Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
‘Why Do We Always Get Hit First?’ Proposed Budget Cuts Target Vulnerable Californians
Safety-net health care programs that keep low-income Californians out of nursing homes are on the chopping block as Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers attempt to plug a massive budget deficit caused by the COVID-19 emergency. (Samantha Young, )
In Counties That Reopened Earliest, Coronavirus Cases Are Climbing Again: Sonoma County was one of the first regions in California to begin reopening after months of restrictions aimed at controlling the spread of the coronavirus. Now, the county has reported 203 new cases of the virus in the last 14 days, doubling its case rate in that time from 20 per 100,000 residents to 41 per 100,000, the county’s health officer, Dr. Sundari Mase, said. And rural Lassen County, which had been one of only two California counties untouched by COVID-19, halted its reopening and ordered restaurants, retail shops and other venues to shut down after reporting its first five cases this week.
The numbers come as local officials and public health experts across the state question the speed with which Gov. Gavin Newsom is reopening the state. Most of the Bay Area is refusing to go along with the governor’s accelerated pace, and a handful of local health officers have criticized his plan as overly risky. Meanwhile, Los Angeles County officials are hoping to find out as early as Friday whether they’ll be allowed to reopen restaurants for in-person dining, along with barbershops and hair salons. Read more from Hannah Fry of the Los Angeles Times; Erin Allday and Alexei Koseff of the San Francisco Chronicle; Tony Bizjak and Phillip Reese of the Sacramento Bee; and Jaclyn Cosgrove and Colleen Shalby of the Los Angeles Times.
In related news from the Los Angeles Times: Reopening California Off To A Slow Start As Customers Stay Away, Fears Of Coronavirus Still Loom Large
Supreme Court Mulls California’s Restrictions On Churches: The Supreme Court is set to decide on a religious freedom claim from a south San Diego County church that wants an exemption from California’s COVID-19 rules, which limit large gatherings for services. The church sought a court order as a shield against enforcement, but lost before a federal judge in San Diego and by a 2-1 vote in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeals court upheld California’s rules in a brief decision on May 22. Last weekend, the church filed an emergency appeal and urged the justices to act quickly to open services for this Sunday, May 31, the “Christian holy day of Pentecost.” Before the justices could look at the appeal, however, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued new guidelines on Monday that will allow houses of worship to reopen, but with limits. Read more from David G. Savage of the Los Angeles Times.
Below, check out the full round-up of California Healthline original stories, state coverage and the best of the rest of the national news for the day.
More News From Across The State
Los Angeles Times:
California Nears 4,000 Coronavirus Deaths; L.A. County Hardest Hit
California approached another solemn milestone Thursday as the coronavirus death toll neared 4,000 and more communities pushed to further reopen their ravaged economies. The death toll in the state remains much lower than those in the coronavirus hot spots of Michigan, New Jersey and New York. But officials have said that while other metrics such as hospitalizations and new confirmed cases offer signs of significant progress, deaths in California remain a major concern. (Money, Dolan and Cosgrove, 5/29)
Sacramento Bee:
CA Senate Rejects Some Budget Cuts Gavin Newsom Proposed
Dentist appointments for low-income Californians. A black infant health program. Housing for California’s foster youth. These are among the services California lawmakers want to protect from $14 billion in cuts proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to plug a $54 billion deficit caused by the coronavirus. (Wiley, 5/28)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Exclusive: California’s Draft Guidelines For Reopening Schools Include Costly And Long To-Do List
The state’s draft guidelines for reopening schools detail a costly and logistically challenging checklist that educators say will be nearly impossible to complete, given projected budget cuts. The Chronicle obtained a summary of the draft, with the governor expected to release a final version Friday, that will guide a return to school for California’s 6 million K-12 students. It is possible that students across the state would continue with 100% distance learning simply because their schools cannot afford to reopen safely, education officials said Thursday based on expected safety guidelines. (Tucker and Gardiner, 5/28)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Major New San Francisco Health Order Requires Masks Or Face Coverings Outside
People in San Francisco must wear a face covering outside in most circumstances under a major new health order announced Thursday, as the city paves a path toward reopening. Under the new mandate, which is scheduled to take effect at 11:59 p.m. Friday, face coverings are now generally required — with a few exceptions — when someone is exercising within 30 feet of another person, walking past someone else on a sidewalk or preparing food or other items for people who are not part of their household. (Serrano, 5/28)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Japantown Merchants Fear Pandemic’s Blows To Historic SF Neighborhood
