Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
To Free Doctors From Computers, Far-Flung Scribes Are Now Taking Notes For Them
Paid even less than low-wage doctors’ scribes in the United States, remote note takers in India gain a foothold in a rapidly expanding industry. (Sarah Kwon, )
Newsom Signs Nursing-Related Bills Into Law:
Nurse Practitioners Can Open Practices in 2023: Gov. Gavin Newsom paved the way for nurse practitioners in California to practice medicine independent of doctors under a bill he signed Tuesday. Newsom’s signature will allow nurse practitioners to practice independently in 2023. They would have to operate under a doctor’s supervision for a minimum three-year transition period before embarking on their own practices. Read more from the Sacramento Bee.
Nursing Homes Must Report Deaths Quickly: Skilled nursing homes in California are now required to report disease-related deaths to health authorities within 24 hours during declared emergencies. The law was written in response to concerns that health agencies were slow to respond to outbreaks in skilled nursing facilities because they did not receive timely information about them. More than 5,630 residents and staff at skilled nursing facilities in the state have died from COVID-19. Read more from the Los Angeles Times.
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
Fox News:
California Wildfire Rages Through Napa Valley As Glass Fire Brings Residents 'Fire Fatigue'
Firefighters battling an explosive blaze that's spurred mass evacuations in California's wine country have made progress against the wildfire, but residents forced to evacuate are anxiously awaiting the fate of their homes after fleeing yet another destructive fire. Cal Fire said late Tuesday that the Glass Fire has scorched some 46,600 acres in Napa and Sonoma Counties and is now up to 2% containment after being uncontained since sparking on Sunday. "Firefighters have hopefully gained the upper hand with winds having died down significantly from Monday," Sonoma County Communications Manager Paul Gullixson said at a briefing on Tuesday. (Fedschun, 9/30)
Sacramento Bee:
Giant Chunks Of Wildfire Ash Fall From Bay Area Skies
Photos from California residents show apocalyptic scenes as chunks of ash the size of footballs and burnt leaves rain down on Bay Area neighborhoods. “It was probably the size of my face,” Morgan Balaei, a Santa Rosa resident, told the San Francisco Chronicle after she discovered what she originally thought was a toupee on the side of the road in her neighborhood on Monday. It was actually a chunk of ash, bigger than she had ever seen before in her years of living in Sonoma County, according to the Chronicle. (Wolford, 9/29)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Poor Air Quality Expected To Return To Central Valley Early Next Week
After a brief reprieve in recent days, more smoke-filled skies are on the horizon. Courtesy of a high-pressure system and continued wildfires in all directions — including two new fires in northern California — smoke will build up throughout the Central Valley into the weekend and early next week, according to John Klassen, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District’s director of air quality science and planning. (Wilson, 9/29)
CNET:
In 'The Chaos Of A Burning Forest': A Dispatch From The Wildfire Front Lines
With unprecedented fires burning millions of acres across the Western US over the past few months, thousands of firefighters and other personnel from across the country have responded to the call to help contain the devastating blazes. Northern New Mexico, where I live, has managed to escape the worst of this horrifying fire season, with just a handful of smaller wildfires. That has freed up firefighting crews like the National Forest Service's Carson Hotshots, based in Taos, to travel to help on those larger fires. (Mack, 9/30)
USA Today:
In California Wine Country, Wildfire-Fatigued Residents Weigh The Unthinkable: Moving Out
Robert Hayden and his wife, Alla, have lived in the Spring Lake Village retirement community of Santa Rosa for 10 years and love its beautiful grounds almost as much as the plethora of interesting people they’ve met there – retired doctors, musicians, pilots, writers and executives. On Sunday, the Haydens were among the approximately 450 Village residents forced to leave their homes as the fast-moving Glass Fire approached. It was the second time in recent years they’d gone through that drill, after fleeing the October 2017 wine country fires that killed 22 people and destroyed 5,600 structures. Though Hayden said the residents were better prepared this time, the evacuation was still stressful. (Ortiz, 9/30)
The Wall Street Journal:
Wildfires In Oregon, California Revive Debate Over Spotted Owl Protection
The wildfires that ravaged the West Coast in recent weeks have renewed a debate in Oregon and Northern California over protections for the northern spotted owl, which some say prevented logging that would have thinned out forests and made the blazes less destructive. The northern spotted owl was listed as a federally threatened species in 1990, which added restrictions to tree-cutting on millions of acres of the region’s national forests. Projects ranging from major logging efforts to small efforts to reduce the overgrowth of trees have been delayed or blocked by lawsuits under the federal Endangered Species Act. (Carlton and Elinson, 9/29)
Sacramento Bee:
Newsom Signs COVID-19 Laws To Help California Farmworkers
Gov. Gavin Newsom this week signed two laws aimed at helping California’s “unsung essential workers” during the COVID-19 crisis, one of which aims to ensure farmworkers have access to reliable information about how to stay healthy. The main bill, Assembly Bill 2043, calls for an outreach campaign to inform farmworkers on best practices to prevent COVID-19 infection, and provide information on paid sick leave, workers’ compensation and other coronavirus-related services. (Bojorquez, 9/29)
Long Beach Press-Telegram:
Coronavirus Outbreak At Cal State Long Beach Grows To 17 Cases
