Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Society Is Reopening. Prepare To Hunker Down At Home Again.
First, businesses started to reopen; then racial justice protesters flooded the streets. Social distancing is beginning to fade. Are you ready for a second wave of COVID-19 infections ― and a renewed lockdown? (Bernard J. Wolfson, )
California See Increase In COVID Cases As Counties Reopen, Protesters March In Streets: California set a new single-day record for confirmed coronavirus cases on Friday, as a surge of new positive tests pushed the number of cases statewide above 125,000. According to data compiled by this news organization, public health officials throughout the state reported 3,603 new coronavirus cases and 83 new deaths Friday. California has now confirmed 126,204 cases, and 4,536 people are known to have died from COVID-19. The number of new reported cases has been climbing at an alarming clip in recent weeks — Friday’s new record shattered the previous single-day high of 3,131 cases, which was set on Monday.
But the increase has come as access to coronavirus testing has expanded, so it’s not clear whether the trend reflects that COVID-19 is surging in the state, or if more people who have the deadly illness are now being tested for it. County public health officials anticipate an increase in coronavirus cases in the coming weeks because of both the protests and the reopening of businesses and other establishments. Still, they hope that the increase in those who become sick enough to be hospitalized is not sufficient to overwhelm the healthcare system. Read more from Nico Savidge of the Bay Area News Group; the Sacramento Bee; and Alex Wigglesworth of the Los Angeles Times.
In related news from the San Francisco Chronicle: SF — Worried About COVID-19 Spread At Demonstrations — Sets Up Testing Site For Protesters
COVID Outbreak In San Quentin Prison Highlights Danger For Inmates: As of Sunday, there were 14 inmates at San Quentin with active cases of the virus, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation website. In an email, a corrections department spokeswoman wrote the department recently transferred inmates who were “at high-risk of infection” from the California Institution of Men in Chino — the site of one of the prison system’s largest outbreaks — to other prisons, including San Quentin. “While the inmates were tested and medically evaluated before and after the transfers, four of those transfers have tested positive at San Quentin and one at Corcoran State Prison,” corrections department spokeswoman Dana Simas wrote in the email. Read more from Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle.
In related news from the Fresno Bee: Prisons Account For Almost 60% Of Kings County COVID-19 Cases
Pandemic Undercuts California’s Wildfire Response Even As Severe Season Looms: Still recovering from devastating wildfires, California was poised to spend billions of dollars to prepare for future fires and other extreme weather disasters. The infrastructure projects, designed to make communities and homes more resistant to wildfire, have long been overlooked, fire experts say. But with a $54 billion budget deficit, the programs are being put on hold. Read more from Lauren Sommer of NPR.
In related news: Quail Fire In Solano County Grows To 1,800 Acres, Is 40% Contained; Mandatory Evacuations Lifted
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
San Francisco Chronicle:
California Sets Rules For Counties To Progress To Third Reopening Phase, Including Bars And Gyms, As Bay Area Remains On Its Own Timeline
California campgrounds, hotels, gyms, bars and museums may reopen as soon as June 12 if their home counties can prove to the state that public health safety criteria have been met, according to new guidance issued by state health officials Friday. California health officials also released new guidance on how schools will be allowed to reopen. (Ho, 6/6)
Sacramento Bee:
California Nursing Home Deaths From COVID-19 Doubled In May
Deaths in California nursing homes from COVID-19 more than doubled during the month of May, as skilled-care facilities for the elderly continue to disproportionately bear the brunt of the pandemic across the United States. A total of 1,190 nursing home residents died from the disease last month alone, representing more than half of the state’s coronavirus-related deaths for the month. (Hoplamazian, 6/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Temperature Checks, Masks For Teachers: California Releases Stringent School Reopening Rules
When California’s more than 6 million K-12 students return in a few months, they will face a starkly different learning environment. Students should have their temperatures taken every morning, with no-touch thermometers. Teachers should wear face masks or shields. Desks should be spaced 6 feet apart, separated by partitions or staggered to avoid face-to-face contact. (Gardiner, 6/5)
Bay Area News Group:
Coronavirus And The Homeless: How Bad Is It In The Bay Area?
