Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Public Health Officials Are Quitting or Getting Fired Amid Pandemic
A review by KHN and the Associated Press finds at least 49 state and local public health leaders have resigned, retired or been fired since April across 23 states. One of the latest departures came Sunday, when California’s public health director was ousted. (Michelle R. Smith, The Associated Press and Lauren Weber, )
In Health-Conscious Marin County, Virus Runs Rampant Among ‘Essential’ Latino Workers
The pandemic is racing through packed apartment blocks as Mexican and Central American workers bring the virus home to their families. (Rachel Scheier, )
COVID Cases Rise 150% In California Kids, Teens: Coronavirus cases among children and teenagers are surging in California, up 150% last month, a rate that outpaces COVID-19 cases overall and establishes minors as a small but growing share of the state’s COVID-19 cases. The increase also appears to outpace the number of coronavirus cases among children nationally, which grew 40% in the second half of July. Read more from Laura J. Nelson of the Los Angeles Times and Catherine Ho of the San Francisco Chronicle.
‘Months, Not Weeks’ To Reopen Doors At San Diego Schools: San Diego Unified School District officials announced Monday they were making preparations to get children back in schools but were looking at a timeline of "months, not weeks" before that could become a reality. Conditions for reopening local schools will be stricter than state standards, will proceed in phases and will require mandatory masks, proper ventilation and social distancing, according to district leaders. In the meantime, the district will begin classes remotely this month. Read more from KPBS.
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
Politico:
Newsom Indicates California Health Officer's Abrupt Departure Related To Data Blunder
Gov. Gavin Newsom took responsibility Monday for California's coronavirus test data problems and hinted that the abrupt departure late Sunday of his state public health officer was related to the information blunder. "At the end of the day, the buck stops with me. I'm accountable," Newsom said. "And I recognize that as governor of the state of California as it relates to my responsibility, it extends to my team and it extends to our efforts to keep you safe, to keep you healthy and to mitigate the spread of this disease." (Yamamura and Colliver, 8/10)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Why Did California’s Top Health Official Resign Over The Weekend?
On Monday, [Gov. Gavin] Newsom refused to say outright that Angell’s exit was due to the data error, “but if it’s not obvious, I encourage you to consider the fact that we accepted her resignation,” he said in a news briefing. “We’re all accountable in our respective roles for what happens underneath us. I don’t want to air anymore than that,” Newsom said. “We accept the resignation if we feel it’s appropriate. And I accepted that resignation.” (Allday, 8/10)
Sacramento Bee:
Gov. Newsom Cites Lower Hospital Numbers In COVID-19 Fight
California may be bending the curve again in its coronavirus fight after a turbulent two months of rising rates, although once-burned officials remain shy about offering any boasts that the resilient virus is anywhere near tamed. The number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals around the state has dropped 22 percent in the last three weeks to 5,596 Californians from a high of 7,170. (Bizjak, 8/10)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Bay Area COVID-19 Hospitalizations ‘Moving In The Right Direction’
The number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 has been declining in the Bay Area and statewide since late July, a promising sign that suggests the worst of the coronavirus surge may be over. Statewide, hospitalizations have fallen about 19% in the last two weeks, to 5,596 as of Sunday, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday. Similarly, the number of COVID patients in intensive care has also declined, down 13% to 1,727 during the same period. (Ho, 8/10)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Coronavirus Patient At UCSF Gets Two-Drug Combo In Global Experiment
Researchers at UCSF have begun testing a mixture of two of the most promising treatments for COVID-19 in hopes that the concoction will be the “golden ticket” everyone is looking for to neutralize the coronavirus and relieve world anxiety. Doctors conducting the study, which is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, treated their first patient last week with a combination of remdesivir, an antiviral drug developed to treat Ebola, and interferon, an anti-inflammatory used for people with multiple sclerosis. (Fimrite, 8/10)
Sacramento Bee:
Placerville Man’s Death Marks Second El Dorado COVID-19 Death
El Dorado County reported on Monday its second death due to complications of COVID-19. The man was between the ages of 50 and 64 from the Placerville area. He died in an undisclosed out-of-county hospital, county spokeswoman Carla Hass said. (Burke, 8/10)
Fresno Bee:
Daily New-Case Virus Average Dips In Fresno, Nearby Counties
The number of confirmed coronavirus infections identified throughout the central San Joaquin Valley on Monday lurched up by more than 2,100 cases since Friday – an increase of almost 5.4% in a single weekend. And the actual number is likely to be even higher, as reporting issues continue to plague the state’s CalREDIE (California Reportable Disease Information Exchange) system that compiles data from reporting labs on test results for COVID-19. The state acknowledges that the backlog is causing the case counts to be underreported. (Sheehan, 8/10)
Sacramento Bee:
Kaiser Donates $63 Million To Expand CA Coronavirus Tracing
Kaiser Permanente will pour $63 million into building teams of hundreds of home-grown contract tracers to slow the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed more than 10,000 Californians and pummeled communities of color here and across the U.S. “We must reduce the spread of COVID-19 and care for the communities that are being hardest hit by the virus,” Kaiser Permanente chairman and CEO Greg A. Adams said in a statement Monday announcing the new initiative. (Anderson and Smith, 8/11)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento, StemExpress Increase Community Coronavirus Testing
