Harris Halts Travel After Two Near Her Test Positive For COVID: Democrat Joe Biden's campaign is halting the travel of his running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, until Monday after two people — a flight crew member and Harris' communications director, Liz Allen — tested positive for coronavirus. Harris was not in close contact with either person, Biden campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon said in a statement. Harris' planned trip to North Carolina on Thursday was scrapped. Read more from CNN, AP and the Los Angeles Times.
GOP Will Continue Using Unofficial Drop Boxes: California Republican Party officials on Wednesday doubled down on their efforts to use private ballot boxes to collect votes, arguing that the practice was within the bounds of state election law. Meanwhile, it appears that the receptacles are in more locations than previously reported. Read more from the Los Angeles Times, AP and Orange County Register.
Below, check out the roundup of California Healthline’s coverage. For today's national health news, read KHN's Morning Briefing.
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More News From Across The State
Los Angeles Times:
California Breaks Records With 1 Million Ballots Cast
Election day is more than two weeks away, but more than 1 million Californians have already returned their mail-in ballots, according to the state, an amount that marks the most ballots collected by mail at this point in any state election. Nearly half of the mail-in ballots come from Los Angeles County, where more than 435,000 voters have already responded, according to the L.A. County registrar-recorder’s office. (Stiles, 10/14)
KTLA:
California Propositions: A Guide To The 12 Statewide Measures On The 2020 Ballot
With another election comes another set of measures that California voters get to decide together. In a nutshell, here’s what voting yes means for the 12 statewide propositions on the ballot. (Bravo, 10/13)
KRCA:
Here’s How To Track Your Ballot In California
The Nov. 3 election is expected to be a record-breaker for the number of people in the U.S. who will be voting by mail amid the coronavirus pandemic. Dozens of states allow you to track your ballot. With the help of the U.S. Postal Service, states send ballot envelopes with a unique set of numbers for each individual voter. Those numbers are often known as Intelligent Mail Barcodes, which allow the Postal Service to track the ballot. (10/13)
ABC 7:
Voting In California: How To Track Your Mail-In Ballot
Once voters sign up for tracking, notifications are received when the county election office has mailed, received and counted the voter's ballot. They'll also get a notification if there are any issues with the voter's ballot, like a missing signature. (Cabrera, 10/13)
Los Angeles Times:
Coronavirus Transmission Rate Grows In L.A. County
The novel coronavirus is spreading faster in Los Angeles County, with the rate of new cases expected to increase in the coming weeks, officials said Wednesday. The uptick comes as Los Angeles and other counties have been reopening the economy over the last few weeks. Officials have been hoping to avoid a repeat of the COVID-19 surge that occurred over the summer, which forced officials to impose new restrictions on businesses and public spaces. (Shalby, 10/14)
LA Daily News:
Worksite Coronavirus Outbreaks ’Cause For Concern’ In L.A. County
As Los Angeles County grew more weary of the coronavirus pandemic, the rate of transmission remained stubbornly too high and the county’s top public health official on Wednesday, Oct. 14, said an increasing number of worksite outbreaks were becoming more worrisome. The number of worksite outbreaks over a two-week period from late September to early October increased to 39 — nearly double the number of outbreaks at worksites for the two weeks prior — according to Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. (Rosenfeld, 10/14)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Grim Stats On COVID-19 Continue To Climb In Kern As Deaths Exceed 400
Kern County reached another grim milestone in the coronavirus pandemic Wednesday as deaths from COVID-19 surpassed 400. The Kern County Public Health Services Department reported nine new virus-related deaths, bringing the total to 406. Another 56 new virus cases were also reported, bringing the total to 33,145 cases in Kern since early March. (Shepard, 10/14)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Two Free COVID-19 Test Sites Will Be Open Thursday, Friday In Bakersfield
The Kern County Latino COVID-19 Task Force is hosting two free coronavirus testing sites this week. In collaboration with the Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Kern County Public Health Services Department, the sites will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the following locations: (10/14)
San Francisco Chronicle:
How Will California Distribute Coronavirus Vaccines? Bay Area Planning For Multiple Scenarios
California and Bay Area health officials are laying the groundwork for how to distribute coronavirus vaccines, a public health undertaking unprecedented in scale and complexity. Federal and state agencies have yet to publicly share plans for how they will distribute those vaccines, if and when the FDA authorizes them. But some groups key to shaping vaccine policy are signaling that health care workers may be the first Americans to gain access to vaccinations, with some possibly getting vaccinated early next year. (Ho, 10/14)
Marin Independent Journal:
Marin Health Officials Use Sewer Water To Trace Virus Spread
What goes in must come out, and if it’s the coronavirus coming out, Marin County health officials are aiming to find it in the sewer. Through a partnership with Marin’s sewage collection agencies and a team of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, the county has launched a new wastewater surveillance program that detects the presence of the coronavirus in fecal particles. The program is intended to provide early warning signs for COVID-19 outbreaks in the county, said Dr. Matt Willis, Marin’s public health officer. (Pera, 10/14)
San Francisco Chronicle:
