Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Amid Surge, Hospitals Hesitate To Cancel Nonemergency Surgeries
Unlike earlier in the year, most hospitals are not proactively canceling elective surgeries, even in some places seeing spikes in coronavirus patients. (Samantha Young, )
As COVID Testing Soars, Wait Times For Results Jump To A Week — Or More
The delays can be excruciating, with some extreme cases running more than 20 days. People getting tested at urgent care centers, community health centers, pharmacies and state-run drive-thru or walk-up sites are often waiting a week or more to find out if they tested positive for the coronavirus. (Phil Galewitz, )
Struggling For Cash, Stanford Cuts 11 Varsity Sports Programs: Stanford on Wednesday announced that it will eliminate 11 varsity sports at the conclusion of the 2020-21 academic season. In a statement, the university said the athletic program had been under review for some time, and while the coronavirus pandemic played a role in the decision, ultimately it was the cost of supporting so many programs that led to the move. The sports that will be eliminated are: men’s and women’s fencing, field hockey, lightweight rowing, men’s rowing, co-ed and women’s sailing, squash, synchronized swimming, men’s volleyball and wrestling. Athletic director Bernard Muir also addressed the elephant in the room: “The other unknown that we continue to try to get our arms around is whether we will have football.” Read more from Michael Lerseth of the San Francisco Chronicle.
In related coverage from the Chronicle: Stanford's Big Cut: 11 'Minor' Sports Will Get The Ax
Embattled Aircraft Carrier Returning To San Diego After COVID-19 Outbreak, Scandal: After almost six months at sea fighting a deadly coronavirus outbreak, a controversial change in command and international attention, the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier is scheduled to return to its home port in San Diego on Thursday, The San Francisco Chronicle reports. The return comes a week after a second sailor died aboard the nuclear-powered warship. The Roosevelt made international headlines when former Captain Brett Crozier sent out a letter asking for an immediate evacuation of the ship as COVID-19 spread. The Navy subsequently removed him from command. Criticism of acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly's visit to and speech aboard the ship, condemning Crozier’s actions, led to Modly's resignation. Read more from Matthias Gafni 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:
Newsom Puts Brave Face On California's Coronavirus Surge
Gov. Gavin Newsom tried to reassure Californians Wednesday that “we will get through this,” despite an alarming surge in the state’s coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. The governor noted that the state is testing more than 100,000 people each day and has the capacity to treat as many as 50,000 patients at a time. He focused on state and local public health officials’ enormous efforts in recent months to bend the coronavirus’ deadly curve, including amassing large stocks of protective gear for health workers and setting up field hospitals. (Feder Ostrov and Ibarra, 7/8)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. At 'Critical Juncture' As COVID-19 Cases Continue Surge
Conditions continued to deteriorate in many parts of California on Wednesday with a surge of new coronavirus cases as well as a troubling rise in COVID-19 deaths. The state recorded its highest single-day coronavirus death toll Wednesday, with 149 fatalities reported, according to a Los Angeles Times county-by-county tally. That eclipsed the previous highest daily death toll, 132, recorded May 19, according to The Times’ California coronavirus tracker. (Fry, Shalby, Lin II and McGreevy, 7/9)
San Francisco Chronicle:
SF Mayor London Breed Awaiting Test Results After Being Exposed To Coronavirus
San Francisco Mayor London Breed was awaiting the results of a coronavirus test late Wednesday after public health officials informed her she had been exposed to the coronavirus and there was a moderate risk that she was infected. (Fracassa, 7/8)
Sacramento Bee:
Not Enough Coronavirus Tests In California, Sacramento
Bottlenecks in the coronavirus testing kit supply chain are slowing California’s efforts to identify new cases of COVID-19, prompting alarm among virus experts who say it’s coming at a critical moment amid a surge in cases and hospitalizations. Officials in California and around the country say the increasing demand for tests has once again overwhelmed labs and is now forcing California to triage testing amid the infection surge. It’s also leading to a slower turnaround time for test results; in many cases, patients who suspect they have COVID-19 are forced to wait more than a week for results. (Bizjak, 7/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Coronavirus Patients From Overwhelmed Imperial County Fill Bay Area Hospital Beds
