Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
California’s New Attack On Opioid Addiction Hits Old Roadblocks
State officials in California have achieved some success in promoting the use of medication-assisted treatment for people with opioid addictions, but they are bumping up against familiar resistance and constraints. (John M. Glionna, )
The Nation’s 5,000 Outpatient Surgery Centers Could Help With The COVID-19 Overflow
A coalition of anesthesiologists wants to repurpose the country's more than 5,000 surgery centers to serve as emergency overflow amid the coronavirus pandemic. The centers have trained medical staff largely sitting idle, anesthesia machines that could be turned into ventilators, and empty medical space. But obstacles such as federal payment rules, logistics and some skepticism are getting in the way. (Cara Anthony and Liz Szabo, )
Newsom Confident California Can Produce Number Of Ventilators Needed To Handle Escalating Number Of Cases: Gov. Gavin Newsom said Saturday that California has the capacity to produce enough ventilators to meet its projected needs in response to the coronavirus pandemic. But during a tour of a San Jose energy company that is refurbishing outdated ones, he cautioned that the state’s need could expand significantly if the public doesn’t maintain social distancing and the crisis worsens. Newsom said the state needs 10,000 ventilators quickly to treat a surge in COVID-19 patients who need assistance breathing. He said the state has identified 4,250 machines and is working to find more. Overnight, the number of people in California intensive care units jumped from 200 to 410.
Newsom also said the federal government sent Los Angeles County 170 ventilators that arrived “not working,” and now a Silicon Valley company is fixing the equipment amid the coronavirus outbreak. “Rather than lamenting about it… we got a car and a truck,” Newsom said, while speaking at a Bloom Energy refurbishing site. “And we had those 170 brought here to this facility at 8 a.m. this morning, and they are quite literally working on those ventilators right now. … That’s the spirit of California.” Read more from Nigel Duara and Ana B. Ibarra of CalMatters; Taryn Luna and Rong-Gong Lin II of the Los Angeles Times; and Sophia Bollag of the Sacramento Bee.
Hopeful Signs Point To Success Of Extreme Social Distancing Measures: Though California’s case count keeps climbing, it is not rising so fast as to suggest the regional outbreak is out of control, as it is in New York. The death toll in the Bay Area is mounting, and while that’s sobering news, it’s not increasing faster than anticipated. It’s too early to say whether the regional outbreak will mushroom into the kind of crisis striking New York. Public health authorities warn it may be several weeks before they can say that sheltering in place saved the Bay Area and the state. “It’s really, really important for all of us to continue to shelter in place and to do social distancing,” said said Chris Farnitano, the Contra Costa County health officer. “We need to hang in there, because we won’t know whether it’s working for a while.” Read more from Erin Allday of the San Francisco Chronicle.
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
CalMatters:
Los Angeles Will Mirror New York As Coronavirus Surges, Newsom And Garcetti Warn
Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti issued dire warnings Friday that the nation’s second-largest city is headed for the same surge in COVID-19 cases as New York City after a 26% increase in California deaths overnight. The announcement came as President Trump signed a federal stimulus package that will pump billions of dollars into the state’s flailing economy and offer a lifeline for an unprecedented public health response to the pandemic. (Lin, Christopher and Levin, 3/27)
Fresno Bee:
Coronavirus Updates: California Sees 118 Dead Amid Pandemic
As the coronavirus continues to spread in communities across the globe, California has seen a huge surge, passing 5,000 positive cases and reaching at least 118 deaths. Worldwide, the virus is spreading at an ever-increasing rate. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, more than 713,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19, while over 33,000 have died as a result and 148,000 have recovered as of 1:45 p.m. Pacific time Sunday. (Moleski and Bizjak, 3/29)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Coronavirus: The State Had 21 Million N95 Masks Stockpiled. All Are Expired.
As the coronavirus pandemic slammed into California and doctors and nurses sounded the alarm on a dire shortage of masks, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the release of the state’s emergency stockpile of 21 million N95 respirators. What he didn’t mention then: They are all expired. (Gafni, 3/29)
Sacramento Bee:
How Many Coronavirus Patients Are In Sacramento Hospitals?
