S.B. County Develops Plan to Help Homeless Persons During COVID-19 Crisis

https://www.fontanaheraldnews.com/news/inland_empire_news/s-b-county-develops-plan-to-help- homeless-persons-during-covid-19-crisis/article_ef0e5c46-7ddc-11ea-9d12-93e75ca1202d.html S.B. County develops plan to help homeless persons during COVID-19 crisis

Apr 13, 2020

Supervisor Josie Gonzales said that San Bernardino County has developed a plan to help homeless persons during the COVID-19 crisis.

San Bernardino County has developed a COVID-19 Homeless Response Plan that will utilize guidelines from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to identify opportunities to place homeless individuals in temporary housing, according to 5th District Supervisor Josie Gonzales. "The homeless remain extremely susceptible to COVID-19 due to their inability to self-isolate or practice social distancing because of their current living conditions," Gonzales said in announcing the plan on April 13.

There are more than 2,000 unsheltered homeless in San Bernardino County, and about 300 of them are considered medically vulnerable because they are age 65 or older and/or have serious underlying health conditions.

"We need to move swiftly to get these individuals o the streets and into housing so we can atten the curve for all of San Bernardino County," Gonzales said.

The county's plan will focus on housing those who are most at-risk due to age and/or underlining health conditions, she said.

"It is critical that we work together to stop the spread of COVID-19. This includes assisting the homeless who live in our communities and have no option but to seek help from others during this time of crisis. We must act quickly and decisively so we can lessen the impact of this pandemic and save lives," she said.

The county and the regional homeless Continuum of Care (CoC) are working together to identify sites to house unsheltered homeless persons meeting high-risk priorities and quarantine unsheltered homeless persons who are at-risk and/or COVID-19 positive.

The goal is to identify hotels and motels throughout the region in multiple jurisdictions to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the unsheltered community. The county will also utilize 20 travel trailers acquired from the state, located at Glen Helen Regional Park, a county-owned facility.

The use of these facilities for the unsheltered homeless and medically stable COVID-19 patients will be secured for three months and will end upon the rescinding of the state order for counties to develop their homeless plan.

The county does not have an agreement in place yet with any of the hotels or motels in Fontana, the county said.

----- DETAILS of the plan include: • The Homeless Coordinated Entry System (CES) and the Sheri’s Homeless Outreach and Proactive Enforcement (HOPE) team will help identify high-risk unsheltered individuals.

• Persons meeting the requirements of the hotel/motel use can contact CES through Inland Empire United Way at 2-1-1 or the Sheri’s HOPE team number at 1-844-811-HOPE (4673).

• Each client entered into a hotel/motel room will be connected with a case manager through one of the current Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP) or Homeless Partnership homeless service providers.

• O-site homeless services providers and Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) sta will provide case management services.

• The county, in conjunction with Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) and Molina Healthcare, will organize meal services.

• Security will be provided 24/7 at each site where individuals are placed. Once the state order has been lifted, those homeless individuals that have not been connected to permanent housing will be diverted to the appropriate homeless services provider and returned to where they were originally staying as identied by the outreach team.

Gonzales is the vice chair of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors and founder/chair of the San Bernardino County Interagency Council on Homelessness. San Bernardino County’s effort to shelter homeless underway By Maryjoy Duncan - April 13, 2020

Photo MJ Duncan: 20 trailers have been set up at Glen Helen Regional Park in Devore to house homeless individuals.

In alignment with Governor Gavin Newsom’s Project Roomkey to shelter extremely vulnerable individuals experiencing homelessness to protect them from COVID-19 by securing hotel rooms and travel trailers, the County of San Bernardino unveiled 20 state- funded trailers set up at Glen Helen Regional Park in Devore on Monday, April 13.

According to San Bernardino County Second District Supervisor Janice Rutherford the trailers provide the opportunity to place “high risk individuals off the street and in shelter for their safety and for the wellbeing of the greater community.” Photo MJ Duncan: Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Josie Gonzales and Sheriff John McMahon preview the state-funded trailers.

Each trailer can house one person or a family of two. Occupants will sign agreements requiring them to remain on the park grounds for the duration of the emergency.

According to CaSonya Thomas, San Bernardino County Human Services Assistant Executive Officer, individuals are being identified by the County Department of Public Health and the Hospital Association to be placed in trailers over the next few days, those who need isolation who are either COVID-19 positive or COVID-19 exposed but do not require hospitalization or ready for hospital discharge.

“High risk population individuals 65 and older, and underlying health conditions – those are the priority groups established through the Governor’s Project Roomkey,” Thomas explained. “Our model’s purpose is prioritizing the homeless population along with that policy outline.” 26 people have been placed in a San Bernardino hotel and the County is working on agreements with other lodging facilities in cities throughout the county to house additional homeless individuals and families.

“That’s the starting point – working with those hotels within those various communities then trying to align what they offer and with what our needs for the homeless are,” Thomas added.

The use of hotel units and trailers for the unsheltered homeless and medically stable COVID-19 patients will be secured for three months and will terminate upon the rescinding of the State order.

“The County is maximizing our collective effort to fight this health crisis head-on, which demands the necessary and expedient action of sheltering the homeless in place to reduce the spread of the virus and protect everyone’s safety,” said Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Josie Gonzales, who is also founder and chair of the San Bernardino County Interagency Council on Homelessness. “We must value the efforts and sacrifices of those who are sheltering at home, by using every means possible to ensure everyone is sheltered in place in order to abate the fast spread of COVID-19.”

There are more than 2,000 unsheltered homeless individuals living in San Bernardino County. There are approximately 300 homeless identified as extremely high risk by medical doctors due to their age and serious health conditions.

The County’s goal is to secure at least 300 units throughout the county in multiple communities as quickly as possible to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the unsheltered community and the entire county population.

“Although COVID-19 has forced everyone in our community to make difficult decisions, it has also provided us with an unprecedented opportunity to support people experiencing homelessness,” said San Bernardino County Chief Executive Officer Gary McBride. “Homeless individuals, who once declined the offer for immediate supportive housing, now, like the rest of us, desire protection against COVID-19 in the safety and comfort of a shelter’s four walls. Our hope is that through this crisis, some homeless individuals will recognize the county and the community’s commitment to end homelessness and seek extended services which lead to permanent housing, employment, wellness, and resiliency.” Off-site homeless service providers and Department of Behavioral Health staff will provide case management services by phone. The County of San Bernardino, along with Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) and Molina Healthcare, will organize meal services, and security will be provided 24/7 at each site where individuals are placed. Once the State order has been lifted, those homeless individuals who have not been connected to permanent housing will be diverted to the appropriate homeless service provider and returned to where they were originally staying as identified by the outreach team.

Maryjoy Duncan

Maryjoy Duncan, Managing Editor of Inland Empire Community News (comprised of the El Chicano, Colton Courier and Rialto Record), was chosen as one of 25 recipients from over 1,000 school districts in the State of California to receive the California School Boards Association’s 2018 Golden Quill Award, presented in recognition of fair, insightful and accurate reporting on public school news. Maryjoy is also a Guest Teacher with the San Bernardino City Unified School District. For news leads, she can be reached by email: [email protected], or by phone: (909) 381-9898 ext. 207. San Bernardino County creates coalition to help recover after coronavirus pandemic – San Bernardino Sun

LOCAL NEWS • News San Bernardino County creates coalition to help recover after coronavirus pandemic

   

By SANDRA EMERSON | [email protected] |  PUBLISHED: April 13, 2020 at 6:23 p.m. | UPDATED: April 13, 2020 at 9:46 p.m.

A coalition of private and public agencies will soon start planning San Bernardino County’s recovery from the novel coronavirus pandemic.

County officials have created a San Bernardino County COVID-19 Recovery Coalition, led by Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman, county officials said in a Monday, April 13, news release.

“The impacts of this pandemic are already deep and far-reaching in terms of our local economy, government resources, and the basic structure of our society,” Hagman said in a statement. “The sooner we start talking about what recovery and our post-COVID-19 county looks like, even while

https://www.sbsun.com/...&utm_campaign=socialflow&fbclid=IwAR0RSdYqdV_aD7ZDVsILrS0qz--fffD2H6CIHeIiliDUbP_bfi2dAI3zPhg[4/14/2020 8:00:38 AM] San Bernardino County creates coalition to help recover after coronavirus pandemic – San Bernardino Sun

coping with the crisis itself, the stronger and more enduring our recovery will be.”

The coalition includes county officials from the Economic, Workforce and Community Development departments and the Housing Agency. Eventually, it will include members from:

TOP ARTICLES 1/5

.st0{fill:#FFFFFF;}.st1{fill:#0099FF;}

READ MORE Voters reject Trump’s pick in chaotic Wisconsin court

Transportation/logistics Healthcare The faith community Retail Manufacturing Government Education

Hospitality Tourism

A process for selecting members of the coalition will be announced in the future, the county said.

“The focus of the coalition will be to begin a dialogue about recovery efforts and best practices toward dealing with the current COVID-19 crisis and moving our county towards recovery,” Hagman said.

The peak of COVID-19 cases locally or nationally has not RELATED LINKS yet arrived, according to officials. Talking about recovery

now is not a signal to ease off efforts to control the virus’ Coronavirus in San Bernardino County: spread, Hagman warned. COVID-19 coverage from The Sun

“We have not yet seen the worst,” Hagman said. “We must San Bernardino County now has 887 still stay at home when we can and take serious coronavirus cases; deaths rise to 31 precautions when we have to go out by covering our faces Trailers for homeless with coronavirus as needed, washing our hands often, and maintaining symptoms set up at Glen Helen Regional social distancing. Backing off now will cause more people Park to become infected, more people to get gravely ill, and San Bernardino County reports 90 more strain our healthcare system beyond capacity.” coronavirus cases, no new deaths

San Bernardino County reverses course on preplanned drive-in religious services, urges caution over coronavirus

Newsroom Guidelines News Tips Contact Us Report an Error

https://www.sbsun.com/...&utm_campaign=socialflow&fbclid=IwAR0RSdYqdV_aD7ZDVsILrS0qz--fffD2H6CIHeIiliDUbP_bfi2dAI3zPhg[4/14/2020 8:00:38 AM] San Bernardino County reports 90 more coronavirus cases, no new deaths – Press Enterprise

LOCAL NEWS • News San Bernardino County reports 90 more coronavirus cases, no new deaths

   

By SANDRA EMERSON | [email protected] |  PUBLISHED: April 13, 2020 at 5:13 p.m. | UPDATED: April 13, 2020 at 6:31 p.m.

The number of positive novel coronavirus cases in San Bernardino County climbed by 90 Monday, April 13, but there weren’t any new deaths.

There are now 977 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, in the county, up from 887 cases reported Sunday, April 12. To date, 31 people in the county have died of the disease.

San Bernardino County has tested 9,358 people for COVID-19, of which 10.4% had positive results, the county’s data show. Women made up 51.6% of the cases compared to 47.9% men. The gender of .5% of the cases was unknown.

People 18 to 49 years old continue to make up the bulk of the cases, at 461. Meanwhile, 278 were 50 to 64 years old, 225 were older than 65 and 11 were 2 to 17 years old, according to the county. The age of two patients was unknown, according to the county.

Read Article R

#tail{fill:url(#fade)}#head{fill:#616570}stop{stop- color:#616570}

Here’s where the positive cases are from: RELATED LINKS

Adelanto, 8 Coronavirus in San Bernardino County: Apple Valley, 13 COVID-19 coverage from The Sun Barstow, 8 San Bernardino County now has 887 Big Bear City, 2 coronavirus cases; deaths rise to 31 Big Bear Lake, 3 Bloomington, 11 Trailers for homeless with coronavirus Blue Jay, 2 symptoms set up at Glen Helen Regional Chino, 41 Park

Chino Hills, 40 Adelanto official’s wife tells how Colton, 30 coronavirus landed him in the hospital Crestline, 3 Fontana, 120 San Bernardino County reports 3 more coronavirus deaths, 92 new cases Fort Irwin, 2 Grand Terrace, 10 Hesperia, 31 Highland, 39 Joshua Tree, 2 Landers, 2 Loma Linda, 18 Mentone, 4 Montclair, 11 Morongo Valley, 5 Oak Hills, 5 Ontario, 50 Phelan, 2 Rancho Cucamonga, 64 Redlands, 60 Rialto, 41 Rimforest, 1 Running Springs, 2

San Bernardino, 92 Twentynine Palms, 4 Upland, 32 Victorville, 46 Wrightwood, 1 Yucaipa, 109 Yucca Valley, 7

The location of 56 of the cases was undetermined.

Staff Writer Nikie Johnson contributed to this report.

Newsroom Guidelines News Tips Contact Us Report an Error

Tags: All Readers, Coronavirus, Health, public health, Top Stories IVDB, Top Stories PE, Top Stories RDF, Top Stories Sun

Sandra Emerson | Reporter Sandra Emerson covers San Bernardino County government and politics for the Southern California News Group.

https://www.pe.com/...-deaths/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=social&utm_content=tw-pressenterprise&utm_source=twitter.com[4/14/2020 9:44:10 AM] San Bernardino County’s COVID-19 cases hit 977 on Monday By Gabriel Kelvin Posted Apr 13, 2020 at 7:40 PM The number of coronavirus cases reported in San Bernardino County jumped to 977 Monday amid a spike of over 1,400 additional tests.

The increase came after the county announced more drive-thru testing events and placed the total number of tests at 9,358.

The influx also lowered the percentage of positive results by nearly a percentage point, from 11.2% to 10.4% between Sunday and Monday, according to updated data on the county’s COVID-19 dashboard.

Deaths, meanwhile, remained at 31.

High Desert cases now stand at 135. Landers is new to the list with its first two reported cases. Victorville saw an increase of five cases, which brought its total to 46 confirmed. Adelanto, Apple Valley, Hesperia, Oak Hills, Phelan and Yucca Valley each saw an increase of one case.

Adelanto: 8

Apple Valley: 13

Barstow: 8

Fort Irwin: 2

Hesperia: 31

Joshua Tree: 2

Landers: 2

Morongo Valley: 5

Oak Hills: 5

Phelan: 2

Twentynine Palms: 4

Victorville: 46

Yucca Valley: 7

Cases in mountain communities total at 14, with a two-case increase reported in Crestline on Monday.

Big Bear City: 2

Big Bear Lake: 3

Blue Jay: 2

Crestline: 3 Rimforest: 1

Running Springs: 2

Wrightwood: 1

Elsewhere in the county, Fontana saw a 14-case increase, bringing that city to a total of 120. Fontana now has the highest number of confirmed cases in the county. Yucaipa ranks second, with 109 cases. San Bernardino has 92.

As of Monday evening, Kern County reported 446 cases, with 8 total deaths. Riverside County had 1,751 cases and 50 deaths. That’s a nine-death increase from numbers reported Sunday evening.

Orange County reported 1,283 cases and no additions to its Sunday count of 19 deaths, while Los Angeles County reported 9,420 cases and 320 deaths. Los Angeles County’s numbers show an increase of 224 cases and 24 deaths from numbers reported Sunday evening.

According to data from Johns Hopkins University, cases in California totaled 24,176. The number of deaths statewide were 728.

Nationwide, there were nearly 582,000 cases, 23,608 deaths and almost 44,000 recoveries. Worldwide, cases neared 2 million Monday evening, with 119,666 deaths, and nearly 450,000 recoveries, Johns Hopkins data showed.

Night Editor Gabriel Kelvin may be reached at 760-951-6230 or by email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @DP_GabrielK. 3 Inland churches sue to keep services open during coronavirus pandemic – Press Enterprise

NEWS • News 3 Inland churches sue to keep services open during coronavirus pandemic

   

Pastor Nick Winkelman preaches over a parking lot filled with cars during a drive-in Easter Sunday service at Mt. Vernon Landmark Missionary Baptist Church in Rialto on Sunday, April 12, 2020. The church held the service where worshipers stayed in their cars due to the coronavirus outbreak. Other churches in San Bernardino and Riverside counties are suing over coronavirus restrictions. (Photo https://www.pe.com/2020/04/13/3-inland-churches-sue-to-keep-services-open-during-coronavirus-pandemic/[4/14/2020 8:00:47 AM] 3 Inland churches sue to keep services open during coronavirus pandemic – Press Enterprise

by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | Press-Enterprise  PUBLISHED: April 13, 2020 at 8:26 p.m. | UPDATED: April 13, 2020 at 11:27 p.m.

Three Southern California churches that want to keep their doors open during the coronavirus outbreak sued Gov. Gavin Newsom and other officials on Monday, April 13, arguing that social distancing orders violate the First Amendment right to freedom of religion and assembly.

The suit, filed in the federal court for the Central District of California, also names state Attorney General Xavier Becerra and officials of San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

It seeks to block Newsom’s month-old stay-at-home order and two county orders designed to slow the spread of COVID-19 by having people mostly stay at home, closing businesses except for those deemed essential and barring group gatherings. The orders don’t list houses of worship among the critical infrastructure where face-to-face contact is permitted. M

A message to the governor’s office seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Read Article

https://www.pe.com/2020/04/13/3-inland-churches-sue-to-keep-services-open-during-coronavirus-pandemic/[4/14/2020 8:00:47 AM] 3 Inland churches sue to keep services open during coronavirus pandemic – Press Enterprise

The suit names churches in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

One plaintiff, James Moffatt, senior pastor at Church Unlimited in Indio, was fined $1,000 for violating Riverside County’s order by holding a Palm Sunday service, according to the lawsuit.

Moffatt “believes that Scripture commands him as a pastor to lay hands on people and pray for them, this includes the sick,” the suit said. “Moffatt also believes that he is required by Scripture to baptize individuals, something that cannot be done at an online service.”

The churches argue that the state and local orders are overly broad and that they can practice safe social distancing in the same manner as grocery stores and other outlets that are considered essential services and allowed to remain open.

“The state does not get to dictate the method of worship to the faithful,” said Harmeet K. Dhillon, chief executive of the Center for American Liberty, a California nonprofit organization that filed the suit. The lawsuit argues that the orders are unconstitutionally broad.

The center was founded in 2019 by Dhillon, who is on the Republican National Committee that helps steer the party’s platform and election strategy.

“I believe the suit has merit,” said John C. Eastman, a professor of law and community service at Chapman University in Orange. “Obviously, stopping a pandemic is a compelling government interest” but the issue is whether the orders are narrowly tailored enough to meet the strict scrutiny required of laws dealing with religion, Eastman said in an email.

“Services with only a single family in a pew, and spaced three pews apart, with everyone wearing masks and gloves, would accomplish the government’s purpose in a much less draconian way,” he said.

Only a few churches in California have refused to stop holding in-person services. The largest Roman Catholic dioceses have begun streaming services online. On Easter Sunday, several churches held drive-in services for congregants who listened on their car radios from parking lots.

On Friday, a federal judge refused to allow a small church in Campo, Abiding Place Ministries, to gather for Easter Sunday services. The judge rejected a request for a temporary restraining order sought by the church, which has sued San Diego County for banning public or private gatherings on public health grounds.

U.S. District Judge Cynthia A. Bashant, citing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, said the right to freedom of religion doesn’t “include the right to expose the community … to communicable disease.”

San Bernardino County has nearly 1,000 reported cases of the coronavirus and more than 30 deaths. Riverside County has reported nearly 1,800 cases and 50 deaths. California has more than 24,000 cases of COVID-19 and nearly 750 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Elsewhere, states and local governments have differed on whether houses of worship must meet social distancing rules. Some states have provided a degree of exemption for religious activity.

In Kansas, a coronavirus outbreak led a fight by Gov. Laura Kelly to limit religious and funeral services to no more than 10 people in advance of Easter. After a legislative council overturned her executive order, the Kansas Supreme Court upheld it Saturday.

Rodney Howard-Browne, a Florida-based charismatic Christian pastor who prayed over Trump in the Oval Office in 2017, has vowed not to stop services and encouraged worshipers to shake hands despite experts identifying that behavior as an easy way to spread the virus.

In Louisiana, pastor Tony Spell was warned by police Tuesday after holding a service that attracted hundreds and flouted a state ban on mass gatherings. Spell, who has claimed that his services also heal cancer and HIV, said that he would not permit “any dictator law” to stop worship.

https://www.pe.com/2020/04/13/3-inland-churches-sue-to-keep-services-open-during-coronavirus-pandemic/[4/14/2020 8:00:47 AM] BREAKING NEWS Resources and latest information on COVID-19

WATCH 54° LOG IN

CORONAVIRUS CALIFORNIA Coronavirus: 3 IE churches sue Newsom over physical distancing orders

Three Inland Empire churches that want to stay open during the COVID-19 pandemic are suing Gov. Newsom over the state's physical distancing orders.

SHARE TWEET EMAIL Updated 2 hours ago

00:15 - More Info

00:00 00:36

EMBED <> MORE VIDEOS

Three SoCal churches that want to stay open during the COVID-19 pandemic are suing Gov. Newsom over the state's physical distancing orders.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Three Inland Empire churches that want to keep their doors open during the coronavirus outbreak sued Gov. Gavin Newsom and other officials on Monday, arguing that physical distancing orders violate the First Amendment right to freedom of religion and assembly. The suit, filed in the federal court for the Central District of California, also names state Attorney General Xavier Becerra and officials of San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

The suit seeks to block Newsom's month-old stay-at-home order and two county orders designed to slow the spread of COVID-19 by having people mostly stay at home, closing businesses except for those deemed essential and barring group gatherings. The orders don't list houses of worship among the critical infrastructure where face-to-face contact is permitted.

A message to the governor's office seeking comment was not immediately returned.

The suit names three churches in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

Why 6 feet? The science of social distancing

Why do experts recommend we stay six feet away from each other to maintain proper social distancing?

One plaintiff, James Moffatt, senior pastor at Church Unlimited in Indio, was fined $1,000 for violating Riverside County's order by holding a Palm Sunday service, according to the lawsuit.

Moffatt "believes that Scripture commands him as a pastor to lay hands on people and pray for them, this includes the sick," the suit said. "Moffatt also believes that he is required by Scripture to baptize individuals, something that cannot be done at an online service."

Also named are a parishioner and the head pastor of Shield of Faith Family Church in Fontana and the senior pastor of Word of Life Ministries International in Riverside, which usually has 20 to 30 regular attendees, according to the suit. The churches argue that the state and local orders are overly broad and that they can practice safe physical distancing in the same manner as grocery stores and other outlets that are considered essential services and allowed to remain open.

"The state does not get to dictate the method of worship to the faithful," said Harmeet K. Dhillon, chief executive of the Center for American Liberty, a California nonprofit organization that filed the suit. The lawsuit argues that the orders are unconstitutionally broad.

"If a Californian is able to go to Costco or the local marijuana shop or liquor store and buy goods in a responsible, socially distanced manner, then he or she must be allowed to practice their faith using the same precautions," she said in a statement.

How contagious is the coronavirus?

UCLA Health experts answer a viewer's question about how contagious is the coronavirus.

The center was founded in 2019 by Dhillon, who is on the Republican National Committee that helps steer the party's platform and election strategy.

"I believe the suit has merit," said John C. Eastman, a professor of law and community service at Chapman University in Orange.

"Obviously, stopping a pandemic is a compelling government interest" but the issue is whether the orders are narrowly tailored enough to meet the strict scrutiny required of laws dealing with religion, Eastman said in an email.

"Services with only a single family in a pew, and spaced three pews apart, with everyone wearing masks and gloves, would accomplish the government's purpose in a much less draconian way," he said. Only a very few churches in California have refused to stop holding in-person services. The largest Roman Catholic dioceses have begun streaming services online. On Easter Sunday, several churches held drive-in services for congregants who listened on their car radios from parking lots.

U.S. District Judge Cynthia A. Bashant, citing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, said the right to freedom of religion doesn't "include the right to expose the community ... to communicable disease."

Elsewhere, states and local governments have differed on whether houses of worship must meet physical distancing rules. Some states have provided a degree of exemption for religious activity.

