Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Turning Anger Into Action: Minority Students Analyze COVID Data on Racial Disparities
About 70 college students are enrolled this summer in a program developed by San Francisco researchers and funded by the National Institutes of Health that allows them to explore the pandemic’s impact on communities facing health disparities. (Esther Landhuis, )
Harris Tapped As Biden’s Pick For VP, But Where Does She Stand On Health Care? In the Democratic primary battle, it took months for California Sen. Kamala Harris to clarify her position on health care, even as she criticized her opposition, former vice president Joe Biden, for not going far enough on health care reform. Harris was initially a co-sponsor of Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) “Medicare for All” proposal that much of the health care industry opposes. Here's where Harris stood on health care issues during her own campaign. Read more from Rachel Cohrs of Modern Healthcare.
UCSF Scientists Create Nasal Spray To Fight COVID: Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, reported Tuesday they have formulated a nasal spray that can help ward off the coronavirus. They are working with business partners to get it manufactured and clinically tested. They call the aerosol spray AeroNabs. Read more from Cathie Anderson of the Sacramento Bee and Peter Fimrite of the San Francisco Chronicle.
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
Los Angeles Times:
Pac-12, Big Ten Cancel Fall Football Seasons Over COVID-19
What is a fall Saturday without college football? With Tuesday’s announcements that the Pac-12 and Big Ten conferences are canceling all fall sports — with the hope of moving their seasons to winter or spring — millions of fans on the West Coast and in the Midwest are about to find out. The rest of America might soon join them. USC and UCLA haven’t missed a rivalry game in nearly a century. The Trojans and Bruins played amid the Great Depression and World War II. But with the start of football practice a week away in the Pac-12, the league’s presidents unanimously decided there was no option but to retreat in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. (McCollough, 8/11)
Sacramento Bee:
Tech Problems Mire Gavin Newsom’s COVID Fight In CA
Before he became California governor last year, Gavin Newsom built his reputation as a tech-savvy Bay Area politician, who wrote a book arguing government should follow Silicon Valley’s lead and embrace new technology. But five months into the biggest crisis of his governorship, technology problems have become major stumbling blocks to his coronavirus strategy. (Bollag and Wilner, 8/12)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Mayor London Breed Expects SF To Spend $446 Million On Pandemic Next Year
San Francisco is expected to spend about $446 million on its ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor London Breed revealed at a news conference Tuesday. Much of that money — about $353 million — is expected to come from a combination of reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, state grants and federal stimulus money. Breed’s budget assumes the city will cover the remainder, about $93 million. (Vaziri and Fracassa, 8/11)
KPBS:
San Diego’s Black And Latino Neighborhoods Hit With COVID-19 Triple Whammy
Two recent reports show that predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods in San Diego County not only have the highest COVID-19 infection rates and are hardest hit by unemployment, but also experience a significant gap in access to testing. The first report shows that among large metro areas nationwide, San Diego has one of the largest gaps in COVID-19 testing access for white and nonwhite neighborhoods. The report was done by ABC News, FiveThirtyEight and ABC-owned television stations using testing site location data obtained from the company Castlight Health. (Trageser, 8/11)
Los Angeles Times:
Los Angeles County Tops 5,000 Coronavirus Deaths
Total deaths from COVID-19 topped 5,000 in Los Angeles County on Tuesday, in what officials are calling a “heartbreaking” milestone for a health and economic crisis that won’t disappear anytime soon. The county on Tuesday confirmed 63 deaths and 1,440 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the totals to 5,057 deaths and 211,808 cases since the outbreak began. (Serna, Willon and Nelson, 8/11)
Sacramento Bee:
Backlog Being Processed, Hospital Rates Down
The coronavirus is continuing its deadly impact in the Sacramento region, with August already off to a troubling start. Public health officials, in a Monday update to Sacramento County’s COVID-19 data dashboard, confirmed several more July deaths for nearly 80 in the month, including the deadliest day of the pandemic, and have already confirmed well over a dozen resident deaths from the virus in the first six days of August. (McGough, 8/11)
Fresno Bee:
Fresno Adds 20 New Deaths From COVID-19 As Cases Surge
More than 1,300 additional central San Joaquin Valley residents were confirmed Tuesday as being infected with the novel coronavirus, as new cases of the contagion and associated deaths continue to increase in the region. Tuesday was the second consecutive day – and the third in a span of nine days – in which at least 1,100 new COVID-19 cases were identified collectively by counties in the central San Joaquin Valley region. (Sheehan, 8/11)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Salesforce Donates $20 Million To SF, Oakland And Other U.S. Schools
Salesforce is increasing its annual grants to schools to $20 million as the most uncertain educational year in modern history begins amid the coronavirus pandemic. The tech company, San Francisco’s largest private employer, is giving $9 million to San Francisco Unified School District and $9 million to Oakland Unified School District. It is also giving $500,000 each to Indianapolis, Chicago and New York districts, along with $500,000 to Courageous Conversation Global Foundation to partner with schools to promote racial justice education. (Li, 8/11)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. School Board Approves Agreement For Online Teaching
