Huntington Beach Becomes Bastion Of Resistance: More than any other place in California, Huntington Beach has come to symbolize resistance to many of the coronavirus safety rules government officials have imposed in recent months. “I don’t believe the rates are rising,” said resident Brad Colburn, 58. “They’re inflated. It’s another way of shutting everything down … of the Democrats trying to get what they want.” Colburn said he has yet to wear a mask outside of shopping. Read more from Jake Sheridan of the Los Angeles Times.
CDSS Backtracks On Reporting COVID Deaths At Assisted Living Facilities: Last week, the state agency that regulates assisted living facilities quietly posted a memo announcing it was going to delete from its website the names of facilities where people had died from COVID-19. The California Department of Social Services provided no explanation. After an outcry, the numbers were back on the state’s COVID-19 dashboard Tuesday afternoon. Still, critics say the move was part of an alarming trend of long-term care industry officials having a disproportionate amount of influence on California’s regulators. Read more from Jason Pohl and Ryan Sabalow of the Sacramento Bee.
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
San Francisco Chronicle:
Antibody Study Finds Coronavirus Infections May Have Been 10 Times Higher In Bay Area
Nearly 10 times as many Bay Area residents had been infected with the coronavirus by the end of April than the official tally at the time, according to a new federal study that analyzed antibody tests to determine how widespread the virus was across a handful of United States hot spots. The study underscores just how deficient testing for the virus was in the early weeks of the pandemic, when the vast majority of cases were never identified. (Allday, 7/21)
Sacramento Bee:
Coronavirus: Live Updates On Pandemic In California, Sacramento
A sustained surge in COVID-19 patients pouring into some California hospitals has alarmed local and state officials, and is putting pressure on other counties in the state to prepare for an influx of cases not yet seen since the coronavirus pandemic began. More than 400,700 Californians have been infected by the virus and 7,755 have been killed, as of Tuesday morning. And more Californians are hospitalized with the virus than at any other time: Nearly 7,100 people are in the hospital with COVID-19, and about 28% of those hospitalized patients are receiving intensive care. (Yoon-Hendricks, 7/21)
Sacramento Bee:
Former Sacramento City Councilman Robbie Waters Has COVID 19
Robbie Waters, an old soldier of Sacramento, has faced down tough challenges in his life before. But now the 84-year-old former county sheriff, former Sacramento Police detective and the last Republican to serve on the Sacramento City Council, is battling COVID-19. Waters entered an ICU on Monday because he was having difficulty breathing. He may have to go on a ventilator. Waters’ family has been told to hope for the best, but not to rule out the worst. (Breton, 7/21)
Fresno Bee:
Fresno County Reports 4 More Dead, 331 Cases Of COVID-19
Four more people have died from the coronavirus in Fresno County, where the number of cases also grew by 331, according to the numbers reported Tuesday by health officials. The tally in Fresno County has reached 10,970 cases and 104 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic in March. The number of people who have recovered is 2,706. (Miller, 7/21)
Sacramento Bee:
COVID-19 Outbreak Kills 3 At Woodland Residential Services
A COVID-19 outbreak at residential care facilities for people with developmental disabilities in Woodland reported last week has left three dead. Yolo County reported an outbreak last Wednesday, noting six residents and four staff members had been infected with the coronavirus in connection with Woodland Residential Services. At the time it reported the outbreak, the virus had killed at least one resident. (Yoon-Hendricks, 7/21)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Oakland Nurse Dies Of COVID-19, Fellow Health Care Workers Call For More Protection
An Oakland nurse who cared for COVID-19 patients died after contracting the disease, becoming one of more than 100 California health care workers who have lost their lives due to the coronavirus. Janine Paiste-Ponder, 59, who worked as a nurse at Sutter Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, died on July 17, according to the Alameda County coroner. She was a member of the California Nurses Association union for more than 25 years. (Moench, 7/21)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Exclusive: Navy Report Details Final Days Of Roosevelt Sailor Who Died From COVID Complications
