Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
California Hospitals Face Surge With Proven Fixes And Some Hail Marys
California is entering the most critical period in its battle against COVID-19, and may need thousands of hospital beds and ventilators to accommodate a surge of critically ill patients. Hospitals are taking extreme measures, such as using 3D printers to make ventilator parts and turning cafeterias into wards. (Angela Hart and Anna Maria Barry-Jester, )
California’s Coronavirus Cases Barrels Toward 10,000; Number Of ICU Patients Quadruples In Six Days: California is closing in on 10,000 confirmed cases with the state’s death total topping 200. Gov. Gavin Newsom focused in particular on the number of patients being treated in ICUs. Newsom opened a news conference Wednesday by stating a single number — “774” — because, he said, the number of people in ICU beds remains his focus, along with the number of people hospitalized in the state for COVID-19 (1855 people, roughly triple the figure from six days ago). “That’s the number I wake up to that I am most focused on as governor of the state California,” Newsom said. “Those numbers represent our most urgent need in terms of keeping people alive and keeping people healthy and safe in the state of California. Newsom and his top health official have talked for more than a week about California’s need for 50,000 more hospital beds, 10,000 more ventilators and tens of millions more masks to battle coronavirus. On Wednesday, they revealed those numbers are just “Phase One.” “If you extrapolate that out… we’ll exceed that Phase One surge capacity of 50,000 (beds) somewhere in the middle part of May,” he said. Read more from the Los Angeles Times, the Sacramento Bee, and the San Francisco Chronicle.
In other news on California hospitals—
Los Angeles Times: California Hospitals Desperate For Safety Supplies, Fear ‘Disaster’ As Coronavirus Wave Hits
Bay Area News Group: First Look At California’s Hospitalization Data
The New York Times: How 2 Very Different Los Angeles Hospitals Are Facing Coronavirus
878,727 Californians Filed New Claim Unemployment Claims; National Total Hits Record-Shattering 6.6 Million Americans: The official report showed that 878,727 Californians filed new claims for the week of March 22-28, compared to 186,333 the week before. While more than twice the claims reported in any other state, that’s just a hint at the true figure. It includes only claims that were fully processed. The state’s count of claims received is many times larger. “We all recognize we’re going to have to do more to meet this moment for employees and employers,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Masks Are No Substitute For Staying Home But They Can Help, California Leaders Say: Some evidence shows wearing a face covering may reduce spread of coronavirus, but masks are still no substitute for physical distancing, California’s top public health official said Wednesday, outlining new official guidance. Although there’s some evidence masks could slow the spread of the virus by blocking some saliva droplets, California Department of Public Health Director Sonia Angell stopped short of saying all Californians should start wearing them. LA Mayor Eric Garcetti also joined a growing push for residents to wear face coverings when out in public. The mayor said everyone performing essential tasks such as as food shopping should wear homemade, nonmedical face coverings, or even bandannas, as people in other countries have done. “To be clear, you should still stay at home. This isn’t an excuse to suddenly all go out,” Garcetti said. Read more from the Los Angeles Times, the Sacramento Bee, the Bay Area News Group and 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
San Francisco Chronicle:
Coronavirus: Nurses Are Wearing Trash Bags At One Bay Area Hospital Facing A Protective Equipment Shortage
Bay Area health care workers are growing desperate for protective medical equipment to treat a growing number of COVID-19 patients, and the situation got bad enough at one Oakland hospital this week that nurses created their own protective equipment by cutting holes in trash bags and placing them over their uniforms. Nurses on the night shift in the telemetry unit at Highland Hospital in Oakland said they were not given protective gowns when they reported to work Sunday. (Sanchez, 4/1)
Sacramento Bee:
How CA Hospitals Avoid Paying Employees Sick With COVID-19
Ramona Moll remembers grappling with an elderly dementia patient who showed all the signs of COVID-19: fever, difficulty breathing and a persistent cough. The patient had tried to bite her while the staff struggled to keep him from tearing off his mask and oxygen tubes, she said. Days later, Moll said she began to develop a cough and grew so weak she could barely speak or climb stairs. She wound up hospitalized herself and tested positive for COVID-19. She became one of the first employees at UC Davis Medical Center to test positive for the disease. (Pohl, Sabalow and Kasler, 4/2)
