Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
As a journalist, she wrote during the winter about the hostility shown toward Asian Americans for wearing masks. In May, she got cursed at for not wearing a mask herself. (Anna Almendrala, )
As Nation Marks 100,000 Deaths, California Hits 100,000 Cases Milestone: Two different totals surpassed that milestone on Wednesday. After roughly 10 weeks of growth — explosive at some points, steadier at others — the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus surpassed 100,000 on Wednesday, according to data maintained by Johns Hopkins University. The tally comes four months after federal officials confirmed the first known case in the country. Almost simultaneously, Johns Hopkins showed California reaching a total of 100,000 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the highly contagious virus. “The reality is this pandemic has just begun, it hasn’t ended,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said during his daily coronavirus briefing on Tuesday. “And while we are moving forward because of stabilization, because of the good work that’s been done by health officials all across this nation, all across the state of California, specifically to suppress the spread of this virus by no stretch of the imagination, is this virus behind us.” Read more from Michael McGough of the Sacramento Bee.
Newsom Gets Push Back Over ‘Concerning’ Pace Of State’s Reopening: A key architect of the nation’s first coronavirus shelter-in-place order is criticizing California’s increasingly fast pace of lifting stay-at-home restrictions. Dr. Sara Cody, health officer for Santa Clara County, said she was particularly concerned by the decision to allow gatherings of up to 100 people for religious, political and cultural reasons. “Our ability to contain the virus from spreading if there’s one COVID-positive individual at such a large event is quite limited,” Cody said. “And it would rapidly exceed even our current ambitious and unprecedented effort to establish a large case investigation and contact tracing workforce here.” Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday that he hopes to issue guidelines “in a week or so” for the state’s gyms to eventually reopen. Read more from Matt Kawahara and Joaquin Palomino of the San Francisco Chronicle and Rong-Gong Lin II of the Los Angeles Times.
In Revised Budget Plan, Newsom Proposes Shuttering Two State Prisons: Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed shuttering two state prisons within the next three years, ultimately saving the state about $400 million annually. That’s a much faster timeline than the governor envisioned just a few months ago. His original budget in January proposed closing one prison in the next five years, if the inmate population continued its decade-long decline. Now the state is facing a projected $54 billion deficit through the next fiscal year, and tens of billions more in years to come, because of the pandemic-induced economic recession. Funding for schools, universities and health care programs is likely to suffer. Newsom is looking everywhere for solutions, including changes that could allow thousands of inmates to earn a quicker release, positioning California to close a prison for the first time since 2003. Read more from Alexei Koseff of the San Francisco Chronicle.
In related news:
Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus Infection Rates In Some Parts Of L.A. County Jails Are 40% Or Higher
San Francisco Chronicle: Three New Cases Reported Since Saturday In Santa Clara County Jails
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
Reuters:
California Hospitals Struggle Financially After Preparing For COVID-19 Surge That Never Came
As the novel coronavirus tore through Italy and then New York in March, California, anticipating a deadly surge in cases, ordered hospitals to shut down routine procedures and called in thousands of health care workers to help patients. But the predicted surge never came. And the cost of all that preparation - setting up field hospitals, doubling the number of intensive care rooms, purchasing protective equipment - dealt a blow to hospital bottom lines, while the ban on all non-emergency procedures cut revenues in half. (Bernstein, 5/28)
Sacramento Bee:
California State Workers Could Be Assigned To Contact Tracing
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration expects more state workers to volunteer for contact tracing assignments, and if they don’t, the state has the authority to reassign them to the work, according to an administration spokeswoman. Newsom is recruiting 10,000 contact tracers to call, text and email people who have been in contact with those who tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. So far, California has trained about 950 state and local government employees to be contact tracers. Another 350 are in the pipeline, according to numbers provided by Ali Bay, a spokeswoman for the Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 Joint Information Center. (Venteicher, 5/27)
