Latest California Healthline Stories
Daily Edition for Monday, June 22, 2020
Californians To Be Required To Wear Masks As Cases Continue To Spike In State: After weeks of mixed messaging and leaving the decision of implementing mask mandates up to counties, Gov. Gavin Newsom said face coverings will be required in spaces where people can’t maintain 6 feet of distance from one another. Masks may help people who are asymptomatic and don’t realize they have COVID-19 from spreading the disease when they go out. Face coverings don’t replace social distancing and other measures, but work alongside them to slow the spread. The CDC sums it up: “Your cloth face covering may protect them. Their cloth face covering may protect you.” Read more from Alexei Koseff of the San Francisco Chronicle; Ana B. Ibarra of CalMatters; Vincent Moleski of the Sacramento Bee; and Fiona Kelliher of the Bay Area News Group.
Daily Edition for Thursday, June 18, 2020
California Healthline's Daily Edition will not be published on June 19 in observance of Juneteenth. Look for it again in your inbox on June 22.
Daily Edition for Wednesday, June 17, 2020
Hospitalization Rates, Not Confirmed Case Totals, Give Insight To State Of California’s Outbreak, Officials Say: California on Tuesday posted its highest daily coronavirus-related death total in nearly a week, even as the state continues to move forward with reopening. But health officials have said that the public needs to look beyond the rising number of coronavirus cases in California and focus on whether hospitalizations are increasing as a sign that reopening the economy is leading to new outbreaks. Statewide, coronavirus hospitalizations have been relatively flat for the last six weeks, even as officials have allowed myriad businesses to open their doors and people begin to resume old routines. But in some parts of California, hospitalizations are again on the rise — and if the trend continues, it could force officials to slow the pace of reopenings. Read more from Luke Money, Rong-Gong Lin II and Iris Lee of the Los Angeles Times, and Wes Goldberg of the Bay Area News Group.
Daily Edition for Tuesday, June 16, 2020
Gov. Gavin Newsom Defends Reopening Of California, Says COVID-19 Has Stabilized Despite Spikes In Some Counties: As COVID-19 cases in California continue to climb, and the death toll tops 5,000, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday defended his administration’s decision to allow counties to ease the stay-at-home order and other restrictions. Newsom said COVID-19 hospitalizations in the state remain stable weeks after restrictions started to be modified, during a period that included the busy Memorial Day weekend, and maintained that the safeguards in place continue to effectively slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. The governor said requiring residents to remain isolated would threaten their overall well-being, including physical and mental health and finances. Read more from Phil Willon of the Los Angeles Times, Maggie Angst and Joseph Geha of the Bay Area News Group, Andrew Sheeler and Alexandra Yoon-Hendricks of The Sacramento Bee, and Dustin Gardiner of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Daily Edition for Monday, June 15, 2020
Infections In More Than Three Dozen Health Workers Linked To One Unit At Bay Area Hospital: More than three dozen workers connected with a single unit at St. Rose Hospital in Hayward tested positive for the coronavirus in late May, a spokesman disclosed Friday. Of the hospital’s 780 employees, 37 tested positive and a majority—26—were workers on the same medical/surgical/telemetry unit. Two additional workers who had the virus interacted regularly with that part of the hospital and nine had occasional contact. “We are continually assessing the facility’s implementation of measures to protect staff and patients from COVID-19 and prevent its further spread within the facility,” said Alameda County spokeswoman Neetu Balram. Some nurses on the hard-hit unit disputed there was enough personal protective gear and testing before the outbreak to keep them safe. They want more information about how many employees got sick and who might have been exposed. Read more from Mallory Moench of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Daily Edition for Friday, June 12, 2020
LA Officials Attribute Biggest Single-Day Jump In Cases Partly To Backlog Of Tests: A day before Los Angeles County is set to allow businesses in several industries like gyms, day camps, zoos, film production and more, to reopen after forcing them to close to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus, officials reported the highest single-day jump of coronavirus cases to date. LA County public health officials announced 1,857 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, June 11, bringing the total number of positive cases identified in the county as of Thursday to 68,875. Although the number of new cases reported Thursday was the biggest single-day jump to date, about 600 of them were from a backlog of test results, officials said.
Daily Edition for Thursday, June 11, 2020
‘We’re Still In The Middle Of The Woods’ Officials Say, But Reiterate Confidence With Reopening Strategy: As California coronavirus deaths and new cases continue to rise, officials say they have no plans now to slow the efforts. Despite the upward trajectory of cases and a growing death toll, there are no plans to reverse course, officials said. Gov. Gavin Newsom pointed to the state’s increased testing ability, hospital capacity and an available supply of ventilators — key metrics in the decision to ease statewide modifications — as reasoning for pressing ahead. State officials are working with county leaders to assess whether their jurisdictions are ready to move further into the reopening stage. Read more from Colleen Shalby of the Los Angeles Times.
Daily Edition for Wednesday, June 10, 2020
Newsom Reiterates Confidence In California’s Ability To Manage Coronavirus Cases As They Continue To Climb: California recorded at least 2,000 new coronavirus cases for the 17th consecutive day Tuesday as the state topped 136,000 total cases since the beginning of the pandemic. With 90 new deaths announced Tuesday — including 11 in the Bay Area — the state death toll reached 4,746. “As we phase in, in a responsible way, a reopening of the economy, we’ve made it abundantly clear that we anticipate an increase in the total number of positive cases,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said. “But we also made it abundantly clear that the concurrent recognition and commitment that we are in a substantially different place than we were 90 days ago. We have hundreds of millions of masks now in our possession.”
Daily Edition for Tuesday, June 9, 2020
Newsom’s $1B Mask Deal Moves Forward After Firm Granted Safety Certification: Gov. Gavin Newsom’s medical mask deal with a Chinese manufacturer will proceed after the company succeeded in obtaining federal safety certification, following two missed deadlines. Newsom’s office said the N95 masks, part of a $990 million deal, will be distributed to medical workers and others on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. California will likely begin receiving the first shipments of N95 masks in a matter of days, officials said. “This new supply of N95 masks, as well as the surgical masks this contract has already provided, are game-changing and play a crucial role in our state’s public safety and reopening strategy,” Newsom said in a statement. Read more from Dustin Gardiner of the San Francisco Chronicle and Sophia Bollag of the Sacramento Bee.
Daily Edition for Monday, June 8, 2020
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.