Fresno Bee:
Free Food In Fresno For Healthcare Workers, Kids, Public
Free food is always a good thing. Free food during the global coronavirus pandemic that has us a little anxious? Even better. Many restaurants are offering free food to healthcare workers during this time as a thank you (along with some businesses offering non-edible freebies). Other places have kids-eat-free deals. And some restaurants are doing special promotions – like a free giant cinnamon roll from The Train Depot restaurant – as an incentive to order a meal from them during the COVID-19 outbreak. (Clough, 4/2)
Sacramento Bee:
Inside Ampla Health’s Drive Up COVID-19 Test Site In Yuba City
At Ampla Health’s drive-through coronavirus test site in Yuba City, you don’t have to be a patient to get screened and tested. “Anybody in our community who wants to receive a screening, who believes they need a test for coronavirus, they are welcome to come,” said Rocio Valdez, director of communications. (4/2)
San Francisco Chronicle:
To Fight Coronavirus, Fremont Companies Turn To Make Test Kits, Ventilators
Bay Area businesses are ramping up production of critical medical equipment to fight COVID-19, and in some cases converting factories for that purpose, to help address a nationwide shortage. The transformation comes as Bay Area health care workers speak out about the lack of masks, ventilators and tests needed to fight the coronavirus, especially during the surge of cases expected in the next couple of weeks. (Moench, 4/1)
San Francisco Chronicle:
California’s Shelter In Place May Be Working, But Coronavirus Is Still A Threat, Gov. Newsom Says
Thursday marks two weeks since Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the state to shelter in place to suppress spread of the coronavirus. But despite early signs that the plan is working, the governor — with Bay Area health officers who have expanded regional stay-home directives — says that California is not yet safe. (Allday, 4/1)
Fresno Bee:
Devin Nunes: California Coronavirus Response ‘Way Overkill’
On the same day President Donald Trump praised California’s efforts to contain the new coronavirus, Rep. Devin Nunes in a TV interview called the state’s decision to close schools “way overkill” and said he wants people to return to work over the next “week to two weeks.” His commentary countered recommendations from California Superintendent of Schools Tony Thurmond, who this week advised schools to remain closed through June, and President Trump, whose administration has urged people to maintain social distance at least through the end of April and warned that the virus could kill hundreds of thousands of Americans. (Irby, 4/1)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento CA Churches, Flea Markets Spread Coronavirus Cases
Nearly a third of Sacramento County’s coronavirus cases are connected to churches, officials said Wednesday, a discovery this week that has prompted alarmed county officials to issue a special plea for congregations to stop holding services and prayer groups. County health chief Dr. Peter Beilenson said his office is asking congregations to hold services and fellowship meetings via Zoom, Skype or some other virtual platform - but not in person. (Bizjak and Kasler, 4/1)
Sacramento Bee:
Some CA Grocery Stores Ban Reusable Bags For Coronavirus
Californians four years ago voted to ban single-use plastic bags, moving to protect the environment by doing away with the oil-based products that too often wound up in gutters and waterways. Today, the coronavirus pandemic has those good intentions on hold. (Sheeler, 4/2)
Sacramento Bee:
Coronavirus CA: Sacramento County Releases City-By-City Data
Sacramento County as a whole has reported confirmed case numbers and fatality rates that are similar to the rest of California’s rates as of Wednesday, but the cities of Sacramento and Elk Grove currently stand at more than double the state’s reported per capita coronavirus death rate. Public health officials on Wednesday for the first time released a city-by-city breakdown of cases in Sacramento County, where so far there have been 314 confirmed COVID-19 cases and nine deaths among roughly 1.5 million residents. Those represent rates of about 20.2 infections and 0.6 deaths per 100,000 people, each very similar to the state as a whole. (McGough, 4/1)
Sacramento Bee:
Presumed Coronavirus Case For Public Defender Sparks New Concerns
Public defenders in Sacramento say the danger from coronavirus in the county jails has reached a new level, with a county public defender believed to have tested positive for the disease after visiting a client last week. “We learned today that a Sacramento County deputy public defender tested positive for COVID,” Federal Defenders Heather Williams and Ben Galloway wrote in a letter Tuesday to U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott. “That attorney did a jail visit last week and spoke with a client using the Jail’s social visiting area." (Stanton and Smith, 4/1)