A coronavirus outbreak at Cal State Long Beach has grown to include 17 confirmed, related cases, officials announced Tuesday evening, Sept. 29. Officials first announced Saturday, Sept. 26, that five cases had been identified and that all on-campus students would be quarantined. The university also announced that all in-person instruction will be paused for two weeks while officials perform contact tracing. (Munguia, 9/29)
The Desert Sun:
California Playgrounds Can Reopen, Regardless Of County's Tier Placement
California playgrounds can now welcome visitors, regardless of a county's status under the state's coronavirus reopening protocols, health officials announced. Playground visitors must wear masks unless they are younger than age 2 and must have caregiver supervision, according to state guidelines released Monday. (Hayden, 9/29)
San Francisco Chronicle:
S.F. To Allow Indoor Dining Wednesday After Moving To Orange Tier In State Reopening System
Sitting down at a table inside a restaurant for a meal, an everyday act that’s been forbidden by health orders in San Francisco for over six months, will be legal again Wednesday. It’s an enormous shift that could give the city’s restaurant industry a shot in the arm, even as concerns remain about the coronavirus’ ability to spread indoors. It shows how Bay Area counties are seeking to balance keeping the pandemic in check with providing small businesses some relief from shelter-in-place restrictions. (Simmons, 9/29)
Sacramento Bee:
Restaurants, Worship Sites Can Open In Sacramento Coronavirus Tier
Restaurants in Sacramento County can finally spread out the tablecloths for indoor dining, thus ending a difficult, coronavirus-forced six months of mothballed tables stacked unused against dining room walls. Movie theaters will be permitted to open indoor spaces at limited capacity. So will houses of worship and fitness centers. State health officials announced Tuesday that Sacramento’s coronavirus cases have dropped sufficiently over the past two weeks to allow the county to be recategorized into the state’s growing group of “red tier” counties, which allows for expanded indoor business for a handful of industries. (Bizjak, Clift and Egel, 9/29)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento, Yolo Counties Can Reopen Indoor Fitness Centers
Fitness centers in Sacramento and Yolo counties can reopen for indoor operations, health officials announced Tuesday. The announcement comes as the counties enter the “red” tier, which allows a handful of industries to reopen indoor businesses after they had to close to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. (Clift, 9/29)
Fresno Bee:
From Purple To Red: What Fresno County Businesses Can Reopen From COVID-19 Restrictions?
Fresno businesses such as tattoo and massage parlors, gyms and movie theaters can reopen with limited capacity after receiving the green light from the California Department of Public Health. The state health department moved Fresno County into the red Tier 2 status on Tuesday, according to its website. (Sheehan and Calix, 9/29)
Fresno Bee:
With Valley COVID-19 Cases Stabilizing, Fresno County Officials Brace For Reopening And Flu
The number of new coronavirus cases added daily in the central San Joaquin Valley continues to wane as counties look to move into the next tier on California’s blueprint to reopening the economy. (Calix, 9/29)
LA Daily News:
OC Restaurant Appeals To LA Anti-Mask Crowd With ‘Godfather’-Inspired Billboard
Basilico’s Pasta e Vino in Huntington Beach, which has an anti-mask policy in its dining room, doubled down this week, taking out a billboard in Los Angeles with a nod to “The Godfather.” “Leave the mask, take the cannoli,” reads the sign, which shows the iconic puppeteer’s hand from movie posters for Francis Ford Coppola’s classic film and the name of the restaurant. (Valdespino, 9/29)
The Desert Sun:
Highest Number Of COVID-19 Outbreaks Linked To Riverside County Grocery Stores
Grocery stores are the source of the highest number of reported COVID-19 outbreaks in Riverside County, public health officials said Tuesday, though they noted several caveats in data compiled from various business sectors. (Hayden, 9/29)
Orange County Register:
California ‘Very Close’ To Reopening Disneyland And Other Theme Parks, State Official Says
California is “getting very close” to reopening Disneyland, Universal Studios and other theme parks in the state but remains not quite ready to issue COVID-19 health and safety guidelines that would end the six-month closure of the major tourist destinations. California Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly discussed the timeline for issuing theme park reopening guidelines on Tuesday, Sept. 29 during a virtual online news conference. “We’re getting very close,” Ghaly said during the news conference. (MacDonald, 9/29)
LA Daily News:
LA County Moves Forward On Re-Imagining 9-1-1 Call-In System
Los Angeles County continued its push Tuesday to re-think the 9-1-1 system, propelled by a care-first, jails-last approach to emergency calls for service across the region. The Board of Supervisors unanimously directed the Department of Mental Health to begin identifying ways to shift mental-health crisis calls away from law enforcement and toward mental health services personnel. (Carter, 9/29)
LA Daily News:
Wheels On Aliso Canyon Health Study Turn Slowly As L.A. County Starts Townhall Meetings
Nearly five years after the largest natural gas blowout in U.S. history, the wheels are slowly turning on the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s long-awaited health study on the impacts to the surrounding population. But on the eve of the county’s first largescale townhall introducing the $25 million study, some community members tasked with offering public input on the study continue to voice a lack of trust in the county’s ability to execute the investigation. (Carter, 9/29)
The Desert Sun:
Palm Springs Resident, First Man Cured Of HIV Infection, Now Has Terminal Cancer
Timothy Ray Brown said his cancer returned last year and has spread widely. He’s receiving hospice care where he now lives in Palm Springs. (Marchione, 9/25)