Modern Healthcare:
Employer, Physician Groups Want Calif. Insurers To Pay Primary Care $2.5 Billion
The Pacific Business Group on Health and the California Medical Association are asking California state legislators to shore up vulnerable primary-care practices during the COVID-19 crisis. The organizations are urging lawmakers to require health insurers to make $2.5 billion in prospective payments to independent primary-care providers for 2020 and 2021. (Livingston, 5/27)
Los Angeles Times:
Coronavirus Rates In Poor L.A. Areas Reveal 'Two Americas'
A major shift was already underway last month as coronavirus deaths were rising across Los Angeles County and officials were trying desperately to prevent a surge in cases. In mid-April, while officials urged people to stay home, limit shopping trips and wear masks, infection rates in poor communities for the first time overtook wealthy ones, a Times analysis of county health data shows. Confirmed cases per capita diverged on April 17 and the gap has kept growing since. (Barboza, Poston and Menezes, 5/28)
San Francisco Chronicle:
SF Rolls Out Program To Help Low-Income Wage-Earners Who Contract COVID-19
San Francisco officials rolled out a program Wednesday that seeks to provide some relief to workers who contract COVID-19, but can’t afford to miss a paycheck while in self-isolation. The city’s “Right to Recover” program will provide eligible workers who have COVID-19 with two weeks of wage replacement, or $1,285, based on San Francisco’s minimum wage. The program will be funded with $2 million from the city’s Give2SF program, San Francisco’s central charitable relief fund for those impacted by the coronavirus. (Fracassa, 5/27)
The Associated Press:
Coronavirus: 2.1 Million Sought Unemployment Aid Last Week
Roughly 2.1 million people applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, a sign that companies are still slashing jobs in the face of a deep recession even as more businesses reopen and rehire some laid-off employees. About 41 million people have now applied for aid since the virus outbreak intensified in March, though not all of them are still unemployed. The Labor Department’s report Thursday includes a count of all the people now receiving unemployment aid: 21 million. That is a rough measure of the number of unemployed Americans. (5/28)
Los Angeles Times:
California Requires Universal Testing At Nursing Homes
California’s health department has issued new instructions to all skilled nursing facilities to test everybody in their facilities in hopes of slowing the spread of the coronavirus, a move that overrules a more lax testing policy allowed by Los Angeles County. Nursing homes have become ground zero for the COVID-19 pandemic because elderly people with underlying health conditions living in close quarters provide an almost perfect breeding ground for the lethal new virus. (Dolan, 5/28)
Fresno Bee:
How Many CA Coronavirus Deaths, Cases Are From Nursing Homes?
State data about skilled nursing facilities in California now includes cumulative COVID-19 cases and deaths per nursing home. The California Department of Public Health list, which changed its format again Wednesday, had been updated with total facility deaths, but previously had only active cases over a span of 24 hours, making totals hard to count. The new state list gives the public more information about nursing homes in counties that have shared little data about them, including Fresno County. (George, 5/27)
San Francisco Chronicle:
BART’s Recovery Plan: Face Masks, Hand Sanitizer And No Crowds
BART will continue requiring masks for any rider 13 or older even if Bay Area counties loosen their restrictions. The rule is part of a 15-point recovery plan the agency put forward Wednesday as the regional economy limps back to life. The plan also includes cleanings with hospital-grade disinfectant, 10-car trains to ensure 6 feet of separation between passengers and hand sanitizer dispensers at every station. (Swan, 5/27)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Haight Neighborhood Group Sues To Block SF’s Stanyan Street Sanctioned Homeless Camp
A group of residents, merchants and property owners in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood is suing San Francisco in federal court to block the city’s effort to set up a sanctioned tent encampment at 730 Stanyan St. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the city is working to establish “safe sleeping” sites, where the homeless can have a place to sleep and basic services while maintaining social distancing in order to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. (Fracassa, 5/27)
