Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Coronavirus Tests The Value Of Artificial Intelligence In Medicine
The pandemic offers an opportunity to use artificial intelligence programs to help doctors in COVID-19 diagnosis. But some leading hospital systems have shelved their AI technology because it wasn’t ready to roll. (Ashley Gold, )
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.
Contact Tracing, Once An Obscure Public Health Strategy, Now Takes Center Stage: In Chicago it was a funeral, followed by a family birthday party. In Washington state, it was a choir rehearsal. In California, it was a nail salon. Before the United States shut down its economy and everyone sheltered in place, those were some of the earliest documented spots of coronavirus transmission. As the country emerges from its collective isolation and people begin to interact again, quickly identifying those sources — and halting further spread — will be key to preventing future large outbreaks. That work known as contact tracing will require balancing the needs of public health with individual privacy. Read more from Erin Allday of the San Francisco Chronicle.
If You Open, Will They Come?: After Gov. Gavin Newsom eased the criteria for reopening retail businesses and restaurants, many smaller counties are already turning on the “open” signs while larger counties like Orange and San Diego hope to join them in the coming days. So far, most of California’s 58 counties have applied to move further into the second phase of Newsom’s reopening plan, which allows retail shopping and restaurants to serve in-person patrons. Yet the experiences of counties that reopened in recent weeks has been sobering. Read more from Leila Miller, Maura Dolan and Cindy Carcamo of the Los Angeles Times.
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:
Other Side Of The Curve? Chart Shows Change In Bay Area Coronavirus Cases Vs. Other Metro Areas
While the Bay Area has made significant progress in curbing the coronavirus’ spread, the daily number of new cases has remained steady. How does that trajectory compare with what other metro areas have seen, including those that weren’t as quick to flatten the curve? (Hwang and Massa, 5/20)
Los Angeles Times:
Most California Schools Reopening In August, September
Most public school districts in California are planning to reopen campuses on their regular start dates in late August and September — but the new normal amid the coronavirus outbreak will likely include masks, daily school sanitation and smaller class sizes to maintain six feet of distance, state Supt. of Instruction Tony Thurmond said Wednesday. Also, some school districts will likely offer a combination of in-person and distance learning, something parents have asked for, Thurmond said. (Kohli, 5/20)
CalMatters:
Big Cuts Loom For California Preschool, Child Care Programs
Even the littlest Californians have not been spared in the governor’s big proposal to cut a budget decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ambitious plans to expand free preschool for low-income children and increase state support for child care now are on the chopping block. He also has proposed cuts to existing, early childhood funding that advocates worry could force child care providers to reduce the number of kids they serve, or even close their businesses. (Aguilera, 5/21)
CalMatters:
Despair Among Immigrants: With Phone Lines Swamped, State Pandemic Aid Is Out Of Reach
For two days, thousands of undocumented immigrants in California have been unable to reach the non-profit organizations that distribute $500 in aid from the state’s new disaster relief fund... In April, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a $75 million Disaster Relief Assistance for Immigrants fund that will support about 150,000 immigrants affected by loss of income during the coronavirus pandemic. Monday was the first official day for undocumented immigrants to call the 12 nonprofits that the state chose to distribute the aid. (Ortega, 5/20)
CalMatters:
Pandemic Steals Most From Immigrant Working Women
Early estimates indicate that the coronavirus pandemic has stolen jobs from non-citizen workers — including immigrants who have green cards, work visas or are undocumented — in California at higher rates than citizens. And women have suffered greater job loss than men. But it’s the Californians at that intersection, women who aren’t citizens, who have experienced the most devastating job losses, according to a study published Wednesday by UC Merced Community and Labor Center researchers. (Botts, 5/21)
Los Angeles Times:
Defying State Coronavirus Order, A Thousand Pastors Plan To Hold In-Person Services For Pentecost
More than 1,200 pastors have vowed to hold in-person services on May 31, Pentecost Sunday, defying a state moratorium on religious gatherings that Gov. Gavin Newsom imposed to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. In a letter to Newsom, Robert H. Tyler, an attorney representing a Lodi church that has challenged the governor’s order in court, said more than 1,200 pastors have signed a “Declaration of Essentiality,” asserting their churches are as essential as any grocery or hardware store and should be allowed to reopen. (Ormseth, 5/20)
Sacramento Bee:
California Churches Plan To Reopen May 31 In COVID Defiance
Buoyed by a letter from the U.S. Justice Department to Gov. Gavin Newsom that emphasizes the right to worship, a lawyer for a church suing over California’s coronavirus ban on in-person services says he expects thousands of congregations to return to their churches a week from Sunday. The move comes as the fight over whether the state has the right to prohibit church services for now has moved to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where a Lodi church is seeking an emergency injunction against the ban, and as hundreds of pastors have signed a petition declaring that their services are “essential.” (Stanton, 5/20)
Fresno Bee:
Cornerstone Church In Fresno Plans To Reopen At The End Of May
Fresno’s Cornerstone Church pastor on Wednesday announced church leaders will move forward with plans to reopen May 31, following civil rights concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Justice on places of worship during the coronavirus pandemic. Pastor Jim Franklin, in a brief statement, said the Department of Justice’s stance on the issue “confirms” the local church’s beliefs. “This is what we predicted would happen all along,” Franklin said in the statement. “We stated from the beginning that our Constitutional rights were being violated and that we were not being treated fairly... This gives us more reason to continue with our reopening.” (Amaro, 5/20)
