Latest California Healthline Stories
Daily Edition for Tuesday, May 26, 2020
Californians Flocked To Beaches, Parks Over Memorial Weekend: Health officials had previously said Memorial Day weekend would be a big test of whether California can ease stay-at-home restrictions while continuing to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Overall, officials said there were no major problems are beaches, though some places like the Venice Boardwalk saw dense crowds with some not wearing masks. Officials closed Eaton Canyon Natural Areas & Trails for the rest of the Memorial Day weekend amid concerns that crowded conditions could pose health risks. State officials have now cleared 47 counties to resume in-restaurant dining and in-store shopping. Among the latest were Orange and Riverside, two of California’s largest population centers.
Daily Edition for Friday, May 22, 2020
California’s Death Toll Passes 2,000 As State Starts To Reopen: More than 40 of California’s 58 counties have now been approved to expand retail operations as their virus conditions improved, with more expected to reopen their economies in the coming days. But officials expect the progress to be slower in Los Angeles County, which accounts for nearly 60% of the state’s total deaths and almost half of the more than 86,000 confirmed infections. The county’s death toll rose Thursday to 2,016, with more than 42,000 confirmed cases. “This is a very sad milestone for us,” county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. Read more from Luke Money, Rong-Gong Lin II and Hannah Fry of the Los Angeles Times.
Daily Edition for Thursday, May 21, 2020
Nearly 124,000 People Have Signed Up For Covered California Plans During Crisis: According to the state health care marketplace, 123,810 people have sought insurance during Covered California’s special open-enrollment period. The exchange is generally open from Oct. 15 to Jan. 31, but it extended the period amid the crisis. “When the worst is happening in people’s personal economic lives, we want to make sure that Californians know they can have the peace of mind that comes with quality health care coverage,” Covered California Executive Director Peter Lee said in a statement. Californians previously could sign up for health insurance through the marketplace outside of the annual open-enrollment period because of a “qualifying life event,” such as losing coverage, moving, getting married or having a baby. The special enrollment period, which extends through the end of June, is available to people who were unaware of available premium subsidies or the new state penalty for not having health insurance. Read more from Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Daily Edition for Wednesday, May 20, 2020
DOJ Warns Newsom That California's Reopening Plan Unfairly Discriminates Against Churches: The measures Gov. Gavin Newsom enacted to slow the spread of the coronavirus and his plans to unwind them may discriminate against religious groups and violate their constitutional rights, the Justice Department warned in a letter Tuesday. Eric S. Dreiband, an assistant attorney general and the head of the Justice Department’s civil rights division, said Newsom had shown “unequal treatment of faith communities” in restricting their abilities to gather and ultimately reopen. “Simply put, there is no pandemic exception to the U.S. Constitution and its Bill of Rights,” Dreiband wrote. Under Newsom’s plan counties will be allowed to let some businesses and activities start up more quickly than state rules currently allow, but the governor said it would be weeks before religious services could resume. Read more from John Wildermuth of the San Francisco Chronicle; and Matthew Ormseth and Alex Wigglesworth of the Los Angeles Times.
Daily Edition for Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Newsom Eases Rules For When Counties Can Reopen, Clearing Path For Most Areas To Lift Restrictions: Gov. Gavin Newsom today eased the rules for when counties can reopen restaurants and stores, clearing the way for 53 of 58 California counties to qualify under the new coronavirus standards. Some eligible counties may not choose to pick up the pace for restarting their economies. But those that do must show that hospitalizations and new coronavirus infections are holding steady or dropping. They also will need adequate contact tracing, testing capacity, hospital beds and personal protective equipment to cope with any new outbreaks.
Daily Edition for Monday, May 18, 2020
Bay Area Counties Had Been In Lock-Step When It Came To Shut Down. Now They’re Taking Divergent Paths: Even as Bay Area cases crossed the 10,000 mark last week, variations in how the pandemic has affected the nine counties were thrown into stark relief, especially with regard to a new California directive allowing regions to reopen their economies at their own pace. Suddenly the three North Bay counties that have been less dramatically affected by the virus than their southern siblings are straining to push ahead toward reopening. And the remaining six counties — the ones that collectively issued the first shelter-in-place orders in the United States on March 16 — are lagging behind. Only Santa Clara County — hit earliest and hardest of the Bay Area counties — has not publicly discussed plans to budge from strict shelter-in-place restrictions that allow for only essential businesses and some outdoor-only operations. Read more from Erin Allday of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Daily Edition for Friday, May 15, 2020
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Daily Edition for Thursday, May 14, 2020
Seventeen Counties Get Green Light From Newsom To Start Reopening: The counties largely encompass rural areas in Northern California and the Sierra, with the exception of San Benito County south of the Bay Area. All met state-set benchmarks in containing the coronavirus pandemic to qualify for early reopening. Gov. Gavin Newsom said last week that some counties would be allowed to reopen sit-down restaurants and permit some in-store shopping if they implemented new social distancing procedures. Schools can also reopen. As of late Wednesday, counties that received the go-ahead were San Benito, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lassen, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Tehama, Tuolumne, Yuba and Sutter. Read more from Dustin Gardiner of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Daily Edition for Wednesday, May 13, 2020
California State University Campuses To Stay Closed For Fall Semester In Hint Of Long Road Ahead: California State University, the nation’s largest four-year college system, plans to cancel most in-person classes in the fall and instead offer instruction primarily online, Chancellor Timothy White announced Tuesday. The vast majority of classes across the 23-campus Cal State system will be taught online, White said, with some limited exceptions that allow for in-person activity. “Our university, when open without restrictions and fully in person … is a place where over 500,000 people come together in close and vibrant proximity,” White said at a meeting of Cal State’s Board of Trustees. “That approach sadly just isn’t in the cards now.” Potential exceptions at CSU may include nursing students who need clinical training to be on track to get licensed to work in health care, White said, or students who need access to equipment for their training. Read more from Nina Agrawal of the Los Angeles Times; Rosalio Ahumada of the Sacramento Bee; Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle; and Theresa Waldrop, Jon Passantino and Sarah Moon of CNN.
Daily Edition for Tuesday, May 12, 2020
Newsom Joins With Other Western States To Ask For $1T In Aid From Congress: California Gov. Gavin Newsom joined with the governors of Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Colorado, as well as legislative leaders from the five states, in asking the House and Senate for the aid. The governors said the funds would be critical for public health programs, law enforcement and schools. “Without federal support, states and cities will be forced to make impossible decisions — like whether to fund critical public healthcare that will help us recover, or prevent layoffs of teachers, police officers, firefighters and other first responders,” the letter stated. Last week, the Newsom administration announced that California’s government faces a $54.3-billion budget deficit through next summer due to a drop in tax revenue related to the coronavirus. Read more from Phil Willon of the Los Angeles Times, Andrew Sheeler of the Sacramento Bee, and Fiona Kelliher of the Bay Area News Group.