Report a correction or typo

RELATED TOPICS: health & fitness san bernardino county riverside county gavin newsom religion first amendment coronavirus california coronavirus lawsuit virus

SHARE TWEET EMAIL

The Latest Trusted COVID-19 News For California MSN | Sponsored

Our $5 Wines Are Better Than Most $50 Wines Firstleaf | Sponsored

Luxury Senior Living in San Bernardino Is Now Affordable! Research Assisted Living San Bernardino Senior Living/Assisted Living | Sponsored ADVERTISEMENT

CALIFORNIA

Three Southern California churches sue Gov. Newsom over coronavirus orders

The lawsuit seeks to block Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order and two county orders designed to slow the spread of COVID-19. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

APRIL 13, 2020 | 7:59 PM Three Southern California churches that want to keep their doors open during the coronavirus outbreak sued Gov. Gavin Newsom and other officials Monday, arguing that social distancing orders violate the 1st Amendment right to freedom of religion and assembly.

The suit, filed in the federal court for the Central District of California, also names state Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra and officials of San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

The suit seeks to block Newsom’s month-old stay-at-home order and two county orders designed to slow the spread of COVID-19 by having people mostly stay at home, closing businesses except for those deemed essential and barring group gatherings. The orders don’t list houses of worship among the critical infrastructure where face-to-face contact is permitted.

CALIFORNIA

These 25 powerful images show California’s new reality March 21, 2020

A message to the governor’s office seeking comment was not immediately returned.

The suit names three churches in San Bernardino and Riverside counties. One plaintiff, James Moffatt, senior pastor at Church Unlimited in Indio, was fined $1,000 for violating Riverside County’s order by holding a Palm Sunday service, according to the lawsuit.

Moffatt “believes that scripture commands him as a pastor to lay hands on people and pray for them, this includes the sick,” the suit said. “Moffatt also believes that he is required by scripture to baptize individuals, something that cannot be done at an online service.”

Also named are a parishioner, the head pastor of Shield of Faith Family Church in Fontana and the senior pastor of Word of Life Ministries International in Riverside, which usually has 20 to 30 regular attendees, according to the suit.

MORE COVERAGE ON CORONAVIRUS IN CALIFORNIA This is the latest list of Los Angeles County communities with coronavirus cases

Their Hollywood romance is cut short by COVID-19

Coronavirus is attacking nursing homes with poor infection track records in L.A. County

“If a Californian is able to go to Costco or the local marijuana shop or liquor store and buy goods in a responsible, socially distanced manner, then he or she must be allowed to practice their faith using the same precautions,” she said in a statement. The center was founded in 2019 by Dhillon, who is on the Republican National Committee that helps steer the party’s platform and election strategy.

“I believe the suit has merit,” said John C. Eastman, a professor of law and community service at Chapman University in Orange.

“Obviously, stopping a pandemic is a compelling government interest” but the issue is whether the orders are narrowly tailored enough to meet the strict scrutiny required of laws dealing with religion, Eastman said in an email.

Very few churches in California have refused to stop holding in-person services. The largest Roman Catholic dioceses have begun streaming services online. On Easter Sunday, several churches held drive-in services for congregants who listened on their car radios from parking lots.

CALIFORNIA

California, Oregon and Washington to work together on plan to lift coronavirus restrictions April 13, 2020 U.S. District Judge Cynthia A. Bashant, citing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, said the right to freedom of religion doesn’t “include the right to expose the community to communicable disease.”

Elsewhere, states and local governments have differed on whether houses of worship must meet social distancing rules. Some states have provided a degree of exemption for religious activity.

Rodney Howard-Browne, a Florida-based charismatic Christian pastor who prayed over Trump in the Oval Office in 2017, has pledged not to stop services and encouraged worshipers to shake hands despite experts identifying that behavior as an easy way to spread the virus.

CALIFORNIA CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC Inland Empire eateries cited for breaking coronavirus restrictions upset over lost business – Daily Bulletin

THINGS TO DORESTAURANT REVIEWS + FOOD • News Inland Empire eateries cited for breaking coronavirus restrictions upset over lost business

   

https://www.dailybulletin.com/...tm_content=tw-ivdailybulletin&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=socialflow[4/14/2020 9:52:47 AM] Inland Empire eateries cited for breaking coronavirus restrictions upset over lost business – Daily Bulletin

Diego Rose and his wife Bianca Figueroa, owners of Marla’s Cocina and Cantina in Beaumont said Friday, April 10, 2020, that they are in compliance with Riverside County’s orders, but the situation is confusing. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press- Enterprise/SCNG)

By FIELDING BUCK | [email protected] | The Press-Enterprise  PUBLISHED: April 14, 2020 at 9:50 a.m. | UPDATED: April 14, 2020 at 9:51 a.m.

A handful of restaurants in the Inland Empire have been reprimanded for keeping their dining rooms open after novel coronavirus restrictions were announced.

Incidents included a St. Patrick’s Day party, restaurants allowing employees to use their dining rooms on break, and one that set up tables in its parking lot as a work-around, according to Brent Casey, with Riverside County’s Department of Environmental Health, who provided a list of nine businesses that were investigated after public complaints.

1 of 10 Diego Rose and his wife Bianca Figueroa, owners of Marla’s Cocina and Cantina in Beaumont said Friday, April 10, 2020, that they are in  compliance with Riverside County’s orders, but the situation is confusing. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) M

Lana Culp, San Bernardino County spokeswoman, identified one restaurant that kept its restaurant open with spaced-out tables.

Social distancing was briefly allowed in restaurant dining rooms when the state, counties and cities began issuing restrictions in mid-March. But Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order on March 19 prohibited use of dining rooms at all.

TOP ARTICLES 1/5

.st0{fill:#FFFFFF;}.st1{fill:#0099FF;}

READ MORE Mortgage delinquencies to spike due to coronavirus Most restaurants with complaints could not be reached for comment. Some did not answer phone calls, some phones were out of service, and at least one has closed.

Hungry? Sign up for our weekly food newsletter The Eat Index and find out about the latest restaurant and brewery happenings in the Inland Empire. Subscribe here.

In both counties, complaints lead to warnings from health officials and the possibility of follow-up visits by law enforcement officials.

Most are in compliance after outreach and education, Casey wrote in an email.

That doesn’t mean they’re happy about it.

“We’re complying with it, but not willingly,” said Diego Rose, owner of Marla’s Cocina and Cantina in https://www.dailybulletin.com/...tm_content=tw-ivdailybulletin&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=socialflow[4/14/2020 9:52:47 AM] Inland Empire eateries cited for breaking coronavirus restrictions upset over lost business – Daily Bulletin

Beaumont.

According to Rose, he didn’t receive any announcement or guidance from officials about dining room closures before the complaint-generated inspection. He was getting information about stay-at-home orders from news broadcasts and Facebook.

It was very different from the amount of work he had to do to get certification from the health department, or as he put it, “a little piece of paper to hang on the wall.”

Rose said he has totally transitioned to take-out orders, and that business is down 80%. To ease the pain, he’s taking advantage of the California Department of Alcholic Beverage Control’s “regulatory relief” for restaurants. It is temporarily allowing them to sell alcohol to-go, as long as it is in sealed containers.

“Ironically in a health crisis, right,” Rose observed.

Sid Hamilton, owner of Mad Madeline’s burger hangout in Old Town Temecula, said in a phone interview that he isn’t interested in selling alcohol to-go, but that it would be wasteful not to take steps to try and stay in business.

Mad Madeline’s has a large patio with a view of Old Town Front Street, which is usually bustling. Now, he said, it’s all but vacant.

The restaurant has had a string of complaints up to early this week for allowing guests to sit and eat in the parking lot, Casey wrote in an email.

If customers want to tailgate after they pick up their food, there’s not much he can do, Hamilton said.

He also learned of restrictions from news reports and social media before being cited.

Hamilton said he is considering adapting his take-out RELATED ARTICLES service to include food trays, like in the carhop days of old.

These chain restaurants are selling cost- He called it “curbside with a little bit of a twist.” effective family bundles and do-it-yourself kits Still, he said his restaurant is in compliance with state

Recipe: Pozole is great comfort food even restrictions. if the hominy is from a can “You have to follow the rules, step by step and law by law. Recipes: That can of tuna in your pantry But nothing is written in stone.” can be used to make some amazing meals While open dining rooms are prohibited, officials encourage people to help out restaurants by using drive-thrus, no- Miguel’s Jr. will launch ‘secret menu’ on contact take-out, or home delivery. April 15 Hamilton said that restaurants that stay open provide a Pick up an Easter feast at these Southern valuable service for people who are struggling with California restaurants and chains sheltering at home.

“You can’t just eat macaroni and cheese and bologna sandwiches.”

Newsroom Guidelines News Tips Contact Us Report an Error

Tags: Coronavirus, restaurants, Top Stories IVDB, Top Stories PE, Top Stories RDF, Top Stories Sun

Fielding Buck | Reporter Fielding Buck has been a business reporter since 2014 with a focus on logistics, supply chain and GIS. Prior experience includes extensive entertainment reporting. He loves photography and dogs and lives in San Bernardino County.

[email protected]

 Follow Fielding Buck @pefbuck

https://www.dailybulletin.com/...tm_content=tw-ivdailybulletin&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=socialflow[4/14/2020 9:52:47 AM] 54º

TRENDING Coronavirus Corona Kindness COVID-19 Response Fund Daily Life Decisio…

ADELANTO Mayor Pro Tem of Adelanto in Critical Condition After Getting False Negative on COVID-19 Test

"Doctors usually go with their gut, and their gut was that this was COVID-19, and they still treated him the same," Tracy said. "And I am very grateful for that."

By Tony Shin • Published April 13, 2020 • Updated on April 13, 2020 at 6:49 pm

  

2:31 NBC Universal, Inc. Mayor Pro Tem of Adelanto in Critical Condition After Contracting COVID-19 Replay

Up Next

More Economic Help Coming to Low-Income ...

An Adelanto ofcial got a false negative test before testing positive for COVID-19. Tony Shin reported on NBC4 News at 4 p.m.... Read more Despite testing negative for COVID-19, doctors treated Adelanto Mayor Pro Tem Gerry Hernandez as if he had the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, and his wife says that action saved the city official's life.

"He lost his kidney function; he lost his lung function; he was starting to lose his function of his heart beating regularly," said Tracy Hernandez, the mayor pro tem's wife.

"It's just so scary how quickly it can go through a family, the way it did with ours," Tracy said.

Local Local news from across Southern California

46 MINS AGO Low-Income Angelenos Can Apply for Pre-Paid Debit Cards Starting Today

1 HOUR AGO More Economic Help Coming to Low-Income Angelenos

Gerry Hernandez is at St. Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley after, his wife says, his symptoms began in mid-February. Gerry had a bad cough, which made it hard to breathe because he also has asthma.

"Every time he would lay down, he would have this horrific cough, and he was like 'Tracy, its like I'm trying to gasp for air; my inhaler is not working,'" said Tracy.

On March 19, the symptoms got so unbearable that Gerry was taken by ambulance to the hospital and put on a ventilator. Tracy says he was then tested for COVID-19, but it took roughly a week to get the result back from the lab.

When the result came back, they said he was negative for COVID-19, Tracy said. But doctors at the hospital had Gerry retested.

During this critical time, Tracy says doctors continued to treat Gerry as if he had COVID-19, just in case the original test was wrong. Days later, the second test result came back and said he was positive for the illness caused by the novel coronavirus.

"I was contacted that he had a positive status of COVID-19," Tracy said.

Tracy says Gerry's doctors saved her husband's life, because they didn't let the false negative test change their treatment.

"Doctors usually go with their gut, and their gut was that this was COVID-19, and they still treated him the same," Tracy said. "And I am very grateful for that."

Gerry is showing some signs of improvement and so is his 72-year-old mother, who is also battling the virus at another hospital, according to Tracy.

Tracy believes she also had COVID-19 but only felt mild symptoms, and she's hoping others will hear her story and do everything to stop the virus from spreading.

"If you are going out, make sure you are wearing that protective mask," Tracy says. "At least make sure you have that protective barrier, so that air droplets don't get into your nose and mouth, so it's protected."

Doctors are optimistic that her husband will recover, Tracy said, but it’s likely he’ll be in the hospital for several more weeks before that happens.

This article tagged under:

ADELANTO • CORONAVIRUS

   0 https://www.highlandnews.net/news/schools/aguilar-announces-over-47-million-in-relief-for-students-and- colleges/article_8165cb3a-7dc2-11ea-8844-eb7b58a97c58.html Aguilar announces over $47 million in relief for students and colleges

Apr 13, 2020

On Monday, April 13, Rep. Pete Aguilar announced over $47 million in federal funding to support Inland Empire colleges and students during the coronavirus crisis. The funding, which was appropriated by the CARES Act, provides $26,243,781 for California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB), $6,732,563 for San Bernardino Valley Community College, $3,388,020 for University of Redlands and $11,446,484 for Chaey College. The CARES Act requires that the at least 50 percent of all funds go toward direct relief for students in the form of tuition assistance, nancial aid, meal programs and other student services.

“The Inland Empire’s students, colleges and universities have always been points of pride in our community. This funding will help these institutions keep their doors open and continue serving students during this dicult time. It will also help students and their families navigate the nancial hardships created by this crisis. I was proud to help pass the CARES Act to provide these resources to our community, and I’ll continue to advocate for the Inland Empire as Congress debates next steps,” said Aguilar.

“This is wonderful news that will oer a welcome relief to our students and their families in the face of the threat of the coronavirus,” said CSUSB President Tomás Morales. “The funding will help our students live and pay for their essential needs, while keeping them attending CSUSB, as they deal with the eects of the COVID-19 pandemic. I am grateful for their support.”

“Our students will be our future scientists, doctors, nurses, and rst responders, and they’re at home right now, eager to learn and fulll their potential,” says San Bernardino Community College District Board of Trustees Chair Anne Viricel. “We applaud the urgent action and bipartisan leadership of Congressman Aguilar, and our Inland Empire delegation, in passing the CARES Act to protect the well-being and future of our students, our families, and our communities.”

“While the full extent of the nancial disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic is still unknown, passage of the CARES Act is an important step in sustaining the capacity of our nation’s colleges and universities to provide higher education,” stated University of Redlands President Ralph W. Kuncl. “This critical funding will allow us to respond to the unprecedented nancial and operational challenges of the pandemic, as we work to continue meeting the needs of our students, who represent the country’s future workforce.”

"Nearly 70 percent of our students receive nancial assistance as they pursue their academic goals at Chaey College. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted our students greatly as many have lost their jobs and are struggling to make ends meet for themselves and their families. The college is still determining a methodology for funding allocation, however, we believe the funding should be distributed to our students most in need, particularly in the areas of technology and basic needs. The college's Panther Care Program, which is designed to help our students who are food and housing insecure, will have an integral role in helping us determine the best way to distribute this funding,” said Henry Shannon, superintendent and president of Chaey College.

Aguilar serves as a chief deputy whip in the House Democratic Caucus and as vice chair of the House Appropriations Committee, the committee responsible for allocating federal funds. http://www.hidesertstar.com/covid-19/article_0237deb6-7de5-11ea-9546-e365cc27d683.html

TOP STORY Twenty coronavirus cases conrmed in Morongo Basin by Monday afternoon

By Stacy Moore, Hi-Desert Star Apr 13, 2020

Public health workers bag up swabs to be tested at San Bernardino County's rst drive-through testing for the new coronavirus Friday, March 27. County photo

MORONGO BASIN — Twenty people in the Morongo Basin have tested positive for the new coronavirus, according to the Monday-afternoon update from San Bernardino County.

The following positive tests were reported Monday by the Department of Public Health:

• Seven people in Yucca Valley. • Five people in Morongo Valley.

• Four people in Twentynine Palms, including a Marine and a child at the combat center.

• Two people in Joshua Tree.

• Two people in Landers.

There are also now 56 people in San Bernardino County who have tested positive, but whose communities are undetermined.

The location report is determined by what people write on their lab slips when taking the test, explained David Wert, county spokesman.

That’s part of the reason public health ocials have been cautioning communities to not make bold decisions based on that information, he added.

“A patient can say they live anywhere, or refuse to give a place of residence, or the person who lled out the lab slip could have terrible penmanship — hence the undetermined,” Wert said.

“Sometimes, the person’s place of residence is mistakenly listed as the place where the sample is taken — a hospital, lab or jail,” he added. “Sometimes, the information gets corrected later, which is why you might sometimes see a city’s caseload go down.”

That happened in March when the county reported Joshua Tree had two positive cases, and then just one. It has now gone back up to two.

As the county collects data, workers are reconciling the information they’ve gotten and correct it when they discover errors, Wert said.

Overall in San Bernardino County, 977 people have tested positive and 31 deaths have been connected to the new coronavirus, according to Monday afternoon numbers.

The county has tested 9,358 people and 10.4 percent have come back positive. Those who have tested positive include nine San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department employees. On Sunday, the Sheriff’s Department announced for the rst time that an inmate had a conrmed case of COVID-19.

The inmate was at West Valley Detention Center before he started showing symptoms and taken to a hospital.

He was then returned to the jail, placed in isolation and tested for COVID-19.

In nearby Riverside County, the Sheriff’s Department has been hit harder, with 55 employees and 80 inmates testing positive, according to an April 11 update. Two deputies, David Werskman and Terrell Young, died from COVID-19.

In nearby Riverside County communities, Desert Hot Springs has 18 conrmed cases and Palm Springs has 70 cases and eight deaths, the Departmetn of Health said Monday afternoon.

In total Riverside County has 1,751 conrmed cases, 50 deaths and 297 people have recovered.

Statewide, California now has 22,348 conrmed cases and 687 deaths. Another 2,033 people in hospitals are suspected to have the new coronavirus. http://www.bigbeargrizzly.net/news/spike-in-county-coronavirus-cases/article_418895b8-7de2-11ea-9487- 838ba7610e3a.html

FEATURED Spike in county coronavirus cases

By Judi Bowers Apr 13, 2020

Big Bear remains at five reported positive cases of COVID-19. San Bernardino County positive cases increased since Sunday's numbers were released.

The late afternoon post shows the positive cases in San Bermardino County rose to 977, a spike of 90 cases. There are 31 deaths associated with COVID-19.

Close to 9,400 people have been tested in San Bernardino County with the first positive case reported March 15. When the peak in California and specifically San Bernardino County is still unknown. Governor Gavin Newsom said today that California, Oregon and Washington state have formed a coalition to begin plans for that surge and flattening the curve and eventually lifting stay at home orders. More details are expected to be released Tuesday. In Apple Valley, even the T. rex practices social distancing By Rene Ray De La Cruz Staff Writer Posted Apr 13, 2020 at 12:01 AM Updated Apr 13, 2020 at 10:18 PM APPLE VALLEY — At 10-feet tall, the Tyrannosaurus rex on display in Steve and Kelly Orsinelli’s front yard was already hard to miss, but the couple recently came up with a way to make their dinosaur stand out even more.

Passersby will now see an increasingly familiar sight, as the T. rex, named Harley, has been outfitted with a face mask and gloves. In its stubby, metal arms, the prehistoric beast holds a sign that warns potential visitors to keep six feet of distance “Or you’ll be Extinct Like Me!”

The Orsinellis say Harley’s updated wardrobe, as it were, is meant to remind people to practice social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. But it’s also the most recent example of a yearslong tradition, according to Kelly Orsinelli.

“Every holiday for the last five years, I’ve dressed up Harley. For Easter, I had him holding a basket. And for Christmas, he wore a Santa hat,” Kelly Orsinelli explained from her front yard in Apple Valley. “With everything that’s going on with the coronavirus, I thought I’d get people to laugh a little by giving him a mask and gloves.”

Over the last two weeks, the “virus-protected” behemoth has been quite the draw. Dozens of people have stopped to take photographs, while others have carted their children over for a look at the towering tyrannosaur, said Kelly Orsinelli, a teacher’s aide at the Lewis Center for Educational Research in Apple Valley.

But Harley isn’t alone in the front yard, which the Orsinellis have dubbed “Petticoat Junction,” an homage to the popular 1960s-era CBS sitcom of the same name.

The couple’s country-themed oasis also touts a John Deere tractor; a 1940s-era farm truck replete with chickens and hay bales; a sign advertising fresh eggs; a large windmill; and several bottle trees.

All in all, this “Petticoat Junction” resembles what you might see if the dinosaurs from “Jurassic Park” invaded Old MacDonald’s farm.

“Putting in the giant windmill and tractor was one thing, but I had to ask my neighbors for permission before I put Harley up in my front yard,” Kelly Orsinelli said. “My neighbors didn’t have a problem, but in some places, he could be considered an eyesore.”

“Petticoat Junction,” meanwhile, has been a work in progress for nearly a decade.

After the couple bought the house in 2011, Kelly Orsinell began decorating sections of the front yard in a country theme with help from her husband, who teaches at the Lewis Center and heads up the “Big Fat Steve Band.” Decorations were added to the yard “a bit at a time, with things from here and there,” Kelly Orsinelli said. She inherited the John Deere from her 83-year-old father, Gene Reed. The bottle trees were made by her 21-year-old son, Blake, who is in the Navy.

He’s stationed in Spain, where the coronavirus has infected more than 170,000 and killed nearly 17,800, according to Johns Hopkins University data as of Monday evening.

“Spain is a beautiful country, but he can’t see it because everyone is on lockdown,” she said.

She described herself as the “doer” in the couple, while Steve Orsinelli is “more the creative type.” He does the welding, including the work that resulted in an angel that adorns the yard.

A water tower in the center of “Petticoat Junction” stands adjacent to a pond that’s home to nearly a dozen ornamental pink flamingos.

“I told myself that when I got old and gray, I’d put 100 pink flamingos in my front yard to make people laugh,” Kelly Orsinelli said. “It’s not quite 100, but they do make people smile and laugh. That was my philosophy with Harley and my birds.”

Kelly Orsinelli, who asked that her address not be published in order to maintain quiet in her neighborhood, said her next buy might be a metal “longneck” dinosaur — like, say, a Brachiosaurus or Brontosaurus.

She believes such a creature would make a great companion for the health-conscious Harley.

“The longneck may be out of my price range, but we’ll have to wait and see,” Kelly Orsinelli said. “All I know is that I hope Harley makes people laugh. That’s what we need during times like this.”

Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227, or by email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz. Ontario councilman causes stir by giving away masks with his name on them – San Bernardino Sun

   

LOCAL NEWS • News Ontario councilman causes stir by giving away masks with his name on them

   

https://www.sbsun.com/...ame-on-them/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_content=tw-sbsun&utm_medium=social[4/14/2020 9:46:13 AM] Ontario councilman causes stir by giving away masks with his name on them – San Bernardino Sun

A Facebook posting by Ontario City Councilman Ruben Valencia shows he is giving away masks to seniors. Each mask has the stamp on the bottom #TeamValencia. This caused a minor stir in the community as to whether this was a campaign giveaway or just a way to help seniors protect themselves from exposure to the coronavirus. Valencia is running for re-election.

By STEVE SCAUZILLO | [email protected] | San Gabriel Valley Tribune  PUBLISHED: April 13, 2020 at 1:57 p.m. | UPDATED: April 13, 2020 at 1:57 p.m. M

When Ontario City Councilman Ruben Valencia offered to mail senior citizens hard to get face masks last week as protection during the coronavirus pandemic, many residents responded positively.

But there was one hitch: Each had #TEAMVALENCIA stamped on the front of the mask in bold black ink. The same hashtag was used on campaign materials during his 2016 run for office, he said in an interview on Friday, April 10.

And since he said he is running for re-election in November, probably the same slogan will be used in future campaign materials.

Hence, some criticized the councilman, saying he was bringing politics into a life and death pandemic. The mask giveaway touched off a debate on some Ontario Facebook sites used by Valencia to reach out to seniors.

TOP ARTICLES 1/5

.st0{fill:#FFFFFF;}.st1{fill:#0099FF;}

READ MORE Voters reject Trump’s pick in chaotic Wisconsin court “I feel like this is wrong. I feel like it is a way for him getting votes,” said Daisy Ocegueda, an Ontario resident and a member of the Ontario City Library Board of Trustees. “I get it. You want to win. But this isn’t the way to do it,” she said in an interview on Monday, April 13.

