Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Judges Try To Balance Legal Rights And Courtroom Health
Courtrooms aren’t built for social distancing, and pandemics don’t offer ideal conditions for fulfilling the right to a speedy trial. But, eventually, every court in the nation will have to reckon with a return that may risk safety to some degree. (Brian Krans, )
For Protestors, Health Risk Is Worth It: ‘COVID Or No COVID, You Go And Do What’s Right’: Public health experts are anxious as they watch thousands of Americans pouring out onto the streets after months of painful, yet successful, shutdowns to curb the outbreak. “My heart is just broken because, one, the fact that we still have those [police brutality] issues, but the other thing I’m looking at is young people without masks,” said Sandra Poole, interim director of California Black Health Network. “They’re not social distancing, and those kids are going to go home. They’re going to go home to mothers and grandmothers, and it’s not just the impact it’s going to have on them but their families.” Although the risk of becoming infected is lower in outdoor spaces, epidemiologists say the factors that come along with protesting—such as changing and yelling—heighten the risk once again. “I’m very scared, but I’m willing to take the risk for my people,” said Jamie Lopez, 19. Read more from Cathie Anderson and Kim Bojorquez of the Sacramento Bee.
Meanwhile, black Americans have been dying prematurely long before the pandemic shined a harsh spotlight on the health disparities in the country. “At the end of the day, racism is the original sin here,” said Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Assn. “Racism attacks people’s physical and mental health,” he said. It’s “an ongoing public health crisis that needs our attention now.” Read more from Melissa Healy of the Los Angeles Times.
In related news from the Los Angeles Times: LAPD Tactics Get More Aggressive As Arrests Soar
California Is Already Look At Potential Second Wave, But It’s Not Past The First One Yet: California is one of about 20 states where new cases are increasing over the past five days, according to Johns Hopkins University. A Los Angeles Times analysis shows that the number of weekly cases in California continues to rise, exceeding 17,000 last week for the first time in the pandemic. There were nearly 10,000 alone in Los Angeles County alone last week, according to the analysis. L.A. County and the Southland remain the California epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, but there have been some troubling increases in reported disease in some Bay Area counties. Officials are not sure whether the new cases reflect a larger spike as the economy reopens or the result of increasing testing, or perhaps a combination of both. Read more from Rong-Gong Lin II, Iris Lee and Colleen Shalby of the Los Angeles Times.
In related news from the San Francisco Chronicle: How The Bay Area Compares On Coronavirus Benchmarks To California Counties Reopening Faster
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.
More News From Across The State
Los Angeles Times:
Can Operation Warp Speed Have A COVID-19 Vaccine This Year?
To capture the speed and audacity of its plan to field a coronavirus vaccine, the Trump administration reached into science fiction’s vault for an inspiring moniker: Operation Warp Speed. The vaccine initiative’s name challenges a mantra penned by an actual science fiction writer, Arthur C. Clarke: “Science demands patience.” Patience is essential for those who ply the science of vaccines. (Healy, 6/2)
Los Angeles Times:
First Pregnant Woman And First Jail Inmate Die From Coronavirus, L.A. County Officials Say
Los Angeles County officials Monday reported an additional 22 coronavirus-linked deaths, including a pregnant woman who had tested positive for the virus and had underlying health issues and a person who was incarcerated in a jail facility. Both deaths are the first of their kind in the county related to COVID-19, health officials said. At least 228 pregnant women in L.A. County have tested positive for the virus and 79% of them were symptomatic. (Shalby, 6/1)
Staff and News Service Reports:
10th Inmate In California Men’s Prison Dies Of Apparent Coronavirus Complications
An inmate from the California Institution for Men in Chino died Sunday at an outside hospital from what appear to be coronavirus complications, officials said Monday. It would be the 10th such inmate death, all at the same prison where 444 inmates were positive with the virus as of Monday, according to state data. The department has nearly 2,000 active cases statewide. Officials did not release more information on the inmate, citing medical privacy rules. (6/3)
Los Angeles Times:
USC To Reopen Its Fall With Online And In-Person Classes
USC will bring students back to campus for the fall semester amid the coronavirus crisis with several safety measures that include both online and in-person classes, more spacing in dorms and testing for COVID-19, President Carol L. Folt announced Tuesday night. The highly anticipated decision was certain to hearten many students, many of whom found online learning alienating, and their families who balked at paying USC’s $58,000 annual tuition and fees for classes on computers. Some students — like others throughout the country — were considering taking a gap year if USC did not resume in-person classes. (Watanabe, 6/2)
The Desert Sun:
San Bernardino County Reports 146 New Coronavirus Cases On Tuesday, 4 New Deaths
On Tuesday, San Bernardino County public health officials reported 146 new cases of COVID-19 and four new deaths. The county's total number of cases is now 5,501. Since the county's first case was recorded March 15, 208 people have died of COVID-19-related complications. A majority of the deaths — 57% — have occurred among people over age 70. Of the deaths, 116 were men and 92 were women. There is a 4% overall fatality rate. (Blueskye, 6/2)
The Desert Sun:
Riverside County Reports 173 New Coronavirus Cases, 11 New Deaths On Tuesday
