Reopening Day Has Arrived: After 15 months of covid lockdown, California reopened Tuesday to fanfare and nervousness. For many, it may be a slow reentry into mixed society. For others, life may look a lot like normal. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle. Comprehensive coverage of the reopening continues below.
In other top health news —
Newsom Vows To Let Vaccinated Workers Shed Masks: California will let fully vaccinated workers go maskless after Thursday, pending a vote from the state’s workplace safety board, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday. He said he will issue an executive order Thursday. Read more from The Sacramento Bee, Bay Area News Group, San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times.
Get Vaccinated, Win A Vacation: California will offer six “dream vacation” incentives to spur more people to get coronavirus vaccinations, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday. Read more from KQED, the Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle.
Below, check out the roundup of California Healthline’s coverage. For today's national health news, read KHN's Morning Briefing.
More News From Across The State
Los Angeles Times:
California Reopening: Everything You Need To Know
Today marks a new era for California: The state at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday rescinded most mask rules for vaccinated people and ended capacity limitations on businesses and venues. Here’s a rundown of what changed today and in the days to come. (Lin II and Money, 6/15)
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
California’s Reopening Is Here. What Will Change?
To celebrate California’s reopening, Chris Frederick, co-owner of Third Street Aleworks in Santa Rosa, is bringing back $2.50 bratwurst and beers — a popular Tuesday night tradition that vanished 15 months ago at the outset the pandemic. The statewide lifting of COVID-19 restrictions Tuesday will allow the brew pub to reopen the bar and seat customers indoors without any social distancing requirements. (Espinoza, 6/14)
CapRadio:
What Changes, What Stays The Same As California Reopens
As California reopens June 15, there will be a host of changes to how we've been living since the start of the pandemic. But even as most COVID-19 rules go away, some things will remain the same — for now. For the first time in 450 days, California will no longer be under a stay-at-home order. The color-coded tier system will go away, allowing many businesses to reopen with few restrictions. The state's mask mandate will also expire. (Caiola, et al, 6/15)
Bay Area News Group:
Q&A: What Will Change In California On June 15?
After more than a year of ever-changing stay-at-home rules, California’s highly anticipated reopening starts Tuesday — the date that, as Gov. Gavin Newsom has put it, the state will move “beyond the blueprint,” doing away with the color-coded system that has governed businesses, social gatherings and masking habits to enter a post-pandemic world. “No more physical distancing, substantially modifying masking in the state of California, moving beyond these county tiers, the red, orange, purple and increasingly yellow — and now looking forward to getting back to a semblance of normalcy without occupancy constraints,” Newsom said last week. But that doesn’t mean everything will change overnight and there are still plenty of rules in place to minimize the spread of COVID-19. So what can — and can’t — we do Tuesday that we couldn’t before? (Kelliher, 6/15)
Southern California News Group:
LA County Set To Largely Reopen Tuesday After More Than A Year Of Coronavirus Restrictions. Here’s What That Means
Los Angeles County is about to hit a milestone on Tuesday, June 15 — by joining California in fully reopening its economy. After a year of scrambling to stay alive, businesses will be allowed to forgo coronavirus-related social distancing and open to full capacity, while fully vaccinated individuals can largely ditch masks. Bars can put their stools back at the counter. Dodger Stadium will be at full capacity for the first time since 2019. Restaurants and stores don’t have to worry about capacity limits either. And folks don’t have to fret about whether they are 6 feet apart from others. But the change also comes with uncertainties and concerns. (Grigoryants and Rosenfeld, 6/14)
Orange County Register:
June 15 Changes: At Long Last, Freedom? Or Business As Usual In Orange County?