It appeared the bulk of people who left posts saw it as a RELATED LINKS kind, caring gesture. Many gave their address and have

begun receiving the masks, according to newer posts. Coronavirus, COVID-19 and how it impacts the Inland area — coverage from “I think it is a great idea,” said Bill Harris, in an interview The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin Friday. “I don’t feel it was any type of campaigning. In my opinion, it is not a political move.” San Bernardino County clarifies its coronavirus mask order won’t be enforced Valencia said he mailed out about 100 masks over the Ontario patio furniture company makes weekend and spent $100 of his own money on postage. https://www.sbsun.com/...ame-on-them/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_content=tw-sbsun&utm_medium=social[4/14/2020 9:46:13 AM] Ontario councilman causes stir by giving away masks with his name on them – San Bernardino Sun

masks to prevent coronavirus spread “The response was overwhelming. I had one gentleman say he ran up and down the street in the rain getting the Cover your face to thwart coronavirus? addresses of three of his neighbors who are elderly Yes, Southern California health officials couples.” now say

Some asked if they could have the masks without the Stay-home orders present big challenge to seniors, disabled message. He said no, that he always stamps #TEAMVALENCIA on items, including T-shirts and sweatshirts. He doesn’t consider this a campaign activity or a reportable expense, he said.

D’Andre Lampkin, an Ontario Creekside resident who is co-chair of the city’s complete count 2020 Census committee, called the stamped mask giveaways “shameless” and said plain masks would have sufficed.

“If he truly wants to help during this crisis just do it. Don’t use the elderly as walking billboards,” Lampkin said in an interview Monday.

Ontario resident Jazmin Chavez Sanchez said it made her RELATED ARTICLES angry. “Because he is promoting himself and running for

Final election results show San office using this COVID-19 to do so,” she said on Monday. Bernardino councilwoman lost seat by 18 votes Jeana Helto supported Valencia. “Thank you for helping those in need,” she posted. Loma Linda’s newest councilman to be sworn in via video conference Valencia said he has completed the giveaways. He said he wasn’t worried about the criticism he received. “I sleep well San Bernardino council moves to reassign at night knowing these masks help seniors out there,” he mayor’s staff after harassment claims said. https://www.sbsun.com/...ame-on-them/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_content=tw-sbsun&utm_medium=social[4/14/2020 9:46:13 AM] CORONAVIRUS Large-scale COVID-19 antibody testing study launched in California The ﬁndings could help shape strategies to get the U.S. economy up and running again, researchers said.

New calls for expanded access to coronavirus antibody testing APRIL 12, 202002:31

April 12, 2020, 4:32 PM PDT By Erin McLaughlin and Andrew Blankstein

LOS ANGELES — As Los Angles County reaches over 9,000 reported COVID19 cases and nearly 300 deaths, a huge unknown remains here and across the nation: How bad is it?

With a population of 10 million, larger than those of more than 40 states, the county is a prime location to launch a large-scale study that aims to answer that question and learn more about antibodies that could potentially provide immunity from COVID19, the disease associated with the coronavirus, according to public health and policy experts.

The ﬁndings could help shape strategies to get the U.S. economy going again, said researchers at the University of Southern California's Price School of Public Policy, which is conducting the study with the Los Angeles County Public Health Department.

Let our news meet your inbox. The news and stories that matters, delivered weekday mornings.

Your Email Address

THIS SITE IS PROTECTED BY RECAPTCHA PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS OF SERVICE

Privacy - Terms COVID-19 antibody testing study begins in California APRIL 12, 202002:54

The ﬁrst set of tests on 900 people were conducted Friday and Saturday at six drive-thru locations and will continue every two weeks for the foreseeable future, researchers said.

Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

Although public health oﬃcials have been providing daily updates about numbers of cases, deaths, hospitalizations and tests, those ﬁgures could be "the tip of the iceberg," said Dr. Neeraj Sood, vice dean of research at the Price School.

"We've just been testing the sick. So we truly don't know the true extent of the bulk of the population that might have covered," Sood said of the 45,000 people tested in Los Angeles County outside the study. "There might be many people in the population that were asymptomatic and they survived it. So having those people in the calculation will help us truly ﬁgure out how deadly this epidemic is."

USC is also working with Stanford University and UCLA on a similar study in Santa Clara County, where 3,000 people were tested, Sood said. The ﬁndings should be published soon, he said.

As news about the study spreads, many people are volunteering to participate. In an email to researchers, the wife of a ﬁrst responder said she wanted her husband tested.

"I want to hug my husband when he comes back home, but I don't know whether to do that or not because he's been out in the ﬁeld," she wrote, "he could potentially be exposed to COVID and I don't know if I have the antibodies or not, I don't know if my kids should."

Researchers say they hope their ﬁndings can shed light on just how deadly COVID19 is, when the spread might end and the eﬀectiveness of strategies like social distancing and wearing masks.

Erin McLaughlin

Erin McLaughlin is an NBC News correspondent. Privacy - Terms https://nyti.ms/3eiUNPf Why We Need Antibody Testing, and Fast Could the blood of coronavirus survivors save lives?

By Richard A. Friedman Contributing Opinion Writer

April 13, 2020, 3:00 p.m. ET

In the midst of this pandemic, millions of Americans who have had an upper-respiratory illness have one burning question on their mind: Was it the coronavirus or just a cold or ﬂu?

I’m one of them. In late February, my husband sat next to a man wearing a surgical mask on a ﬂight home from Seattle. A few days later, he got ill with what looked like a bad cold. Shortly after, I got it.

I had muscle aches, fatigue and a very annoying dry, convulsive cough. We never had shortness of breath or fever, so we didn’t meet the clinical criteria for coronavirus testing. And the test wouldn’t have changed our treatment, which was to stay home and rest.

But there are good reasons beyond curiosity to want to know whether what we had was the coronavirus, and soon we may be able to ﬁnd out.

A number of pharmaceutical companies and academic research scientists have been working to develop a blood test that can detect antibodies to the coronavirus, which would signal that someone had been infected. Countries like South Korea, Germany and Italy have been using such tests for weeks, but once again, the United States is behind. In the beginning of April, the Food and Drug Administration approved the ﬁrst coronavirus antibody test, but ofﬁcials say it will be at least another week before it becomes available here.

The test can quickly tell you whether you have antibodies to the virus, but it can’t guarantee that you have immunity. The reason is that immunity is complicated and not all antibodies are the same.

Dr. Thomas Tuschl, a professor at Rockefeller University who is an expert in RNA viruses, of which coronavirus is one, explained that different antibodies bind different regions on the coronavirus and can have different effects.

“Antibodies that bind to the spike — the protein that projects from the virus — may contribute to immunity and slow down viral entry, but they are not as effective as ʻneutralizing antibodies,’” he wrote in an email. Neutralizing antibodies render the virus unable to infect our cells. They bind a very speciﬁc site on the spike (that site is a good target for drug development).

The F.D.A.-approved test can’t distinguish between these different antibodies, nor does it measure the amount of antibody in your blood.

“This new test just tells you that you’ve been exposed to coronavirus, but doesn’t prove that you have immunity,” said Dr. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Columbia University. “The next generation of antibody tests, which assay neutralizing antibodies, can tell us who is actually immune.” These tests may be months away from development.

Nonetheless, the current test has valuable beneﬁts. The most obvious is that it does establish that people have been exposed, and once they are truly asymptomatic, it is unlikely they can infect others — so they can safely venture outside. This means they can return to work, which will be especially important for health care workers, who are at the highest risk of exposure.

(There are stories of people testing positive for the virus and getting it again but little scientiﬁc evidence for this. It could be that some of these reports are of people who had a false-positive viral test and had a simple cold, and then subsequently contracted the coronavirus.)

Another benefit is that it could be used as a fast if imperfect screen for coronavirus infection itself, Dr. Rasmussen told me. Unlike the nasal swab test for the virus, which is currently limited to severely ill patients, the antibody test could be given to anyone who presents with mild symptoms. (Though a positive result would need confirmation by the more definitive virus test.)

It would also be useful to identify asymptomatic people, who can unknowingly spread the disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as many as 25 percent of people with the coronavirus may be asymptomatic. Widespread antibody testing would give us a much better understand of the scope of infection.

Last, testing could help those who are still ill. It is going to take time for us to have an effective vaccine or drug for this scourge. But people who have survived coronavirus infection may be walking around with a treatment in their bodies. If their blood is found to contain sufﬁcient levels of neutralizing antibody, they could donate their so-called convalescent plasma to patients who are severely ill. The theory is that the donor’s antibodies could help block the virus from entering the recipient’s cells. Whether plasma treatment works for the coronavirus has yet to be proved, but it has been helpful for other viral illnesses like H1N1 (swine ﬂu) and SARS. Last week, the F.D.A. allowed the investigational use of convalescent plasma for patients with the coronavirus.

So I’d love to know whether what I had was the coronavirus. It would give me peace of mind to learn that even if I can’t bet on immunity, I’m probably less likely to be infected again.

But more important, I could donate my plasma and maybe save a life.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. Weʼd like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And hereʼs our email: [email protected].

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. Many smaller cities, counties fear losing out on stimulus funding | KTLA

59° Ope

WATCH LIVE CORONAVIRUS NEWS MORNING NEWS PODCASTS CONTESTS WEATHER NEWS TIPS ABOUT

BREAKING NEWS Former President Barack Obama to endorse Joe Biden for president

LIVE NOW KTLA 5 Morning News

WEATHER ALERTS There are 8 areas under alert. Click for alert details.

× Close Ad

NATION/WORLD Many smaller cities, counties fear losing out on stimulus funding

https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/many-smaller-cities-counties-fear-losing-out-on-stimulus-funding/[4/14/2020 8:27:56 AM] Many smaller cities, counties fear losing out on stimulus funding | KTLA

by: Associated Press, John Fenoglio Posted: Apr 14, 2020 / 03:43 AM PDT / Updated: Apr 14, 2020 / 03:43 AM PDT

The $2.2 trillion federal stimulus package could fail to deliver badly needed financial aid to thousands of smaller cities and counties where a majority of Americans live, according to documents and interviews with local officials.

The coronavirus outbreak has blown holes in the budgets of communities as the costs of battling the outbreak skyrocket and critical sources of revenue like sales and income taxes plummet.

The Coronavirus Relief Fund uses a formula based on population to parcel out tens of billions of dollars to the states while allowing local governments with more than 500,000 residents to apply directly to the Treasury Department for cash infusions. But localities below the half-million population threshold are in limbo.

Among those affected: New Rochelle, New York, one of the cities hardest hit by the outbreak.

“I cannot understand the logic,” said Noam Bramson, the Democratic mayor of about 80,000 people. “Cities with fewer than 500,000 people have been just as heavily impacted as those with more than 500,000 people. It strikes me as a completely arbitrary cutoff.”

Amid the uncertainty, lawmakers and advocacy groups that include the National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors have been urging Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to ensure the relief fund money is fairly distributed. Guidelines for how the relief fund will operate are slated to be issued by the Treasury Department this week. The department announced Monday it had launched a web portal through which eligible parties could register to receive the money.

“Because of the lack of specificity in the legislation itself, it really is up for interpretation,” said Irma Esparza Diggs, director of federal advocacy for the National League of Cities. “Everybody’s just kind of holding their breath until Treasury comes out with their guidance.”

Of the nearly 3,100 counties in the United States, 130 have populations of more than 500,000, according to the National Association of Counties. There are 36 cities over the half-million mark, the National League of Cities told President Donald Trump in a letter last week. More than half the country’s population lives in cities, towns and villages of fewer than 50,000 people, the letter noted. https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/many-smaller-cities-counties-fear-losing-out-on-stimulus-funding/[4/14/2020 8:27:56 AM] Many smaller cities, counties fear losing out on stimulus funding | KTLA

Cities including Miami and Kansas City, Missouri, are under the cutoff, according to the most recent Census Bureau figures available.

“Depending on who you believe, we’re either at 470,000 or 510,000,” said Miami’s Republican mayor, Francis Suarez. “We’re projected to lose about $20 million a month while our economy has ground to a halt. The state of Florida is slated to get $8.3 billion, but we’re not sure if we’re going to get any of it.”

Every state will receive at least $1.25 billion in relief fund money. The state government gets the biggest share of the total — New York, for example, is projected to receive $7.5 billion, according to estimates prepared by the nonprofit Tax Foundation. The state gets $5.2 billion of that amount, and local governments that have more than 500,000 residents are eligible for the rest in direct payments.

The Treasury Department guidelines may permit below-the-threshold counties and cities to appeal directly to the governor for a portion of the state’s relief find allotment, according to Matt Chase, executive director of the National Association of Counties. But that may heighten the potential for political alliances to be formed in the quest for money or behind-the-scenes lobbying campaigns to get a piece of the state’s share.

“Each local government would have to go hat in hand to the governor and say, ’Can we have part of your allocation?'” said Chase, who added, “We don’t need a lot of politics right now.”

The population threshold was included as a tradeoff as lawmakers scrambled to put the stimulus package together, according to a letter 16 Republican senators sent to Mnuchin last week. Getting the relief dollars delivered quickly was essential, they said, and “requiring Treasury to process applications and calculate payment calculations for every local government in the United States would have created a bureaucratic morass that would have held up the distribution of these critical funds.”

The senators expressed concern over comments Mnuchin made during a recent briefing for lawmakers on the status of the stimulus package. The Treasury secretary suggested the department would interpret the law narrowly and “issue guidance that unintentionally creates obstacles to states supporting their front line,” the senators said.

That’s at odds with Trump’s own promises that the federal government would be there to backstop local and state officials, said Bryan K. Barnett, the Republican mayor of Rochester Hills, Michigan, and the president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

“The word from their lips to our ears is that this whole effort would be locally executed and federally supported,” Barnett said.

There are 16 states that have no counties, cities or other municipalities with populations above 500,000, including Wyoming, Alaska and Montana. Without a mechanism that allows or requires states to share coronavirus relief money, there’s no clear way to prevent them from keeping the entire pot to help make up their own budget shortfalls.

New York state has a deficit of more than $10 billion from fighting the coronavirus, and the $5.2 billion it’s to receive from the relief fund could help close that gap.

Stephen Acquario, executive director of the New York State Association of Counties, said those budgetary pressures made it unlikely local governments under the population threshold will get any of the state’s money.

“The states will exert jurisdiction over that money,

https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/many-smaller-cities-counties-fear-losing-out-on-stimulus-funding/[4/14/2020 8:27:56 AM] Many smaller cities, counties fear losing out on stimulus funding | KTLA and the thousands of local governments who will have needs, it will be very difficult to get that money,” Acquario said.

Cameron Diehl, executive director of the Utah League of Cities and Towns, said the state legislature is expected to meet in a special virtual session this week and on its agenda is the creation of a legal framework to accept $1.25 billion from the relief fund. “There are a lot of questions about the logistics, and it’s hard to plan around this much uncertainty,” Diehl said.

In Ohio, an income tax is one of the primary ways that government is financed.

“If nobody is working, we’re not going to have any money,” said Dayton, Ohio, Mayor Nan Whaley.

“I just can’t explain to you the level of frustration of mayors who are working so hard for their communities and see that it could all go away because there’s no help coming,” the Democrat added. “It’s just so painful for all of us.”

RELATED CONTENT IRS deposits first wave of stimulus payments

IRS to launch online tool for people to track their stimulus checks

Millions of taxpaying immigrants won’t get U.S. stimulus checks

Suggest a Correction

SHARE THIS STORY

MORE NATION/WORLD STORIES

https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/many-smaller-cities-counties-fear-losing-out-on-stimulus-funding/[4/14/2020 8:27:56 AM] ADVERTISEMENT

CALIFORNIA

What will ‘back-to-normal’ look like for California? Some businesses could restart before others

A lone car travels on the Pasadena Freeway in Los Angeles. Trac on freeways and surface streets has been light as people heed ocial calls to stay at home to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

By RONG-GONG LIN II STAFF WRITER

APRIL 13, 2020 | 12:04 PM SAN FRANCISCO — How will California get back to normal amid the coronavirus outbreak?

There will be no getting back to normal anytime soon, with the new coronavirus unlikely to ever be completely eradicated, and a vaccine 12 months to 18 months away under the most optimistic scenario.

Certainly, society will be opened back up eventually. But the process is likely going to be slow and methodical — guarding against new outbreaks in an effort to prevent a resurgence even worse than what California is experiencing now, but also focusing on starting to reopen the economy.

8 Hour Sleep Clinic Sponsored

We are now offering Telemedicine, call us today...

Learn More ⌃

Depending on various models, the peak in cases in California could come anytime between mid-April and the end of May. California has not been hit as hard as hot spots such as New York. But officials remain cautious.

Los Angeles County health officials warned Friday that the region needs to significantly increase social distancing to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus and that stay-at- home restrictions could remain into the summer.

Even with the dramatic social distancing the county is now seeing, officials forecast that up to 30% of residents could be infected by mid-summer without more behavioral changes. And abandoning the stay-at-home order now could mean that hospitals would be swamped with severely sick people by mid-May.

Los Angeles County Coronavirus Hospital Demand Modeling Projections - April 10, 2020 April 13, 2020

Gradual relaxation of stay-at-home orders

Rather, experts both in California and nationally talk about a gradual relaxation of elements of the stay-at-home order — an intermediate step that should not be skipped until an effective vaccine is available.

“Is it wearing masks? Probably. Is it continuing to restrict large gatherings? Yeah, probably,” said Dr. George Rutherford, epidemiologist and infectious diseases expert at UC San Francisco. “Is it continuing to have older people stay home more than they would otherwise? Yeah, probably.”

“When we return to work, do we all go back on the same day, or do we stagger that?” Rutherford asked.

Perhaps factories use staggered shifts to avoid too many workers mixing with each other. Maybe manufacturing and construction are opened up first, Rutherford said, and then, a bit later, nonessential retail stores, and then some time after that, restaurants.

“If you’re going to open the bars, you’re going to have to take out every other stool — I mean, I don’t know what the governor is going to decide,” Rutherford speculated. “And then maybe everybody who can telecommute would just sit tight for a while.”

As restrictions are eased, officials will need to monitor cases to see if coronavirus cases start to flare up dramatically again.

Looking for a decline in cases in national hot spots

Experts say national progress needs to be made in reducing coronavirus cases.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has repeatedly said the public should be expecting a gradual peeling back of stay-at- home orders.

“When you say get back to normal, you’re really talking about a really clear indication that those areas — like New York City, like New Orleans, like Detroit — that have big outbreaks with peaks, have not only stabilized in the number of new cases and hospitalizations, but have actually turned the corner and are starting to come down,” Fauci said in an interview with The Journal podcast that aired last week.

“And history with other countries tell us that once you turn that corner and come down, the decline is pretty steep,” Fauci said. “I don’t think that you need to get down to zero before you can start contemplating gradually relieving some of the restrictions. It isn’t like a light switch, on and off.”

One idea might be having a 50-seat restaurant only seating a maximum of 25 diners, he said. “Bottom line is, it’s going to be gradual. It’s not going to be all or none.” And some changes might be permanent, he said, adding: “I don’t think we ever should ever shake hands ever again, to be honest with you.”

On Sunday, Fauci said the New York City metro area last week suffered a terrible week of death, but also began to see a flattening of hospitalizations. “It’s starting to turn the corner.”

Once a sharp decline is seen, “then you can start thinking about how we can keep it that way and prevent it from resurging — when you’re starting to think about a gradual reentry of some sort of normality, some rolling reentry,” Fauci told CNN. “So you’re trying to balance two things: You want to make sure you don’t do something prematurely and precipitously. But at the same time, you pay attention to the need to try and get back to normal.”

Cases statewide As of April 13, 9:14 a.m. Pacific 23,428 682 confirmed deaths

County Cases Deaths Los Angeles 9,197 300 San Diego 1,804 45 Santa Clara 1,621 54 Riverside 1,619 41 Orange 1,277 19

Statewide deaths by day

0 Feb. 1 Mar. 1 Apr. 1

See the full California coronavirus tracker

No sports games until Thanksgiving, at the earliest? Some local officials in California have suggested ongoing restrictions lasting toward the end of the year. The top administrator for Santa Clara County — home to the San Francisco 49ers, San Jose Sharks and Stanford University — said at a meeting of the Board of Supervisors last Tuesday that he suspected sports games wouldn’t be held until Thanksgiving at the earliest.

On Thursday, he doubled down on his comments. “Even if we do well here in Santa Clara [County], if you have a big event that attracts thousands of people from all over the nation, you run the risk of reinfecting everyone,” Dr. Jeffrey Smith, the Santa Clara County executive officer told KPIX-TV.

“In my opinion, it’s unlikely that the shelter-in-place [order] will be lifted at least until the late fall, because we don’t have a national shelter-in-place program,” Smith said in an interview aired Thursday night.

A longer-term coronavirus strategy lasting at least through the end of the year is something other nations are realizing is unavoidable.

Singapore was once lauded for keeping the coronavirus under control, but a wave of new cases, brought by travelers returning home, forced the dense city-state at the beginning of April to order schools and nonessential businesses to close for at least a month.

Officials in Singapore now say they need sustainable measures to slow down the virus that can last through the end of the year.

WORLD & NATION

Asian countries impose new restrictions as coronavirus cases come roaring back April 2, 2020

Returning to containment Infectious disease experts say easing out of stay-at-home orders will require four developments: a dramatic reduction in virus transmission; lots of testing capacity; plenty of hospital space; and robust local resources to aggressively investigate new infections to isolate the infected and quarantine close contacts who might get sick, a practice called contact tracing.

“Otherwise, what’s going to happen is we will end up in a situation which I would call a smoldering epidemic, in the sense that we will be having cases with us, kind of like seasonal influenza — it may wax and wane,” said Dr. Robert Kim-Farley, medical epidemiologist and infectious diseases expert at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.

San Francisco’s director of public health, Dr. Grant Colfax, has likened the current coronavirus outbreak as a wildfire sweeping across the city. The goal is to reduce the number of new cases so much that new cases are seen more like smaller spot fires, which can be identified and contained before getting out of control.

Keeping disease levels low in the coming weeks and months will also give scientists and doctors more time to identify life-saving drugs that need time to be identified.

“I think within the next few weeks, we’re going to have some good knowledge about what those look like based upon clinical, randomized controlled trials,” Kim-Farley said.

Get our free Coronavirus Today newsletter Sign up for the latest news, best stories and what they mean for you, plus answers to your questions.

Enter Email Address

SIGN ME UP

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Boosting the investigation of new cases

Already, Rutherford is working on a project aimed at dramatically increasing San Francisco’s capability to do contact tracing, which involves investigators asking infected patients where they were when they got infected — typically five days before developing symptoms. They’d also ask where the patients were while infectious, which probably starts one or two days before symptoms became apparent.

Rutherford’s UC San Francisco team of about three dozen people — who normally work on projects focused on Asia and Africa — will assist in the effort. And the goal is to “get a bunch of medical students and the city librarians to come in” and help boost staffing, he said.

So instead of roughly 10 disease investigation specialists working on this contact tracing effort, soon, there could be 100 people working on it for San Francisco, work that is done mainly by telephone.

Adding on undergraduate students — for instance, those interested in public health at San Francisco State — could dramatically help expand the manpower. A big need will be investigators who can speak Spanish. “So you get 600 undergraduates as opposed to 100 medical students, we can work on it,” he said.

CALIFORNIA SCIENCE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC MEDICINE

The stories shaping California Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week.

Enter Email Address f t m Tracking coronavirus in California

By LOS ANGELES TIMES STAFF UPDATED APRIL 14, 7:20 A.M. PACIFIC

24,371 confirmed cases

+0 so far today +1,071 yesterday

731 deaths

+0 so far today +50 yesterday

The coronavirus pandemic has spread rapidly across California. Experts say the true number of people infected is unknown and likely much higher than official tallies.

To better understand the spread of the virus, The Times is conducting an independent, continual survey of dozens of local health agencies across the state. So far today, 0 of the 56 agencies we’re monitoring have reported new numbers.

What we know

Tallies continue to climb. Over the past week, the state has averaged 1,144 new cases and 49.1 new deaths per day.

Cases have been confirmed in 53 of 58 counties. The largest concentration so far is in Los Angeles County, the state's most populous.

California's totals sit far below New York, where more than 10,000 people have died.

To combat the virus' spread, state and local officials have shuttered much of the government and economy.

More: Symptoms Get our newsletter Jump to section

What is the trend over time? The state’s first case was confirmed near the end of January. The total grew slowly at first, then much faster as tests became more widely available.

The number of cases in California is now on pace to double every 13 days, a reflection of how widely the virus is spreading.

