LA Has First Community-Spread Cases As County’s Coronavirus Count Climbs to 19: L.A. County Public Health Department Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said one of the two new cases in her agency’s jurisdiction is that of a person who had a known travel history to Japan. The source of exposure of the second person is unknown. Separately, Long Beach, which has its own health department, reported its first cases of coronavirus-infected patients — two men and one woman. “This is our first case of community transmission in L.A. County and we will continue to see more cases of COVID-19,” Ferrer said. “We continue to urge everyone to do their part: Stay home if you are sick and keep your children home if they are sick; plan for the possibility of school and business closures.” Read more from Colleen Shalby of the Los Angeles Times and David Rosenfield of The Beach Reporter.
Cruise Ship Allowed To Dock, But It's Anything But Smooth Sailing As Locals Voice Resentment, Fear: The Grand Princess, the cruise ship stranded for days on the high seas off California, sailed into the Port of Oakland on Monday, met by workers in protective gear who marshaled a large-scale quarantine operation for 21 people on board infected with the coronavirus, along with the thousands of other passengers and crew members. The transfer of passengers was to continue through Monday and Tuesday and would be done in very carefully controlled environments. With only 45 people on board tested so far, the number of infections seemed very likely to rise. Some residents of Oakland have expressed resentment that their city had been chosen for the ship to dock. The Grand Princess was originally scheduled to arrive at the cruise ship terminal in wealthier San Francisco across the Bay. Read more from Thomas Fuller, John Eligon and Jenny Gross of The New York Times.
California Health Professionals Say Rate Of Testing Is Not Enough: Over the weekend, health officials in California nearly doubled the number of people tested for COVID-19. Yet with thousands of people being monitored for the new coronavirus, as of Monday the total still only amounts to 942 people, according to the California Department of Public Health. Medical professionals say that’s not nearly enough given the spread of the coronavirus in the state. “It really needs to be in the tens of thousands and higher,” David Relman, an immunologist at Stanford University. Read more from Kevin Stark of KQED.
Homeless, Advocates Brace For Coronavirus To Sweep Encampments: State, county and city officials throughout the Bay Area say they are scrambling to put together a reaction plan if the dreaded COVID-19 virus snakes its way into the homeless population, but those sleeping in tents, RVs and shelters say they’re worried about the toll an outbreak could take. There hasn’t been a homeless case of COVID-19 reported yet — but most officials agree it is probably just a matter of time. Street counselors and governmental outreach workers are distributing flyers and telling people without roofs to wash up regularly. And most communities, including San Francisco, are planning over the next week or so to step up efforts to install easily accessible hand-washing stations, distribute hand sanitizers, and designate motel rooms and other facilities for quarantining homeless people if they catch the virus. Read more from Kevin Fagan and Dominic Fracassa of the San Francisco Chronicle.
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.
Sign up to get the daily edition in your inbox
More News From Across The State
Bay Area News Group:
Coronavirus Cases In San Mateo County Reach Nine, Five Are Presumptive Positive
There are now nine cases of coronavirus in San Mateo County, public health officials said Monday. San Mateo County Health said there are now four positive adult cases in the county and five more presumed positive are awaiting confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, officials said in a press release. Hospitals cannot release patients until suitable isolation facilities are available, so the county is working to identify potential sites on property they own to temporarily house patients whose needs cannot be accommodates at their homes and do not warrant hospitalizations, the release said. (Toledo, 3/9)
The Bakersfield Californian:
2 More Kern County Coronavirus Tests Come Back Negative; Testing To Begin Locally
Two additional Kern County coronavirus tests came back negative, according to the Kern County Public Health Services Department. A total of three tests have shown negative results for the virus, spokeswoman Michelle Corson said Monday during a press conference. Six tests are pending results. Additionally, three individuals continue to be monitored. There are still no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Kern County. (3/9)