Tradition has flourished within the handful of blocks that make up San Francisco’s Japantown — a bonsai version of a once sprawling neighborhood. The 114-year-old town has had its fair share of struggle, surviving earthquakes, internment, displacement. Now it faces another battle: COVID-19. Community members and merchants are worried about the devastating economic crisis, running parallel with the health crisis, on Japantown’s small businesses that are invariably tied to its cultural identity. (Narayan, 5/28)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento Nursing Home Workers May Strike Over PPE, Testing
Employees at Windsor Care Center of Sacramento have authorized a strike because the nursing home’s management has not provided personal protective equipment and coronavirus testing, the union representing said Thursday. Windsor Sacramento, a 128-bed facility, has not had any reported COVID-19 cases or deaths. But, its employees, represented by SEIU Local 2015, are concerned about a lack of disease-prevention measures and the “continued negligence (of) this employer to address such critical needs in this moment,” said Arnulfo De La Cruz, executive vice president of the union. (Chen, 5/28)
San Francisco Chronicle:
UCSF’s Testing Program In SF’s Bayview And Nearby Neighborhoods Will Gauge Coronavirus Spread
Residents of San Francisco’s Bayview, Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley — low-income, racially diverse neighborhoods hit hard by the pandemic — will be able to get a free coronavirus test through a new UCSF four-day testing project aimed at understanding the prevalence of the virus. The program will offer voluntary testing from Saturday to Tuesday with the goal of testing up to 4,000 people who live, work, play or pray in the neighborhoods. Volunteers will be tested for current coronavirus infections as well as for antibodies to show if they have already been exposed to the virus. (Bauman, 5/28)
Sacramento Bee:
CVS Adds Drive-Thru Coronavirus Testing In Sacramento CA
Eight more Sacramento-area CVS Health pharmacies are set to begin offering COVID-19 tests at drive-thru locations, starting Friday. Tests will only occur at drive-thru windows. CVS employees will monitor each patient as they “self-swab” their noses. “All of the swabbing will take place in the patient vehicle in order to maintain the safety of the patients, as well as those of us in the store,” said Amy Winchell, CVS director of retail operations. (Gomez, 5/28)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Sonoma County Sheriff Criticizes County’s Health Order, Says He Won’t Enforce It
Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick said Thursday that he will stop enforcing the county’s shelter-in-place order on June 1 because he believes the past and current orders put “significant restrictions on our freedoms.” In a Facebook post, Essick said the county’s initial and subsequent health orders since the start of the coronavirus pandemic have been “far more restrictive” than guidelines in neighboring counties and in statewide orders. (Hernandez, 5/28)
Fresno Bee:
Central Valley Residents Staying Informed During COVID-19
On a recent hot Saturday in May, residents in a small tract of homes west of Fresno huddled under the shade to wait for a distribution of hygiene products and food. Many of those who waited in lines for toilet paper, canned food and masks learned about the giveaway through organizer Lilia Becerril’s growing social media following. While such products are essential in the fight against COVID-19, getting them in the hands of the people who need them is challenging, especially in rural areas that lack both a city government structure and a dedicated local news source, according to Becerril, a Fresno resident. (Rodriguez-Delgado, 5/28)
Fresno Bee:
Inmate At Fresno County Jail Tests Positive For COVID-19
An inmate at the Fresno County Jail has tested positive for the coronavirus, Fresno County Sheriff’s spokesman Tony Botti said. The sheriff’s office received the positive test results on Thursday. It’s the second inmate to test positive. The inmate was in quarantine at the jail and has since moved to an isolated pod for positive cases, Botti said. (Galaviz, 5/28)
Sacramento Bee:
California’s Rushed Reopening Carries Deadly COVID-19 Risks
Please don’t be fooled by the sudden wave of reopening restaurants, stores and salons around Sacramento. COVID-19 still stalks California. It will infect and kill many more people before this pandemic ends. Gov. Gavin Newsom is now allowing haircuts, church attendance and dine-in eating in many places. But this does not mean such activities are safe. (5/29)
San Jose Mercury News:
Relaxing Coronavirus Sheltering Too Fast Will Kill People
Our national and regional reaction to the COVID-19 crisis reminds me of when I practiced medicine. Patients would come to the hospital extremely ill, possibly new diabetes out of control. After intense medical treatment and severe behavioral changes, a few weeks later the patient would be back in the clinic doing better. Invariably, there would be the question, “When will I be able to go back to my normal diet and activity?” The real answer is never. (Dr. Jeff Smith, 5/27)
Sacramento Bee:
Should We Be Forced To Wear Masks To Reopen Our Communities?