Coronavirus can infect people so rapidly that government officials have issued shutdown orders aimed at slowing the growth of new cases and flattening this line.

Cumulative cases by day

25,000

20,000

15,000

10,000

State increases 5,000 testing

0 Feb. 1 Feb. 15 Mar. 1 Mar. 15 Apr. 1

Times survey of county and local health departments

Local governments announce new cases and deaths each day, though bottlenecks in testing and reporting lags can introduce delays. For instance, some agencies do not report new totals on weekends, leading to lower numbers on those days.

New cases by day

1,500

1,000

500

7-day average 0 Feb. 1 Feb. 15 Mar. 1 Mar. 15 Apr. 1

Deaths by day 60

7-day average 0 Feb. 1 Feb. 15 Mar. 1 Mar. 15 Apr. 1

The lines above are seven-day averages. They offer a more stable view of the trend than daily totals. That's why experts wait for lines like these to flatten before they say conditions are improving.

Growth varies from county to county, but most areas are still climbing.

The chart below is adjusted to show how quickly new cases are being confirmed in each county. A good sign is when a line flattens, which indicates that transmission is slowing in that area.

Cumulative cases by county Current doubling time

5 days 7 9 11

10,000 Los Angeles

5,000

Doubling Every Every 2,000 every day 2 days 3 days Riverside Santa Clara

Orange 1,000 San Bernardino San Francisco Alameda

500 Contra Costa Kern

San Joaquin Tulare 200 Fresno Marin Stanislaus Solano 100 Every week Yolo Monterey Santa Cruz Merced 50 Humboldt

Napa Madera This chart tracks Shastacumulative cases after each county confirmed its 10th case. Case counts are plotted on a 20 Sutter Mono logarithmic scale, which makes it easier to see when cases level off. Doubling rate is the estimate of how long it wouldYuba take the countyButte to double its number of cases, given the trend in the last week.

10 5 days 10 15 20 25 30 since 10th case Help us track the coronavirus. Subscribe. ì Your subscriptions make our reporting possible. Get full access for just $1 for the first four weeks. Already a subscriber? Your contribution is helping us maintain this developing report. Thank you.

Where are the conﬁrmed cases? Cases have been reported in 53 of the state’s 58 counties, from Siskiyou County south to the border.

Confirmed cases

1 120 440 880 1,280 1,660

á Hover for more information.

Redding

SacramentoSacramento

San Francisco

LosLos AngelesAngeles

San Diego

Early on, the largest concentrations were in the San Francisco Bay Area. Since then, cases have spread across the state and growth has accelerated in urban centers, like Los Angeles.

New cases (7-day average)

Total cases Per 100k 0 3 10 25 50 100 500 New cases (7-day average)

Total cases Per 100k 0 3 10 25 50 100 500

Mar. 1 Apr. 13 Los Angeles 9,480 93.9

San Diego 1,847 55.9

Riverside 1,751 73.5

Santa Clara 1,666 86.7

Orange 1,283 40.5

San Bernardino 977 45.8

San Francisco 957 110.0

Alameda 888 54.0

Sacramento 739 48.9

San Mateo 701 91.5

Show all

New deaths (7-day average)

Total deaths Per 100k 0 1 3 5 10 15 20

Mar. 1 Apr. 13 Los Angeles 326 3.2

Santa Clara 60 3.1

Riverside 50 2.1

San Diego 47 1.4

San 31 1.5 Bernardino

Sacramento 27 1.8

Alameda 23 1.4

San Mateo 21 2.7

Orange 19 0.6

Show all

Where are the cases in Southern California? Residents of cities and neighborhoods all across the Southland have contracted the coronavirus. Here are the latest tallies released by each area's health department. 500 5 SAN LUIS OBISPO Bakersfield

Pismo Beach KERN

SANTA BARBARA

VENTURA VictorvilleSAN BERNARDINO Santa Barbara LOS ANGELES Oxnard

RIVERSIDE ORANGE Palm Springs

San Clemente

SAN DIEGO

San Diego

Search:

Area County Cases San Diego San Diego 885

Long Beach Los Angeles 350

Riverside Riverside 266

Glendale Los Angeles 255

Bakersfield East Kern 201

Show all

The locations of some cases have not been disclosed. Orange and Los Angeles counties only report a range for areas with lower populations. Kern County only provides data for generalized regions.

Where are the cases in L.A.? No county has recorded more cases than Los Angeles, home to a quarter of California’s population. Here's where cases have been confirmed so far, provided by the county’s health department. Lancaster

Downtown Santa Monica

250 25 Long Beach

Search:

Cases Long Beach 350

Glendale 255

Melrose 200

Pasadena 164

Santa Clarita 150

Show all

The highest rates thus far have come from predominantly white, affluent areas on the Westside. Experts say this is likely skewed by uneven access to testing, and in some instances by wealthy residents who traveled internationally.

How does California compare?

The coronavirus has hit most of the U.S., with the largest concentrations in and around New York City. California, America's most populous state, has one of the highest totals. It ranks much lower after adjusting for population. New cases (7-day average)

Total cases Per 100k 0 10 50 100 500 1k 5k

Mar. 1 Apr. 13 New York 195,749 997.8

New Jersey 64,584 727.1

Massachusetts 26,867 393.4

Michigan 25,244 253.5

California 24,371 62.3

Pennsylvania 24,292 189.9

Illinois 22,025 171.8

Florida 21,019 102.0

Louisiana 21,016 450.6

Texas 14,275 51.2

Show all

New deaths (7-day average)

Total deaths Per 100k 0 5 10 50 100 200 500

Mar. 1 Apr. 13 New York 10,058 51.3

New Jersey 2,443 27.5

Michigan 1,594 16.0

Louisiana 884 19.0

Massachusetts 844 12.4

Illinois 798 6.2

California 731 1.9

Connecticut 602 16.8

Pennsylvania 589 4.6

Show all

Who has died? Information is limited about the 731 people who have died in California.

So far, more men have been reported dead than women, but public health officials have not released the gender of most victims.

Undisclosed 621

Men 65

Women 46

When an age has been disclosed, the victim has tended to be older.

Unknown 356

Older than 60 310

Younger than 60 65 Victims have come from 36 of the state's 58 counties. Los Angeles County has reported the most so far.

Male Female Undisclosed

Los Angeles 327 deaths

Santa Clara 60 deaths Riverside 50 deaths

San Diego 47 deaths San Bernardino 31 deaths

Sacramento 27 deaths Alameda 23 deaths

San Mateo 21 deaths Orange 19 deaths

San Joaquin 17 deaths San Francisco 15 deaths

Tulare 13 deaths Contra Costa 11 deaths

Marin 10 deaths Ventura 10 deaths

Placer 5 deaths Fresno 5 deaths

Yolo 4 deaths Monterey 3 deaths

Merced 3 deaths Shasta 3 deaths

Imperial 3 deaths Kern 3 deaths Sutter 2 deaths Madera 2 deaths

Santa Barbara 2 deaths San Benito 2 deaths

Stanislaus 2 deaths Napa 2 deaths

Solano 2 deaths Sonoma 2 deaths

Santa Cruz 1 death San Luis Obispo 1 death

Kings 1 death Nevada 1 death

Mono 1 death Yuba 1 death

Do you know someone who has lost the battle with COVID-19? We'd like to hear from the loved ones of people who have died from the coronavirus. Please consider sharing their stories with us here. ì

How many tests have been run? A disorganized web of city, county and state facilities, as well as a growing number of private for-profit labs, are conducting tests. Officials have struggled to keep tabs.

After a series of what he called “fits and starts” in test tracking, Gov. Newsom on Saturday promised better organization and a “new day.” His administration now sets the total number of tests conducted in California at 212,900.

Cumulative tests conducted by day 200,000

Newsom vows 150,000 'new day' Overcount corrected 100,000 More labs counted

50,000 Data release begins

0 Feb. 1 Feb. 15 Mar. 1 Mar. 15 Apr. 1

California Department of Public Health

At the end of March, a deluge of samples caused a bottleneck and delayed turnaround times. The number of pending tests ballooned.

Those numbers dropped drastically Saturday after Newsom acknowledged that past counts were “not in the real time you deserve.”

Pending vs. completed tests

200,000

150,000

100,000

50,000

0 Feb. 1 Feb. 15 Mar. 1 Mar. 15 Apr. 1

California Department of Public Health

What is closed or restricted? Gov. Newsom has ordered all Californians to stay at home, placing mandatory restrictions on the lives of all 40 million residents.

No time frame was set for when the order would end. Here's what we know so far about statewide restrictions:

Statewide

Face coverings Recommended wearing face coverings in public places

Grocery & essential retail Open

Government Open only for essential functions Parks Parking lots, state park campgrounds and indoor facilities closed

Restaurants & bars Bars closed, delivery/takeout only

Recreation Gyms, movie theaters, etc. closed

Gatherings All large gatherings banned

Many county health agencies have gone further than the state's restrictions, further restricting gatherings. Here's a roundup of the measures currently in place.

Select a county

Los Angeles County » Safer at home

Face coverings Recommended wearing face coverings in public places

Grocery & essential retail Open

Government Open only for essential functions

Restaurants & bars Bars closed, delivery/take out only

Parks Closed (includes piers, beaches and public trails)

Schools Most K-12 schools are distance learning. Colleges online only

Recreation Gyms, movie theaters, etc. closed

Gatherings Except in individual households

Alameda County » Shelter in place

Face coverings Recommended wearing face coverings in public places

Grocery & essential retail Open

Government Open only for essential functions

Restaurants & bars Bars closed, delivery/take out only

Parks Parking lots, state park campgrounds, playgrounds and indoor facilities closed

Schools Most K-12 schools are distance learning. Colleges online only

Recreation Gyms, movie theaters, etc. closed

Gatherings Except in individual households

Alpine County » Following state order

Face coverings Recommended wearing face coverings in public places

Grocery & essential retail Open

Government Open only for essential functions

Restaurants & bars Bars closed, delivery/take out only

Parks Parking lots, state park campgrounds and indoor facilities closed

Schools Most K-12 schools are distance learning. Colleges online only

Recreation Gyms, movie theaters, etc. closed

Gatherings All non-essential public gatherings are prohibited Amador County » Following state order

Face coverings Recommended wearing face coverings in public places

Grocery & essential retail Open

Government Open only for essential functions

Restaurants & bars Bars closed, delivery/take out only

Parks Parking lots, state park campgrounds and indoor facilities closed

Schools Most K-12 schools are distance learning. Colleges online only

Recreation Gyms, movie theaters, etc. closed

Gatherings Except in individual households

Butte County » Following state order

Face coverings Recommended wearing face coverings in public places

Grocery & essential retail Open

Government Open only for essential functions

Restaurants & bars Bars closed, delivery/take out only

Parks Parking lots, state park campgrounds and indoor facilities closed

Schools Most K-12 schools are distance learning. Colleges online only

Recreation Gyms, movie theaters, etc. closed

Gatherings All non-essential public gatherings are prohibited

Calaveras County » Following state order

Face coverings Recommended wearing face coverings in public places

Grocery & essential retail Open

Government Open only for essential functions

Restaurants & bars Bars closed, delivery/take out only

Parks Closed

Schools Most K-12 schools are distance learning. Colleges online only

Recreation Gyms, movie theaters, etc. closed

Gatherings All non-essential public gatherings are prohibited

Show all

About the numbers

This page was created by Swetha Kannan, Casey Miller, Sean Greene, Lorena Iñiguez Elebee, Rong-Gong Lin II, Ryan Murphy, Melody Gutierrez, Priya Krishnakumar, Sandhya Kambhampati, Maloy Moore, Jennifer Lu, Aida Ylanan, Vanessa Martínez, Ryan Menezes, Thomas Suh Lauder, Andrea Roberson, Ben Poston, Nicole Santa Cruz and Iris Lee.

State and county totals come from a continual Times survey of California's 58 county health agencies as well as the three run by cities. Those figures are ahead of the totals periodically released by the state's Department of Public Health. State officials acknowledge that their tallies lag behind the updates posted by local agencies throughout the day and do not dispute The Times' method. The Times switched to using this method on March 18, leading to increases over what it had published previously using state data.

The tallies here are mostly limited to residents of California, which is the standard method used to count patients by the state’s health authorities. Those totals do not include people from other states who are quarantined here, such as the passengers and crew of the Grand Princess cruise ship that docked in Oakland.

In an effort to aid scientists and researchers in the fight against COVID-19, The Times has released its database of California coronavirus cases to the public.

The database is available on Github, a popular website for hosting data and computer code. The files will be updated daily at github.com/datadesk/california-coronavirus- data.

Closures and restrictions are drawn from an on-going Times survey of county governments.

National and global case data are collected by the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and researchers at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

If you see information here that you believe is incorrect or out of date, please contact Ben Welsh, the editor of this page.

MORE FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES Q&A: Behind the scenes of The Times’ coronavirus tracking eort

To aid coronavirus ﬁght, The Times releases database of cases

How do you become infected with the coronavirus?

Self-quarantine: When and how to do it https://nyti.ms/2yjIrWn

California Set the Tone on Coronavirus Shutdowns. Whatʼs Its Next Move? A state once considered one of the most vulnerable to coronavirus infections has kept deaths comparatively low, and is cautiously looking at next steps.

By Thomas Fuller and Tim Arango

April 14, 2020 Updated 12:48 p.m. ET

SAN FRANCISCO — California has been ahead of the rest of America in confronting the coronavirus pandemic, locking down its citizens early and avoiding, so far, the worst-case scenarios predicted for infections and deaths.

But as the national conversation begins to shift to reopening and President Trump beats the drum of economic revival, California’s extremely cautious approach toward the virus is a measure of how complicated it will be to restart the country.

“We’re not going to ﬂip the switch and suddenly have the economy return to what it was and everyone come out of their homes simultaneously,” Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles said in an interview. “People’s physical interactions, people’s spatial understandings, people’s risk-taking will come slowly.”

As America’s premier gateway to China, California was, early in the pandemic, seen as one of the most vulnerable to the spread of the virus. In January close to 600 direct ﬂights from China carrying around 150,000 people landed in the state, more than twice as many as landed in New York.

But two and a half months after the ﬁrst cases were detected in Southern California, scientists are scrambling to explain the California conundrum: The state, despite its large, globe-traveling population, ranks 30th in the nation in coronavirus deaths per capita and has a fraction of the mortality rate that New York and New Jersey have suffered. As of Monday, San Francisco had recorded 15 deaths.

Much remains unknown about the coronavirus, and experts cannot fully explain why it is affecting some areas more than others. But ﬁguring out why it has spread much less intensely in America’s largest state than initially feared will be important in planning next steps, experts say.

As it has with so many other policies, California went its own way on confronting the virus. In moving toward recovery its leaders are inching forward, having repeatedly said that success can quickly turn to failure.

How the nation’s largest economy calibrates the reopening will have huge ramiﬁcations for the rest of the country, providing examples of what works, and what doesn’t, especially given limits on testing capacity.

Gov. Gavin Newsom was scheduled on Tuesday to lay out a strategy for a coordinated and gradual approach to lifting some of the shelter- in-place orders, one that he said would be based on facts and science, phrasing that amounted to a veiled rebuke of the Trump administration.

Latest Updates: Coronavirus Outbreak in the U.S.

• Governors push back on Trumpʼs claim that he “calls the shots.”

• The I.M.F. predicts the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

• The one-day virus death toll in New York State rose again after two days of deaths falling.

See more updates Updated 1m ago

More live coverage: Global Markets New York

The reasons for the early promising signs in California are numerous, experts say. The state was the ﬁrst to implement stay-at-home measures, and even before the orders came down, Californians were beginning to keep their distance from one another, while New Yorkers were still packing bars and restaurants.

Other factors include a work-from-home culture at many companies, spurred by the tech industry; a dry and sunny February that brought people away from crowded spaces and into the outdoors; and even the fact that the San Francisco 49ers lost the Super Bowl, avoiding a crowded victory parade.

California’s deep experience confronting natural disasters has also helped it address the pandemic. Not only does the state have a vast government machinery in place to handle disasters, but its populace has experience following orders at a time of calamity. A number of experts are advancing another explanation, too: features that have long been viewed as liabilities — the state’s solitary car culture and trafﬁc-jammed freeways, a dearth of public transportation and sprawling suburban neighborhoods — may have been protective.

“Life in California is much more spread out,” said Eleazar Eskin, chair of the department of computational medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. “Single-family homes compared with apartment buildings, work spaces that are less packed and even seating in restaurants that is more spacious.”

Many scientiﬁc studies have found a correlation between population density and the spread of ﬂu and other infectious diseases, something that may exist for the coronavirus as well.

Moritz Kraemer, a scholar at Oxford University, conducted a study with 12 other scientists across the world that relies on data from China. The study, which has not yet completed peer review, shows that more crowded areas had both higher per-capita coronavirus infections and more prolonged epidemics.

“The more space you have, the less probability there is for transmission,” said Professor Kraemer, who is also leading a team of researchers in mapping the global spread of the virus. Trafﬁc was light on California State Route 2 near Glendale last week. Kendrick Brinson for The New York Times Homes in Glendale. Kendrick Brinson for The New York Times

But California still has numerous weak points, and experts stress that density is only one of many factors in the spread of a disease that is still poorly understood.

Nursing homes and other settings where people congregate have been hit hard. The authorities discovered 91 cases at a single homeless shelter in San Francisco.

Jeffrey Shaman, a professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University, where he has been deeply involved in modeling the spread of the disease, said it was likely that some aspects of West Coast culture helped dampen the early spread of the virus. But that does not argue, he said, for car congestion as a cure-all.

Some experts like George Rutherford, a professor of epidemiology at the University of California, San Francisco, put more emphasis on early government action in mitigating the spread of the virus. Dr. Rutherford said the nation’s first stay-at-home orders by officials in the San Francisco Bay Area, led by the Santa Clara chief health officer, Dr. Sara Cody, were crucial.

“That’s where the credit belongs,” Dr. Rutherford said.

Dr. Rutherford pointed out that his commute on mass transit in the Bay Area resembled one in New York City more than in Los Angeles.

“I easily come within 6 feet of 200 people a day,” he said.

Yet even in San Francisco, the nation’s second-densest major city, cars are much more common than in New York. San Francisco has one vehicle for every two people, compared with New York where the ratio is one to four, according to data from the Department of Motor Vehicles. Experts say understanding the dynamics of spread will be crucial for the next phases of the pandemic, as the authorities look for ways to open up the economy while avoiding a wide-scale and deadly second wave of the disease.

Mr. Garcetti, the Los Angeles mayor, has been guided by history, spending his nights and weekends studying how California cities responded to the 1918 ﬂu pandemic. One of his key takeaways is that acting too soon to reopen could be disastrous, citing a second wave of infections in 1918 that proved more deadly than the ﬁrst.

In 1918, “L.A. acted quickly and kept with it,” he said. In contrast, San Francisco, he said, “had also done really well but then came out of it too quick, and had a second spike in the short term, which killed a lot of people.”

Epidemiologists says transmission dynamics will differ by state, city and neighborhood.

In a push to better understand the scope of people’s interactions, Dr. Eskin is leading a survey effort in California and beyond. The survey asks what symptoms the participant has experienced, if any, and the locations of the supermarkets and pharmacies where he or she goes.

“We want to give the public health authorities the data that they need for them to make decisions on when they should let people go back to work or the kids go back to school,” Dr. Eskin said.

But even as California ofﬁcials consider data that shows the outbreak here is far less intense than initially feared, they are being cautious in predicting a loosening of restrictions anytime soon.

Mr. Garcetti, for instance, has been touting the idea of using wide-scale testing to determine who is immune, and then allowing them to resume some measure of normal life.

“The idea of folks having an immunity passport, or something that allows them to be able to work, certainly would accelerate for me our economic recovery and my ability as mayor to lift the orders for some people,” he said recently.

But that plan would require wide-scale testing, which California does not have.

An immunity passport, Mr. Garcetti said, is “still a while off.”

Adam Nagourney contributed reporting from Los Angeles and Matt Richtel from San Francisco.

The Coronavirus Outbreak Frequently Asked Questions and Advice

Updated April 11, 2020

• When will this end? This is a difﬁcult question, because a lot depends on how well the virus is contained. A better question might be: “How will we know when to reopen the country?” In an American Enterprise Institute report, Scott Gottlieb, Caitlin Rivers, Mark B. McClellan, Lauren Silvis and Crystal Watson staked out four goal posts for recovery: Hospitals in the state must be able to safely treat all patients requiring hospitalization, without resorting to crisis standards of care; the state needs to be able to at least test everyone who has symptoms; the state is able to conduct monitoring of conﬁrmed cases and contacts; and there must be a sustained reduction in cases for at least 14 days.

READ MORE Coronavirus: Gov. Newsom says West Coast coordinating plans to end lockdowns – Orange County Register

   

NEWSCALIFORNIA NEWS • News Coronavirus: Gov. Newsom says West Coast coordinating plans to end lockdowns California to collaborate with Oregon, Washington

   

https://www.ocregister.com/...om&utm_content=tw-ocregister&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow&__twitter_impression=true[4/13/2020 1:26:13 PM] Coronavirus: Gov. Newsom says West Coast coordinating plans to end lockdowns – Orange County Register

Gov. Gavin Newsom discusses the acquisition of the Sleep Train Arena for use as a field hospital, after touring the facility, in Sacramento, Calif., Monday, April 6, 2020. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, Pool)

By JOHN WOOLFOLK |  PUBLISHED: April 13, 2020 at 1:22 p.m. | UPDATED: April 13, 2020 at 1:23 p.m.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a West Coast plan Monday for ending the statewide stay-home order he imposed March 19 to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus pandemic that will be coordinated with Oregon and Washington.

The announcement came on a day when a widely respected model for predicting the hospital impact of the coronavirus said California would see its demand on hospital resources peak, a date about a month earlier of when Gov. Newsom has suggested the peak would hit.

But Newsom said the stay-home order he issued March 19 has worked better than expected in R “bending the curve” of new infections downward, clearing the way toward ending the restrictions that have shuttered schools and most businesses and kept people largely confined to their homes.

“The curve is being bent because of you and your willingness to stay at home,” Newsom said. “We didn’t see the kind of surge people predicted.”

TOP ARTICLES 1/5

.st0{fill:#FFFFFF;}.st1{fill:#0099FF;}

READ MORE Navy reports first coronavirus death from Roosevelt Newsom said he would provide more detail on his framework for lifting California’s stay-home order at noon Tuesday.

“We’ll be laying out a California-specific strategy and framework, questions we’ll be looking to ask and answer,” Newsom said.

Newsom did not indicate how long the lockdown will continue. He said that science and health outcomes will determine reopening, not politics.

“All of us have a little cabin fever,” Newsom said, “and we look forward to coming back to a little normalcy.”

Newsom and the other governors said it was important for the Western states to work together. In a joint statement, they said that “COVID-19 has preyed upon our interconnectedness” and that in the coming weeks, “the West Coast will flip the script on COVID-19.”

“With our states acting in close coordination and collaboration to ensure the virus can never spread wildly in our communities,” the joint statement said. “We are announcing that California, Oregon and Washington have agreed to work together on a shared approach for reopening our economies — one that identifies clear indicators for communities to restart public life and business.”

“In the aggregate the case numbers are rising that’s why RELATED ARTICLES incredibly important to continue to do what we’ve done until

Expecting a $12 million revenue hit, these lines turn in the opposite direction.” Laguna Beach furloughs employees, cuts spending Newsom said he was “very proud” that California pursued the country’s first statewide stay-home order last month Spring wrap-up: Q&A with Newport and of the local health officials including in the Bay Area Harbor baseball coach Evan Chalmers who had issued similar orders days earlier.

What you need to know about legal documents amid coronavirus pandemic

Trump says he’ll decide on easing Newsroom Guidelines guidelines, not governors News Tips Contact Us Putting strange time of coronavirus in focus for families, one image at a time Report an Error

https://www.ocregister.com/...om&utm_content=tw-ocregister&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow&__twitter_impression=true[4/13/2020 1:26:13 PM] BREAKING NEWS California, Oregon and Washington to work on coronavirus economic plan

CALIFORNIA

California, Oregon and Washington to work together on plan to lift coronavirus restrictions

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (ASSOCIATED PRESS) By TARYN LUNA STAFF WRITER

APRIL 13, 2020 | 1:47 PM

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom and his counterparts in Washington and Oregon announced “a regional pact to recovery” from the coronavirus crisis on Monday and agreed to work together to develop a plan to lift restrictions on daily life and reopen economies along the West Coast.