CalMatters:
Coronavirus Images: The Spring California Stood Still
By the time the coronavirus pandemic prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to issue a statewide shelter-in-place order on March 19, California already looked markedly different. Tuna, pasta and toilet paper had disappeared from many grocery store shelves. Schools began to close and university campuses emptied out for early spring break. Public transportation cars were emptier than usual as many professionals began to work from home. The occasional pedestrian could be seen wearing a gas mask. (Wernikoff, 5/27)
CalMatters:
Black And Latino Californians Hit Hard By Coronavirus
In the city of Oakland, when census workers call residents, they’re on a dual mission. Not only do they ask if the individual has filled out a census card, they also ask whether that person wants to get tested for the coronavirus. If so, do they know where to go? “It’s extremely creative,” said Dr. Tony Iton, a senior vice president of the California Endowment. “They’re doing census outreach in populations that are the hardest to reach, which are exactly the same populations that are disproportionately impacted by COVID.” (Ibarra, 5/28)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Thermometers, Masks And Lonely Lunches: State Schools Chief Previews What’s In Store For Students
Schools across California are scheduled to reopen in just over two months, but few districts have figured out how to safely resume classes while covering the increased costs of in-person instruction during the coronavirus pandemic. So far, there is more state guidance on how to operate a hair salon than a school. State school chief Tony Thurmond said he will release guidelines for reopening in early June, but added that it’s increasingly clear that temperature checks, mandatory face masks and physical distancing will be in place. (Tucker, 5/27)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Bay Area Churches Keep Services Online, Though State Allows Them To Reopen
The end of the Easter season will most likely be celebrated this Sunday in the same fashion as it began — with Bay Area churches offering online celebrations but nothing that invites people inside the hallowed walls of church sanctuaries. “We will not have in-person worship on Sunday,” said the Very Rev. Malcolm Young of Grace Cathedral. “Even if the governor and the mayor give us permission, we still do not know how to do this in a safe way yet, and safety is more important than gathering people together in a building.” (Whiting and Palomino, 5/28)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Sonoma County Cases Rise Weeks After Allowing Some Services, Holds Off On In-Store Retail
Several weeks after it began lifting restrictions on some businesses, Sonoma County is holding off on reopening other services largely due to a recent rise in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, according to its health officer. Sonoma is among counties permitted to re-open in-store retail, salons and places of worship under recent state guidance. But health officer Dr. Sundari Mase said Wednesday the county will “for now” not amend its shelter-in-place order to include those services, citing increased case rates partly tied to workplace transmission. (Kawahara, 5/27)
CalMatters:
Future Of Farming Must Be Diversification, Ag Experts Say
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, few industries have been quite as essential to the nation as agriculture. From pickers crouching for nine hours a day to scoop up strawberries to CEOs making handshake deals to keep their companies afloat, hundreds of thousands of workers are feeding America. But, in many ways, the pandemic is forcing farmers to reevaluate how they do business. (Cimini, 5/28)
Fresno Bee:
Fresno CA Mayor Proposes Rolling Budget To Next Fiscal Year
Fresno Mayor Lee Brand said Wednesday he wants to roll this year’s budget into the 2020-21 fiscal year until officials have a better idea on the economic effects of the coronavirus. Called a “continuing resolution” budget, the proposal continues the $1.2 billion budget from this fiscal year into the first quarter of the next. It’s the city’s first resolution of that kind in 23 years under the strong mayor system. The plan would need to be approved by the City Council by the end of June. (Miller, 5/27)
Fresno Bee:
Tulare County, CA Allowed To Step Up Reopening Amid COVID19