Bee photographs published over the Memorial Day weekend showed water enthusiasts crowding a Rancho Cordova park on the American River and my first thought was: I wonder how many will find out in two to three weeks they have contracted COVID-19? There they were: Not social distancing. Not wearing masks. We’re in the midst of reopening our shuttered society with the COVID-19 menace still present and many of us act as if the menace is somehow gone. Are we nuts? Honestly, do we really think this is over? (Marcos Breton, 5/29)
Fresno Bee:
Wear A Face Mask And Help Save A Life From COVID-19
It feels constricting, it’s hot and sweaty, and looks unnatural. I am referring of course to wearing a face mask in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. All these months since California initiated statewide efforts to deal with the highly contagious virus, and I am still clumsy when it comes to putting a mask on before entering a store. (Tad Weber, 5/27)
CalMatters:
Revised Budget Puts Older Californians, Communities At Risk
No one expected good news when Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the May Revision of the California budget. As the COVID-19 pandemic obliterates plans and economies, there was no expectation that California’s budget would go unscathed. However, we never predicted the biggest blow would go to California’s older adults. (Linda Nguy and Claire Ramsey, 5/26)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Coronavirus Pandemic Intensifies Fight Over Voter Access
California is just one front in what is shaping up as a multistate battle over who gets to vote — and how they get to do it — in the November election. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent executive order for each registered voter to receive a mail-in ballot has drawn a lawsuit from Republican congressional candidate Darrell Issa and the conservative group Judicial Watch. The complaint alleges that Newsom violated Issa’s rights by forcing him to “re-evaluate his electoral strategy” with the rule change. (John Diaz, 5/23)
CalMatters:
California Left Billions Of Repatriated Tax Dollars On The Table, The State Should Pick Up That Money Now
Given the precipitous drop in economic activity caused by the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the increase in demands on state resources, California now finds itself in a budget crisis, despite having built up a $20 billion reserve. The governor is projecting a deficit of more than $54 billion. Instead of balancing the budget with massive cuts, California could pick up much needed revenue by taxing the windfall given to the most profitable corporations by the 2017 federal tax cuts. (Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, David Gamage and Darien Shanske, 5/29)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Women And People Of Color In California Are Getting Laid Off. Let Them Back In The Door
I’ve spent most of my career being the only black woman in the room. Based on my background, statistics would tell you that the odds of finding myself where I am today — a technology expert advising some of America’s most valuable companies — were extremely low. I ran away from home when I was 16 years old, got my GED, and went straight into the workforce. I eventually made the choice to go back to college while working, and kept steadily moving upward. Along the way, I learned that tricks like changing my name on my resume from “Tanishia” to “Toni” was all it took to get a callback. There’s a whole body of research that validates this experience. (Tanishia Williams, 5/29)
CalMatters:
Incarcerated Pregnant Women Should Be Guaranteed A Standard Of Care
It’s a scary time to be pregnant – especially if you’re incarcerated. That’s because high-density prisons and jails are like Petri dishes for the COVID-19 pandemic. While the CDC doesn’t identify pregnancy as a high-risk condition for COVID-19, it does urge “extra precautions.” More than enough reason for the California state Senate not to jettison Assembly Bill 732, as it streamlines its bill load to address the pandemic. (Kate Karpilow, 5/28)
Los Angeles Times:
Coronavirus Shows Us The Danger Of Our Prison State
In many U.S. jails and prisons, hygiene costs money. Through work or good behavior, inmates can earn credits at the institution’s canteen and exchange them for packages of soap, shampoo, toothpaste, washcloths and the like. Or families can pay to have those packages delivered to their loved ones, to help them stay relatively healthy during their time behind bars. (5/29)
Fresno Bee:
Even In COVID-19 Era, Keep Pediatrician Visits As Needed