The announcement comes as six states in the Northeast — New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island — also agreed to coordinate regional efforts to gradually ease restrictions adopted to prevent the spread of the virus.

“COVID-19 doesn’t follow state or national boundaries,” Newsom, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said in a statement. “It will take every level of government, working together, and a full picture of what’s happening on the ground.”

Newsom said he intends to provide details Tuesday on California’s strategy to begin to walk back his stay-at-home order and allow businesses to resume functions.

POLITICO Pro Sponsored ⌃

The statement from Newsom and the other governors lacked specific details, broadly describing a few basic principles they agreed to follow as they develop strategies to return some level of normalcy to their states. The governors said they will be guided by data, prioritize health over politics and work together and with local communities.

“We need to see a decline in the rate of spread of the virus before large-scale reopening, and we will be working in coordination to identify the best metrics to guide this,” the governors said. The statement also laid out four shared goals to control the virus, including protecting vulnerable populations, ensuring the states have enough equipment and hospital workers to provide adequate care, mitigating non-direct health effects on disadvantaged communities and developing a strategy to test, track and isolate cases.

The governors made the announcement hours after President Donald Trump tweeted that he, and not governors, will decide when to open up states again.

Newsom, who has often commended the Trump administration’s efforts to work with California during the pandemic, said he expects to continue that collaboration and cooperation with the federal government.

“I have all the confidence in the world moving forward that we will maintain that collaborative spirit in terms of the decision-making, that we make here within the state of California as it relates to a roadmap for recovery and roadmap to get back to some semblance of normalcy,” Newsom said.

The governor discussed transitioning back to regular life days after Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services agency, said the stay-at-home order and social distancing have slowed the spread of the virus, resulting in fewer hospitalizations than estimates predicted.

Under a worst case scenario and without any mitigation efforts, state models predicted a peak of nearly 700,000 hospitalizations from COVID-19, Ghaly said Friday. But he noted that adherence to the stay-at-home order, which Newsom announced nearly a month ago, now suggests “the difference between what we’re seeing today in our hospitals may not be that much different than where we are going to peak in the many weeks to come.”

As of Monday, 22,234 Californians have tested positive for the virus and 687 have died, Newsom said. The governor said 3,015 people have been hospitalized, including 1,178 who are receiving intensive care.

CALIFORNIA POLITICS CALIFORNIA LAW & POLITICS CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

The stories shaping California Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week.

Enter Email Address

SIGN ME UP

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

Taryn Luna 65°

BREAKING NEWS / Watch live: Gov. Newsom details the latest on California’s response to COVID-19

Plastic Water Storage Tanks

Get A Quote Today Loomis Tank Centers

LOCAL NEWS 21-year-old Riverside nursing assistant dies from COVID-19 complications

Riverside nursing assistant dies of COVID-19

by: Carlos Saucedo, Brian Day Posted: Apr 12, 2020 / 10:48 PM PDT / Updated: Apr 12, 2020 / 10:58 PM PDT

Valeria Viveros of Riverside knew there were risks working in a nursing home amid the COVID-19 pandemic, family members said. But the 21-year-old felt compelled to do her best to help as she worked her rst job as a nursing assistant at the 65°Extended Care Hospital of Riverside.

Earlier this month, she became one of dozens at the facility diagnosed with the virus herself. Seven days later, on Friday, she died from complications of COVID-19.

“We’re in shock. It’s unbelievable. We can’t even imagine that she’s gone,” uncle Gustavo Urrea said.

“She was admitted to the hospital. She never came home,” he said. “She was put in isolation, and they were treating her with a ventilator.”

A fund established online to help Viveros’ family had raised more than $17,000 as of Sunday night.

“Her mother, father, sister, and brother are in shock, mourning, and in quarantine,” aunt Rafaela Pinto Urrea wrote on the memorial page

“Valeria made the ultimate sacrice for her elderly patients,” she said. “Valeria did not have the heart to stay home! She was driven to be with the elderly under her care at a skilled nursing facility in Riverside, in spite of the fact that several patients were infected with COVID-19.”

“We remember her spirit of dedication and perseverance in her goals, her joy and sincerity, and care for others,” Rafaela Urrea said.

TOP ARTICLES 1/5

.st0{fill:#FFFFFF;}.st1{fill:#0099FF;}

READ MORE Voters reject Trump’s pick in chaotic Wisconsin court The family members said Viveros, a Norco High School graduate, was admitted to the hospital Saturday, April 4.

“And she never came back,” Urrea said.

He said Viveros would have turned 21 next month.

In recent days, patients at two skilled care facilities on Magnolia Avenue in Riverside tested positive for the coronavirus. Extended Care Hospital of Riverside and Magnolia Rehabilitation and Nursing Center are next door to each other on Magnolia Avenue, near Adams Street in Riverside. Urrea said he did not know at which facility his niece worked.

At least 26 staff members at Extended Care have tested positive for the virus, while at least 16 staffers at Magnolia Rehabilitation have contracted the virus, county officials have said.

Urrea said Viveros was in isolation. The family received an encouraging report Thursday, April 9, he said, that her oxygen level and blood pressure were normal and her condition was improving.

Then came word Friday morning that his niece had died.

“Oh my God, I couldn’t believe it,” Urrea said.

Pinto Urrea, in the GoFundMe post, wrote that Viveros was working her first job as a nurse assistant.

Viveros “did not have the heart to stay home! She was driven to be with the elderly under her care at a skilled nursing facility in Riverside, in spite of the fact that several patients were infected with COVID- 19,” she wrote.

At the same time, Viveros was taking classes at Moreno Valley College, said Robert Schmidt, spokesman for the Riverside Community College District.

“She loved to helped everyone,” said cousin Nancy Viveros, a 24-year-old Garden Grove resident. “She had a very big heart.”

And Nancy Viveros said her cousin’s dream was to become a registered nurse.

Viveros said her cousin loved going to Disneyland, having purchased annual passes the past three years.

“She was thinking of renewing it again, even though the prices have been going up.”

She also loved going to the movies, Nancy Viveros said, and drinking hot chocolate.

Nancy Viveros, an only child, said her cousin was like a sister to her. Their friendship was so close that every day for the past 10 years they would talk, text or FaceTime each other.

“I would call her Val or Sweet Val,” she said.

Nancy Viveros said her cousin’s death underscores the need to adhere to the stay-at-home order to help slow the spread of the coronavirus and the risk that the virus poses to people of all ages.

“Some people don’t take it as seriously as they should,” she said.

Evita Tapia-Gonzalez, spokeswoman for the Corona-Norco Unified School District, said Valeria Viveros graduated from Norco High School in 2017.

“The tragic loss of one of our alumna is devastating news,” Tapia-Gonzalez wrote in an email. “We extend our most sincere condolences to the family during this sad time.”

Valeria Viveros’ aunt and uncle described her as a dedicated person driven to achieve.

“She was a very caring and loving and very humble person,” Urrea said.

The family is devastated, he said. RELATED LINKS “It’s just unbelievable,” Urrea said. “She didn’t deserve this At least 30 Riverside nursing facility at all.” patients test positive for coronavirus; county cases jump to 799 By late Monday, the GoFundMe campaign had raised more

than $19,000. Riverside County coronavirus cases rise 13% to 1,619; deaths still 41 “Valeria made the ultimate sacrifice for her elderly patients, let’s pull together and sacrifice for her now,” Pinto Urrea 83 patients evacuated from Riverside wrote. skilled nursing home after coronavirus outbreak

Newsroom Guidelines Riverside County coronavirus cases rise News Tips 13% to 1,619; deaths still 41 Contact Us Riverside County skilled nursing facilities Report an Error could see coronavirus surge

https://www.sbsun.com/...-coronavirus/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_content=tw-sbsun&utm_medium=social[4/14/2020 9:46:26 AM] More Riverside County inmates, deputies testing positive as coronavirus spreads through jails | KTLA

62° Ope

WATCH LIVE CORONAVIRUS NEWS MORNING NEWS PODCASTS CONTESTS WEATHER NEWS TIPS ABOUT

LIVE NOW KTLA 5 Morning News

WEATHER ALERTS There are 8 areas under alert. Click for alert details.

LOCAL NEWS More Riverside County inmates, deputies testing positive as coronavirus spreads through jails

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/more-riverside-county-inmates-deputies-testing-positive-as-coronavirus-spreads-through-jails/[4/14/2020 9:47:13 AM] More Riverside County inmates, deputies testing positive as coronavirus spreads through jails | KTLA

Deputy David Werksman is seen in an undated photo provided by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

by: Los Angeles Times Posted: Apr 13, 2020 / 12:12 PM PDT / Updated: Apr 13, 2020 / 12:12 PM PDT

The coronavirus continues to move through the ranks of law enforcement in Southern California as officers and jail inmates struggle to maintain social distancing.

Nowhere is that more profoundly apparent than in Riverside County, where at least 80 inmates and 55 employees — most of whom are deputies — have tested positive for COVID-19. Two veteran deputies in the department have lost their lives to the disease caused by the coronavirus.

In 10 days, the number of deputies infected has more than doubled, while the number of inmates who have tested positive has multiplied by more than six, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said.

Bianco thinks the large numbers are the result of “silent spreaders,” those who are infected with the virus who show no outward symptoms and then unwittingly spread the illness to others.

Read the full story on LATimes.com. https://ktla.com/news/local-news/more-riverside-county-inmates-deputies-testing-positive-as-coronavirus-spreads-through-jails/[4/14/2020 9:47:13 AM] Riverside County reports 9 more deaths from coronavirus, worst daily increase yet – Press Enterprise

LOCAL NEWS Riverside County reports 9 more deaths from coronavirus, worst daily increase yet

   

By DAVID DOWNEY | [email protected] | The Press-Enterprise  PUBLISHED: April 13, 2020 at 4:06 p.m. | UPDATED: April 13, 2020 at 5:48 p.m.

Nine more people died in Riverside County of the novel coronavirus, health officials said Monday, April 13, making it the largest one-day leap in deaths and bringing the number of dead to 50.

There are now 1,751 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the county, an increase of 132 from the day before, the latest numbers show. The number of county deaths attributed to COVID-19 rose from 41 on Sunday.

County spokeswoman Brooke Federico said the surge of nine deaths is the worst since the pandemic began. She said three people died between Sunday and Monday, while the other six deaths occurred last week but were only recently confirmed to be the result of COVID-19.

As of Sunday, April 12, the county had 1,619 cases following the biggest single-day jump in cases, or 188, Federico said.

https://www.pe.com/...-deaths/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_content=tw-pressenterprise&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com[4/14/2020 9:45:10 AM] Riverside County reports 9 more deaths from coronavirus, worst daily increase yet – Press Enterprise

Read Article

By Tuesday, April 14, Riverside County hospitals had anticipated running out of beds in vital intensive care units, based on an earlier forecast. But on Monday, Federico said hospitals had not yet reached capacity in large part because stay-at-home efforts are slowing the virus’ spread, hospitals have made more room for patients and “field hospitals” have been set up at the former Sears store in Riverside and the county fairgrounds in Indio.

But, Federico said, “We’re certainly not out of the woods.”

The coronavirus case total in the county has almost tripled since the county reported 665 cases April 4.

On that day, Dr. Cameron Kaiser, the county’s public health officer, issued an order for Riverside County residents to cover their noses and mouths when they leave home. The county also barred public and private gatherings of any kind through April 30, though it made an exception for drive-up outdoor religious services over Easter weekend.

People are urged to wash their hands, to leave home only for essential reasons and to stay at least 6 feet from other people. And they are asked to cover their noses and mouths in public.

A total of 297 people have recovered from the virus, according to the county public health website. Recovered means that someone has completed isolation, is no longer showing symptoms and has had his or her case closed by public health officials.

CASES BY COMMUNITY RELATED LINKS The number of cases and deaths reported in individual Riverside County coronavirus cases rise communities are: 13% to 1,619; deaths still 41

Anza: 5 cases, 0 deaths Woman, 20, who worked at Riverside Banning: 60 cases, 1 death nursing home with outbreak dies from Beaumont: 35 cases, 2 deaths coronavirus

Bermuda Dunes: 3 cases, 0 deaths Riverside County allows drive-up religious Blythe: 1 case, 0 deaths services for Easter weekend Cabazon: 1 case, 0 deaths Calimesa: 11 cases, 0 deaths 83 patients evacuated from Riverside skilled nursing home after coronavirus Canyon Lake: 5 cases, 0 deaths outbreak Cathedral City: 49 cases, 1 death Cherry Valley: 3 cases, 1 death Riverside County further restricts Coachella: 60 cases, 0 deaths gatherings, orders use of face coverings as coronavirus case count grows Corona: 77 cases, 3 deaths Coronita: 1 case, 0 deaths Desert Edge: 2 cases, 0 deaths Desert Hot Springs: 18 cases, 0 deaths Desert Palms: 4 cases, 0 deaths East Hemet: 3 cases, 0 deaths Eastvale: 36 cases, 2 deaths El Cerrito: 4 cases, 0 deaths El Sobrante: 11 cases, 0 deaths

French Valley: 20 cases, 0 deaths Garnet: 4 cases, 0 deaths Good Hope: 7 cases, 0 deaths Green Acres: 1 case, 0 deaths Hemet: 59 cases, 1 death Home Gardens: 3 cases, 0 deaths Homeland: 1 case, 0 deaths Idyllwild-Pine Cove: 3 cases, 0 deaths Indian Wells: 10 cases, 0 deaths Indio: 79 cases, 2 deaths Jurupa Valley: 41 cases, 0 deaths La Quinta: 31 cases, 0 deaths Lake Elsinore: 59 cases, 1 death Lake Mathews: 2 cases, 0 deaths Lakeland Village: 8 cases, 0 deaths Lakeview: 1 case, 0 deaths Mead Valley: 15 cases, 0 deaths Meadowbrook: 1 case, 0 deaths Mecca: 10 cases, 0 deaths Menifee: 66 cases, 1 death Moreno Valley: 168 cases, 6 deaths Murrieta: 58 cases, 1 death Norco: 8 cases, 0 deaths North Shore: 0 cases, 0 deaths Nuevo: 6 cases, 0 deaths Oasis: 3 cases, 0 deaths Palm Desert: 59 cases, 5 deaths Palm Springs: 70 cases, 8 deaths Perris: 61 cases, 0 deaths Rancho Mirage: 22 cases, 3 deaths Riverside: 266 cases, 8 deaths Romoland: 0 cases, 0 deaths San Jacinto: 14 cases, 0 deaths Sky Valley: 1 case, 0 deaths Temecula: 66 cases, 0 deaths Temescal Valley: 12 cases, 0 deaths

Thermal: 5 cases, 0 deaths Thousand Palms: 3 cases, 0 deaths Valle Vista: 2 cases, 0 deaths Vista Santa Rosa: 0 cases, 0 deaths Wildomar: 26 cases, 2 deaths Winchester: 1 case, 0 deaths Woodcrest: 7 cases, 0 deaths

Newsroom Guidelines News Tips Contact Us Report an Error

Tags: All Readers, Coronavirus, Health, public health, Top Stories PE

David Downey | Reporter Dave is a general assignment reporter based in Riverside, writing about a wide variety of topics ranging from drones and El Nino to trains and wildfires. He has worked for five newspapers in four states: Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona and California. He earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Colorado State University in 1981. Loves hiking, tennis, baseball, the beach, the Lakers and golden retrievers. He is from the Denver area.

[email protected]

 Follow David Downey @DavidDowneySCNG

MORE FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

CALIFORNIA Walk-up coronavirus testing site opens in South L.A. 37 minutes ago

CALIFORNIA Another Trump vs. California battle looms over reopening an economy battered by coronavirus 58 minutes ago ADVERTISEMENT

CALIFORNIA

L.A. voters lack confidence in Trump’s coronavirus performance, give Newsom, Garcetti high marks, poll finds

L.A. voters give Gov. Gavin Newsom high marks for his coronavirus performance, but lack conﬁdence in President Trump’s response. (Evan Vucci / AP Photo; Frederic J. Brown / AFP / Getty Images) By DOUG SMITH SENIOR WRITER

APRIL 13, 2020 | 3:06 PM

Los Angeles County residents have far more confidence in state and local officials to lead them through the coronavirus outbreak than they do President Trump, a new poll has found.

The poll, by the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University, reported that 85% or more of respondents had confidence in California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and the Los Angeles County Health Department, while only 38% had confidence in President Trump.

Those who identified as politically conservative tended to be more skeptical both of the stay-at-home orders and of the level of threat posed by the virus. Only 76% of them viewed the virus as a real threat compared with 91% among liberals.

Conservatives also saw themselves as less vulnerable, with 74% saying they worried they would catch the virus, compared with 85% of liberals.

Seniors Love Posture Corrector

ShopTrueFit.com Open

Despite suffering economically from the extensive shutdown of businesses, residents overwhelmingly supported the stay-at-home orders issued by Newsom and Garcetti with 77% saying they strongly support the orders and 18% supporting them somewhat.

And 86% said they wanted local authorities to take over hotels and motels if it became necessary to quarantine people most at risk for coronavirus and COVID-19 patients.

Nearly half of households in Los Angeles County have lost a job or had their work hours cut because of the coronavirus outbreak, and another 10% have lost other sources of income, the poll found.

The economic hit was harder among the young and those who already had a lower household income.

CALIFORNIA CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

The stories shaping California Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week.

Enter Email Address

SIGN ME UP

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

Doug Smith

Twitter Instagram Email Facebook

Los Angeles Times senior writer Doug Smith scouts Los Angeles for the ragged edges where public policy meets real people, combining data analysis and gumshoe reporting to tell L.A. stories through his 45 years of experience covering the city. 3 LA County healthcare workers among coronavirus’ deadly toll – Daily Bulletin

NEWS • News 3 LA County healthcare workers among coronavirus’ deadly toll Hundreds more have contracted the respiratory illness in the frontline battle across the county's medical care landscape.

   

https://www.dailybulletin.com/...tm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_content=tw-ivdailybulletin&utm_medium=social[4/14/2020 9:44:27 AM] 3 LA County healthcare workers among coronavirus’ deadly toll – Daily Bulletin

Frontline workers in the health care industry say N95 masks, like this one, are in short supply on March 26, 2020. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

By RYAN CARTER | [email protected] | Daily News  PUBLISHED: April 13, 2020 at 5:09 p.m. | UPDATED: April 13, 2020 at 5:46 p.m.

Three Los Angeles County healthcare workers have died in the battle against COVID-19, the county’s public health chief confirmed on Monday, April 13.

Two worked in local hospitals, and the other was a healthcare worker in the county’s corrections system, L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said.

The confirmation of the deaths comes as frontline healthcare workers continue to demand more personal protective equipment such as masks, gowns and face guards. M

Across the county, as of Monday, there were 787 confirmed cases among healthcare workers. Nurses account for one third of the cases, and physicians made up another 9%. But Ferrer said those

exposed also include emergency medical technicians, receptionists and lab workers.

TOP ARTICLES 1/5

.st0{fill:#FFFFFF;}.st1{fill:#0099FF;}

READ MORE The best ratings: Political Cartoons About 60% of the workers who have gotten the virus did not RELATED LINKS know or report on the source of their exposure to the

respiratory illness. About 24% said they were exposed to a LA County records lowest new patient or to another healthcare worker who had contracted coronavirus-case total in almost 3 weeks the illness, Ferrer said. Another 12% contracted it in LA County extends coronavirus ‘stay outpatient settings. home’ orders after reviewing growth projections Read more Covid-19 coverage here

Essential work, layoffs and a cancer The numbers came from 22 clinical settings in the county diagnosis: LA families juggle remote — 43% of them hospitals, and 19% worked in skilled school with COVID-19 nursing and assisted living facilities. https://www.dailybulletin.com/...tm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_content=tw-ivdailybulletin&utm_medium=social[4/14/2020 9:44:27 AM] 3 LA County healthcare workers among coronavirus’ deadly toll – Daily Bulletin

As of Monday, the county was reporting a total of 9,420 confirmed cases and 320 total deaths across L.A. County, where the pandemic has accounted for nearly half of California’s 651 virus-related fatalities.

The frontline battle in L.A. County emergency rooms, ICUs, nursing homes and other medical facilties has indeed been a day-to-day war with not just the virus, but their own fear of the possibilities — that it could infect them, that they could be spreading it to others, including their families.

“Things are getting tougher,” said Gabe Montoya, an emergency medical technician at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Downey. “The amount of patients that we are intubating daily is increasing.” Intubation involves inserting a tube through the mouth and then into the airway so the patient can be linked to a ventilator to assist in breathing.

Montoya, part of a coalition of local unionized healthcare workers who last week called on the federal government to supply protective equipment, said the shortage of supplies has led to the need to reuse masks and gowns and has led to added strain and fear among he and his colleagues.

And yet, they keep going in.

“Their heroism and sacrifice can’t be understated, and we thank them very much,” Ferrer said.

Newsroom Guidelines News Tips Contact Us Report an Error

https://www.dailybulletin.com/...tm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_content=tw-ivdailybulletin&utm_medium=social[4/14/2020 9:44:27 AM] LA County records lowest new coronavirus-case total in almost 3 weeks – Daily Bulletin

NEWS • News LA County records lowest new coronavirus-case total in almost 3 weeks The low number of new cases spurred cautious optimism among health officials, who urged residents to stay the course on stay-at-home orders and other measures.

   

https://www.dailybulletin.com/...tm_content=tw-ivdailybulletin&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=socialflow[4/14/2020 9:45:57 AM] LA County records lowest new coronavirus-case total in almost 3 weeks – Daily Bulletin

A man sells masks along Sherman Way in North Hollywood during an order for all residents to wear masks to protect against coronavirus on Monday, April 13, 2020. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) M

By DAVID ROSENFELD | [email protected] | The Daily Breeze  PUBLISHED: April 13, 2020 at 2:10 p.m. | UPDATED: April 14, 2020 at 5:29 a.m.

Los Angeles County Public Health officials reported just 239 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Monday, the lowest number of new confirmed cases since March 26, nearly three weeks ago.

Also Monday, the county reported another 25 had lost their lives, bringing the total number of deaths in the county related to the coronavirus at 320. The total number of new cases now stand at 9,420.

The county totals did not include updated counts for Long Beach and Pasadena, which operate their own health departments. Two more Long Beach residents who tested positive for the coronavirus died, city officials reported, bringing the city’s total death toll to 14. And in Pasadena, 47 new cases were reported over the weekend, bringing the city’s total to 164. Two more Pasadena residents passed away, raising the city’s death toll to nine.

As the number of confirmed cases seemed to level Ferrer, the question remained about just when the county might consider reopening businesses. But so far, that answer was not easy coming as modelling was now showing more prolonged caseloads rather than a steep spike.

TOP ARTICLES 1/5

.st0{fill:#FFFFFF;}.st1{fill:#0099FF;}

READ MORE Mortgage delinquencies to spike due to coronavirus “I want to be only cautiously optimistic because typically on Monday we have a lag in test results because of the weekend,” said Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.

See a map of confirmed cases in LA County

With President Donald Trump expressing his desire to get the economy moving again by May, Ferrer said the decision in LA County would be made locally.

“I think there’s 100% agreement that the strategies about what happens locally need to be determined by conditions locally,” Ferrer said. “I know the president is really anxious for us to reopen. Everyone https://www.dailybulletin.com/...tm_content=tw-ivdailybulletin&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=socialflow[4/14/2020 9:45:57 AM] LA County records lowest new coronavirus-case total in almost 3 weeks – Daily Bulletin

knows that reopening is going to be staggered and we’re going to make sure what we don’t do is act in some haste that causes an increase in cases and most importantly the number of deaths.”

Of those whose deaths were reported Monday, 11 were over the age of 65 with underlying health conditions. Twelve were between 41 and 65, all but one of whom had underlying health conditions.

“I know that so many of you are experiencing a profound loss and you’re mourning family member and friend who died from complications from COVID-19,” Ferrer said.