Alameda County has seen reported coronavirus infections in its homeless communities nearly triple over the past two and a half weeks. But with 74 unhoused people testing positive so far — and no deaths — health officials say the county’s experience is part of a broader Bay Area trend: For the most part, the virus has yet to rip through encampments and shelters. (Kendall, 6/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Should I Get A Coronavirus Test Before Seeing Friends And Family?
When Gina Lee-Satomi was thinking about driving to Southern California last month to help care for her elderly parents and 100-year-old grandmother, she worried that she or her son might transmit the coronavirus to her relatives. But Lee-Satomi, who lives in San Francisco and had been carefully following stay-at-home orders, had struggled with a lingering, on-and-off cough since February. She wanted to make sure it wasn’t the coronavirus before she reunited with her family. (Ho, 6/7)
San Francisco Chronicle:
UCSF Studying Stem Cells As Possible Coronavirus Treatment
UCSF’s Dr. Michael Matthay wasn’t thinking about a pandemic in January when he launched a clinical trial to investigate whether certain stem cells could effectively treat a serious form of respiratory failure. Then the coronavirus came to the United States. Now, most of the people who are part of the trial Matthay is leading in San Francisco and other locations have COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. (Morris, 6/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Supervisor Wants SF To Make Pandemic Eviction Protections Permanent. Should It?
When Jenny Ramirez’s father temporarily lost his job as a chef at a Peruvian restaurant because of the pandemic, she was thankful her family didn’t have to worry about the life-altering, stomach-churning threat of eviction. That’s because San Francisco banned evictions during the coronavirus public health emergency — and for two months after — to help families just like hers. But, the 18-year-old still worries: What will happen to them when that temporary ban ends?“We are worried ... the landlord will say, ‘Here is your total,’ and it will be more than we can pay,” said Ramirez, a cosmetology student who lives in the Mission with her parents and two siblings. (Dineen and Thadani, 6/8)
Los Angeles Times:
Coronavirus: Childcare Is Needed For Economic Recovery
After weeks at home, Ana Arroyo, 28, is ready get out of the house and back to work. Her employer, Merced County Community Action Agency, has reopened and her job is just waiting for her. But she can’t return — because there’s no one to watch her six-year-old son, Javier. Child care businesses were among the hardest hit by the COVID-19-related shutdown, with a third of child care workers nationwide laid off or furloughed. Only the hotel and restaurant industries fared worse. (Wire, 6/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
‘Social Bubbles’: Alameda County Has A New Name For Your COVID Crew And Pandemic Pods
Call it a COVID crew, a pandemic pod or, as Alameda County would now prefer, a “social bubble.” On Friday the county released new health guidelines and attempted to put a formal stamp on a concept many in the Bay Area have already put into place: small, strict social circles outside your immediate household. (Kost, 6/7)
Fresno Bee:
Kings County CA To Offer Free COVID-19 Testing To Residents
Kings County on Monday will start offering free COVID-19 testing to all county residents, including the uninsured and undocumented immigrants. In a Sunday news release, the Kings County Department of Public Health announced it will begin a rotating scheduled to offer the free testing throughout the county. “Testing is available for all individuals, including those who are uninsured or undocumented, and testing results are confidential,” according to the release. (Amaro, 6/7)
Sacramento Bee:
California Unemployed Still Frustrated With EDD Response
“How on earth am I going to survive this?” asks Glenn Prasad. The south Sacramento former Uber and Lyft driver has maxed out his credit card. He pays $2,000 a month rent. He needs his unemployment benefit, and so far can’t get it — nor can he get what he regards as useful answers from the state’s unemployment agency. (Lightman, 6/7)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Exclusive: How SF Sidestepped State Law On Developing Toxic Sites
Contaminated gas stations, vehicle repair shops and parking garages have become prized development commodities in San Francisco in recent years as the city struggles with a crushing housing shortage. But city officials have repeatedly stymied public oversight when assessing whether these chemical-tainted properties are safe for hundreds of new homes by allowing developers to bypass environmental reviews required under state law, a Chronicle investigation has found. (Dizikes, 6/7)