The cause of death of the Theodore Roosevelt sailor who contracted the coronavirus aboard the aircraft carrier amid an outbreak of the virus was a severe anoxic brain injury, cardiac arrest and COVID-19 sepsis, according to a Navy line of duty death investigation report obtained by The Chronicle. The report also revealed for the first time publicly that Charles Robert Thacker Jr., a 41-year-old aviation ordnanceman chief petty officer, had been taken out of isolation and to the emergency room of the Guam naval base in the days before his death, but was released back to isolation later the same day. (Gafni, 7/21)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Fire Alert: Red Flag Warning Issued For Northeastern California
The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for a portion of northeastern California and western Nevada through Wednesday evening because gusty winds, low humidity and thunderstorms may create conditions for high fire danger. The warning, which lasts through 9 p.m. Wednesday, covers portions of Lassen National Forest, Plumas National Forest and Reno, according to a Cal Fire map. A red flag warning is the highest alert issued by the weather service, according to Cal Fire. (Hernandez, 7/21)
Los Angeles Times:
Inside California's Prisons As Coronavirus Brought Death
Sixty-six inmates from the coronavirus-ridden California Institution for Men were on buses in late May, headed from Chino to the prison at Corcoran where Frank Estrada was incarcerated. What they didn’t know was that “the ‘beast’ came with them,” Estrada said, alluding to the lethal virus that hitched a ride on one of the most disastrous prisoner transfers in state history. (Christensen and Winton, 7/22)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Not Following Health Rules In Marin County? You Could Pay Fines Up To $10,000
Marin County on Tuesday became the latest Bay Area county to authorize fines for residents and businesses that violate coronavirus health orders. The Marin County Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance calling for fines of $25 to $500 for individuals, and fines of $250 to $10,000 for businesses that do not follow public health orders. (Ho, 7/21)
Fresno Bee:
Summer Heat In Fresno, Central Valley Not Slowing COVID-19
There had been hope in some quarters that the Valley’s hot summer weather would slow or even halt the spread of the novel coronavirus. But in Valley counties and across the state, quite the opposite has happened. The number of people being tested for COVID-19 is up, so more cases are to be expected. But the positivity rate – the proportion of people whose test results are coming back positive for the infection – continues to climb. (Sheehan, 7/22)
CalMatters:
Coronavirus Is Also A Pandemic Of Pain And Trauma
As COVID-19 cases surge in California, some of the state’s leading mental health professionals warned of long-lasting psychological fallout that will require enormous investment to help Californians who are suffering. Yet they also praised innovative experiments during the pandemic and said there is reason for hope. (Feder Ostrov, 7/21)
San Francisco Chronicle:
UCSF Study Shows Health Workers Grappling With Pandemic Anxiety: ‘It’s Exhausting’
Dr. Robert Rodriguez’s anxiety rises and falls with the number of coronavirus cases and deaths. Fear that he could get infected at his San Francisco General Hospital job, or bring the virus home, affects his sleep. He doesn’t hug his 16-year-old son as much. Other worried family members avoid interacting with him. The stress isn’t sustainable, he said. (Moench, 7/21)
Fresno Bee:
Will Coronavirus Pandemic Lead To A Clovis Teachers Union?
Angered by the Clovis school board’s recent decision to reopen campuses despite surging coronavirus cases, many teachers who spoke with The Fresno Bee said they’re considering forming the district’s first-ever teachers union. “Teachers no longer feel they have a voice,” one teacher told The Bee. “There was a blatant disregard for our safety and our lives.” (Dieppa, 7/21)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Child Care Is On The Verge Of Collapse In The Bay Area. Can Parents Go Back To Work?
In some senses, Rockridge Little School has not changed since COVID-19 engulfed the Bay Area. Wooden blocks and cubbies still line the shelves. Small jackets still hang from the coat racks. Scraps of butcher paper from an unfinished art project lie scattered across the tables. But after a three-month closure, the school shrank from 110 students to 30, forcing founder Holly Gold to close one of her three Oakland facilities. (Swan, 7/22)
CalMatters:
How The Pandemic Is Changing Working From Home
Coronavirus has reshaped how Californians live, learn and work in uneven ways. The pandemic has exposed the state’s long-standing digital divide with a significant share of low-income and rural households lacking reliable internet access. And even though employers have quickly adapted to remote work, the opportunity to work from home has not spread evenly across the workforce. (Castillo, 7/21)