Bay Area News Group:
Santa Clara County Reports First Coronavirus Death
Santa Clara County on Monday announced its first coronavirus-related death, marking California’s second death due to the growing global pandemic. The patient was a woman in her 60s with chronic health conditions and had been hospitalized for a respiratory illness for several weeks, according to a news release from the Santa Clara County Public Health Department. She died at Mountain View’s El Camino Hospital Monday morning. On Feb. 28, the woman became county’s third reported case of coronavirus and its first without any known international travel history or contact with a traveler or infected person, “suggesting she contracted COVID-19 in our community,” the release stated. (Angst, 3/9)
Sacramento Bee:
Young Elk Grove CA Student Tests Positive For Coronavirus
A young student in the Elk Grove Unified School District has tested positive for coronavirus, Sacramento County Health Department chief Dr. Peter Beilenson told The Sacramento Bee on Monday.It appears two other members of the household have tested positive as well. That appears to be the most people yet in one household in the Sacramento area. The student who has tested positive for CoVID-19 attends Maeola R. Beitzel Elementary School, according to a joint statement released Monday night by Elk Grove Unified, the Sacramento County Office of Education and Sacramento County Department of Health Services. (Bizjak, Morrar and Ahumada, 3/9)
Sacramento Bee:
Coronavirus: Sacramento County CA Ends COVID-19 Isolation
Sacramento County announced Monday that its public health department will no longer recommend isolation or quarantine for people exposed to someone with COVID-19, making a pivot from a strategy of containment to one of mitigation. In an interview, Dr. Peter Beilenson, head of the county’s Department of Health Services, said public health officials had quarantined the sick and those who came into close contact with them as a way to slow spread of the disease. “Once you get a certain number of cases, it’s hard to continue to contact-trace back the way you tried originally,” Beilenson said, “so we move to mitigation, which is basically trying to mitigate the risk to those who are most at risk: the elderly and those with chronic underlying conditions.” (Anderson, 3/9)
Bay Area News Group:
Some Bay Area Schools Have Closed As Newsom Develops Statewide Strategy To Combat Coronavirus
While several Bay Area schools have already closed and a few are mulling the same course of action as coronavirus continues to spread, most are waiting to take their cue from Gov. Gavin Newsom, who was scheduled to meet with school officials from across the state Monday afternoon to talk strategy. On Sunday, Newsom said the likelihood of statewide school closures is increasing, and invited representatives from the 58 county offices of education to the meeting. (Toledo, 3/9)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Businesses, Churches, Schools, Hospitals Move To Mitigate Viral Risks
The handshake or the elbow bump, that is the question. Actually, it's just one of many questions being raised at local businesses, churches, schools and health centers regarding the best strategies available to help prevent the spread of coronavirus and the flu. Longtime Bakersfield resident Leonel Martinez said a priest celebrating Mass last Sunday asked members of the congregation to refrain from shaking hands in greeting. But old habits are hard to break. (Mayer, 3/9)
Fresno Bee:
Fresno State Advises Students On Travel Due To Coronavirus
Students looking forward to partying out of the country during spring break should be prepared for their plans to be canceled and to have to self-isolate due to the fast-spreading coronavirus, according to Fresno State officials. Students, faculty and staff are strongly advised not to travel internationally, including to popular spring break destinations such as Cabo San Lucas and Cancún, said Carolyn Coon, the dean of students and acting vice president for Student Affairs and Enrollment. (Panoo, 3/9)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. Schools Chief Expected To Get Coronavirus Emergency Power To Shut Campuses
The Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday is expected to give Supt. Austin Beutner “emergency powers” to take actions that might otherwise require board approval up to and including shutting down the entire school system in response to the coronavirus outbreak. The action is seen as precaution that would allow Beutner to act quickly as the need arises — but no immediate use of these emergency powers is anticipated in the nation’s second-largest school system. (Blume, 3/10)
Fresno Bee:
Will Fresno CA Area Schools Cancel Classes Over Coronavirus?
