Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Health Care Workers of Color Nearly Twice as Likely as Whites to Get COVID-19
Harvard research shows minorities are most likely to report inadequate PPE and to work with COVID-positive patients. (Christina Jewett, )
COVID Watchlist Comes To A Screeching Halt: California has stopped removing or adding to a list of counties facing more restrictions on businesses and schools as it tries to resolve a technical problem with the state’s coronavirus testing database, health officials said Wednesday. The state has recorded a highest-in-the-nation 525,000 positive tests, but health officials say the true number is even higher. Read more from Amy Taxin of the Associated Press and Katie Dowd of SFGate.
In related news: California cases flattening, says Bay Area expert — but data glitch raises doubts
Stop Partying Or We’ll Shut Off Your Utilities, LA Mayor Warns: Beginning Friday night, if Los Angeles Police Department officers respond to and verify that a large party is occurring in violation of health orders, and there’s evidence that the venue has repeatedly engaged in such behavior, the department will request that the city shut off water and power services within 48 hours. Read more from Leila Miller, Richard Winton and Luke Money of the Los Angeles Times.
Below, check out the roundup of California Healthline’s coverage and the best of the rest of the news.
More News From Across The State
Orange County Register:
U.S. Supreme Court Blocks Judge’s Order That OC Jail Must Take Better Care Of Inmates Exposed To Coronavirus
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, Aug. 5, blocked a lower court order that the Orange County jail system practice social distancing, distribute hand sanitizer and keep the facilities clean to avoid the spread of COVID-19. Justices voted 5-4 to stay the earlier order issued by U.S. District Judge Jesus G. Bernal against Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes. The sheriff asked for an emergency appeal after Bernal ruled in May that Barnes had been inconsistent in following federal guidelines to protect jail inmates from the spread of coronavirus. (Saavedra, 8/5)
CalMatters:
State Mistakenly Drops Medi-Cal Coverage For Low-Income Californians
As the coronavirus continues to sicken Californians, the state mistakenly terminated or reduced health insurance benefits for thousands of low-income people. An error involving the state’s Medi-Cal program and its automated system for renewals triggered the drops in coverage — despite the governor’s executive order earlier this year that was supposed to ensure that people maintain access to safety net programs during the pandemic. (Ibarra, 8/5)
Los Angeles Times:
California Legislative Leaders Seek To Delay Lifting Eviction Ban
California’s legislative leaders are asking the state’s Judicial Council for more time before renter evictions resume during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying they are facing “an impossible decision” between rushing legislation and leaving millions of tenants unprotected. Most evictions in the state were suspended in April after California courts stopped processing nearly all cases. Gov. Gavin Newsom gave the court system the power to stop evictions in an emergency order in late March, intended to allow “maximum flexibility” in responding to the pandemic. At the time, the Legislature was on an extended break to reduce the spread of coronavirus in the state Capitol. (Gutierrez, 8/5)
The Associated Press:
State Spent Millions On Arena Hospital That Saw 9 Patients
Doctors arrived at an arena-turned-medical center in Sacramento in mid-April and were told to prepare for 30 to 60 coronavirus patients to arrive within days. They spent the weekend working feverishly to get ready. State officials envisioned the cavernous Sleep Train Arena and an adjoining facility as a place where hundreds of patients could be treated, but in the first week just one arrived. The pace never increased, and the 250 assembled medical workers — physicians, nurses, pharmacists and administrative staff — found themselves wondering what to do. ... Ultimately, just nine patients arrived over 10 weeks. The cost to care for them was a staggering $12 million. (Ronayne, 8/6)
KPBS:
Becerra Asking US To Step In To Increase Coronavirus Drug Supply, Decrease Cost
California’s Attorney General Xavier Becerra is calling on the federal government to increase the availability and decrease the price of remdesivir, the only drug given FDA authorization to treat COVID-19. Because of limited supplies, a National Institute of Health panel recommends prioritizing the drug for hospitalized patients who require supplemental oxygen but are not on ventilators because there is uncertainty about whether those patients would benefit from the drug. (Burke and Mento, 8/5)
Los Angeles Times:
Southeast L.A. County Now The Epicenter Of Coronavirus
Southeast Los Angeles County has become the epicenter for the resurgence of the coronavirus, according to a Times analysis of county health data that found infections skyrocketing in its mostly working-class Latino communities. The sharp increase since the economy reopened around Memorial Day shows the virus is spreading rapidly through factories, stores and other workplaces and into communities with higher rates of poverty, more crowding and many essential workers who make the economy tick. Hit hard by job losses during the shutdown, they are increasingly suffering from the virus itself. (Poston, Barboza and Menezes, 8/6)
Center For Public Integrity:
White House Warns 10 Local Areas About Coronavirus Numbers In Private Call
The White House Coronavirus Task Force sees troubling coronavirus numbers in 10 local areas across the country, even as its data shows improvement in Sunbelt states, according to a private call between task force leader Dr. Deborah Birx and state and local officials Wednesday. “We are seeing encouraging signs across the South,” Birx said on a recording of the call obtained by the Center for Public Integrity. “We are concerned that both Baltimore and Atlanta remain at a very high level — [also] Kansas City, Portland, Omaha [and] of course what we talked about in the Central Valley [of California].” (Essley Whyte, 8/5)
San Francisco Chronicle:
SF And San Mateo Were Last In Bay Area On The Coronavirus Watch List. What Do Numbers Show Now?
San Francisco and San Mateo were the last Bay Area counties to land on the state’s coronavirus watch list, which monitors counties for troubling patterns in virus data and adds restrictions to reopening. While cases are surging in hot spots bordering the Bay Area, San Francisco and San Mateo’s numbers paint a different, if still troubling picture — one that’s true for much of the Bay Area: Their numbers consistently hover just above most of the data thresholds that indicate the spread of the virus is under control, preventing them from coming off the watch list. (Hwang and Massa, 8/6)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Got COVID-19? If You Live In Alameda County, You Might Get Paid To Stay Home
Workers with COVID-19 in Alameda County who have no sick pay or unemployment benefits would receive $1,250 so they could stay home and isolate, under a pilot program approved by the county this week. The payment from the county, the equivalent of two weeks pay at minimum wage, targets low-income workers who refuse to stop working because they cannot afford to go without a paycheck, a major issue in the spread of the coronavirus, the supervisors said. (Fimrite, 8/5)
Fresno Bee:
Fresno County Adds 327 Cases, No Deaths From Coronavirus
Fresno County added another 327 positive cases of coronavirus to its already leading total among the counties in the central San Joaquin Valley. The total now stands at 16,272 cases since the pandemic began. There were no new deaths reported in Fresno County on Wednesday so the total remained at 157. The same can’t be said for the statewide numbers. (Miller, 8/5)