Overflowing hospitals in Southern California are sending critical COVID-19 patients to the Bay Area for treatment, where record numbers of local patients are already putting the health care system under strain. As of last Thursday, 15 patients from hard-hit Imperial County, which borders Mexico, had transferred to Bay Area hospitals, according to California Emergency Medical Services Authority. (Moench, 7/8)
Fresno Bee:
Clovis Urges Residents To Wear A Mask During Pandemic
The Clovis City Council is setting one thing straight: they will wear a mask to help slow the coronavirus spread. The council posted the reasons on their Facebook page Wednesday morning. Standing side-by-side wearing face masks, the five-member council posed for a picture. (Rodriguez-Delgado, 7/8)
Fresno Bee:
Fresno County Adds 3 Deaths, 357 New Cases Of COVID-19
Fresno County passed 7,000 positive cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday after health officials reported 357 new cases and three new deaths. The county has seen 84 fatal cases of the 7,281 positive cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic hit the region in March. (Miller, 7/8)
The Bakersfield Californian:
More Than 200 New COVID-19 Cases In Kern Reported Wednesday
Kern County broke its daily record of new COVID-19 cases for two days in a row as of Wednesday, when 216 new cases and three deaths were reported on the Department of Public Health Services website. That brings total deaths to 87 and total cases to 5,769. (7/8)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Hospital Staffing An Emerging Concern In Kern's COVID-19 Effort
As local hospitals become more impacted by coronavirus patients, a new concern has come to light. The question is no longer will there be enough beds to care for all the sick as COVID-19 cases escalate, but will there be enough hospital staff to tend to those beds? For a 12-hour period this past weekend, ambulance traffic had to be diverted away from Dignity Health’s Mercy Hospital Downtown and Mercy Hospital Southwest. The two facilities reached a point where they couldn’t take any more patients due to staffing, said Kern County Public Health Services Director Matt Constantine. (Shepard, 7/8)
The Desert Sun:
San Bernardino County Reported 654 New Coronavirus Cases, 21 New Deaths Wednesday
San Bernardino County reported 654 new coronavirus cases and 21 additional deaths Wednesday. The county has now reported a total of 16,586 cases and 293 deaths. About half the cases are among people under age 40. (Henry, 7/8)
Sacramento Bee:
California GOP Assemblyman Hospitalized With Coronavirus
Assemblyman Tom Lackey, R-Palmdale has tested positive for COVID-19 and been hospitalized since Sunday, his chief of staff George Andrews said Wednesday evening. Lackey, a retired California Highway Patrol officer, is the second California lawmaker to become infected with the novel coronavirus. Andrews was not able to provide information about when or how Lackey may have contracted the virus. (Hawkins, 7/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
San Quentin Outbreak: Death Row Prisoner Reed Dies From Suspected COVID-19 Complications
The coronavirus outbreak that has infected more than 1,300 people at San Quentin State Prison is suspected of claiming another life, as a 60-year-old murderer who was being held on Death Row died Tuesday at an outside hospital, officials said. David Reed, who had been on Death Row since 2011 after he was convicted of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon and second-degree robbery, died of apparent COVID-19 complications, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The exact cause of his death had not been determined by Wednesday morning. (Serrano, 7/8)
Sacramento Bee:
California Coronavirus Singing Ban Resisted By Some Churches
Days after the state ordered churches across California to discontinue singing and chanting, citing concerns amid the worsening coronavirus pandemic that these activities increase the likelihood of spreading the contagious disease, Sunday services at some Sacramento-area places of worship pressed on with unmasked singing anyway. The mandate, issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom and state health officials a week ago on July 1, seemed destined to be combated by churches, especially those that consider singing particularly essential to worship. (McGough, 7/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
New SF Guidelines To Reopen Schools: Masks All Day For Students And Teachers
San Francisco health officials released guidelines Wednesday on how to reopen city schools that include a strong recommendation that all students and teachers wear masks and stay 6 feet away. (Tucker, 7/8)
Fresno Bee:
With Coronavirus Surge, Can Fresno Schools Open In The Fall?