More than 28% of the deaths, 92 people, were residents at long-term care facilities. A total of 185 institutional settings now have cases with a total of 1,372 cases among staff and residents at nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

For complete coronavirus coverage

A total of three deaths have now occurred among healthcare workers. They also accounted for 787 confirmed cases. Nurses represented about 33%, doctors 9%. Roughly 43% worked at hospitals, 19% at long-term care facilities and 12% in outpatient settings. About 60% did not know or report on their source of exposure, Ferrer said. Those who did know where it came from said 24% were exposed through contact with a patient or healthcare worker.

“We continue to track what’s happening in our health care facilities so we can make sure our workers are protected to the greatest ability,” Ferrer said.

A total of 23 confirmed cases have occurred among people experiencing homelessness.

Monday’s totals did not include updated counts for Long Beach and Pasadena, which operate their own health departments. Long Beach on Monday reported two more deaths and 14 additional cases.

Compare other Southern California counties

“This will be a critical week to see if we maintain a steady number,” Ferrer said.

Across the region, Orange County has reported 1,283 cases and 19 deaths, Riverside County 1,619 cases and 41 deaths and San Bernardino County 887 cases and 31 deaths.

Statewide, a total of 687 people have died from the coronavirus, as of Monday, April 13. Slightly more than 3,000 were hospitalized and roughly 1,178 people were in the ICU. Gov. Gavin Newsom said the Easter weekend did not see the influx that many people expected at parts and beaches.

“The curve is being bent because of you and your willingness to stay home,” Newsom said.

Newsom, along with governors of Oregon and Washington, announced an agreement Monday to work in collaboration in slowing the spread of COVID-19. But the agreement was more a series of principles than a defined action plan. Newsom also commented Monday on remarks he made last week referring to California as a “nation-state.”

“When you have a state that’s larger than the populations of 21-plus states combined, that gives you a sense of the magnitude and scale of the nations largest state, the world’s 5th largest economy,” Newsom said. “Our purchasing power allows us to do things.”

Newsroom Guidelines News Tips Contact Us Report an Error

Tags: Coronavirus, Top Stories Breeze, Top Stories IVDB, Top Stories LADN, Top Stories LBPT, Top Stories PSN, Top Stories SGVT, Top Stories WDN

David Rosenfeld | Reporter David Rosenfeld has been working as a professional journalist for nearly 20 years at newspapers, magazines and https://www.dailybulletin.com/...tm_content=tw-ivdailybulletin&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=socialflow[4/14/2020 9:45:57 AM] CA tells insurers to return some premiums, including auto insurance, due to COVID-19 | KTLA

62° Ope

WATCH LIVE CORONAVIRUS NEWS MORNING NEWS PODCASTS CONTESTS WEATHER NEWS TIPS ABOUT

LIVE NOW KTLA 5 Morning News

WEATHER ALERTS There are 8 areas under alert. Click for alert details.

CALIFORNIA CA tells insurers to return some premiums, including auto insurance, due to COVID-19

by: Tracy Bloom, Carlos Saucedo Posted: Apr 13, 2020 / 09:53 AM PDT / Updated: Apr 13, 2020 / 12:53 PM PDT

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Monday ordered insurers to refund some premiums to help provide financial relief to businesses and consumer during the coronavirus pandemic.

Lara’s bulletin impacts insurance lines with a decreased risk of loss due to the crisis, including private passenger and commercial automobile, workers’ compensation, commercial multi-peril and liability, and medical malpractice, according to a news release from the commissioner’s office.

The order would cover premiums for at least March and April, and could extend through May if statewide stay-at-home restrictions remain in place.

“With Californians driving fewer miles and many businesses closed due to the COVID-19 emergency, consumers need relief from premiums that no longer reflect their present-day risk of accident or loss,” Lara said in the release. “Today’s mandatory action will put money back in people’s pockets when they need it most.”

Under the bulletin, insurance companies would have to provide a premium credit, reduction, refund or other adjustments as soon as possible, but no later than August.

Several auto insurance companies like State Farm, Allstate and Geico have already voluntarily announced they will return, altogether, billions of dollars in premiums to customers.

As Lara noted, a recent study from UC Davis found that there have been fewer accidents and traffic-related injuries and fatalities throughout the state because of less cars on the roads — the result of nonessential businesses being closed and people adhering to stay-at-home orders.

The action undertaken by the commissioner’s office will add insurance companies that haven’t yet extended premium breaks and ensure oversight.

“Today’s Bulletin extends these private personal auto policy reductions to more companies and adds commercial lines while monitoring insurance companies’ compliance with California’s consumer protection laws so that refunds are not discriminatory or inadequate,” the release explained.

Insurance companies won’t have to get prior approval from the state’s Department of Insurance regarding premium refunds so long as they the methods outlined in the bulletin, according to Lara.

https://ktla.com/news/california/california-tells-insurers-to-refund-some-premiums-including-auto-insurance/[4/14/2020 9:46:52 AM] CA tells insurers to return some premiums, including auto insurance, due to COVID-19 | KTLA The latest measure is on top of other actions the commissioner’s office has taken recently to help consumers during the COVID-19 outbreak, including requesting a grace period of at least 60 days to pay their premiums and extend claim deadlines.

More information can be found in the commissioner’s bulletin here.

RELATED CONTENT State Farm, Geico to return over $4 billion in premiums to auto insurance customers amid coronavirus pandemic

Auto insurers will return $800 million in premiums as people drive less due to coronavirus pandemic

Suggest a Correction

SHARE THIS STORY

TOP ARTICLES 1/5

.st0{fill:#FFFFFF;}.st1{fill:#0099FF;}

SKIP AD Mortgage delinquencies to spike due to coronavirus “People that receive (jury) summonses during the court closure do not have to serve at this time,” said Kostas Kalaitzidis, an Orange County Superior Court spokesman. “We do appreciate their willingness to serve and we hope that they can serve in the future.”

“Jury service is an important, critical function to the judicial RELATED ARTICLES system,” he added.

Mortgage delinquencies to spike due to In effect, the jurors with reporting dates falling during the coronavirus outbreak court closure have been excused from jury service. In Orange County, that means they will not be called in again Voters reject Trump’s pick in chaotic for at least a year, Kalaitzidis said. Wisconsin court race

Jurors who were already seated on trials suspended due to 3 Inland churches sue to keep services open during coronavirus pandemic the closures have been told to keep in contact with the

court clerks for the courtrooms to which they are assigned. Dozens of LA city employees have tested positive for coronavirus, mayor says Federal courts have also halted jury trials during the pandemic. A general order issued last month covering the Officials say 55 LAPD employees, 17 U.S. District Court for the Central District of California noted LAFD employees have now tested that jurors are not being called in for either criminal or civil positive for the coronavirus trials.

Local court systems have also announced extensions for traffic citation hearings, as well as the deadlines for which motorists are required to take care of their tickets.

Newsroom Guidelines News Tips Contact Us Report an Error

https://www.dailybulletin.com/...tm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=social&utm_content=tw-ivdailybulletin&utm_source=twitter.com[4/14/2020 9:41:37 AM] BREAKING NEWS In a boost to Biden, Obama will endorse his former vice president

Bring your Vision to SHOP Life wit Build.com NOW

CALIFORNIA

This is the latest list of Los Angeles County communities with coronavirus cases

Women wearing masks walk along Van Nuys Boulevard in Panorama City on Saturday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

By COLLEEN SHALBY STAFF WRITER APRIL 14, 2020 | 7:34 AM

Los Angeles County reported some more progress Monday in the fight against the coronavirus.

While deaths continue to mount, the county reported only 239 new cases of the virus, the lowest number since March 26.

Health officials on Monday confirmed 25 new coronavirus-linked deaths, bringing the county’s total number of fatalities to 320 and marking an increase in the mortality rate in Southern California as city and county leaders continued to warn against prematurely ending shelter-in-place orders.

Here is the list of California communities with coronavirus cases:

Zipwhip Sponsored

Increase Viewership with Zipwhip Texting for...

Request Demo ⌃ Long Beach 350 Glendale 255 Melrose 200 Pasadena 164 Santa Clarita 150 Torrance 145 North Hollywood 127 Carson 121 Inglewood 121 Hollywood 117 Sylmar 107 Burbank 103 Palmdale 102 West Hollywood 102 Downey 102 South Gate 98 East Los Angeles 95 Santa Monica 92 Lancaster 87 Van Nuys 86 Redondo Beach 85 Sherman Oaks 80 Canoga Park 79 Norwalk 79 Silver Lake 78 Hawthorne 74 Gardena 74 Beverly Hills 74 Lynwood 73 Reseda 73 Woodland Hills 69 Panorama City 69 Palms 69 West Vernon 65 Compton 65 Westlake 64 Pico Rivera 60 Unincorporated Florence-Firestone 60 Boyle Heights 58 Pacoima 57 Glassell Park 57 Temple-Beaudry 54 Brentwood 54 Manhattan Beach 54 Montebello 53 Pico-Union 53 Whittier 52 Encino 52 San Pedro 50 Bellflower 50 Winnetka 49 Exposition Park 49 Pomona 49 Koreatown 49 East Hollywood 48 Northridge 48 North Hills 48 Wilshire Center 47 Hancock Park 47 Granada Hills 47 Florence-Firestone 47 Hollywood Hills 46 Covina 46 West Adams 44 Tarzana 44 Crestview 43 Huntington Park 43 Lakewood 42 Rancho Palos Verdes 42 Central 41 South Park 41 Bell 41 Vernon Central 41 Little Armenia 41 West Covina 40 Paramount 39 Altadena 37 El Sereno 37 Chatsworth 37 Palos Verdes Estates 36 Valley Village 36 Eagle Rock 36 Highland Park 35 Athens-Westmont 35 Westwood 35 Venice 35 Lake Balboa 34 Mar Vista 34 West Los Angeles 34 Alhambra 34 Sun Valley 34 Baldwin Hills 33 Del Rey 33 Bell Gardens 33 Monterey Park 33 Cerritos 33 Wilmington 33 Culver City 32 Little Bangladesh 32 Sunland 32 Pacific Palisades 32 Harbor Gateway 32 Valley Glen 32 Westchester 32 Century Palms/Cove 30 Hacienda Heights 30 Carthay 30 Watts 29 West Carson 29 Baldwin Park 28 South Whittier 28 El Monte 28 Porter Ranch 28 Vermont Vista 27 Harvard Park 27 Century City 27 Lawndale 27 Downtown 27 Arleta 26 Maywood 26 University Park 26 Beverly Crest 26 Calabasas 25 Country Club Park 25 Leimert Park 25 Mid-city 24 Harbor City 24 West Hills 23 Lomita 22 San Fernando 22 La Mirada 22 Arcadia 22 La Canada Flintridge 22 Harvard Heights 21 Studio City 21 Mission Hills 21 Los Feliz 21 Willowbrook 21 Glendora 21 Cudahy 21 Bel Air 21 Azusa 20 Diamond Bar 20 Miracle Mile 20 Walnut Park 20 Beverlywood 20 Agoura Hills 20 South Carthay 20 La Puente 19 Historic Filipinotown 19 Lennox 18 Wholesale District 18 San Dimas 18 Lincoln Heights 18 Rowland Heights 17 Victoria Park 17 Hermosa Beach 17 South Pasadena 17 Crenshaw District 17 Vermont Square 16 Lakeview Terrace 16 Hyde Park 16 View Park/Windsor Hills 16 Malibu 16 Rosemead 15 Vermont Knolls 15 Adams-Normandie 15 Tujunga 15 Ladera Heights 14 Monrovia 14 San Gabriel 14 Green Meadows 14 Canyon Country 14 Walnut 13 Duarte 13 Mount Washington 13 Temple City 12 Claremont 12 Cloverdale/Cochran 12 Unincorporated Covina 12 Stevenson Ranch 11 West Whittier/Los Nietos 11 El Segundo 11 Rolling Hills Estates 11 Cheviot Hills 11 East Rancho Dominguez 10 Playa Vista 10 La Crescenta-Montrose 10 Valinda 10 Gramercy Place 10 Castaic 9 Thai Town 9 La Verne 9 Atwater Village 9 Park La Brea 9 Echo Park 9 Covina (Charter Oak) 9 Reseda Ranch 9 Quartz Hill 8 Elysian Valley 8 Marina Peninsula 8 Rancho Park 8 Toluca Lake 7 Santa Monica Mountains 7 Figueroa Park Square 7 Shadow Hills 7 South San Gabriel 7 Lafayette Square 7 West Puente Valley 6 San Marino 6 Northeast San Gabriel 6 Athens Village 6 Marina del Rey 6 La Rambla 6 Cadillac-Corning 6 Alsace 6 Westlake Village 6 Santa Fe Springs 6 Del Aire 5 Rancho Dominguez 5 Elysian Park 5 Reynier Village 5 Artesia 5 Unincorporated Monrovia 5 Case totals in the following communities have been reported as ranges: Lakewood 1-4 Franklin Canyon 1-4 Bouquet Canyon 1-4 Rolling Hills 1-4 Arcadia 1-4 Roosevelt 1-4 Del Rey 1-4 Rosewood 1-4 Rosewood/East Gardena 1-4 Rosewood/West Rancho Dominguez 1-4 Leona Valley 1-4 San Clemente Island 1-4 Del Sur 1-4 Glendora 1-4 San Francisquito Canyon/Bouquet Canyon 1-4 Desert View Highlands 1-4 San Jose Hills 1-4 Little Tokyo 1-4 San Pasqual 1-4 Littlerock 1-4 Sand Canyon 1-4 Santa Catalina Island 1-4 Littlerock/Juniper Hills 1-4 Littlerock/Pearblossom 1-4 Llano 1-4 Bradbury 1-4 Saugus 1-4 Saugus/Canyon Country 1-4 Cerritos 1-4 Longwood 1-4 Sierra Madre 1-4 Signal Hill 1-4 Charter Oak 1-4 South Antelope Valley 1-4 Bradbury 1-4 South Edwards 1-4 South El Monte 1-4 South El Monte 1-4 Lynwood 1-4 Duarte 1-4 Manchester Square 1-4 Acton 1-4 Harbor Gateway 1-4 Southeast Antelope Valley 1-4 St Elmo Village 1-4 Harbor Pines 1-4 East Covina 1-4 Chinatown 1-4 Sun Village 1-4 Hawaiian Gardens 1-4 Sunrise Village 1-4 Sycamore Square 1-4 East La Mirada 1-4 East Lancaster 1-4 Hi Vista 1-4 Miracle Mile 1-4 Hidden Hills 1-4 Brookside 1-4 Toluca Terrace 1-4 Toluca Woods 1-4 East Pasadena 1-4 Claremont 1-4 Twin Lakes/Oat Mountain 1-4 Unincorporated Azusa 1-4 East Whittier 1-4 Newhall 1-4 Unincorporated Hawthorne 1-4 Unincorporated La Verne 1-4 Bandini Islands 1-4 Unincorporated West L.A. 1-4 Unincorporated Whittier 1-4 Universal City 1-4 University Hills 1-4 El Camino Village 1-4 Val Verde 1-4 Valencia 1-4 North Lancaster 1-4 North Whittier 1-4 Industry 1-4 Commerce 1-4 Irwindale 1-4 Jefferson Park 1-4 Kagel/Lopez Canyons 1-4 Palisades Highlands 1-4 Vernon 1-4 El Monte 1-4 Palmdale 1-4 View Heights 1-4 Bassett 1-4 Anaverde 1-4 Walnut 1-4 Palos Verdes Peninsula 1-4 La Habra Heights 1-4 Wellington Square 1-4 La Habra Heights 1-4 West Antelope Valley 1-4 Elizabeth Lake 1-4 West Chatsworth 1-4 Angeles National Forest 1-4 Pearblossom/Llano 1-4 Pellissier Village 1-4 Angeles National Forest 1-4 Angelino Heights 1-4 West Rancho Dominguez 1-4 Placerita Canyon 1-4 Playa Del Rey 1-4 Exposition 1-4 Westfield/Academy Hills 1-4 Westhills 1-4 Avalon 1-4 Pomona 1-4 Faircrest Heights 1-4 White Fence Farms 1-4 Lake Hughes 1-4 Whittier Narrows 1-4 Lake Los Angeles 1-4 Lake Manor 1-4 Avocado Heights 1-4 Agua Dulce 1-4 Regent Square 1-4 Wiseburn 1-4 Mandeville Canyon 1-4

CALIFORNIA CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC BREAKING NEWS In a boost to Biden, Obama will endorse his former vice president

CALIFORNIA

89% of L.A. nursing homes with coronavirus outbreaks have a history of infection problems A worker escorts a resident out of Beachwood Post-Acute & Rehab in Santa Monica, one of dozens of Los Angeles County skilled nursing facilities with coronavirus infections. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

By JACK DOLAN, BRITTNY MEJIA

APRIL 14, 2020 | 5 AM

The vast majority of skilled nursing facilities battling outbreaks of the novel coronavirus in Los Angeles County have been cited in recent years for violating federal safety rules on preventing infections, according to a Times analysis of nursing home data.

The newspaper’s review found that 89% of facilities with the coronavirus had previous infection control violations that ranged from mishandling patients with highly contagious bacterial infections to not properly cleaning ventilators and other equipment.

The data raise new questions about how prepared nursing homes and regulators were to deal with the pandemic.

Long-term care facilities have become the epicenter of coronavirus throughout the nation. Their concentration of elderly people with underlying health problems makes them exceptionally vulnerable to outbreaks. Zipwhip Sponsored ⌃

In California, the virus had sickened more than 1,200 residents and staff in nursing homes as of Friday. As of Monday afternoon, 29% of the 320 people in Los Angeles County who had died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, were residents of nursing homes, county officials said.

Even the most highly rated homes can fall prey to the virus, which can be spread by asymptomatic carriers who appear to be perfectly healthy. The Life Care Center in Kirkland, Wash., had a five-star rating — the highest possible — from Medicare yet wound up with two-thirds of its residents and 47 workers falling ill, and more than three dozen people dead.

Many experts have warned for months about the high death toll they expected at nursing homes, particularly those with an established track record of infection control deficiencies. “I am not surprised,” said Charlene Harrington, professor emeritus at UC San Francisco’s School of Nursing, when told of The Times’ findings. The problem stems from weak enforcement by regulators and chronic understaffing at homes, Harrington said.

“The understaffed homes don’t do hand washing and don’t have time for infection control,” she said. “They also don’t have enough RNs to oversee the infection control.”

CALIFORNIA

Pillowcase masks and trash-bag gowns. The bleak, deadly reality in California nursing homes April 12, 2020

While infection control deficiencies are the most common violations for nursing homes, facilities that have struggled with the guidelines in the recent past dominate the list of those with outbreaks in Los Angeles County.

The Times examined the safety records of 66 skilled nursing facilities that the county listed on Friday as having reported at least one COVID-19 infection among staff or residents. The analysis found that 59 were cited for infection control problems since 2017.

There’s no reason to believe that the findings are unique to Los Angeles County, which is one of the few jurisdictions in the country that has publicly named homes with positive COVID-19 cases, making such an analysis possible.

California’s public health agency has not released names of homes with outbreaks statewide, but the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health lists local facilities with at least one positive test and identifies which of those have at least three cases. In addition to skilled nursing homes, the list includes assisted living facilities, jails, prisons and other facilities that were not included in The Times’ analysis.

Harrington said California’s public health officials made the problem worse on March 30 when they waived staffing requirements for skilled nursing facilities during the COVID emergency and curtailed inspections and monitoring.

Michael Connors, a spokesman for California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, said regulators should have known that deadly outbreaks were “especially likely in nursing homes that have never paid attention to safe infection control practices.”

CALIFORNIA

Consider pulling residents from nursing homes over coronavirus, says county health director April 7, 2020

“The state knows which nursing homes have histories of poor infection control practices, neglect and understaffing,” he said. “Why hasn’t it assigned an inspector to conduct on-site monitoring at each of these facilities on a daily basis?”

A spokesperson for the California Department of Public Health acknowledged that routine inspections of nursing homes are on hold and that surveyors are being advised to conduct complaint investigations “through virtual, audio or electronic methods.”

However, the spokesperson said, the state “has been and will continue to send strike teams of nurses, in partnership with the counties, to facilities with COVID-19 outbreaks. CDPH also continues to do on-site inspections for any complaint of ‘immediate jeopardy’ of harm to residents.” Windsor Terrace Healthcare Center in Van Nuys has had four infection control violations since 2017, records show.

Get our free Coronavirus Today newsletter Sign up for the latest news, best stories and what they mean for you, plus answers to your questions.

Enter Email Address

SIGN ME UP

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

Last year, regulators found that nurse aides failed to wash their hands or put on protective gowns and gloves before entering the room of a resident who had been placed in isolation during treatment for the contagious C. diff bacteria, which can cause life- threatening diarrhea and inflammation of the colon. That and other violations put 122 residents at risk of infection, according to federal deficiency records.

The year before, nurses at the home sent a patient who was isolated for C. diff to an outside lab for a CT scan without alerting the staff at the lab that the patient was under “contact precautions.”

Reached by phone Monday, Victor Carpio, the home’s director of nursing services, said Windsor Terrace has “since resolved those things.”

Carpio said he has been working around the clock and is in daily contact with the county’s public health department to meet infection control requirements. “I just want to thank the [staff] for actually washing their hands and following [protective equipment] protocol,” Carpio said. He declined to say how many residents and staff have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Another nursing home on the L.A. County list that has had four infection control deficiencies since 2017, according to the records, is Beachwood Post-Acute & Rehab in Santa Monica.

Beachwood routinely exceeds the statewide average for the number of complaints and deficiencies, according to the California Department of Public Health, and is rated with only one star on Medicare’s scale.

In November 2019, during an investigation following a complaint, a regulator noticed that a staffer did not clean a chair and portable ventilator used to help a patient bathe. The chair and ventilator — devices in high demand now because they help people in respiratory distress — were left outside in the hallway. Both items should have been cleaned to “prevent cross-contamination between residents,” according to a statement of deficiencies from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

MORE COVERAGE ON CORONAVIRUS IN CALIFORNIA This is the latest list of Los Angeles County communities with coronavirus cases

Their Hollywood romance is cut short by COVID-19

Despite promises of more masks, doctors and nurses still have to reuse N95s

In July and September, regulators found Beachwood staffers leaving drink containers in carts with clean linen: a cup of coffee, bottled water, a can of Coke, a box of milk. The infection control violations put “39 of 197 residents at risk of cross-contamination,” regulators noted.

”It’s very common to have infection control deficiencies during regulatory visits,” said Anton Novitsky, the administrator at Beachwood, who declined to say how many cases of COVID-19 have been discovered at the home. “With the number of nursing homes that have COVID cases, I don’t think there’s any correlation you can draw.”

Relatives of some former Beachwood residents are less forgiving.

Eileen Kelley-Wheat said her sister Kathy was placed at Beachwood following a stroke. Kathy suffered recurring fevers and infections while at the home, Kelley-Wheat said. “Every week she would have an infection.”

Near the end of her life, Kathy was transferred to the hospital. When her treatment finished, “I fought tooth and nail to keep her at the hospital,” Kelley-Wheat said, so she wouldn’t be sent back to Beachwood. “I could not let Kathy pass away at a dark, gloomy, uncaring facility.”

Ali Iravani’s father, who was essentially paralyzed from the neck down by multiple sclerosis, ended up at Beachwood after a bout with pneumonia. The home was just down the street from UCLA Medical Center, where his dad had been treated.

“I was thinking to myself, it can’t be that bad, it’s in Santa Monica,” Iravani said, but, “it was like a nightmare from day one.”

Iravani said his father was at Beachwood for 60 days, but “it felt like 60 years. Every day was like straight anxiety,” he said.

“If I knew my family member was in a place like Beachwood during this pandemic — I remember how I felt with no pandemic — I don’t even think I could sleep,” Iravani said. Dozens of LA city employees have tested positive for coronavirus, mayor says – Daily Bulletin

NEWS Dozens of LA city employees have tested positive for coronavirus, mayor says Neither that employee's identity, nor the department in which he or she worked, has been released, to respect the family's wishes, Garcetti said during his daily briefing.

