Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Next Showdown in Congress: Protecting Workers vs. Protecting Employers in the Pandemic
Democrats want to bind employers to follow a safety plan, while Republicans seek to shield employers and doctors from lawsuits. (Christina Jewett and Melissa Bailey, )
California Shutters Bars, Indoor Restaurants: Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signaled a major retreat in the state’s two-month effort to recover from the economic collapse caused by the coronavirus, ordering the closure of bars, indoor restaurants, movie theaters and many other recently reopened businesses across the state. With infections surging, Newsom also further tightened business restrictions in 29 counties that together account for about 80% of the state’s population. Those counties must now close gyms, houses of worship, hair and nail salons, offices for noncritical work sectors, shopping malls and barbershops. Read more from Dustin Gardiner, Erin Allday and Tatiana Sanchez of the San Francisco Chronicle and Melody Gutierrez of the Los Angeles Times.
L.A., San Diego Schools Go Online, But Orange County Goes Opposite Direction: The Los Angeles and San Diego school districts, the two largest in California, announced Monday they won’t bring students back to classrooms next month. In a letter to parents, Cindy Marten, superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District, said nothing was decided beyond beginning the academic year online. An Aug. 10 update will address the possibility of returning to in-person instruction. Meanwhile, Orange County education leaders voted 4 to 1 Monday evening to approve recommendations for reopening schools in the fall that do not include the mandatory use of masks for students or increased social distancing in classrooms. Read more from Kathleen Ronayne and Jocelyn Gecker of the Associated Press and Hannah Fry and Sara Cardine of the Los Angeles Times.
For More Info On Your School District's Plans: Will your Bay Area school be online, in-person or both? A sampling of districts' fall plans
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
More On The Coronavirus Closures
San Francisco Chronicle:
Confused About New Restrictions In Bay Area? Here’s The Latest On Reopening In Each County
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, most of the Bay Area was in sync with shelter-in-place and other health mandates. Then as counties began reopening, they took divergent paths, especially smaller areas and those with fewer cases. But a virus surge statewide has led some counties to halt or even reverse their reopening plans. And on Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a sweeping measure ordering the indefinite, immediate statewide closure of indoor restaurants, movie theaters and wineries, and both indoor and outdoor bars. (Hwang, 7/13)
Sacramento Bee:
COVID-19 Forces Sacramento To Close Gyms, Malls, Churches
Heeding Gov. Gavin Newsom’s sweeping re-closure announcement, Sacramento County health officials immediately announced Monday they are calling on most indoor businesses and activities to halt. Yolo County later announced the closures as well. Leaders in Yolo and Placer county, however, as well as numerous local businesses, expressed frustration with the new shutdowns, ordered by the governor. (Bizjak, Kasler, McGough, Stanton and Yoon-Hendricks, 7/13)
Fresno Bee:
Newsom Closes Gyms In Fresno, Other California Valley Counties
Two weeks after Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the closure of restaurants and bars within Fresno County, on Monday he added a new list of businesses that will be re-shuttered in an effort to stop the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak. That includes shopping malls, gyms, nail salons and churches doing indoor services. (Tehee, 7/13)
The Desert Sun:
Newsom Orders Gyms, Churches Closed In Monitored California Counties
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday announced a list of business sectors required to close as the number of coronavirus cases continue to increase substantially across the state. California's average daily new cases hit 8,211 over the past week and 23 people died due to virus-related complications in the past 24 hours. (Hayden and Sestito, 7/13)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Nail Salons, Barbershops Open In Santa Clara County — For Two Days
After months of mixed messages, some Santa Clara County businesses — including salons whose owners protested in downtown San Jose in June — were allowed to reopen Monday. The reprieve proved short-lived. As stylists and nail technicians were welcoming clients back, they learned of new statewide health orders that will force them to close again in two days. (Simmons and Narayan, 7/13)
Fresno Bee:
Fresno Leads, Central Valley Tops 20,000 Coronavirus Cases
The central San Joaquin Valley passed 20,000 positive cases of the coronavirus on Monday, including more than 300 deaths. Fresno County no longer updates its count daily, switching this week to Tuesday and Friday. So the most recent report from Saturday of 8,282 cases and 88 deaths did not change Monday. The case total is the highest among the six counties in the central San Joaquin Valley region. (Miller, 7/13)
Fresno Bee:
COVID-19 Update: Latest News For Central San Joaquin Valley
Nearly 20,000 people have been infected with the coronavirus across the six counties in the central San Joaquin Valley. Last week, the region hits 10,000 active cases and, as of Friday, had added an average of 539 cases each day for the last two weeks. (Tehee, 7/13)
Sacramento Bee:
School Districts Making Their Own Decisions On Reopening
Los Angeles County is waiting to open schools for in-person learning. The Orange County Board of Education wants to run forward, preparing to hold a full schedule of classes this fall with no requirements that students wear masks. Sacramento schools are trying something in between. (Wiley, 7/14)
Fresno Bee:
Fresno CA Parents Fear Schools Reopening Amid COVID-19
As COVID-19 cases rise in the central San Joaquin Valley, some parents say they are afraid schools won’t be safe to reopen in the fall. But other parents say they’re even more worried about their children falling behind if campuses remain shuttered and students are forced to take classes exclusively online. (Dieppa, 7/13)
Sacramento Bee:
Will Sacramento Open Schools This Fall In COVID-19 Surge?
As California’s two largest school districts announced plans to continue distance learning only models in the fall, there is growing apprehension among teachers in the Sacramento City Unified School District about classroom instruction beginning in September. The district has announced the resumption of in-person classes on Sept. 3, but some teachers say they are skeptical that the district has the capacity to reopen campuses safely and according to the guidelines. (Morrar, 7/13)
AP:
Fire Ravages Ship For 2nd Day; Sends Acrid Haze Over City
Flames tore through a warship for a second day Monday as a top Navy official revealed that a fire suppression system was inoperable when the blaze erupted while the ship was docked in San Diego. Hundreds of sailors were battling to keep flames away from a million gallons of oil on board the USS Bonhomme Richard. Meanwhile, acrid smoke from the blaze wafted across San Diego and health officials urged people to stay indoors if they smelled it. (Watson, 7/14)
Fresno Bee:
California Bottled Water Program Isn’t Helping In Earlimart
The cost of buying cases of bottled water for cooking and drinking is adding up for residents of Earlimart, where a contaminated well became the main source of tap water for more than 8,000 people there in late May. The state Water Resources Control Board that is responsible for drinking water has a program to provide financial assistance for bottled water to help communities in crisis. It has not been available in Earlimart — and it is unclear why. (Vaughan, 7/13)
Fresno Bee:
Fresno Leader Wants Stricter Mask Order, Employee Notice
A Fresno city leader is proposing stricter mask and case reporting requirements as the number of positive COVID-19 cases continue to climb at an increasing rate. Councilmember Nelson Esparza said he wants to add language to the city’s coronavirus orders that would require people working, even when outside, to wear masks while near others. The order also requires the masks be properly worn covering a person’s nose. (Miller, 7/13)