As if the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) hasn’t changed enough in our daily lives — from losing a job, working from home, figuring out your child’s online classroom assignments … if you even have access to a computer, and social distancing — parents are caught between messages about “Keep your kids home” and “Keep up with your kids’ health needs.” It is hard. And it is possible to do both. (Dr. Carmela Sosa, 5/26)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Park Closures During Coronavirus Pandemic Don’t Protect Our Health
Reasonable precautions are better medicine. They’re easier to swallow. It’s after Memorial Day and in California 31 state parks remain closed for all activities, including walking, in the name of public safety. There really is no scientific justification. (Rajiv Bhatia, 5/29)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Summertime, And The Living’s Uneasy? Doctors Tell Us What’s OK, What To Put Off Till Another Day
San Francisco’s health orders governing the city’s behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic are remarkably specific — in some cases. I now know all there is to know about safely operating a flea market, a chartered fishing boat and a curbside retail operation. I know it’s OK to explore rock pools, meditate outdoors and go sculling (even though I barely know what sculling is). I know I could get busted, however, for playing lacrosse, bocce ball or cricket. Bummer. (Heather Knight, 5/23)
Los Angeles Times:
Trump Slams Twitter And Leads Us Off On Another Diversion
This is how a thug acts. Twitter at long last has affixed fact-check links to a couple of tweets by President Trump that include verifiably false details, in this case claims by the president that mail-in balloting leads to election fraud. Note that Twitter didn’t remove the tweets, and hasn’t gone so far as to add fact-check links to the president’s baseless insinuations that MSNBC co-anchor Joe Scarborough might bear responsibility for a congressional aide’s long-ago natural death. (Scott Martelle, 5/27)
Fresno Bee:
Fresno Churches Must Reopen Carefully In COVID-19 Pandemic
This Sunday marks Pentecost Sunday, the day the Christian church recognizes as when the Holy Spirit anointed Jesus’ disciples after the Easter resurrection. And, right on cue, churches throughout California have been given approval to reopen after being shutdown for these past months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They can do so provided they meet stringent conditions imposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom for public safety. (5/29)
Fresno Bee:
Coronavirus Protests Are About White Anger, Not The Economy
“Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.” The haunting lyrics of “Me and Bobby McGee,” made famous by Janis Joplin, defined the aspirational attitude of a young generation of Baby Boomers optimistically looking to change the world. Curiously, those same words also defined that generation’s destructive attitude toward angrily undermining the American institutions and social contract that made their lives of privilege possible. (Mike Madrid, 5/28)
CalMatters:
Eliminate Cost-Sharing For Aborion During COVID-19 Pandemic
We live in a state with a staunchly pro-choice governor, yet even in California, we still see major inequities in accessing abortion through insurance. Legal and safe abortion is available, but only in theory and not in practice, if cost-prohibitive. Last December I authored the Abortion Accessibility Act, Assembly Bill 1973, to stop insurers from charging for abortion services... Abortion care costs a patient about $500 at 10 weeks gestation. That cost rises significantly as women delay in their struggle to pay for the procedure. (Sydney Kamlager, 5/23)
CalMatters:
Commentary: Vets Understand The Healing Power Of Nature And The Need To Protect Public Lands
Before the coronavirus pandemic upended life as we know it, spending time in nature was healing for my family and me. This wasn’t always the case. I didn’t consider myself an “outdoorsy” person growing up. My family didn’t go hiking or camping. My first real experiences in the outdoors began when I was 17, when I joined the U.S. Army Reserve and trained outside during the freezing winter months. (Kate Hoit, 5/25)
Fresno Bee:
Fresno County Supervisors Lack Leadership During COVID-19
Of all the levels of government, counties are the least understood. Counties also receive the least amount of scrutiny — at least in normal times... Still, even somebody who napped through high school civics can probably demonstrate at least a vague understanding about the role of federal, state and city government. But county government? Until COVID-19 upended our lives, I’d venture to say John Q. Public barely had a clue. (Marek Warszawski, 5/24)