With families anxious about the quality of online learning, the Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday unanimously approved a plan that will restore structure to the academic schedule while also allowing for an online school day that is shorter than the traditional one. The plan leaves some parents and advocates in the nation’s second-largest school system wanting more teaching hours. There also are parents who want fewer mandatory screen-time hours for their young children — a reflection of the complexities of distance learning and the widespread parent angst over the start of the school year next week at home, online. (Blume, 8/11)
Fresno Bee:
Fresno, Tulare Will Not Grant Waivers To Reopen Schools
School districts in Fresno and Tulare counties will not be approved for a waiver to reopen elementary schools until the number of positive COVID-19 cases decreases, according to public health officials. Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered all private and public K-12 schools in counties that are on the state’s watch list for surging coronavirus cases to remain closed. Many counties in the central San Joaquin Valley — including Tulare, Fresno, Kings, and Merced — are being monitored by the state. (Velez, 8/11)
Sacramento Bee:
‘Outside Ain’t Cutting It’: Hairstylists Rally For The Reopening Of California Salons
“Outside ain’t cutting it,” Andrew Jacobson’s sign read. Jacobson and about 250 others were gathered on the south side of the state Capitol in Sacramento on Tuesday to protest the closure of hair salons, barbershops and nail salons.Another sign read, “If masks work, why can’t I?” (Burke, 8/11)
Sacramento Bee:
Placerville Restaurant’s Permit Suspended Over COVID-19
El Dorado County officials suspended a third restaurant’s health permit Tuesday over overt violations of COVID-19 safety protocols, including continuing to offer indoor dining and not requiring customers or staff to wear face masks. Danette’s Brick Oven Pub “flagrantly” ignored critical details of the business-specific COVID-19 prevention plan it submitted as a condition of reopening, said Jeffrey Warren, the manager of El Dorado County’s Environmental Management Department. (Egel, 8/11)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Prairie, SF’s Poster Child For Restaurant Reinvention During Pandemic, To Close
The San Francisco restaurant Prairie, which gained attention during the early days of the pandemic for dropping its meal service to operate as a general store, will permanently close on Friday. Chef and owner Anthony Strong described the restaurant’s reinvention as a “Hail Mary” to save the business during the pandemic, but it was never meant to be a permanent solution. (Phillips, 8/11)
Fresno Bee:
Timeline Of Madera County Social Worker’s Alleged Crimes
Former Madera County social worker Sierra Lindman denied intentionally discarding hundreds of child abuse reports and told an investigator she would never “jeopardize children,” according to new law enforcement documents obtained by The Fresno Bee. Lindman has been at the center of a firestorm since early November 2019 when Madera County officials discovered hundreds of referrals to Child Protective Services had been discarded without investigation. Lindman’s employment with Madera County ended the same week the issue came to light within the department. (Amaro, 8/11)
Los Angeles Times:
Immigrant, A COVID-19 Victim, Feared Losing Food Industry Job
Alisha Álvarez’s mind is filled with thoughts of her father’s happy spirit and the stories he told. José Roberto Álvarez, a man of medium stature with a thick mustache, was known for his work ethic and instilling in his children a love of others. “It is so difficult to talk about him because I loved him so much,” Álvarez said of her father, who died after contracting COVID-19. He worked at one of the three food distribution facilities that were briefly closed last month by Los Angeles County public health authorities after outbreaks of the disease were detected. (Jimenez, 8/12)
San Francisco Chronicle:
San Quentin Officials Ignored Coronavirus Guidance From Top Marin County Health Officer, Letter Says
Two days after California prison officials in late May shipped busloads of prisoners from a coronavirus hot spot in Chino to San Quentin State Prison, Marin County’s top public health officer issued urgent guidance to the prison’s leadership. Dr. Matthew Willis had learned that the 122 prisoners weren’t tested for weeks before they were transferred on May 30. Unless they were “radically sequestered” from the native population, Willis warned, the prison was setting the stage for a major outbreak. (Cassidy, 8/11)
Ventura County Star:
Judge Won't Order Sheriff To Enforce Restraining Order At Newbury Park Church
A judge denied the Ventura County government's request Tuesday for an order directing Sheriff Bill Ayub to immediately take necessary actions to close a Newbury Park church to prevent indoor worship services. County residents depend on the Ventura County Sheriff's Office to "keep the peace," Superior Court Judge Vincent O'Neill Jr. said, adding that the agency needs to be seen in a "neutral" role if the situation escalates and sheriff's deputies must respond to enforce the law. (Wilson, 8/11)
CalMatters:
More Than 1,600 Californians Have Been Evicted Since March
Like any parent, Jamie Burson didn’t want her 11-year-old son to discover how frightened she really was about the novel coronavirus. But it’s hard to mask anxiety when you’re living and sleeping together in the same car. After Burson was evicted from her two bedroom apartment in Vacaville the second week of April, she heeded Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order to shelter in place by cooping up in a two-door sedan near her Walmart job. (Levin, Duara and Yee, 8/11)
Los Angeles Times:
Mayor Garcetti's Top Homelessness Advisor To Resign
Mayor Eric Garcetti’s top advisor on homelessness has told her colleagues she will be resigning at the end of the month, The Times has learned. This comes as the number of people living on the streets continues to grow and more money than ever is being spent to house people and keep them from returning to the street. To help respond to the pandemic, the city is awash in federal dollars that are being directed towards homelessness. (Oreskes, 8/11)