Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
California Makes It Easier for Low-Income Residents to Get and Keep Free Health Coverage
State lawmakers aim to expand Medicaid enrollment by dedicating billions of dollars in coming years to simplifying paperwork, extending pregnancy coverage and opening the program to thousands of new enrollees, including older unauthorized immigrants and people who need nursing home care. (Rachel Bluth, )
Covid Cases Skyrocket: In California, 23,027 new cases of covid were reported July 10-16. That’s a 90% increase in new cases from the previous week of 12,097, according to July 16 end-of-day totals on public health websites. Read more from the Orange County Register.
LA's Mask Mandate Cheered And Jeered: U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy sided with L.A. County's recent measure reinstating mask mandates for all residents inside public spaces regardless of vaccine status, calling it "reasonable" amid the uptick in delta variant cases. However, L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva says he won’t enforce the mandate, saying in a statement that it isn’t backed by science and that his underfunded department cannot afford to. Read more from ABC News, KABC and Newsweek. Continued coverage, below.
Below, check out the roundup of California Healthline’s coverage. For today's national health news, read KHN's Morning Briefing.
More News From Across The State
Fox News:
Sacramento County Advises Vaccinated People Wear Masks Indoors
Sacramento County health officials are advising residents to wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status citing concerns about the rapid spread of the Delta COVID-19 variant. The guidance, which comes as Los Angeles County reinstates an indoor mask mandate, does not match the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance, or the state’s public health guidance, which says vaccinated individuals do not have to wear facial coverings. (Hein, 7/17)
Marin Independent Journal:
COVID-19: Marin County Joins Call For All To Wear Masks Indoors
Marin County has joined a regional movement recommending that everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear face coverings when indoors in public places to prevent spread of COVID-19. Several Bay Area counties and the city of Berkeley made the announcement Friday. Local public health officials had relaxed their masking recommendations following widespread vaccinations, advising that only unvaccinated people need don masks both outdoors and indoors. (Halstead, 7/17)
Berkeleyside:
Masks Again Recommended Indoors In Berkeley Due To Rise In COVID-19
Berkeley and Bay Area health officers are recommending that everyone — regardless of vaccination status — wear masks indoors in public spaces as COVID-19 cases increase due to the more contagious Delta variant. Health officers from Berkeley, Alameda County, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Sonoma counties released a joint statement with the recommendation on Friday afternoon. The agencies have acted in tandem during the COVID-19 pandemic to enforce mandates, and recommend rules to the entire region. (Yelimeli, 7/16)
The New York Times:
Wary And Weary, Los Angeles Largely Accepts Restored Mask Mandate
Most customers dutifully took their masks on and off at the entrance of shops, where signs were posted to remind them of the policy and where, in some cases, complimentary masks were offered. Out-of-state tourists found themselves wearing masks for the first time in months, sometimes annoyed but largely compliant, and one restaurant employee who forgot about the mandate was able to secure a mask by running across the street and asking employees at the Starbucks if they had extras. “Some people think it’s a punishment,” said Lisa Liu, 38, who said she was fully vaccinated. She was shopping on Sunday and was interviewed outside a clothing store called Tazga. “But for me it’s a mask — it’s not a big deal.” (Craig and Albeck-Ripka, 7/18)
Southern California News Group:
With ‘Full Recovery’ From Pandemic At Stake, LA County Re-Lives A Familiar Reality: Masking Up Indoors
Los Angeles County’s rekindled mask mandate blanketed the region on Sunday, July 18 amid rising concern about increased infection among unvaccinated people and that the region’s “full recovery” from the pandemic is on the line. Malls, cafes, pubs and scores of other places where people gather indoors were met with a singular message at the door: Wear a mask inside, regardless of whether you’re vaccinated or not. On a sweltering Sunday, it was a message many were not particularly happy to echo, hear or align with. After a year and half of coronavirus statistics, shutdown orders and physical distancing — and after the region was just beginning to see the economic and social fruits of restrictions lifted on June 15 — it was “here we go again” for L.A. County. (Carter, 7/18)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
State's Mask Stance Frustrates San Diego School Leaders, Parents
California is still requiring masks for everyone in K-12 schools, but it is leaving it up to school leaders to decide how to enforce that rule — a move that has sown confusion and complaints from San Diego superintendents and parents.At least one local school district, Alpine Union, is choosing to make masks optional for students and staff this fall. “I take the tack that I represent my community, and my community’s adamant about choice,” said Alpine Superintendent Rich Newman said. (Taketa, 7/18)
Southern California News Group:
Los Angeles County Reports 1,635 New Cases Of COVID-19
Los Angeles County reported another 1,635 cases of COVID-19 and four additional deaths Sunday as the county continues to see a resurgence in the pandemic that has seen local case rates and hospitalizations skyrocket. It was the tenth consecutive day that at least 1,000 new cases were reported. Sunday’s figures — which brought the county’s totals to 1,267,860 cases and 24,583 fatalities since the pandemic began — likely reflect reporting delays over the weekend, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. (7/18)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Kern County Sees Coronavirus Variants Emerge As Vaccination Efforts Falter