6 Feet Apart In The Sandbox: Playgrounds Open Again In S.F.
The swings were swinging and the slides were sliding again in San Francisco, and a lot of moms and dads were breathing easier, or as easy as they could while masked up. Wednesday was opening day at the city’s 180 playgrounds, after seven months of being off-limits. (Rubenstein, 10/14)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Some Faith Leaders Won't Bring Back Indoor Services Just Yet
Despite being able to resume indoor services at a limited capacity under Kern County’s newest COVID-19 prevention classifications, various local faith leaders are electing not to return indoors and instead continue being creative with how they serve their congregants. On Tuesday, Kern County moved from the most restrictive purple tier on the state's four-tiered system into the red tier. The classification allows restaurants to begin serving customers indoors, and it means movie theaters, places of worship, personal care services and gyms can now reopen with COVID-19 prevention measures — and limits on capacity — in place. (Wilson, 10/14)
Bay Area News Group:
Coronavirus: Anti-Lockdown Declaration Pulls Signature List After Report Of Fake Names
A controversial anti-lockdown declaration and petition whose principal authors and signatories from around the world include four Stanford University doctors has pulled its online signature list following a report that it included dozens of fake names. Sky News, a British television and online news outlet, reported “Dr. Johnny Bananas” and “Dr. Person Fakename” were among those listed as supporting the online Great Barrington Declaration open letter calling for opening schools and businesses with “focused protection” of the elderly and ill most at risk of COVID-19. (Woolfolk, 10/14)
LA Daily News:
In One Week, Riverside County Family Buries Three Members Who Died From Coronavirus
Before this week ends, John Carrillo will have buried three members of his family.His father, John Sanchez Carrillo, 93; his mother, Sally Soliz Carrillo, 90; and his older sister, Letecia “Tish” Chavez, 65. All three died from the novel coronavirus. As he mourns the loss of more than half of his family, all of whom died within days of each other, the 62-year-old Carrillo repeats a melancholy refrain: “They are not numbers, they’re people.” (Bharath, 10/14)
Fresno Bee:
Elementary Schools In Clovis Win COVID-19 Waiver To Reopen
Clovis Unified schools won a waiver late Wednesday to reopen elementary schools during the COVID-19 pandemic, the district announced in a news release. Like nearly every school in California, most Clovis classrooms have been dark since March when the coronavirus pandemic forced people into isolation and shut down campuses and businesses. (10/14)
Orange County Register:
Disney CEO Says ‘Arbitrary’ Disneyland Reopening Guidelines Not Based On ‘Actual Fact’
Disney CEO Bob Chapek says California’s “arbitrary” theme park reopening guidelines have been set up by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration “without regard for actual fact” and are the most stringent standards in the United States. Chapek commented on California theme park reopening guidelines during an interview with CNBC’s “Closing Bell.” (MacDonald, 10/14)
LA Daily News:
Laid Off Hotel Workers At Beverly Hilton Stage ‘Die-In For Healthcare’
A group of laid off Hilton hotel workers staged a “Die-In” at the iconic Beverly Hilton Hotel on Wednesday to highlight the need for extended healthcare coverage amid the pandemic. More than 3,000 employees from more than 20 Los Angeles-area hotels, including Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott — were laid off in March and have been without coverage since the beginning of October. They are represented by Unite Here Local 11. (Smith, 10/14)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Big Tobacco Goes Big In Effort To Quash Law Banning Sales Of Flavored Tobacco Products
A coalition of big tobacco companies and small retailers is paying professional signature gatherers upward of $10 a name in an attempt to put the brakes on the statewide law barring brick-and-mortar stores from selling menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products. With the Nov. 30 deadline approaching for submitting signatures to qualify the measure for the 2022 ballot, the high-dollar effort has become an interesting blend of California politics and potentially huge business profits, with a dash of coronavirus shutdown tossed in for good measure. (Matier, 10/14)
LA Daily News:
Photos: LA County Fire, Firefighters’ Union Welcome Pair Of Support Dogs
“Echo” and “Milo” are now, officially, the best friends a firefighter can get. The Los Angeles County Fire Department and the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1014 welcomed two “peer support dogs,” trained to help firefighters cope with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and other health challenges, in a ceremony at the union’s headquarters in El Monte. (10/13)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Homeless Collaborative Awards More Than $220K In Grants For COVID-19 Prevention
The Bakersfield-Kern Regional Homeless Collaborative has announced over $220,000 in grant funding to local homeless service providers for prevention and containment of coronavirus. Funded through California’s Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Grant Program, the funds will be used before the end of the year for prevention and personal protective equipment, transportation of homeless individuals to medical care facilities, food, information technology and isolation of those impacted by COVID-19. (10/14)