In some parts of Orange County, June 15 – when the state’s restrictions on businesses and civic life largely go away – will be cause to celebrate a return largely to whatever now passes for normal. Other parts of the county may greet the day with a shrug because they’ve already resumed old (pre-pandemic) habits or created new ones. And some folks don’t know yet what to think. (Robinson, 6/14)
KQED:
California's Mask Mandate Ends June 15. Here's Why Some Fully Vaccinated People Will Keep Wearing Them
On June 15, California will fully reopen for "business as usual." The state will officially adopt the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidance that fully vaccinated people can ditch their masks in most indoor and outdoor settings. From that date onward, the only places that vaccinated Californians will be required to wear masks are: on and around public transit (e.g. BART, Muni, ferries and airplanes), indoors in K-12 schools and child care settings, health care settings, homeless shelters, emergency shelters and cooling centers. (Severn, 6/14)
Los Angeles Times:
What Could Go Wrong As California Reopens: Variants, Vaccine Skepticism, Inequities
Many public health experts are highly optimistic as California is set to fully reopen its economy Tuesday, ending most COVID-19 restrictions. But what could still go wrong? There’s plenty of reason for confidence in the months to come. California has one of the highest rates of vaccination in the nation, with 56% of residents of all ages — and 72% of adults — having had at least one dose of vaccine. (Lin II and Money, 6/14)
CalMatters:
As California Reopens, 6 Things To Know About COVID
Fifteen months after Californians faced their first COVID-19 stay-at-home order, most mandates will be lifted on Tuesday. And what a journey it’s been — just months ago, hospitals were overwhelmed with severely sick people seeking scarce beds. But while California’s outlook is brighter, COVID-19 remains a very real threat. Even though the state’s infection rate and hospitalizations are at an all-time low, the pandemic isn’t over. People are still dying from COVID-19, just at lower rates than six months ago. (Ibarra, 6/14)
San Francisco Chronicle:
On California's June 15 Reopening, Here's What Pandemic Data Says About How Far We've Come
Ever since the coronavirus entered the Bay Area last spring, numbers have stood as signposts along the path of the pandemic. Case rates, deaths, hospitalizations, positive test rates: The numbers showed us the toll and our ever-changing state of risk. And for more than a year, the numbers have also served as the benchmarks for California’s health restrictions that have governed businesses, activities and much of our daily lives.As the state retires its tiered reopening blueprint and lifts most restrictions on Tuesday, how do the current numbers compare to the beginning of the journey? And to the worst of the pandemic, during the harrowing winter surge? And what do they tell us about whether we’re really out of the woods? (Hwang, 6/15)
Orange County Register:
Disneyland Increases Attendance Capacity, Drops Masks And Physical Distancing As Pandemic Rules End
Disneyland will increase attendance, drop mask requirements for vaccinated visitors, discontinue physical distancing and continue advance reservations as the state ends most COVID-19 health and safety measures. Disney Parks Chief Medical Officer Pamela Hymel outlined the changes coming to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure once pandemic restrictions end in a letter issued to employees on Monday, June 14. (MacDonald, 6/14)
LA Daily News:
Six Flags Magic Mountain Increases Attendance And Ride Capacity, Drops Masks And Reservations
Six Flags Magic Mountain will increase attendance and ride capacity, drop mask requirements for vaccinated visitors and discontinue advance reservations as the state ends most COVID-19 health and safety measures. Magic Mountain officials announced the changes to COVID-19 health and safety measures ahead of the reopening of the California economy on Tuesday, June 15 that will allow theme parks in the state to return to full capacity and end most coronavirus restrictions. (MacDonald, 6/14)
Los Angeles Times:
Most Of California Is Open, But These Iconic Attractions? Not Yet
Most of California is celebrating the resumption of business as usual today — including dozens of parks, museums and other attractions — but several attractions remain closed indefinitely, including San Francisco's iconic cable cars and the Hearst Castle. (Reynolds and Forgione, 6/15)
The Bakersfield Californian:
GET Bus Riders Required To Continue Mask Wearing Following TSA Announcement
Because of the Transportation Security Administration extending face mask requirements until Sept. 13, those riding on Golden Empire Transit buses locally will need to continue adhering to face covering guidelines. According to a news release from GET bus, riders must wear a face mask while traveling on the bus. If a passenger refuses to wear a face mask, the driver can remove them at the earliest safe opportunity, the news release states. (6/14)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Masks At Trader Joe's, Target And Other Big Stores In California: What Are The Rules Now?