As the Trump Administration this week pushed for schools to fully reopen in the fall, coronavirus hospitalizations climbed to their highest levels in the central San Joaquin Valley. However, parents who spoke with The Bee said they were worried about sending their children back to school in six weeks. (Panoo and Dieppa, 7/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Fraternity Parties Lead To 47 New Coronavirus Cases At UC Berkeley
UC Berkeley officials are scrambling to contain a coronavirus outbreak of 47 new cases this week, after tracing most of them to summer fraternity parties. Before this sudden spike, the school had reported only 23 cases since the start of the pandemic in March, according to an email sent Wednesday to the campus community. (Kroichick, 7/8)
Los Angeles Times:
As COVID-19 Patients Fill Beds, Many Hospitals Choose Not To Cancel Nonemergency Surgeries
Three months ago, the nation watched as COVID-19 patients overwhelmed New York City’s intensive care units, forcing some of its hospitals to convert cafeterias into wards and pitch tents in parking lots. Hospitals elsewhere prepped for a similar surge: They cleared beds, stockpiled scarce protective equipment, and — voluntarily or under government orders — temporarily canceled nonemergency surgeries to save space and supplies for coronavirus patients. (Young, 7/9)
San Francisco Chronicle:
City, Nonprofits Team Up To Move 200 Homeless People From Hotels To Apartments
San Francisco officials are trying to get a jump on housing the multitudes of homeless people sheltering from the coronavirus in hotels by placing 200 of them into apartments, using philanthropic dollars in a program to be announced Thursday. (Fagan, 7/9)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Homelessness Is Surging In Bay Area Suburbs. COVID-19 Is Making It Even More Visible.
Jeffrey Russell spends his nights in a dilapidated camper on the back of a broken-down truck, parked illegally between a row of pricey homes and the West Coast sunset. Like all those living in the dozens of RVs and cars lining the streets in Pacifica, Russell, a San Mateo County native, is part of a spiking homeless population in this coastal town city. (Tucker, 7/9)
Los Angeles Times:
Orange County A Battleground Over State's Mask Orders
When Basilico’s Pasta e Vino took to social media to proclaim itself a mask-free location amid the coronavirus pandemic in late May, it prompted responses ranging from overwhelming support to stern admonishments from customers who pledged never to dine at the restaurant again. On Monday, officials at the Huntington Beach establishment had a message for those who have expressed anger about their policy. They updated the restaurant’s voicemail greeting, joking that they were “having some fun with the haters.” (Fry, 7/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Why Men Get Sicker: Male Hormones May Help Coronavirus Infiltrate Human Cells
A mysterious and troubling gender disparity in the way the coronavirus attacks its victims has prompted scientists in the Bay Area and around the world to look more closely at the biology of men and women and how their bodies react to disease. COVID-19, like many other diseases, wreaks more havoc on men than women, according to numerous studies dating to the first coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, when 3 out of 4 hospitalized patients were male. (Fimrite, 7/9)
San Francisco Chronicle:
San Francisco’s Beloved Cable Cars Won’t Run Again Until A Coronavirus Vaccine Is Ready
San Francisco’s most recognizable icon, the cable car, likely won’t glide up Powell Street again until a coronavirus vaccine is widely available.For now, the orange and burgundy beasts are gathering dust in a brick barn on Mason Street, where they’ve been hibernating since shelter-in-place orders clamped down in mid-March. (Swan, 7/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
As Pandemic Drives Garlic Demand, Huge Bay Area Farm Sees Second Coronavirus Case
Christopher Ranch, the nation’s largest garlic producer, thought it was doing everything it needed to adjust to the pandemic. It told workers to keep their distance from each other in the fields and in processing facilities. It required employees to wear masks. It checked everyone for symptoms. (Echeverria, 7/8)
Los Angeles Times:
Her Father Had COVID-19 For Weeks. The Nursing Home Told Her The Day Before He Died
The letter in early April seemed forthright, notifying families that a resident at Hollywood Premier Healthcare Center received a diagnosis of COVID-19. It ended with a promise: If a loved one was “suspected or diagnosed” with the menacing disease caused by the coronavirus, family would be promptly notified. (Hamilton, 7/9)
Los Angeles Times:
LA Nursing Home Dumped Patients During Coronavirus Pandemic, City Attorney Alleges
As the coronavirus continues its deadly march through Southern California nursing homes, the Lakeview Terrace skilled nursing facility in Los Angeles has been illegally “dumping” old and disabled residents onto the street and into homes that are not equipped to care for them, according to the city attorney. (Dolan and Mejia, 7/9)