Sacramento County’s health chief said this week he is cautiously optimistic county residents and local hospitals are taking steps that will reduce illnesses and deaths in the coming critical weeks of the fight against the highly contagious coronavirus. Speaking to The Sacramento Bee, Dr. Peter Beilenson said he believes residents have been doing enough “physical distancing” in the last two weeks to cut into the expected upcoming spike locally in cases. (Bizjak and Yoon-Hendricks, 3/28)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Bay Area Shelter In Place Orders Likely To Extend Through April
The Bay Area’s shelter-in-place order will be extended to May 1 to curb a still-growing coronavirus pandemic, San Francisco City Hall sources said Sunday evening, with an announcement likely as soon as Monday. Such an extension was hinted at Sunday morning by Santa Clara Supervisor Cindy Chavez as she led reporters on a tour of county fairgrounds spaces that are being prepared to shelter homeless people. She called it likely that “this week …we’ll get a second shelter-in-place order” extending beyond the April 7 time frame that was put in place on March 16 when COVID-19 cases had not yet reached today’s proportions. (King and Knight, 3/29)
Bay Area News Group:
Meet The Bay Area Doctor Who Ordered America’s First Coronavirus Lockdown
She is the Bay Area’s Anthony Fauci, Santa Clara County’s most “essential” employee, the one who banished us from Sharks hockey games, canceled her own daughter’s high school prom — and eventually shut in 6 million Bay Area residents in six neighboring counties to slow the stampede of a deadly pandemic. You could be forgiven if you’d never heard of Sara Cody before Jan. 31 — what seems like a century ago, when Kobe Bryant’s death was still what shocked us. That’s the day Dr. Cody was already feeling late, sitting at her dining room table in Old Palo Alto, gulping down a cup of coffee when her cellphone rang. It was 6:49 a.m. “You’ve got your first positive,” the voice said. (Sulek, 3/29)
San Francisco Chronicle:
For Bay Area Health Care Givers, Coming Home Fraught With Risk
When Cana Jenkins finishes a 12-hour shift treating COVID-19 patients inside the emergency department tents at UCSF Medical Center, a different kind of work begins. She takes off the kit that makes up her personal protective equipment: face shield, hair bonnet, gown, N95 mask and UCSF-issued scrubs. The hair bonnet gets thrown away, the gown and scrubs head to hospital laundry, and the face shield and N95 mask — the crucial covering that keeps Jenkins from inhaling coronavirus-laden droplets — go into a numbered bag to be reused. (Feldberg, 3/29)
Sacramento Bee:
California Public Health Labs Closed Before Coronavirus
Gov. Gavin Newsom has called for “targeted testing” of the new coronavirus, arguing a strategic approach will help public health officials find hot spots and determine how and where the pandemic is spreading. But in the two decades leading up to the COVID-19 outbreak, 11 of California’s public health labs designed for the focused testing Newsom wants closed their doors. (Wiley, 3/29)
CalMatters:
'Am I Going To Die?' Alone And Scared, Confined Seniors Struggle With Anxiety
For the past few weeks, as coronavirus radically altered daily life, 79-year-old Diana Fernandes has been struggling quietly inside her San Francisco home, weathering a challenge from within. Fernandes lives alone — her husband died in 2017 — and has been left to manage a painful foot injury and the threat of the virus on her own. As an asthmatic, she is already in a higher risk category so she has been avoiding contact with people. She hasn’t seen another person since March 14. (Hellerstein, 3/29)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Tents Crowd Tenderloin, Even As SF Tries To Keep People Apart During Coronavirus Outbreak
If you want to see the challenges and limitations of enforcing San Francisco’s shelter-in-place order and observing social distancing, take a walk through the Tenderloin. Since Mayor London Breed’s March 16 public health order, tents filled with homeless people have sprouted up along Hyde, Eddy, Turk and Jones streets — all with the quiet blessing of the city. Lines for the neighborhood’s free kitchens and methadone clinics stretch for blocks, overwhelming staff attempts to maintain a 6-foot distance between people. (Matier, 3/29)
San Francisco Chronicle:
What If A Big Earthquake Strikes Bay Area During The Coronavirus Crisis? Here’s How To Prepare
People all over the world have spent the past month, and more, dealing with the rapid spread of the new coronavirus, but for earthquake-prone California, preparation and response can’t just stop there. Earthquake experts — including at the U.S. Geological Survey and UC Berkeley’s seismology lab — are considering, especially in recent days, one potential scenario that isn’t an out-of-bounds notion: the convergence of an earthquake with the COVID-19 pandemic in the Bay Area and across California. (Vainshtein, 3/28)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Coronavirus Sets Off ‘Generational Shaming’ Across Bay Area And Nation
Long before “Don’t trust anyone over 30” was a 1960s mantra, Peter the Hermit in 1274 A.D. supposedly intoned: “The young people of today think of nothing but themselves. They have no reverence for parents or old age. ”In other words, intergenerational disdain has deep roots. And when you add an economically ruinous pandemic to the already simmering mix, it’s no surprise that nationwide concern over the coronavirus is fueling yet more intergenerational strife. (King, 3/29)
Capital Public Radio:
Coronavirus Complicates The Budget Picture For California Lawmakers