Riverside County reported 173 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, increasing the county's total to 8,155 confirmed COVID-19 cases. The county also reported 11 additional deaths, bringing the county's virus-related death toll to 342. Riverside County has the second highest confirmed cases of any county in the state behind Los Angeles County at 54,925 cases and 2,352 deaths. San Diego County has the third highest at 7,483 cases and 312 deaths. (Blueskye, 6/2)
Fresno Bee:
COVID-19 Update: Fresno County Nears 1,900 Cases
The number of coronavirus cases reported in the central San Joaquin Valley increased by triple-digits again on Tuesday, even before several counties updated their stats. Tulare County added 107 new cases in its Tuesday update. The county has now seen 2,004 positive cases and 89 deaths, with a recovery rate that now stands at just over 50 percent. (Tehee, 6/2)
Bay Area News Group:
San Jose: New Order Requires Masks, Face Coverings
A new San Jose regulation requires people to wear face coverings in certain circumstances outside of their homes and cars, but residents probably won’t notice any major differences in their day-to-day lives. The new city ordinance, which went into effect after receiving unanimous approval by the San Jose City Council Tuesday night, will almost entirely fall in line with the county order that was instituted about two weeks ago. It marks a much lighter approach than what was initially proposed by councilmembers Sergio Jimenez and Chappie Jones, which called for requiring face coverings be worn in almost any setting where people commingle with others outside their household. (Angst, 6/2)
Bay Area News Group:
More Changes To Santa Clara County's Stay-At-Home Still Weeks Away, Health Officials Say
More changes to Santa Clara County’s shelter-in-place restrictions — which will be loosened starting Friday — remain weeks away, according to Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody. In an address to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday, Cody said that while the county has done an “amazing” job following shelter-in-place orders and tamping down a surge in new coronavirus cases, residents should expect to wait at least three weeks before more restrictions are walked back. (Kelliher, 6/2)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento CA May Cancel HS Sports, Require Student Masks
Schools in Sacramento County will likely stagger class schedules in the fall – perhaps allowing students on campus for only a few hours at a time – and many sports, large gatherings and music activities could be canceled for the 2020-21 academic year as districts respond to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, according to reopening guidelines developed by the county’s top education officials released Tuesday. (Morrar, Davidson and Hoplamazian, 6/2)
Los Angeles Times:
How A Hollywood VFX Business Built A Tool To Fight COVID-19
In his more than two decades as a visual effects artist, Mike O’Neal has worked on such blockbusters as “Titanic” and “Life of Pi.” But nothing quite prepared him for his latest gig: how to visually tell the story of a deadly virus and its insidious assault on human cells — and the potential 69 drugs that could stop it. This wasn’t a script, but a real-life mission from a group of researchers desperately trying to find a drug that can fight off the novel coronavirus, which has infected 6.3 million people worldwide and killed more than 378,260. (Lee, 6/3)
Sacramento Bee:
Face Mask Leads To Arrest Of Child Molester, CA Cops Say
A discarded coronavirus face mask helped police arrest a man accused of child molestation, California police said. Leonardo Ramirez, 28, was arrested after a DNA sample collected from a discarded face mask matched a DNA sample collected two years ago when a young girl was sexually assaulted, according to a King City Police Department news release. (Capron, 6/2)
Reuters:
California Court Hears Appeal Of $289 Million Verdict Against Bayer In First Roundup Cancer Trial
A California appeals court on Tuesday heard arguments in the first case that went to trial over allegations that Bayer AG’s glyphosate-based weed killer Roundup causes cancer, resulting in a $289 million judgment against the company. (Bellon, 6/2)
Bay Area News Group:
Bay Area Cooling Centers To Open As Temperatures Soar
Cooling centers are set to open in the South Bay and East Bay on Wednesday amid a searing heat wave. The National Weather Service forecast office in Monterey has issued a heat advisory covering interior locations of the region, as well as Monterey and San Benito counties. The advisory is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. and run through 9 p.m. (Green, 6/3)
Sacramento Bee:
Why Won’t Sacramento Cooling Centers Open During Heat Wave?
The heat is on, but there are even fewer places to cool off than before. This summer, however, the problem is further exacerbated because the coronavirus has closed public pools, community centers and libraries. That leaves families without air conditioning and thousands of homeless people with few places to go to escape the heat. (Clift, 6/2)
CalMatters:
Babies And Oil Don't Mix: Wells Linked To Low Birthweight
Pregnant women in rural California who lived near active oil and gas wells were 40% more likely to give birth to low birthweight babies, according to new research published today. The study led by University of California scientists is the first to investigate what California’s constellation of oil and gas development means for babies born nearby. The finding could galvanize efforts in the state Legislature to require buffer zones around oil and gas activities. (Becker, 6/3)
City News Service:
West Nile Virus Discovered In Mosquitoes In Coachella Valley
Mosquitoes infected with West Nile virus were discovered in Palm Desert, officials announced today. The infected mosquitoes were collected from two traps -- one near the Shadow Mountain Golf Club on Portola Avenue, and the other near Highway 74 and Mesa View Drive, the Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District reported. “Just one bite from an infected mosquito can make a person sick,” said Tammy Gordon, a district spokeswoman. “We need everyone to cover up and use repellent at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are the most active.” (6/1)