Sacramento Bee:
Napa County CA Asks Newsom To Lift Restrictions On Wineries
Napa County, home of more than 130,000 Californians, has a unique request in its application to the governor to reopen: let wineries open sooner rather than later. While restaurants across the state have been permitted to slowly reopen under certain guidelines to keep coronavirus numbers down, wineries in Napa Valley still remain shuttered, excluded from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Phase 2 of reopening, said Rex Stults, vice president of industry relations for the Napa Valley Vintners, which represents from than 550 wineries. “The logic makes no sense,” he said in an interview with The Sacramento Bee. “You can have guests come to your winery if you have a full meal service, but you can’t just pour a tasting?” (Sullivan, 5/20)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Inside A Storefront Oakland Clinic On The Front Lines Of The Coronavirus Battle
On the sidewalk on Oakland’s International Boulevard, Marlen Valencia swayed softly from foot to foot as her 2-year-old daughter Sara slept on her shoulder. A stomachache that had lingered for the past month had made the little girl stop eating, and she was losing weight. The 38-year-old Fremont mother waited for hours this Tuesday morning in May, standing and occasionally sitting at a spot marked with orange tape, keeping a 6-foot distance from two dozen others lined up with her, all desperate to see a doctor many of the region’s uninsured come to see. (Gafni, 5/21)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Coronavirus Cases Soar In SF’s Residential Hotels As Supervisors Move To Protect Residents
San Francisco supervisors passed an emergency ordinance Tuesday aimed at protecting residents of single-room occupancy hotels from further spread of the potentially deadly coronavirus as cases spike in the hotels’ close quarters. The ordinance, passed unanimously, would create guidelines for isolating SRO residents who test positive, tracing their contacts, testing others in the building and reporting case counts to the public. (Bauman, 5/20)
Fresno Bee:
Masks Urged At Fresno County CA Businesses Starting May 22
Fresno County’s interim health officer is urging all residents to wear a face covering while indoors at work, visiting a business or when coming into close contact with someone who isn’t family beginning Friday. The new requirement was handed down in a new County Health Officer order signed by Dr. Rais Vohra. The new order is posted to Fresno County’s website. While the original version of the health order made the new rule a requirement using the word “shall,” county officials quickly updated the order making the changes a recommendation, instead using the word “should.” (Calix, 5/20)
Fresno Bee:
Fresno Is Not Flattening The Curve, Health Officer Says
While San Joaquin Valley counties to the north and south are getting state approval to move further into Stage 2 of reopening their economies, Fresno County is not flattening its curve, according to Interim Health Officer Dr. Rais Vohra. Kern, Kings, Madera and Merced counties all received state approval to move forward with reopening. Tulare County supervisors voted to flout the state guidelines and reopen without approval. Fresno County’s application was submitted Tuesday afternoon... It’s unclear when state officials will make a decision on the application. (Calix, 5/20)
Fresno Bee:
California To Take Back Fresno Coronavirus Hospital Beds
Fresno’s makeshift coronavirus hospital at the convention center will go into a “warm shutdown,” state officials announced Wednesday. The 250-bed site, which was set up by state and county officials to treat a potential surge in COVID-19 cases at regional hospitals, had not yet been used. Anticipating no future use for it, state officials said they would pick up their remaining supplies in the coming weeks. (Tobias, 5/20)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento Loosens COVID-19 Restrictions In Time For Memorial Day
In a pandemic-stricken society, holiday observances have become something of a challenge, while others have been a breaking point. Coronavirus-prompted shutdowns began right around St. Patrick’s Day, forcing the cancellation of celebrations in Sacramento and the Bay Area in mid-March, a few days before Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the entire state to stay home for all but essential purposes... But this holiday weekend may look different from previous ones under COVID-19, as Sacramento County on Friday is expected to take the next step in gradually reopening for business. County health chief Dr. Peter Beilenson said Tuesday that the state has given the OK for dine-in restaurants and in-store retail shopping to resume for the county of about 1.5 million people. (McGough, 5/20)
Sacramento Bee:
Yolo County CA Can Open More Business From COVID-19 Lockdown
Yolo County got the all-clear from state health officials to reopen restaurants for dine-in service and shopping malls with modifications Wednesday evening. Yolo County is the last county in the six-county Sacramento region to get the green light to move fully into Phase 2 of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to slowly lift the statewide stay-at-home order meant to slow the coronavirus spread. A total of 37 of the state’s 58 counties have been given that approval. (Yoon-Hendricks, 5/20)
Fresno Bee:
Coronavirus Outbreak At Avenal State Prison
There is a outbreak of the coronavirus at the Avenal State Prison, the Kings County Department of Public Health announced late Wednesday. The health department reported 41 positive tests of COVID-19 in the county with 27 confirmed cases related to the outbreak in the prison. The Avenal prison has had 25 inmates and seven staff members tested positive and are now isolated. (Galaviz, 5/20)
Sacramento Bee:
Sharp Drop In CA Heart Attacks After COVID-19, Study Finds
For years it’s been one of the leading causes of death, a critical condition plaguing nearly every corner of the country. Every hour, seven people die from heart disease in the state but since the new coronavirus pandemic, some Northern California hospitals are admitting less heart attack patients than before. The trend, an unexpected by-product of COVID-19, is one of the main findings in a new study by researchers at Kaiser Permanente who measured the change in hospital admissions for heart attacks. (Finch II, 5/21)