There are a lot of uncertainties over the coronavirus, but for California lawmakers, one thing remains the same: Their constitutional mandate to pass a budget by June 15. Asm. Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, said lawmakers will “absolutely” meet that deadline, though the budget will likely look “very different” than the $222 billion proposal Gov. Gavin Newsom laid out in January. Ting chairs the Assembly’s budget committee. (Nixon, 3/27)
CalMatters:
One Upside Of The Coronavirus Shutdown, Maybe? Fewer Voter Initiatives
California voters may experience a small silver lining amid the coronavirus pandemic: a shorter November ballot, featuring fewer of the statewide propositions that often put voters in the middle of confusing industry fights. Initiative proponents have until the end of April to collect the signatures they need to put their ideas on the ballot — and with millions of Californians staying home, and practicing social distancing when they go out, it may be impossible for some campaigns to collect enough signatures in time. (Rosenhall, 3/27)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. Jail Inmates Say Lack Of Soap And Toilet Paper Heightens Coronavirus Fear: 'Like Slow Torture'
The thin bar of soap Joseph Clarino said he and other inmates get at Los Angeles County’s Men’s Central Jail is supposed to last three days. Clarino said he’s lucky if it’s enough for one shower — maybe two if cut in half — and that the shortage extends to other supplies. Some inmates, he said, recently used torn bedsheets when toilet paper ran out. Across the street at Twin Towers Correctional Facility, Richmond Davis said fellow inmates were cleaning with the same mop they’d used days earlier when a toilet overflowed with sewage. (Tchekmedyian and Hamilton, 3/30)
San Francisco Chronicle:
SF’s Jail Population Drops 25% After Inmates Are Released To Thwart Virus
San Francisco has reduced its jail population by nearly 25% in March to create distance between inmates and staff and prevent the coronavirus from taking hold, a problem that has grown dire in other jails and prisons across the country. On Saturday morning, there were roughly 840 people in custody in San Francisco’s jails, said District Attorney Chesa Boudin, down from about 1,100 on March 4, the day California declared a state of emergency because of the global pandemic. (Palomino, 3/29)
CalMatters:
How To Get Past The Coronavirus Crisis Without Losing Your Mental Health
Fear, loss, economic stress, the angst of a seemingly endless crisis — coronavirus is taking a toll, not just physically but on our mental health. Here are some tips and tweaks from California mental health professionals. (Wiener, 3/29)
Los Angeles Times:
Stranded At LAX Since Christmas Eve. Homeless. Then The Coronavirus Hit
Seth Tom Davis realized how serious the coronavirus outbreak was when he went to buy lunch at the Earl of Sandwich at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. He sat down and laid his jacket on the seat beside him. Poppy, his seizure-alert dog, jumped up and made herself comfortable. Then the Jack Russell terrier-Dalmatian mix sneezed a very big sneeze for a very little dog. The woman beside him, Davis said, “freaked out.” (La Ganga, 3/29)
San Francisco Chronicle:
California Makes All State Parks Off Limits To Cars Amid Coronavirus Outbreak
After seeing another surge of visitors at California’s state parks over the weekend, state officials announced Sunday that they are temporarily closing vehicular access to all 280 state parks in hope of slowing the spread of the coronavirus. While trails and bathrooms remain open in most state parks, officials said they would continue to monitor crowds, and if visitors can’t maintain safe distances, they would take additional measures, which could include fully closing parks. (Simmons and Stienstra, 3/29)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Coronavirus Prompts More Cutbacks Of Muni, Caltrain Service
Bay Area residents sheltering in place won’t likely notice, but transit service in the region will see yet more changes and cutbacks in service Monday. San Francisco’s fleet of Muni light rail trains is being replaced by buses — likely for as long as concerns over the coronavirus pandemic have adults working from home or not at all. Caltrain plans to cut its weekday service by more than half starting this week, while Golden Gate Transit on Monday will trim another 12 weekday bus runs going into and out of the city. (King and Cabanatuan, 3/29)
Fresno Bee:
Weekend Sees Coronavirus Cases Top 100 In San Joaquin Valley
The number of coronavirus cases in the central San Joaquin Valley climbed past 100 over the weekend, as Tulare County reported 11 more confirmed positive tests among its residents Saturday and Sunday. The county also reported its first death from COVID-19. Fresno County added a dozen cases to its count on Saturday. Madera County’s total rose by four on Saturday and three on Sunday, while two more cases were reported in Merced County and one in Kings Counties. (Sheehan, 3/29)
Bay Area News Group:
Santa Clara County Reports 55 New COVID-19 Cases
Santa Clara County announced 55 new confirmed cases of coronavirus Sunday, meaning that the county’s number of people known to have the virus has more than doubled in a week’s time. The newest total now stands at 646, compared to the 302 cases reported as of March 22, according to data released by the county Public Health Department. There was one respite in the new figures: No new deaths were recorded in the 24-hour period that ended Saturday evening. The county’s total of COVID-19 fatalities remains at 25. (Salong, 3/29)
San Jose Mercury News:
Coronavirus: San Mateo County Reports 38 New Cases In Two Days
San Mateo County on Sunday reported another large increase in the number of new coronavirus cases with 38 positive tests, bringing the total to 277. Health officials two days ago reported the county’s sixth death from the respiratory illness and its largest single-day increase in the number of new coronavirus cases. (Toledo, 3/30)