California Businesses Go From Simmer to Boil Over Newsom’s Fine Dining
By Bernard J. Wolfson and Anna Almendrala
Small-business owners struggling to remain afloat are increasingly defying new shutdown orders, in some cases pointing to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s French Laundry dinner as a reason not to comply.
Don’t Count on Lower Premiums Despite Pandemic-Driven Boon for Insurers
By Bernard J. Wolfson
Early in the pandemic, insurers expected the costs of treating COVID-19 would vastly increase medical spending. Instead, non-COVID care has plummeted and insurers have pocketed the result. Still, few industry observers are predicting broad-based premium cuts in 2021, though some health plans have proposed lowering their rates.
Learning to Live Again: A Lazarus Tale From the Covid Front Lines
By Bernard J. Wolfson
Photos by Heidi de Marco
The staff at L.A. County’s public rehabilitation hospital is helping mostly Latino, low-income patients recover the basic functions of daily life robbed from them during weeks or months of critical covid illness.
You Can See Friends And Relatives During The Pandemic Surge — But Do It Carefully
By Bernard J. Wolfson
Even as most U.S. states and authorities reimpose many of the restrictions they had prematurely lifted, public health experts say you can still have a safe social life — just not the one you were used to before the pandemic hit.
Puedes ver a amigos y familiares durante la pandemia, pero sigue estas reglas
By Bernard J. Wolfson
Puedes expandir tu burbuja social más allá de la casa, y hasta abrazar a un ser querido, si prestas atención a las conocidas pautas de salud y, además, tomas precauciones adicionales.
COVID-Tracking Apps Proliferate, But Will They Really Help?
By Bernard J. Wolfson
Public health authorities had hoped digital technology would supplement the work of contact tracers seeking to control the spread of COVID-19. But technical uncertainties and public health failures have dimmed the apps’ potential.
Society Is Reopening. Prepare To Hunker Down At Home Again.
By Bernard J. Wolfson
First, businesses started to reopen; then racial justice protesters flooded the streets. Social distancing is beginning to fade. Are you ready for a second wave of COVID-19 infections ― and a renewed lockdown?
No More ICU Beds at the Main Public Hospital in the Nation’s Largest County as COVID Surges
By Bernard J. Wolfson
Photos by Heidi de Marco
As some patients linger near death, staffers at Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center seek ways to expand capacity for a surge of cases that isn’t letting up.
The Pandemic Is Hurting Pediatric Hospitals, Too
By Bernard J. Wolfson
Children’s hospitals were generally in good shape before COVID-19, but now their revenues are plunging as beds they reserved to assist in the pandemic effort remain empty.