   

https://www.dailybulletin.com/...tm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_content=tw-ivdailybulletin&utm_medium=social[4/14/2020 9:41:27 AM] Dozens of LA city employees have tested positive for coronavirus, mayor says – Daily Bulletin

Mayor Eric Garcetti said he will begin sharing a daily data packet showing statistics of where Los Angeles stood in the fight against the virus. Photo: Facebook video screenshot

By ELIZABETH CHOU | [email protected] | Daily News  PUBLISHED: April 13, 2020 at 7:48 p.m. | UPDATED: April 14, 2020 at 8:21 a.m.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Monday, April 13, that more than 100 city employees have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, and he reiterated that one of them has died. M

Neither that employee’s identity, nor the department in which he or she worked, has been released, to

respect the family’s wishes, Garcetti said during his daily briefing.

The mayor’s office last week shared that the city workforce was hit with a coronavirus-related death, but this is the first time he has released the total number of city employees who’ve tested positive — 125, as of Saturday, April 11.

Previously, the city released only the numbers of cases in the police and fire departments. Out of the overall number, just over half are from those departments. The total city workforce numbers 40,000 employees, the mayor said.

TOP ARTICLES 1/5

.st0{fill:#FFFFFF;}.st1{fill:#0099FF;}

READ MORE Mortgage delinquencies to spike due to coronavirus Garcetti coughed a few times, and cleared his throat, early in the briefing, but he quickly noted that he had recently tested for the virus, and the results came out negative. He said he caught the cough from his daughter a couple days ago.

When asked about his test later, the mayor said he would not have met the criteria for taking the tests being offered by the city.

“I’ve had no fever, or anything like that,” he said. “I will be honest, I took a test just to make sure and I am negative.”

Those who do not have a fever or symptoms are currently not currently eligible for taking the tests, although recently the mayor recently removed the age requirement that reserved the test for people older than 65.

The eligibility requirements for the city’s testing sites are based on guidance from public health officials. Garcetti said virology tests are still “limited,” so they are not being offered to people who are asymptomatic, and the pool of tests now available are still needed “for people with symptoms.”

Garcetti shared the additional detail as the state and various municipalities are looking to create a plan for transitioning society back to normal. The mayor said that he will be looking to history, as well as what was happening around the world, to decide what the city would do next.

On Monday, Garcetti pointed to the 1918 influenza RELATED ARTICLES pandemic and noted that Los Angeles, which maintained a

Mortgage delinquencies to spike due to longer lockdown than San Francisco was able to keep coronavirus outbreak cases and deaths down during a second spike in cases. L.A. also bounced back sooner, economically, when their Voters reject Trump’s pick in chaotic own lockdown was lifted, he said. Wisconsin court race “We know we should prepare now for a second and third 3 Inland churches sue to keep services open during coronavirus pandemic spike of COVID-19,” Garcetti said. “History teaches us that.”

Officials say 55 LAPD employees, 17 LAFD employees have now tested Garcetti also said he would be looking at cities like Wuhan, positive for the coronavirus which recently lifted its restrictions, and at South Korea, which has carefully managed cases through testing and Riverside juvenile courthouse temporarily closed monitoring of cases.

“As we’re also looking to the past for lessons, we’re also looking at cities and counties and countries across the world that are navigating this question of reopening,” he said. “We’re in a good position to watch them take the moves first.”

He also said he will begin sharing a daily data packet showing statistics of where Los Angeles stood in the fight against the virus. The packet can be found here.

Newsroom Guidelines News Tips Contact Us Report an Error

Tags: Coronavirus, Top Stories LADN

SPONSORED CONTENT Start Here: 5 Ways to Protect Your Portfolio From the Market’s Volatility By DiversyFund

The spread of Covid-19 has caused the markets to drop significantly, and there are reasons to believe that this...

https://www.dailybulletin.com/...tm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_content=tw-ivdailybulletin&utm_medium=social[4/14/2020 9:41:27 AM] 54°

BREAKING NEWS / Former President Barack Obama to endorse Joe Biden for president

LIVE NOW / KTLA 5 Morning News

WEATHER ALERTS /There are 8 areas under alert. Click for alert details.

LOCAL NEWS Los Angeles Surge Hospital opens for COVID-19 treatment and research

The St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles’ Westlake District as seen in a Google Maps image. by: Sareen Habeshian

54°Posted: Apr 13, 2020 / 09:17 PM PDT / Updated: Apr 13, 2020 / 09:22 PM PDT

A recently closed hospital in the Westlake district of Los Angeles reopened Monday as part of the state’s effort to secure additional beds ahead of a possible surge in COVID-19 cases.

The temporary seven-story facility is called the Los Angeles Surge Hospital — previously the St. Vincent Medical Center — and was bought by Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong for $135 million Friday.

A federal bankruptcy judge issued a tentative ruling approving the sale on April 10, after hospital chain owner Verity Health System led for bankruptcy protection in 2018.

L.A. County says it’s partnering with the state, Dignity Health and Kaiser Permanente to operate the facility. The county’s Department of Health Services will coordinate intake and transfer requests from hospitals across the county.

The 266-bed facility will only treat COVID-19 patients as a dedicated referral hospital and will not have an emergency room or accept walk-in patients.

Soon-Shiong said he planned for the facility to be used for coronavirus research as well.

The facility is located at 2131 W. Third St. at Alvardo Street, just over a mile northwest of downtown L.A.

Los Angeles County @CountyofLA

Los Angeles Surge Hospital is now open. The temporary hospital has 266 beds and will only treat #COVID19-positive patients. ADVERTISEMENT

HOUSING & HOMELESSNESS

L.A. is getting a government-run tent city. All it took was 40 years and a pandemic

VA community outreach worker Michelle O’Neal, center, helps homeless veterans Larry McNearney, left, and Timothy Cornejo, right, set up Cornejo’s tent in a VA parking lot in Los Angeles. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

By GALE HOLLAND STAFF WRITER

APRIL 14, 2020 | 5 AM Tent cities and tiny-house villages for homeless people have long been taboo in Los Angeles, where they’ve been deemed too expensive to maintain and too difficult to dislodge once established.

But the novel coronavirus has a way of upending the most deeply entrenched thinking.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs set up L.A.'s first temporary tent city in four decades. It’s for veterans without homes — 25 initially, with a plan to expand to 50 as needed — so they can wait out the COVID-19 crisis by sheltering in place and social distancing in their own tents.

Until now, the city and county of Los Angeles have largely relied on shelters — and increasingly hotel and motel rooms — to help protect homeless people who are most at risk for contracting the virus. But last week, a homeless man tested positive while staying at a shelter in the San Fernando Valley and 68 homeless people and two staffers were infected in an outbreak at a shelter in San Francisco. Now the incidents are prompting a fresh look at campgrounds.

Seniors Love Posture Corrector

ShopTrueFit.com Open

CALIFORNIA

These striking photos reveal how California is changing April 13, 2020

“It’s not a bad idea to try it as an emergency measure,” said Mike Neely, a former commissioner with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.

But with officials warning that stay-at-home orders could last into the summer, such campgrounds could become semi-permanent fixtures. They also could face some of the same problems as shelters in trying to separate guests during mealtimes or in restrooms.

The VA was quick to note that its site, on a parking lot on the VA’s Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System campus on the Westside, was not a campground but rather a “services center.” The operation includes medical and psychiatric care, as well as monitoring, food services, bathrooms, showers and security. ADVERTISEMENT

A long-delayed VA bridge shelter also has opened on the campus, but with a reduced capacity of 50 people to accommodate the social distancing recommended to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

HOUSING & HOMELESSNESS

Needed to fight coronavirus, L.A. could lose 50 hand-washing stations for homeless people April 6, 2020

Just three months ago, VA officials had ignored an oversight board’s call for more emergency shelter beds on the sprawling 388-acre campus, with rolling green hills and decrepit buildings that are largely empty. The VA argued then that there was a surplus of beds for homeless veterans.

Then came the COVID-19 pandemic and an acute risk to 44,000 people — including 2,900 veterans — who live in vehicles, makeshift shanties and tents in Los Angeles County.

Frequent hand-washing and social distancing, the gold-standard recommendations for fighting the novel coronavirus, range from difficult to impossible to do while living in a grimy sidewalk encampment. Many homeless people also are medically fragile from years of living on the streets and are older, both of which put them at risk for contracting a severe case of COVID-19. Homeless Army veteran Timothy Cornejo brings his belongings into his tent as he sets up camp in a VA parking lot in Los Angeles (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

Elected leaders in Los Angeles have responded to the pandemic’s threat to the street population by converting recreation centers into shelters. The city also has boosted coronavirus testing on skid row and provided outdoor hand-washing stations and bathrooms. Responding to reports that the stations were often empty of soap and water, city officials vowed to refill them more frequently and that more are being deployed.

Meanwhile, thousands of newly leased hotel and motel rooms are beginning to fill up with homeless people in Los Angeles County.

Most have been reserved for those who have been relocated from crowded shelters, or for people with underlying health conditions or other factors that put them at high risk for the virus. Advocates fear that homeless people who live in cars, sidewalk tents and lean-tos will be left behind as the pandemic escalates. And they warn that time is running out.

Authorities said Monday that 23 homeless people in L.A. County, including four staying in shelters, had tested positive for the virus.

CALIFORNIA 70 test positive for coronavirus at San Francisco homeless shelter April 10, 2020

But encampments are largely isolated from the broader community — a fact that may have afforded homeless people a measure of protection as the pandemic grew in March, said Dr. Joshua Bamberger, an expert on homelessness and a professor at UC San Francisco.

The citywide shutdown of businesses also cut homeless people off from restaurant bathrooms, charging outlets, food donations and other resources on which they normally rely. Many hunkered down in their tents. But on April 1, Bamberger noted, monthly government assistance checks arrived, probably prompting a good number of homeless people to venture out and buy food and other supplies.

“We have to do this right, right now,” he said, “before this rips through the tents.”

Steve Ruh, chief VA spokesman, walks inside a parking lot on the grounds of the VA West Los Angeles campus that is being opened up to camping by homeless veterans. (Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)

Some L.A. officials are calling for the city and county to do what Tampa and Las Vegas have done, and open tent cities to protect and monitor homeless people. ADVERTISEMENT

L.A. City Councilman Mike Bonin has proposed a “safe camping” pilot project in his Westside district, perhaps in one of the beach parking lots that were emptied to break up crowds violating the city’s stay-at-home order.

Mayor Eric Garcetti declined to say if he would support or oppose organized campgrounds, but pledged to protect homeless people and expressed faith in the city’s current efforts.

FOOD

The pandemic and hoarding are drying up vital food supplies to L.A.'s homeless residents April 9, 2020

Other top officials handling the coronavirus crisis said they would not rule out tent cities if the pandemic warrants them.

“Nothing is off the list,” said L.A. County Department of Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.

Back at the VA campus on Thursday, 11 veterans and a spouse of one hunkered down in carefully spaced tents and tarps in the parking lot.

One called the service center ”a godsend.” Another veteran told VA spokesman Steven Ruh that he recently had been attacked while he was sleeping on the street. “Now he’ll have a watchful eye over him to make sure he’s safe,” he said.

“This could be a turning point,” said Robert Rosebrock, an Army veteran who has long accused the VA of commercializing its medical campus and shorting healthcare services and housing opportunities for veterans. “These people have so much potential. Now with this virus thing and all of us facing troubled times, maybe we can do more for them.”

HOUSING & HOMELESSNESS CALIFORNIA CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

The stories shaping California Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week.

Enter Email Address

SIGN ME UP

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. ADVERTISEMENT

CALIFORNIA

Custody assistant on life support, 11 inmates test positive at L.A. County jails

Almost a dozen inmates in L.A. County jails have tested positive for the coronavirus while nearly 700 more are being quarantined. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times)

By ALENE TCHEKMEDYIAN STAFF WRITER

APRIL 13, 2020 | 3:20 PM A custody assistant at Men’s Central Jail is on life support and is one of 33 Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department employees infected by the coronavirus, officials said.

“We’re just praying and rooting for him that he can pull through,” Sheriff Alex Villanueva told reporters at a news conference Monday.

Slightly more than half of the infected employees are sworn deputies, and 429 more employees are under quarantine, he said.

Eleven inmates in L.A. County jails have tested positive for the virus, including two who have fully recovered. Nearly 700 inmates are quarantined.

A member of the jail’s nursing staff who was infected has died, but Villanueva did not have further details. A spokesperson for the county’s Correctional Health Services unit did not respond to multiple requests for information.

Villanueva said testing protocols in the jails have gotten stricter — inmates in isolation, he said, must now test negative for the virus twice before they are returned to general population housing.

To battle the spread of the virus in its custody facilities, the Sheriff’s Department has reduced the jail population by about 25% to roughly 12,800 inmates, he said.

“We created defensible space now. Now we have the ability to isolate and quarantine hundreds of inmates at a time and move them within the system without exposing them to the virus,” Villauneva said.

More than 1,200 of those who remain behind bars are facing a murder charge, Villanueva said.

“That should give you an idea of the nature of the inmate population that is left behind,” Villanueva said. “Almost the overwhelming majority are violent offenses and they do present a real and present danger to the community. They will remain behind bars.” Villanueva said that year to date, violent crime is down about 9%, including a 31% drop in homicides. Property crime is also down roughly 15% and calls for service have dropped by about 12%.

Sheriff’s officials have issued 19 coronavirus-related citations, including to owners of nonessential businesses who have stayed open in violation of the county’s stay-at-home order.

“They tend to run a gamut but the one I think we’ve seen more than once are typically bars,” Villanueva said.

One person — a paddle boarder who ignored lifeguards’ orders to get out of the ocean near the Malibu pier — was arrested.

“We just want to reiterate to the public that the health orders are put in place for your own benefit. Please adhere to them. We’re looking for voluntary compliance,” Villanueva said. “We just have to be patient.”

CALIFORNIA

The stories shaping California Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week.

Enter Email Address

SIGN ME UP

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

Alene Tchekmedyian

Twitter Instagram Email Facebook

Alene Tchekmedyian covers the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. She previously wrote about the county’s criminal courts and breaking news throughout California. Before joining The Times in 2016, she reported on crime and policing for the Glendale News-Press and Burbank Leader. She grew up in Huntington Beach and graduated from UCLA.

MORE FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

CALIFORNIA Walk-up coronavirus testing site opens in South L.A. 36 minutes ago CORONAVIRUS LIVE UPDATES SYMPTOMS WHO'S HIRING YOU ASK, WE ANSWER STATE LOCKDOWNS DAILY LIFE TESTING TECH TIPS DAILY BRIEFING Free Resources

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers visit https://www.djreprints.com.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-second-round-of-coronavirus-layos-has-begun-no-one-is-safe-11586872387 A Second Round of Coronavirus Layoﬀs Has Begun. Few Are Safe. People who thought their jobs were secure, including white-collar professionals, increasingly face unemployment

By Eric Morath, Harriet Torry and Gwynn Guilford April 14, 2020 953 am ET

The ﬁrst people to lose their jobs worked at restaurants, malls, hotels and other places that closed to contain the coronavirus pandemic. Higher skilled work, which often didn’t require personal contact, seemed more secure.

That’s not how it’s turning out.

A second wave of job loss is hitting those who thought they were safe. Businesses that set up employees to work from home are laying them off as sales plummet. Corporate lawyers are seeing jobs dry up. Government workers are being furloughed as state and city budgets are squeezed. And health-care workers not involved in fighting the pandemic are suffering.

The longer shutdowns continue, the bigger this second wave could become, risking a repeat of the deep and prolonged labor downturn that accompanied the 2007-09 recession.

The consensus of 57 economists surveyed this month by The Wall Street Journal is that 14.4 million jobs will be lost in the coming months, and the unemployment rate will rise to a record 13% in June, from a 50-year low of 3.5% in February. Already nearly 17 million Americans have sought unemployment benefits in the past three weeks, dwarfing any period of mass layoffs recorded since World War II.

Gregory Daco, chief U.S. economist of Oxford Economics, projects 27.9 million jobs will be lost, and industries beyond those ordered to close will account for 8 to 10 million, a level of job destruction on a par with the 2007-09 recession.

Oxford Economics, a U.K.-based forecasting and consulting ﬁrm, projects April’s jobs report, which will capture late-March layoﬀs, will show cuts to 3.4 million business-services workers, including lawyers, architects, consultants and advertising professionals, as well as 1.5 million nonessential health-care workers and 100,000 information workers, including those working in the media and telecommunications.

“The virus shock does not discriminate across sectors as we initially thought,” Mr. Daco said.

Gary Cuozzo, owner of ISG Software Group in Wallingford, Conn., said in recent weeks he’s only received a few hundred dollars in payments from customers, including manufacturers, nonproﬁts and retailers, for which he hosts websites and builds applications. It’s not enough to pay the $3,000 electric bill for his servers and other equipment, much less pay his own salary.

“Customers who paid like clockwork for 10-plus years are suddenly late,” he said. “I’m burning through all the cash I have.”

Mr. Cuozzo stopped drawing a salary several weeks ago, and has filed for unemployment benefits. He’s essentially volunteering in an effort to keep his business afloat. He can work at home or alone at his business, but that’s of little help. “We have no software projects,” Mr. Cuozzo said. “Everything is on hold.”

Those employed in industries where working from home is feasible are facing widespread layoffs, said ZipRecruiter Labor Economist Julia Pollak. The recruiting site itself laid off more than 400 of its 1,200 full-time employees at the end of March. A survey of visitors to the job-search site found 39% employed in business and professional services reported they were laid off, nearly the same rate as respondents in retail and wholesale trade. (Active job seekers are more likely to be laid off than the average American.) Among the respondents who still had jobs, many in white-collar industries said their hours were cut.

“Any company that had been planning to open a second location, that hired an architect, an oﬃce designer, and contractor—they’re not opening that location this year and those people now won’t have jobs. Any company planning to go public this year, that hired accountants, consultants, PR professionals—they’re laying oﬀ all those teams,” said Ms. Pollak.

Law ﬁrms have had to reduce staﬀ and cut pay as courts are largely closed, settlement discussions are on pause and few new deals are being struck.

New York City-based Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, a 400-attorney firm specializing in financial services, has reduced associate salaries by 25% and partners are not currently receiving compensation. Firms typically lay off attorneys only as a last resort, but another New York-based firm, Pryor Cashman LLP, is furloughing some associates. A spokesman said it expects to recall them soon.

Baker Donelson, a 700-lawyer firm with some 20 offices in the southeast and mid-Atlantic region, has reduced compensation for associates and staff by 20%. Timothy Lupinacci, the firm’s chairman and chief executive, said some clients have asked the firm to stop work or defer payments. “Law firms are not going to be top of the priority,” he said.

How we work from home isn’t the problem, said Karen Richardson, executive director at the National Association of Women Lawyers. “It’s: Will there be work for us to do?”

Gary Cuozzo, owner of ISG Software Group, stopped drawing a salary to keep his business aloat. PHOTO: CUOZZO FAMILY

While the coronavirus has strained emergency services and intensive-care wards, hospitals have been cutting the elective surgical procedures and routine care that normally pay the bills in order to free up resources.

“In a sense we kind of sacriﬁced that revenue for a public-health interest,” said Daniel Philbin, a cardiologist at the New England Heart and Vascular Institute in Manchester, N.H. “The hospital systems really are facing an incredible crunch because of this—the longer the curve gets pushed out, the more they face diﬃcult decisions about employment.”

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

How have shutdowns aected your work? Join the conversation below.

Emily Hill thought her job as a dental assistant was safe, being in an in-demand ﬁeld and employed through the military. She worked as a contractor at a dental clinic on Fort Hood in Texas.

“I always felt untouchable,” she said. “This really puts you in your place.”

When word of possible layoffs began to spread in mid-March, clinic staff expected a week or two without pay. Employees jokingly shared a PowerPoint presentation on how to file for unemployment benefits. That document became essential when she and her colleagues were informed they’d be without a job at least through June 19. The military had given stop-work orders to all nonessential contractors on base to limit any risk they might spread Covid-19.

“It went from no big deal to ‘Oh my gosh, what the hell am I going to do?’,” said Ms. Hill, who is now collecting $320 a week in unemployment beneﬁts. She and other laid-oﬀ workers are likely to see larger payments when states distribute additional federal funds.

City workers in Hialeah, Fla., gave out applications for unemployment beneits to residents in their cars on April 9. PHOTO: CRISTOBAL HERRERAEPASHUTTERSTOCK

Sandra Vigil, a bus driver for Loudoun County, Va., transported federal employees and other workers from suburban homes to Washington jobs. In the last weeks of March, ridership plummeted to only two or three people on her bus each day. The contract firm she worked for laid her off on March 27 after county officials sharply reduced the service schedule and related payments.

“To not be paid at all—that’s a shock,” said Ms. Vigil, 45, who supports ﬁve children at home. “We were thinking it would be reduced hours and maybe more safety training and maintenance work,” which is common during slow periods such as holiday weeks. She has applied for unemployment and was told she would receive $322 a week, but has yet to receive a payment.

State and local governments, who employ 20 million, aren’t immune. Unlike the federal government, they are generally required to balance their books every year. As tax revenue plunges, layoﬀs and other cost reductions become necessary.

State and local employment at ﬁrst held steady during the 2007-09 recession thanks to federal stimulus, but from the recession’s end to mid-2013, it tumbled 700,000 as income and property tax receipts fell. State and local oﬃcials are again calling for federal relief to avoid cuts to services and payrolls.

Many municipalities have laid oﬀ hundreds of workers. Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley announced 1,700 city workers have been furloughed. “We’ve seen a massive drop in tax receipts and had to make some tough decisions,” he said. “It’s really emotional. No one wants to be deemed nonessential. Our employees want to help. But we need them to stay home.”

Laying off workers, and allowing them to tap enhanced unemployment benefits, effectively shifts their wages to the federal government, Mr. Cranley said. That cushions the city’s budget as it pays for additional overtime to police and paramedics and for the retention and deployment of nurses who had worked in schools. The biggest wild card in the jobs outlook is how long it will take for jobs to bounce back, which depends heavily on how long the pandemic and social distancing measures last. The consensus among the economists surveyed by the Journal is for employment to return to its February 2020 level in 27 months, but views varied widely.

Economist Amy Crews Cutts, of AC Cutts & Associates LLC, expects the labor market to take 5½ years to fully bounce back. The sheer scale of job cuts so far, even if they don’t worsen further, are “an extraordinary number of jobs to reverse and put back into the economy,” she said.

One optimistic sign: Nearly half of workers who reported themselves as newly unemployed in March said they were on a temporary layoﬀ, up from 29% in February. In Colorado and Washington, which require large employers to specify whether layoﬀs are temporary or permanent, 70% this year have been temporary. In the prior recession, less than 1% were.

Daiwa Capital Markets economist Michael Moran predicted many of those laid oﬀ will be recalled quickly, allowing the labor market to recover in six months. “The pre-virus economy was performing well,” he said. “Employers and workers will be anxious to return to normal.”

If restrictions on public movement are lifted later this spring, Moody’s Analytics economist Adam Kamins said the economy will regain about half the jobs lost to the pandemic by the end of the summer. But then the economy will operate more like it does in the middle of a recession.

“Industries that are subject to cyclical cycles, like ﬁnance, real estate and manufacturing, are likely to have layoﬀs,” he said. “The lockdown may be over, but there’s likely to be a prolonged period of stagnation.”

That’s the scenario haunting Eric Maynard, president of Baltimore-based Event Tech, which produces events such as conferences and university graduations. He said he’ll have to bring the 11 employees he laid oﬀ in March back in stages because the company will deplete all its cash reserves. He expects it will take months for customers to feel conﬁdent they can stage large events.

“Most will wait until it’s clear before they even start planning—if they can aﬀord to do so,” he said. “We don’t know when the work will pick up. That’s the scary part.”

Eric Maynard outside his company, Event Tech. He says the parking lot is usually full with employee vehicles. PHOTO: ERIC MAYNARD Event Tech's morning meeting on April 13. The meeting usually includes 15 to 25 full-time and freelance workers. PHOTO: ERIC MAYNARD

The longer unemployment stays high, the greater the hardship, as health insurance and unemployment beneﬁts run out. Joblessness also becomes harder to escape as a worker’s skills and experience become obsolete.

Darin Caster had regularly performed his information-technology job from his Omaha, Neb., home. He was laid oﬀ on April 2 after the pandemic caused a sharp drop in sales at the sporting- goods retailer he worked for the past nine years.