After months of COVID-19 testing hurdles, Sacramento County is partnering with a local biotech company to speed up its test result turnaround and open up more community testing centers. As part of the $13.5 million contract that’s set to be approved Tuesday, Folsom-based StemExpress could process about 19,000 COVID-19 tests each week, said Sacramento County health chief Dr. Peter Beilenson. StemExpress would process all the samples taken at the county-run testing sites with the goal of returning results to people within three days, he said, if not sooner. (Yoon-Hendricks and Bizjak, 8/11)
The Washington Post:
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia Says Covid-19 Killed His Mother And Stepfather
First, the virus came for his city. Then, his family. On March 23, Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia announced the California community’s first coronavirus death — an unnamed woman in her 50s — with a mournful message: “We’ve been dreading this day and were hoping it would never come.” (Thebault, 8/11)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Oakland Students Went Back To School Today. Here’s How The First Day Of Distance Learning Went
This was not how a first day of school was supposed to be. There were no crying kindergartners clinging to parents Monday morning, no loud shouts across the playground or hugs after a long summer apart. The hallways were still at the North Oakland school, with chairs stacked upside down on desks in the classrooms. “It is definitely unprecedented; it’s a unique way of starting and just plain weird,” said Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell. (Tucker and Vainshtein, 8/10)
Fresno Bee:
Fresno Unified Finalizes Distance Learning Schedules, Meals
One week before the first day of school, Fresno Unified School District’s superintendent said “we’re ready” for the coronavirus pandemic era despite calls from teachers to delay the start date. Teachers are being trained in distance learning this week, schedules have been finalized and school sites where meals can be picked up have been chosen. (Velez, 8/10)
Los Angeles Times:
San Quentin Coronavirus Disaster Exposes A Dangerous Road To ‘Herd Immunity’
For critics of aggressive stay-at-home orders, the solution seems clear: Reopen the economy and enough people will eventually become infected by the novel coronavirus to achieve “herd immunity” even before a vaccine is available... But the disastrous situation unfolding at San Quentin State Prison over the last two months has become the latest of several cautionary tales that show how any effort to achieve herd immunity before a vaccine is available would come with enormous costs in terms of illness and death. (Lin II and Christensen, 8/11)
CalMatters:
What To Ask Your Loved One’s Nursing Home In Case Of Disaster
The coronavirus pandemic is a sudden, new threat to assisted living and skilled nursing homes — and those facilities already are under increasing threat from wildfire in California. A KQED investigation found thousands of long-term care homes at heightened risk for wildfire, and public records paint a murky picture about how well state agencies check that they’re ready for disasters. (Peterson, 8/10)
Orange County Register:
State Reviewing How And When To Reopen Disneyland And Other California Theme Parks
California state officials are reviewing how and when to reopen Disneyland, Universal Studios Hollywood and other theme parks based on COVID-19 health data as the tourist destinations prepare to head into their sixth month of coronavirus closures. “Theme parks are not permitted to open in California at this time, under current public health orders,” California Health and Human Services spokesperson Kate Folmar said via email. “We will continue to review health data to determine when and how theme parks may consider reopening at lower risk to staff and visitors.” (MacDonald, 8/10)
Los Angeles Times:
Amid The Pandemic, People With Diabetes Struggle To Get Insulin
For Adam Winney, a 26-year old with Type 1 diabetes, grocery shopping during the early days of a pandemic was an infuriating task. Everything was sold out, except for the one type of food he couldn’t eat. "The only things left were carbs, carbs, carbs,” the Van Nuys resident said. “I’ve never been more furious than back in March.” (Wong, 8/11)
Orange County Register:
A Child Is Orange County’s First Case Of West Nile Virus In 2020
Health officials reported on Monday that a child, whose age and hometown were not disclosed, is the first person this season to be diagnosed with West Nile virus in Orange County. The child is recovering, a press release from the Orange County Health Care Agency said. The child was diagnosed with the infection last week, one of 10 cases statewide as of Friday, health officials said. (Walker, 8/10)
Los Angeles Times:
California's Quake Early Warning System Added To Android Phones
Google is adding California’s earthquake early warning system as part of its Android operating system for mobile phones, the company said Tuesday. The feature means that the state’s earthquake early warnings will be piped into phones using the Android system without the need to download a separate app. (Lin II, 8/11)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Newsom Says Trump’s $400-A-Week Unemployment Benefits Plan Isn’t Workable. Here’s What You Need To Know
President Trump’s plan to provide an extra $400 per week in unemployment benefits to replace the $600 per week that expired last month could face legal, administrative and political hurdles, experts outside the administration say. To participate, states would have to pay 25% of the cost, or $100 a week, according to Trump’s memorandum issued Saturday. (Pender, 8/10)
San Francisco Chronicle:
KQED Cuts Staff, Cites Pandemic’s Financial Toll: ‘We Are All Hurting Today’
The Bay Area’s most prominent public broadcasting station, KQED, announced Monday that it will lay off 20 employees as part of an effort to close a projected $7.1 million gap in next year’s budget. The retrenchment, which also could include reduced hours for some employees and a staff-wide pay freeze, is a response to bleak forecasts for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. Corporate underwriting of the station and its programs is expected to fall 20%, and membership revenues are expected to decline by 6%. (King, 8/10)
San Francisco Chronicle:
San Francisco Fitness Centers Fear ‘Complete Collapse’ Amid Coronavirus Shutdown
Owners of boutique gyms and fitness centers flooded the San Francisco Small Business Commission meeting Monday night and pleaded for permission to reopen. In a series of speeches grouped under the title “Help Save Us from Complete Collapse,” members of the San Francisco Independent Fitness Studio Coalition addressed Health Officer Dr. Tomas Aragon with an array of emotional and data-based appeals. (Simmons, 8/10)