The California Department of Public Health approved Tulare County’s petition to move forward in reopening. Retail stores and dine-in restaurants will be allowed to reopen, with some modifications. Barbershops and hair salons can also reopen. Tulare was the last San Joaquin Valley county allowed to move further into stage 2 of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to reopen the state amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Tobias, 5/27)
Sacramento Bee:
Lawsuit: Sacramento Police Must Stop Clearing Homeless Camps
Homeless activists Wednesday filed a lawsuit alleging Sacramento police and sheriff’s deputies have been clearing encampments during the coronavirus pandemic, despite federal guidelines and a new Sacramento County order that camps not be cleared. The lawsuit, filed in Sacramento County Superior Court, seeks a court order to stop police from clearing encampments, which activists call “sweeps.” It also seeks court orders that would require officials to place more homeless in motel rooms and provide more toilets and hand washing stations at encampments to prevent an outbreak among the vulnerable population. (Clift, 5/28)
Fresno Bee:
Fresno County CA Adds 4 New Deaths, 96 Cases Of Coronavirus
Four new deaths related to the new coronavirus were reported Wednesday by Fresno County health officials as nearly 100 more new cases were tallied. Ninety-six new positive cases bring the total in Fresno County to 1,631 positive tests for COVID-19. Thirty people in Fresno County have died due to conditions related to the virus since the beginning of the pandemic. (Miller, 5/27)
Fresno Bee:
Fresno CA Health Official Says Churches Should Heed Limits
Fresno County’s top health official said Wednesday the state’s guidelines to restrict the number of people inside a place of worship are sound and church leaders would do well to follow them. Interim Health Officer Dr. Rais Vohra was asked during a Zoom call about gathering places during the coronavirus pandemic. “We have to remember we are in a very novel period when it comes to infectious diseases,” he said. “No one really has that much experience with coronavirus. No one really knows what happens when you have a bunch of people congregating in any gathering.” (Miller, 5/27)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Cooling Centers Hard To Find As Bay Area Temperatures Near Triple Digits
It’s hot, it’s going to stay that way through Thursday, and it’s going to be harder than usual to find a place to cool off. That’s the situation in the Bay Area, where the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated issues brought up by the year’s first heat wave. Usually when temperatures hit triple digits, vulnerable people are encouraged to seek out air-conditioned “cooling centers” such as community centers, libraries, movie theaters and museums. Those options are largely gone, due to the pandemic — although five centers did open in San Jose. (Rubenstein and Hernandez, 5/27)
Sacramento Bee:
What Will Sacramento CA Fund With Federal COVID-19 Funding?
The Sacramento City Council Tuesday approved a list of items to fund with roughly $29 million in federal stimulus money and laid out a plan to get public input to decide how to spend the remaining $60 million it received. The council approved about $24 million in CARES Act funding in projects Mayor Darrell Steinberg called “early wins” and about $5 million in items that the city already funded in emergency response to the pandemic. “Tonight’s vote represents tangible hope for many in Sacramento who are struggling to survive,” Steinberg said. “And it is only the start. More help is on the way.” (Clift, 5/27)
Los Angeles Times:
Larry Kramer, 'Normal Heart' Playwright And AIDS Activist, Dies
A frail man stood outside the Golden Theatre in New York in 2011 when Larry Kramer’s scorchingly angry 1985 play about AIDS, “The Normal Heart,” finally received its Broadway debut. As theatergoers emerged, the man handed them leaflets. “Please know that this is a plague that need not have happened,” it cried out. “Please know that this is a plague that has been allowed to happen.” The man was Kramer, still angry. (Colker, 5/27)
The San Francisco Chronicle:
In Case You Missed It: How SF Battle With HIV/AIDS Shaped Today’s Coronavirus Response
Before there was coronavirus and a city shut down, there was an AIDS crisis and a city struggling to keep up with a mounting death toll. Nearly 40 years may separate the two crises. But San Francisco’s response to AIDS then informs how the world is tackling a new pandemic today. While the two viruses are hardly alike — the coronavirus spreads easily and manifests within days; AIDS is a much slower virus and, at the time, almost always resulted in death — “I think there’s a lot to be learned from the comparison,” said Paul Volberding, director of the AIDS Research Institute and a pioneer in treating people with HIV. (Kost, 4/5)