Schools and campuses across Fresno County opened classes as usual Monday, two days after county health officials confirmed a local man tested positive for coronavirus.A Madera County resident also has tested positive for COVID-19, health officials reported over the weekend. Districts in Fresno County said they had no plans to cancel classes as of Monday morning. (Dieppa and Panoo, 3/9)
Fresno Bee:
Coronavirus Fears In Fresno, CA Spur Sell Outs, Shortages
Stores were selling out of hand sanitizer – and one was getting low on beans and rice – as Fresnans concerned about coronavirus stocked up on supplies. Bottled water, wipes, face masks and toilet paper were all in demand, with many Fresno-area stores on Monday limited how much shoppers could buy. (Clough, 3/9)
Bay Area News Group:
Santa Clara County CA Officials Ban All Large Gatherings
Just hours after Santa Clara County reported its first coronavirus-related death, the county has implemented a mandatory ban on all large gatherings in hopes of containing the spread of the deadly virus — the most sweeping preventive measure yet taken in California. The ban, which will begin at midnight on Wednesday and span at least three weeks, will apply to any event with more than 1,000 attendees, Santa Clara County Counsel James Williams announced at a press conference Monday evening. The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and police departments throughout the county will enforce the ban. (Angst and Green, 3/9)
The California Health Report (healthycal.org):
As Coronavirus Spreads, Asian Americans Report Spike In Racism
Several weeks ago Carl Chan went to a store in Oakland. Chan felt like he had to cough — he suffers from serious allergies — and raised his arm to cover his mouth. He then saw another customer standing near him bolt out of the shop. “That hurt,” said Chan, who is also president of Oakland’s Chinatown Chamber of Commerce. “I’ve seen people coughing that are not Chinese, and it’s no problem. But any time you see myself or another Asian coughing, there’s a strong reaction.” (Kandil, 3/9)
Sacramento Bee:
Big ‘Faith-Healing’ CA Church Not Immune To Coronavirus Fears
A prominent Northern California mega-church whose members believe their prayers heal the sick and raise the dead is advising the faithful to wash their hands, urging those who feel sick to stay home, canceling missionary trips and advising its faith healers to stay away from local hospitals. Bethel Church leaders say they’re in close contact with local health officials, but they’re not yet canceling services for the 6,300 people who attend services each week in Redding, one of the largest regular gatherings in far Northern California. (Sabalow, 3/10)
Los Angeles Times:
Coachella Music Festival May Be Rescheduled Due To Coronavirus
As the coronavirus continues to spread and upend travel plans and day-to-day life, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is set to become the latest casualty. Multiple sources report that Coachella promoter Goldenvoice is in talks with artists to move the 2020 edition of the event, which was set to take place on two consecutive weekends starting April 10, to Oct. 9 and 16. It is also working to move the Stagecoach country music festival to a fall weekend. (Brown, 3/10)
CalMatters:
As Coronavirus Spreads, Fears Of A Tanking California Economy
As the stock market tumbled and oil prices collapsed on Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s top economic officials sought to project calm from the world’s fifth-largest economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and a Russia-Saudi Arabia oil price war. Lenny Mendonca, the governor’s chief economic and business advisor, said that California is assessing the growing economic impact of the virus, which has shut down schools, suspended in-person classes at UC Berkeley and Stanford, canceled major tech conventions such as Google I/O, and sidelined dockworkers at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. (Lin, 3/9)
Fresno Bee:
Plastic Surgery At Valley Children’s Hospital Healing Scars
One year ago, 14-year-old Arturo Alvarez woke up in a hospital with a scary, deep cut across his face. Arturo and his mother give thanks to a plastic surgery team at Valley Children’s Hospital for the best-they-could-hope-for outcome. “You have to look close to his face just to see the scar,” says Arturo’s mother, Candelaria Rojas. (Valenzuela, 3/9)
Stat:
New Trump Rules Aim To Fuel Sharing Patient Health Records By Smartphone
President Trump’s top health care aides on Monday said they will finalize federal rules requiring health providers and insurers to make health records available to patients in an easily accessible electronic format, a policy shift aimed at fueling broader efforts to use patient data to develop new software tools and services. In a briefing with reporters, Trump’s aides essentially doubled-down on policies they first announced last March, saying they will press forward with the rules despite warnings from electronic health record companies and some hospitals that they could compromise the privacy of patient information. (Ross, 3/9)
The Wall Street Journal:
Sharing Your Digital Health Data: New Rules Ease Access
By standardizing the way data must be shared and mandating that individuals have digital access to their own health records, the regulations are widely expected to benefit a mushrooming industry surrounding health data. The records hold a wealth of intimate information—the history of patients’ illnesses, prescriptions, laboratory results and sometimes genetics—and are seen as increasingly valuable to companies that can crunch vast databases to develop health-care services. Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Microsoft Corp., which are making inroads in health care, have generally backed the main rule, as have some consumer groups. Consumers often face barriers to getting personal medical information to share between doctors or feed to smartphone apps and web portals that provide health services. (Wilde Mathews and Evans, 3/9)