Daily life for people in the Bay Area is changing a lot Tuesday as California lifts most COVID-19 restrictions — especially when it comes to mask requirements while shopping. Until Tuesday, all Californians were required to wear masks in indoor settings outside the home, and people not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 had to wear them outdoors if social distancing could not be maintained. Under the state’s new rules, if you’re fully vaccinated, you don’t have to wear a mask in almost all indoor public settings. If you’re unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, the old mask rules still apply. (Vainshtein and Arredondo, 6/15)
Sacramento Bee:
New Rules At LGBTQ Bars, Clubs In Sacramento
This is Lavender Heights, on a breezy June night. It’s different than what you remember, but also kind of the same. The cover charge is gone and everyone’s coming back out to party. The last year and a half has been devastating for all businesses, but for night clubs here — where shameless, sweaty, intimate dancing and boozy fun are kind of the point — the pandemic was a nightmare, said general manager Johnathan Cameron. Now, as California eyes a June 15 economic reopening, Cameron wonders what a return to the old normal will look like. (Yoon-Hendricks, 6/15)
KQED:
Traveling Internationally? What To Know About Flying Abroad With COVID-19 In Mind This Summer
This Tuesday, California will scrap its social distancing requirements and allow businesses to operate at full capacity. The mask mandate will also end as well, but there are a few exceptions. If you're planning to travel soon, keep in mind that COVID-19 health restrictions change depending on how you travel, where and when. (Kritz, 6/14)
Orange County Register:
California Reported No New COVID-19 Deaths On June 13 — For The First Time Since March 2020
In California, 348 new cases of the coronavirus were reported Sunday, June 13, according to end-of-day totals on public health websites, bringing the total number of cases so far to 3,773,678. For the first time since March of 2020, there were no new deaths reported statewide Sunday, for a total of 62,884 people who have died from COVID-19. (Goertzen, 6/15)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Kern Public Health Reports 13 New Coronavirus Cases Monday
Kern County Public Health Services reported 13 new confirmed coronavirus cases Monday. No new deaths were reported. That brings Kern's case count since the pandemic began to 110,617. There have been 1,400 deaths. (6/14)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Is It Over? How California Will Know When The Pandemic Ends
The 2019 birth of the coronavirus pandemic is baked into the name of the disease itself: COVID-19. But its demise, that longed-for time when the world can declare the scourge crushed, is a more slippery thing. “There will not be a day, a month, nor perhaps a year when the pandemic will be over. It will not be like an epiphany — more likely, it will be quiet and subtle,” said John Swartzberg, an infectious disease expert at UC Berkeley. (Asimov, 6/15)
AP:
Vaccinated Hawaiian Positive For Delta Variant
Hawaii says a vaccinated Oahu resident who traveled to Nevada last month has tested positive for the delta variant of COVID-19. The delta variant was first detected in India and is a more transmissible version of the disease. The variant currently makes up 6% of all cases in the U.S. Hawaii Health Director Dr. Libby Char says this is a “very rare breakthrough” case in which a COVID-19 vaccine didn’t prevent infection. (6/15)
CalMatters:
Newsom: Vaccine Verification System In Works
What’s the difference between a “vaccine verification system” and a “vaccine passport”? Hard to say — but Gov. Gavin Newsom distinguished between the two during a Friday press conference, suggesting the state is working on an electronic system that businesses can use to check customers’ vaccination status while emphasizing “there is no mandate, no requirement, no passport.” Tomorrow, Newsom will lift California’s stay-at-home order, allowing most businesses to reopen at full capacity and fully vaccinated people to forgo masks in most situations. But the looser rules usher in a new challenge for businesses: How will they determine customers’ vaccination status and ascertain whether they need to wear masks? The state last week gave them three options: rely on the honor system, require all customers to wear masks, or implement a vaccine verification system. (Hoeven, 6/14)
San Francisco Chronicle:
UC Reverses Course, Will Require All Students, Faculty And Staff To Be Vaccinated This Fall
In an about-face, the University of California will require all students, staff and faculty to be vaccinated against the coronavirus this fall, even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the vaccines only for emergency use. UC President Michael Drake “does plan to move forward with the vaccine mandate,” Regent Eloy Oritz Oakley told The Chronicle on Monday. (Asimov, 6/14)
Orange County Register:
67.8% Of Orange County Residents 65 And Older Fully Vaccinated As Of June 14
The OC Health Care Agency says it will only post COVID-19 case count data on weekdays for the remainder of June, and it will taper off to once-a-week reporting in July. Beginning July 1, OC data will be updated on Tuesdays by 5 p.m. The data will continue to be tracked by CalREDIE’s disease reporting and surveillance system, officials said. As of Monday, June 14, the cumulative total in the county was 255,663 cases since tracking began, with 75 new cases reported from over the weekend. (Snibbe, 6/14)
Southern California News:
Hours Ahead Of Eased Coronavirus Rules, LA County Makes Pre-July 4 Vaccine Push