Bay Area News Group:
Santa Clara County Sheriff Says 11 Staff Have COVID-19
Eight Santa Clara County correctional deputies have tested positive for COVID-19, and are joined by a patrol deputy and two civilian employees with the sheriff’s office as those confirmed to have been infected with the virus. The sheriff’s office also announced Wednesday that the lone inmate they have identified as having been infected with the new coronavirus, a San Jose arrestee who tested positive March 22, “has since recovered from COVID-19 and has been moved back to his normal housing unit.” (Salonga, 4/1)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Patients Infected By Coronavirus May Be Moved To California Nursing Homes
California nursing homes, already struggling to fight the new coronavirus, could soon be forced to accept infected patients from overflowing hospitals, according to a controversial state order that nursing home experts have derided as a “death sentence” for vulnerable residents. The move is part of the state’s plan to handle an expected surge of patients sickened by COVID-19, the dangerous respiratory disease caused by the virus. (Dizikes and Fagone, 4/1)
Fresno Bee:
Coronavirus At Visalia Nursing Home, Workers Among The Ill
A Visalia nursing home on Wednesday announced that eight people at its center – six patients and two healthcare professionals – have tested positive for COVID-19. Redwood Springs Healthcare Center is a 176-bed skilled nursing facility in the central San Joaquin Valley. The affected staff there experienced an onset of coronavirus symptoms while caring for two patients in one room, nursing home leaders said in a news release. (George, 4/1)
Bay Area News Group:
Coronavirus: 3 Test Positive At San Jose Nursing Facility
The voicemail messages sent widely to family members from Canyon Springs Post-Acute Care facility in San Jose started last week with a simple update about its coronavirus-related precautions. “We are strictly following state and local guidelines to shelter in place,” the first voicemail message from administrator Benton Collins said. “Please do not come in to drop off items,” he added — staff would do laundry, provide extra clothing and tend to residents’ needs. But over the course of the week, the voicemails grew more alarming. (Sciacca, Webeck and Peele, 4/1)
Bay Area News Group:
Coronavirus: San Mateo County Reports 79 New Cases, 388 Total
A day after its death toll climbed into double digits, San Mateo County saw its largest single-day rise in confirmed cases of COVID-19. Health officials reported 79 new cases of the deadly respiratory illness, bringing the number of positive tests across the county to 388 while the number of deaths remained at 10. (Webeck, 4/1)
Bay Area News Group:
Coronavirus: Santa Clara County Tops 950 COVID-19 Cases
Santa Clara is close to becoming the first Bay Area county with more than 1,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19. According to new data released by the Public Health Department Wednesday, 956 people in Santa Clara County have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, including 66 since the last update provided on Tuesday. The county also reported two new COVID-19-related deaths Wednesday, bringing the countywide death toll to 32. (Crowley, 4/1)
Fresno Bee:
First Coronavirus Case Confirmed For Homeless Fresno CA Resident
The first COVID-19 test returned positive for an individual experiencing homelessness in Fresno on Tuesday. The health department reported a total of 82 cases of the coronavirus in Fresno on Wednesday. This was the first confirmed infection in the homeless community. A small number of unhoused individuals have tested negative, and 10 more await results, according to Sonia de la Rosa, principal administrative analyst for Fresno County. (Tobias, 4/1)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Google To Provide Computers, Internet To California Students Studying From Home
Google will provide thousands of computers and free internet access to help California students finish the school year online, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday. The company plans to donate 4,000 Chromebooks and make broadband internet available to 100,000 households through the end of the school year. Newsom said at a news conference that “Google stepped up in a big way,” but that more support was needed from the private sector to reach the most remote parts of the state. (Koseff, 4/1)
CalMatters:
For The Greater Good: Coronavirus Border Closure Keeps Immigrants From Seeing Families
The U.S.-Mexico border is closed to nonessential travel to help stem the spread of the coronavirus. But the closure is cutting off many Mexicans and Mexican-Americans from relatives and home. (Cimini, 4/1)