Kern County public health officials and medical providers have voiced concern about the increase of COVID-19 cases and low vaccination rates within many areas of the county just as variants of the virus emerge here. The Kern County Public Health Services Department reported three cases of the delta variant Friday, raising the total number of such cases detected here to six. Medical officials said the variant has already rooted itself in this community and can reignite mass contagion among unvaccinated groups. (Desai, 7/16)
Voice of OC:
As COVID Rises Again In OC, Experts Look To Vaccines To Prevent A Winter-Like Spike
Coronavirus cases are rising throughout Orange County and the surrounding region due to a combination of stalled vaccination rates, the Delta variant and an abrupt statewide reopening, local experts say. While the increases aren’t as severe as the waves last Summer or Winter, the daily cases and positivity rate has been steadily increasing over the past month. (Custodio, 7/17)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Judge Says Lawsuit Demanding Better COVID-19 Practices In San Diego Jails May Proceed
A class-action lawsuit accusing Sheriff Bill Gore of not doing enough to protect San Diego County jail inmates from the deadly coronavirus may proceed to trial, under an order issued by a Superior Court judge. The initial ruling by Judge Joel R. Wohlfeil came as the COVID-19 infection rate has begun to tick upward across San Diego County and the nation after notable declines this spring. (McDonald and Davis, 7/15)
NBC News:
California Doctor Charged With Selling Fake Covid Immunization Pellets
A California doctor has been accused of selling fake Covid immunization pellets and vaccine cards, the U.S. Department of Justice said. The doctor, Juli Mazi, of Napa, was arrested Wednesday and charged with wire fraud and false statements related to health care, according to a criminal complaint. Mazi, a homeopathic doctor, allegedly told patients that her homeoprophylaxis immunization pellets contained "a very minute amount" of the Covid-19 virus and that by taking them they would develop a "full lifelong immunity," the Justice Department said in a press release. (Burke, 7/16)
Los Angeles Times:
Megafire And Two Other Blazes Sweep Northern California
Fueled by a trifecta of dangerous weather conditions — strong winds, low humidity and high temperatures — a series of wildfires, including a so-called megafire that has already charred more than 100,000 acres, continue to burn huge swaths of drought-dried vegetation in Northern California. In Plumas County, the massive Sugar fire, the first 100,000-acre fire in California this year, had burned more than 105,000 acres by Sunday night and was 82% contained, officials said. (Gerber, 7/18)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Gusting Winds Fan Explosive Tamarack Fire; New Evacuations Ordered For Dixie Fire
Strong, gusting winds and gathering storm systems fanned two major wildfires burning in the drought-stricken Sierra Nevada on Sunday — dangerous weather conditions predicted to complicate the firefights. The Dixie Fire in Butte and Plumas counties threatened the communities of Jonesville and Philbrook, about 30 miles north of Paradise, leading sheriff’s officials to order residents to evacuate. Authorities also shut down a portion of Highway 70 near Jarbo Gap when burning rocks and vegetation began tumbling downhill onto the road below, Cal Fire Operations section chief Tony Brownell said. The fire grew to 18,702 acres and was 15% contained. (Flores and Johnson, 7/18)
The Wall Street Journal:
Heat Waves, Wildfires Intensify In The West
Intense heat engulfed the Northern Rockies and High Plains, while high temperatures and dry air made matters worse for firefighters working to control dozens of wildfires burning across the parched West. State leaders had issued emergency orders activating resources before the weekend, while some local communities said the blazes were complicating plans for a resurgence of tourism and local events after an interruption during the Covid-19 pandemic. (Levitz and Lovett, 7/18)
Fox News:
US Heat Wave Sparked Surge In Emergency Department Visits, CDC Report Finds
An intense heat wave affecting the Northwest caused a spike in emergency department (ED) visits for heat-related illness, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Oregon and Washington were most affected by the record-breaking heat, the CDC wrote, with temperatures in Portland climbing to 116 degrees Fahrenheit, over 40 degrees hotter than average monthly highs. While the country sees some 700 deaths due to heat illness each year, the agency warned that climate change will spur increases in fatalities in the years to come in the northwestern U.S. (Rivas, 7/17)
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Rohnert Park Green Lights Launch Of Mobile Crisis Response Unit
Rohnert Park has given the city’s public safety department the go ahead to launch a new mobile crisis response unit that will send mental health workers to specific nonviolent calls, instead of police officers. The program, which City Council approved unanimously in a 5-0 vote July 13, is one of several set to begin operation in the Sonoma County region. The inclusion and creation of these kinds of units are in direct response to demands for changes in the way public safety officials handle social service calls made by protesters after the killing of George Floyd, according to Rohnert Park Public Safety Department Director Tim Mattos. (Constantino, 7/18)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
How The San Diego Foundation Is Helping Nonprofits Address And Prevent Child Abuse And Trauma
The findings from a state report on child abuse and its health impacts confirm what many nonprofit organizations and government agencies have already been working toward: developing and providing services to support the physical and emotional health and well-being of young children and their families. In “Roadmap for Resilience: The California Surgeon General’s Report on Adverse Childhood Experiences, Toxic Stress, and Health,” experts outline the public health issues of toxic stress and abuse, along with solutions and recommendations for addressing these issues on a community level. (Deaderick, 7/18)