/17)
Sacramento Bee:
Coronavirus: Schools Need Clear Rules From Gov. Newsom
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision to let local governments individually decide how to respond to the coronavirus threat has resulted in disaster. Hopefully, he won’t repeat his error by allowing local school officials to send children back into classrooms while infections are soaring. (7/17)
Sacramento Bee:
Schools Should Stay Closed Until Science Says It’s Safe
We need a science-based approach to reopening schools. Not an economic argument, not a treatise on the whole-child benefits of in-person schooling, not even a call to action about the COVID-19 slump. It seems like everyone in America is in agreement that in-person education is what is best for students, and most epidemiologists are even in agreement about how schools should reopen (masks, cohorts, teaching in shifts, etc), but what no one is providing clear direction on is when schools should reopen. (Rachel Baird, 7/15)
San Francisco Chronicle:
The Lesson Of California’s Rapid Return To Abnormalcy
Now that Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered bars, restaurants and other risky indoor businesses to cease in all or most of the state as coronavirus cases surge, he should heed some considered advice going forward: his own. (7/15)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Patients Can’t Keep Putting Off Medical Care For Fear Of COVID-19
“I’m sorry doctor, I didn’t want to come in because of the coronavirus.” Last week in my Palo Alto urgent care clinic, an elderly woman with diabetes — let’s call her Elaine — apologized as soon as I walked into the exam room. She’d finally come in, she said, because she just couldn’t get her blood sugar down. (Jason Bae, 7/13)
Sacramento Bee:
Newsom Needs To Protect Prisoners’ Health, Dignity And Lives
Over the last few weeks, the worst outbreak of COVID-19 in California has unfolded. On June 1st, the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported amongst the incarcerated population in San Quentin. Since then, those of us with loved ones inside, and those who hold sacred the human dignity of all, have watched with horror as the number of cases has exploded. (James King and Danica Rodarmel, 7/11)
Fresno Bee:
Fresno Farm Workers Need COVID-19 Protections
During mid-May President Trump announced the reopening of the economy after closure due to the rapid spread of the COVID infections in the country. This coincided with the announcement that the vast majority of positive infections and deaths were in communities of color, including a rapidly increasing number of Latinos. (Raul Pickett, 7/10)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento Must Embrace Tents To Help Solve Homelessness
Over 10 years after homeless people in Sacramento first established a 200-tent encampment behind the Blue Diamond Almond Factory, the Safe Ground movement is finally getting its due. On Monday, Mayor Darrell Steinberg unveiled a proposal for the city to buy 500 tiny homes to establish Safe Ground encampments around Sacramento, complete with toilet and shower facilities, at a cost of up to $5 million. (7/14)