Hours before most COVID-19 restrictions are lifted across the state, Los Angeles County health officials on Monday, June 14, made another push for residents to get vaccinated, particularly with the Fourth of July holiday on the horizon. The county Department of Public Health noted that unvaccinated residents who get the single-dose Johnson & Johnson shot by Sunday will be fully vaccinated by July 4. People who opt for the two-dose Moderna or Pfizer vaccines are too late to be fully vaccinated by the holiday, but getting the first dose will at least provide some protection, officials said. (6/14)
Modesto Bee:
As It Reopens, Stanislaus Wants To Up COVID Vaccine Rate
Most of the coronavirus regulations are being lifted Tuesday in Stanislaus County while a portion of the population is not vaccinated against COVID-19. County health officials issued a news release Monday asking community members to get vaccinated if they haven’t already. California’s Beyond the Blueprint plan allows fully vaccinated people to stop wearing masks in stores and other indoor settings, effective Tuesday. (Carlson, 6/15)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. Dentist Accused Of Sexually Abusing Patients, Targeting Immigrants And Low-Income Women
A Los Angeles dentist was charged Monday with sexually abusing nine female patients and accused of preying on women from immigrant and low-income communities. Emad Fathy Moawad, 50, is accused of targeting the female patients who came to his office on Beverly Boulevard and Normandie Avenue between 2013 and 2018, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney. His victims during the five-year span ranged in age from 27 to 73. (Winton, 6/14)
Orange County Register:
All-In-One Fetal Care Center Set To Open At CHOC In Orange
The Fetal Care Center of Southern California, based at CHOC Children’s Hospital in Orange, is set to open its doors on Wednesday, June 16, offering expectant moms whose babies will be born with birth defects the kind of comprehensive care in one place, and during a single visit, that is hard to find in the region. The outpatient center is a partnership between UCI Health and CHOC, located in calming office space on the sixth floor of CHOC’s Commerce Tower building on Main Street in Orange, across from the hospital. There, a coordinated team of specialists working in tandem with a patient’s obstetrician, can oversee care from diagnosis in the womb to treatment after birth. (Walker, 6/14)
Los Angeles Times:
Heat Wave Bringing Triple-Digit Temperatures To L.A. Area
A heat wave blanketing Southern California is driving blistering temperatures from the beaches to the mountains, triggering excessive-heat warnings and sparking fears that the hot, dry conditions are ripe for wildfires. With temperatures expected to reach triple digits in some areas, the National Weather Service issued an excessive-heat warning from 10 a.m. Tuesday to 9 p.m. Friday in the mountains of Ventura and Los Angeles counties, not including the Santa Monica range. (Pinho and Seidman, 6/14)
AP:
Doctors Warn Of Burns From Asphalt As Heat Wave Hits US West
Doctors who work in Arizona and Nevada burn centers are warning of injuries from contact with super-heated roadways and other surfaces as the first extreme heat wave of the year extends across the U.S. West. A high pressure system is expected to push temperatures above 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 Celsius) this week in Las Vegas and Phoenix. Health officials advised people to be mindful of hot asphalt, sidewalks and even desert sand. (Christie, 6/15)
Bloomberg:
Scientists Are Trying To Make California Forests More Fire Resilient
To the untrained eye, the scrubby slope off Wentworth Springs Road in the Eldorado National Forest looks like any other patch of Sierra Nevada ridgetop. Tufted in native shrubs and flecked by darkened pine stumps, it’s part of a 30,000-acre swath of land that was deforested in 2014, when the King Fire tore through 17 miles of canyon in less than six hours. But Dana Walsh can see what’s unique. On a recent Sunday morning, the USDA Forest Service forester bent over a white flag pinned into the ground to mark a barely-visible seedling. As she points to other seemingly camouflaged baby conifers nearby, what starts to emerge is a subtle pattern she calls cluster planting. (Bliss, 6/14)
Los Angeles Times:
California Offers $100 Million To Aid Legal Cannabis Industry
The California Legislature on Monday approved a $100-million plan to bolster California’s legal marijuana industry, which continues to struggle to compete with the large illicit pot market nearly five years after voters approved sales for recreational use. Los Angeles will be the biggest beneficiary of the money, which was proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to be provided as grants to cities and counties to help cannabis businesses transition from provisional to regular licenses. (McGreevy, 6/14)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Nonprofit Readies Return To Therapeutic Music On The Move Program For San Diego Seniors
Villa Musica performers will soon be on their way to visit seniors throughout San Diego County, thanks to a $27,000 grant from the San Diego Seniors Community Foundation. The grant Villa Musica received was used to purchase a van to transport musicians and instruments to and from various sites, such as long-term care facilities and senior centers. Performances will begin this summer, as the number of vaccinated people increases, and as senior living facilities begin to welcome back volunteer groups. (Mapp, 6/15)
Los Angeles Daily News:
Valencia Resident Reunites With Doctors Who Helped Get Him Back On His Feet After Spinal Injury
For most people, the pain of learning how to walk and the triumphant first steps that follow only happen once. However, one Valencia man experienced the trials and tribulations of learning to walk twice .John Knight, an employee for the City of Los Angeles, returned to Northridge Hospital Medical Center on Monday, June 14, alongside his wife and 14-month-old daughter, to reunite with the medical team that helped him rehabilitate after he suffered a severe spinal cord injury. (McGreal, 6/14)