Mr. Caster, 54, said he would receive two months of severance pay, but he’s eager to ﬁnd a new job quickly. His health insurance runs out at the end of the month.

“It was 10 years ago I was laid oﬀ in a similar situation” in the wake of the last recession, he said. It took him 10 months to ﬁnd a new position then.

—Laura Kusisto contributed to this article.

Write to Eric Morath at [email protected] and Harriet Torry at [email protected]

Corrections & Ampliﬁcations Julia Pollak is labor economist at ZipRecruiter. An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated she is chief economist. (April 14, 2020)

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers visit https://www.djreprints.com. https://nyti.ms/2XxYeM3

ʻThis Is Going to Kill Small-Town Americaʼ Once the coronavirus reached rural Bristol, N.H., the effect on the local economy was devastating.

By David Gelles

April 14, 2020 Updated 11:14 a.m. ET

BRISTOL, N.H. — The coronavirus itself was slow to arrive in Bristol, a lakeside town of 3,300 people. The economic destruction came swiftly.

By the end of March, with just a few local cases conﬁrmed, gift shops, yoga studios and restaurants had all shut their doors. Hundreds lost jobs, contributing to a record surge in national unemployment claims.

But at least the Freudenberg factory was running at full strength. The factory, which employs 350 people and makes bonded piston seals and other components for carmakers around the world, has an outsize impact on Bristol’s economy.

Besides paying employees their salaries and the town taxes, the factory — part of a German industrial conglomerate — is the largest customer of Bristol’s sewage and water systems, a linchpin of the annual budget.

“Freudenberg is our lifeblood,” Nik Coates, the town administrator, said in an interview on April 2. “If that plant was ever to close or signiﬁcantly reduce operations, that would put us in a world of hurt.”

Nik Coates, the town administrator, worried about layoffs at the Freudenberg factory, Bristol’s largest employer. John Tully for The New York Times As the coronavirus upends economic life around the world, small towns like Bristol are particularly vulnerable. Freudenberg is its lone large employer. There are just a few national chains — a Dunkin’, a Rite Aid and a Dollar General. And many of the small locally owned businesses depend on seasonal residents, who ﬂock to Newfound Lake during the summer, doubling the town’s population for a few months.

The community has tried to come together in recent weeks, with residents extending help to one another and trying to support local establishments. But with unemployment ballooning and the threat of worse ﬁnancial pain to come, neighborly good will is worth only so much over the long term.

“We’re not rich by any means,” Mr. Coates said. “We’re pretty poor, in fact.”

On April 3, the bad news started to spread around town. Freudenberg announced it was ﬁring more than 100 people, shutting down its manufacturing of bonded piston seals and looking for additional buyouts. With car sales around the world essentially halted, automakers were suspending operations, and suppliers like Freudenberg were suddenly without revenue to pay workers in places like Bristol.

Latest Updates: Markets and Business

• U.S. stocks climb as investors look for signs of recovery.

• JPMorganʼs proﬁt dives as it sets aside reserves for coming losses on loans.

• Boeing, already under strain, says 150 orders for the 737 Max were canceled in March.

See more updates Updated 2m ago

More live coverage: Global U.S. New York

The factory has been operating for decades, and is a point of pride for the town. Some years ago, Ford Motor named it one of the carmaker’s best suppliers. The layoffs, however predictable they may have been, were a blow to Bristol’s morale. Several people affected by the layoffs declined to be interviewed, not wanting to upset the biggest employer in town.

“Managing this is going be difﬁcult for sure,” Mr. Coates said after learning about the layoffs.

Much of Bristol has now ground to a halt. Restaurants were among the ﬁrst to close last month. The Homestead, a popular spot where locals splurge on crab-stuffed haddock and lobster rolls, tried to do takeout. But after a week of losing money, Mark McDonough, who owns the Homestead and four other restaurants in the state, shut it down.

“It’s been a heartbreaking couple of weeks here,” he said. “Companywide, we’ve had to send about 225 people to the unemployment line.”

Mr. McDonough’s other restaurants, which are in larger cities, continue to serve takeout. Still, sales are down nearly 90 percent, and waiters and dishwashers are out of work. Hoping to help, Mr. McDonough bought his employees gift cards and is serving them free meals.

Bristol’s best-known local business was also quick to close. TwinDesigns, a gift shop run by the twin brothers Jim and Brad Tonner, features merchandise celebrating a 51-year-old turtle named Diane, who is on display in a small back room. Business normally picks up in the summer, when tourists buy turtle books, puzzles and stuffed animals.

“If this goes on too long, we won’t survive,” Brad Tonner said. “This is going to kill small-town America.”

Even those businesses that have remained open are struggling. Dawna Shackley invested her life savings last year to open a graphic design and printing shop, Newfound Impressions. Business was going well, allowing her to hire her ﬁrst employee in January.

Now sales have shriveled, from about $20,000 a month before the crisis to just $1,500 in March. Ms. Shackley ﬁred her employee. Her last two printing jobs were both related to the virus: 6,000 brochures about good hygiene for a hospital, and a few banners for the town with information about the crisis.

“At this point, I’m not sure how long I can last,” Ms. Shackley said. “I ﬁgure I’ve got another two or three months.”

Some businesses are seeing an uptick in sales. In the days after Gov. Chris Sununu ordered nonessential businesses closed, people lined up in the parking lot at Skip’s Sport Shop, the town’s gun store. Hannaford, a grocery store, has been busy, and is offering a senior hour from 6 to 7 some mornings. Aubuchon, a regional hardware chain, is offering curbside pickup.

Locals have tried to support one another with acts of kindness, however small. Jason Briand, owner of a ﬂooring company, is posting videos that instruct residents how to apply for federal loans. Cathy Bannan Redman, a Bristol resident, organized a team of 60 volunteers to shop for the town’s elderly and immuno-compromised.

“I come from a long line of helpers,” said Ms. Redman, whose parents volunteered in Bristol over the years. Small businesses are trying to do their part, too. The town’s gym, Kilter Fitness, is letting members use its weights at home. Newfound Yoga is streaming classes online. LinCross, a sandwich shop that is still serving takeout, distributed free toilet paper. A distillery donated a gallon jug of hand sanitizer it had made to the Police Department, which was running low.

“What we lack in monetary resources we make up for many times over in community involvement,” Mr. Coates said.

Bristol’s lone Chinese restaurant, Very Excellent, initially saw business slump in late February.

“There was a lot of anti-Chinese sentiment,” said Hector Hsu, the owner, who was born in China and is completing his Ph.D. in aerospace engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology outside Boston, 100 miles south.

Mr. Hsu opened Very Excellent last year, believing it would be a welcome distraction from his studies. Last month, as the virus spread in Boston, Mr. Hsu decided to move to Bristol full time. He starts each day at Very Excellent, where he obsesses about health and hygiene.

“I check everyone’s temperature in the morning and yell at them to sanitize,” he said.

In recent weeks, Very Excellent rolled out a reduced-cost menu of takeout meals, and as people have hunkered down, orders have picked up. Mr. Hsu is now breaking even and hopes to avoid layoffs.

Still, there are gnawing concerns about the town’s future. Any economic recovery, whenever it does arrive, may take that much longer to reach places like Bristol, which celebrated its bicentennial last year.

Already, Mr. Coates is concerned that the share of tourism revenue that Bristol receives from the state is going to shrivel. That could affect basic services that keep residents safe and draw visitors to Newfound Lake, which is exceptionally clean and surrounded by forested hills.

“Running a town is more than just keeping the lights on and paying your employees,” he said. “It’s things like taking care of the beaches and replacing our deﬁbrillators.”

A major test of Bristol’s resilience will come this summer, when second homes around Newfound Lake ﬁll up. Though Mr. Coates isn’t even sure the town will open its beaches, some year-round residents are already worried that a surge of visitors could spread the virus.

Yet if the crowds don’t show up, the economy will suffer that much more. “The seasonal businesses will be killed if this isn’t over by the summer,” Mr. Coates said.

And then there is the Freudenberg factory. In a statement, the company said that the layoffs were temporary, and that it anticipated “that the facility will be back on line as soon as our customers and suppliers, themselves, return to normal operations.”

The problem is, no one knows when that will be.

“My concern is that this thing drags on for a year or spikes again,” Mr. Coates said, “and our businesses don’t come back.”

The Coronavirus Outbreak Frequently Asked Questions and Advice

Updated April 11, 2020

READ MORE FABIOLA SANTIAGO With COVID-19 still spreading, Miami-Dade mayor talks of opening county. Bad idea | Opinion

BY FABIOLA SANTIAGO

APRIL 14, 2020 06:00 AM, UPDATED 4 HOURS 53 MINUTES AGO    

Danielle Rivera worries about impending homelessness after her husband Jonathan Rivera lost his job. Anthony Rivera is among the ranks of 170,000 people in Florida who have filed for unemployment due to the economic fallout from coronavirus. BY RESHMA KIRPALANI 

Taking his cue from the false optimism of his newfound idol, President Donald Trump, the mayor of Miami-Dade is talking about opening up the county — when we’re still two weeks away from the expected peak of the novel coronavirus pandemic here. “We’re seeing a light at the end of this COVID-19 tunnel, starting with the number of hospitalizations that are steadying in Miami-Dade County,” Mayor Carlos Gimenez said in a video released Monday. “That’s a good sign, and we want to move forward in a thoughtful and deliberate way.”

Premature is an understatement.

TAKE A BREAK

14-foot shark vanished from satellites a year ago. It mysteriously returned this week

MORE FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

WORLD & NATION Nearly 800 health care workers, a third of them nurses, infected with coronavirus in L.A. County | KTLA

62° Ope

WATCH LIVE CORONAVIRUS NEWS MORNING NEWS PODCASTS CONTESTS WEATHER NEWS TIPS ABOUT

LIVE NOW KTLA 5 Morning News

WEATHER ALERTS There are 8 areas under alert. Click for alert details.

LOCAL NEWS Nearly 800 health care workers, a third of them nurses, infected with coronavirus in L.A. County

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/nearly-800-health-care-workers-a-third-of-them-nurses-infected-with-coronavirus-in-l-a-county/[4/14/2020 9:43:18 AM] Nearly 800 health care workers, a third of them nurses, infected with coronavirus in L.A. County | KTLA

Workers stand outside UCLA Medical Center in March 2020. (Credit: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

by: Erika Martin Posted: Apr 13, 2020 / 05:36 PM PDT / Updated: Apr 13, 2020 / 05:43 PM PDT

The number of health care workers known to be infected with coronavirus in Los Angeles County more than doubled in less than a week, with nurses accounting for nearly a third of those sick, officials said Monday.

At of the end of last week, there were 787 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among the county’s health care workers. Three of them have died, including two hospital workers and one person in correctional health, L.A. County public health director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said in Monday’s news briefing.

That’s up from 324 confirmed cases and two deaths among health workers last Wednesday.

Medical workers now account for 8% of the 9,420 cases confirmed countywide, compared to 4% of the 7,530 cases confirmed last week.

Statewide, more than 2,500 health care workers were reported infected as of Monday, accounting for about 11% of California’s 22,348 confirmed cases.

The news comes as health facilities across the region and nation continue to battle a shortage of protective gear and other supplies, with officials and institutions left scrambling to compete with others across the globe impacted by the pandemic. https://ktla.com/news/local-news/nearly-800-health-care-workers-a-third-of-them-nurses-infected-with-coronavirus-in-l-a-county/[4/14/2020 9:43:18 AM] Nearly 800 health care workers, a third of them nurses, infected with coronavirus in L.A. County | KTLA

In L.A. County about a third of medical workers infected are nurses, and physicians account for another 9%. But Ferrer said cases have been confirmed among “all of the other health care occupations,” including emergency medical technicians, lab workers and receptionists.

“We continue to track what’s happening in our health care facilities so we can make sure that our workers are protected,” Ferrer said.

A majority of health care workers — about 60% — didn’t know or report on who exposed them to the virus. Of those who did know, 24% said it was a patient or another medical worker.

So far, public health officials have confirmed cases in 22 clinical settings across the county. A list of all institutions with at least one positive case is available on the county Department of Public Health website.

Of all the health workers infected, 43% worked in hospitals, 19% skilled nursing or assisted living and 12% in outpatient facilities, according to Ferrer.

“The word grateful does not begin to describe how we feel about our health care workers,” Ferrer said. “Their heroism and sacrifice can not be understated.”

RELATED CONTENT With caveat about weekend reporting lag, L.A. County announces ‘relatively low’ number of new coronavirus cases

Newsom announces pact with West Coast states, will give details Tuesday about lifting CA stay-at-home orders

Nearly 2,400 of California’s COVID-19 patients are health care workers

Suggest a Correction

SHARE THIS STORY

TOP ARTICLES 1/5

.st0{fill:#FFFFFF;}.st1{fill:#0099FF;}

READ MORE Voters reject Trump’s pick in chaotic Wisconsin court “Donors are crucial to verifying the effectiveness of such an approach,” said Michael Brant-Zawadzki, a senior physician executive at Hoag, in a prepared statement.

The Mayo Clinic is taking the lead on the research, which is rolling out at institutions such as the University of Chicago.

Other trials unfolding at Hoag include two testing remdesivir (RDV), a potentially promising antiviral drug, officials said. It’s thought to block the virus’ ability to replicate, making it a promising weapon in the fight against COVID-19.

Coronavirus has infected nearly 2 million people worldwide, and claimed nearly 120,000 lives, according to official data. In the U.S., nearly 600,000 cases have been confirmed, with more than 23,000 dead, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

https://www.sbsun.com/...ible-therapies/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_content=tw-sbsun&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com[4/14/2020 9:45:30 AM] https://nyti.ms/2yfwSiX Who Is Immune to the Coronavirus? Important decisions about this question are being made, as they must be, based on only glimmers of data.

By Marc Lipsitch Mr. Lipsitch is an epidemiologist and infectious disease specialist.

April 13, 2020

Among the many uncertainties that remain about Covid-19 is how the human immune system responds to infection and what that means for the spread of the disease. Immunity after any infection can range from lifelong and complete to nearly nonexistent. So far, however, only the ﬁrst glimmers of data are available about immunity to SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.

What can scientists, and the decision makers who rely on science to inform policies, do in such a situation? The best approach is to construct a conceptual model — a set of assumptions about how immunity might work — based on current knowledge of the immune system and information about related viruses, and then identify how each aspect of that model might be wrong, how one would know and what the implications would be. Next, scientists should set out to work to improve this understanding with observation and experiment.

The ideal scenario — once infected, a person is completely immune for life — is correct for a number of infections. The Danish physician Peter Panum famously figured this out for measles when he visited the Faroe Islands (between Scotland and Iceland) during an outbreak in 1846 and found that residents over 65 who had been alive during a previous outbreak in 1781 were protected. This striking observation helped launch the fields of immunology and epidemiology — and ever since, as in many other disciplines, the scientific community has learned that often things are more complicated.

One example of “more complicated” is immunity to coronaviruses, a large group of viruses that sometimes jump from animal hosts to humans: SARS-CoV-2 is the third major coronavirus epidemic to affect humans in recent times, after the SARS outbreak of 2002-3 and the MERS outbreak that started in 2012.

Much of our understanding of coronavirus immunity comes not from SARS or MERS, which have infected comparatively small numbers of people, but from the coronaviruses that spread every year causing respiratory infections ranging from a common cold to pneumonia. In two separate studies, researchers infected human volunteers with a seasonal coronavirus and about a year later inoculated them with the same or a similar virus to observe whether they had acquired immunity.

In the ﬁrst study, researchers selected 18 volunteers who developed colds after they were inoculated — or “challenged,” as the term goes — with one strain of coronavirus in 1977 or 1978. Six of the subjects were re-challenged a year later with the same strain, and none was infected, presumably thanks to protection acquired with their immune response to the ﬁrst infection. The other 12 volunteers were exposed to a slightly different strain of coronavirus a year later, and their protection to that was only partial.

In another study published in 1990, 15 volunteers were inoculated with a coronavirus; 10 were infected. Fourteen returned for another inoculation with the same strain a year later: They displayed less severe symptoms and their bodies produced less of the virus than after the initial challenge, especially those who had shown a strong immune response the ﬁrst time around.

No such human-challenge experiments have been conducted to study immunity to SARS and MERS. But measurements of antibodies in the blood of people who have survived those infections suggest that these defenses persist for some time: two years for SARS, according to one study, and almost three years for MERS, according to another one. However, the neutralizing ability of these antibodies — a measure of how well they inhibit virus replication — was already declining during the study periods.

These studies form the basis for an educated guess at what might happen with Covid-19 patients. After being infected with SARS-CoV-2, most individuals will have an immune response, some better than others. That response, it may be assumed, will offer some protection over the medium term — at least a year — and then its effectiveness might decline.

Other evidence supports this model. A recent peer-reviewed study led by a team from Erasmus University, in the Netherlands, published data from 12 patients showing that they had developed antibodies after infection with SARS-CoV-2. Several of my colleagues and students and I have statistically analyzed thousands of seasonal coronavirus cases in the United States and used a mathematical model to infer that immunity over a year or so is likely for the two seasonal coronaviruses most closely related to SARS-CoV-2 — an indication perhaps of how immunity to SARS-CoV-2 itself might also behave.

If it is true that infection creates immunity in most or all individuals and that the protection lasts a year or more, then the infection of increasing numbers of people in any given population will lead to the buildup of so-called herd immunity. As more and more people become immune to the virus, an infected individual has less and less chance of coming into contact with a person susceptible to infection. Eventually, herd immunity becomes pervasive enough that an infected person on average infects less than one other person; at that point, the number of cases starts to go down. If herd immunity is widespread enough, then even in the absence of measures designed to slow transmission, the virus will be contained — at least until immunity wanes or enough new people susceptible to infection are born.

At the moment, cases of Covid-19 have been undercounted because of limited testing — perhaps by a factor of 10 in some places, like Italy as of late last month. If the undercounting is around this level in other countries as well, then a majority of the population in much (if not all) of the world still is susceptible to infection, and herd immunity is a minor phenomenon right now. The long-term control of the virus depends on getting a majority of people to become immune, through infection and recovery or through vaccination — how large a majority depends on yet other parameters of the infection that remain unknown.

One concern has to do with the possibility of reinfection. South Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that 91 patients who had been infected with SARS-CoV-2 and then tested negative for the virus later tested positive again. If some of these cases were indeed reinfections, they would cast doubt on the strength of the immunity the patients had developed.

An alternative possibility, which many scientists think is more likely, is that these patients had a false negative test in the middle of an ongoing infection, or that the infection had temporarily subsided and then re-emerged. South Korea’s C.D.C. is now working to assess the merit of all these explanations. As with other diseases for which it can be difficult to distinguish a new infection from a new flare-up of an old infection — like tuberculosis — the issue might be resolved by comparing the viral genome sequence from the first and the second periods of infection.

For now, it is reasonable to assume that only a minority of the world’s population is immune to SARS-CoV-2, even in hard-hit areas. How could this tentative picture evolve as better data come in? Early hints suggest that it could change in either direction.

It is possible that many more cases of Covid-19 have occurred than have been reported, even after accounting for limited testing. One recent study (not yet peer-reviewed) suggests that rather than, say, 10 times the number of detected cases, the United States may really have more like 100, or even 1,000, times the official number. This estimate is an indirect inference from statistical correlations. In emergencies, such indirect assessments can be early evidence of an important finding — or statistical flukes. But if this one is correct, then herd immunity to SARS-CoV-2 could be building faster than the commonly reported figures suggest.

Then again, another recent study (also not yet peer-reviewed) suggests that not every case of infection may be contributing to herd immunity. Of 175 Chinese patients with mild symptoms of Covid-19, 70 percent developed strong antibody responses, but about 25 percent developed a low response and about 5 percent developed no detectable response at all. Mild illness, in other words, might not always build up protection. Similarly, it will be important to study the immune responses of people with asymptomatic cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection to determine whether symptoms, and their severity, predict whether a person becomes immune.

The balance between these uncertainties will become clearer when more serologic surveys, or blood tests for antibodies, are conducted on large numbers of people. Such studies are beginning and should show results soon. Of course, much will depend on how sensitive and speciﬁc the various tests are: how well they spot SARS-CoV-2 antibodies when those are present and if they can avoid spurious signals from antibodies to related viruses.

Even more challenging will be understanding what an immune response means for an individual’s risk of getting reinfected and their contagiousness to others. Based on the volunteer experiments with seasonal coronaviruses and the antibody-persistence studies for SARS and MERS, one might expect a strong immune response to SARS-CoV-2 to protect completely against reinfection and a weaker one to protect against severe infection and so still slow the virus’s spread.

But designing valid epidemiologic studies to ﬁgure all of this out is not easy — many scientists, including several teams of which I’m a part — are working on the issue right now. One difﬁculty is that people with a prior infection might differ from people who haven’t yet been infected in many other ways that could alter their future risk of infection. Parsing the role of prior exposure from other risk factors is an example of the classic problem epidemiologists call “confounding” — and it is made maddeningly harder today by the fast-changing conditions of the still-spreading SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

And yet getting a handle on this fast is extremely important: not only to estimate the extent of herd immunity, but also to ﬁgure out whether some people can re-enter society safely, without becoming infected again or serving as a vector, and spreading the virus to others. Central to this effort will be ﬁguring out how long protection lasts.

With time, other aspects of immunity will become clearer as well. Experimental and statistical evidence suggests that infection with one coronavirus can offer some degree of immunity against distinct but related coronaviruses. Whether some people are at greater or lesser risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 because of a prior history of exposure to coronaviruses is an open question.

And then there is the question of immune enhancement: Through a variety of mechanisms, immunity to a coronavirus can in some instances exacerbate an infection rather than prevent or mitigate it. This troublesome phenomenon is best known in another group of viruses, the flaviviruses, and may explain why administering a vaccine against dengue fever, a flavivirus infection, can sometimes make the disease worse. Such mechanisms are still being studied for coronaviruses, but concern that they might be at play is one of the obstacles that have slowed the development of experimental vaccines against SARS and MERS. Guarding against enhancement will also be one of the biggest challenges facing scientists trying to develop vaccines for Covid-19. The good news is that research on SARS and MERS has begun to clarify how enhancement works, suggesting ways around it, and an extraordinary range of efforts is underway to find a vaccine for Covid- 19, using multiple approaches.

More science on almost every aspect of this new virus is needed, but in this pandemic, as with previous ones, decisions with great consequences must be made before definitive data are in. Given this urgency, the traditional scientific method — formulating informed hypotheses and testing them by experiments and careful epidemiology — is hyper-accelerated. Given the public’s attention, that work is unusually on display. In these difficult circumstances, I can only hope that this article will seem out of date very shortly — as much more is soon discovered about the coronavirus than is known right now.

Marc Lipsitch (@mlipsitch) is a professor in the Departments of Epidemiology and Immunology and Infectious Diseases at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where he also directs the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics.

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. CORONAVIRUS LIVE UPDATES SYMPTOMS WHO'S HIRING YOU ASK, WE ANSWER STATE LOCKDOWNS DAILY LIFE TESTING TECH TIPS DAILY BRIEFING Free Resources

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers visit https://www.djreprints.com.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/prisoner-release-orders-spur-debate-pitting-public-health-against-public-safety-11586862003

U.S. Prisoner Release Orders Spur Debate, Pitting Public Health Against Public Safety As illnesses spread in lockups, proposals for even modest and belated releases draw pushback

Demonstrators concerned about the health of prison inmates during the coronavirus outbreak protest outside the Washington state capitol on Saturday. PHOTO: JASON REDMONDREUTERS

By Sadie Gurman and Zusha Elinson Updated April 14, 2020 841 am ET

Prison and jail oﬃcials trying to stem the spread of the new coronavirus behind bars are releasing thousands of prisoners to await trial or serve their sentences at home, spurring a debate over public health versus public safety—and producing some seemingly inconsistent outcomes.

Rufus Rochell, 68, who is serving a 35-year sentence for a drug conviction, said he expects to be released from a federal prison in Florida as soon as Tuesday to serve the rest of his term at his sister’s home.

But Michael J. Stewart, 72, who is serving a 14-year sentence for mail fraud at a federal prison in California, said he so far has been unable to convince oﬃcials to release him despite his age and history of respiratory problems.

“It’s like pushing a wet noodle up the hill with your nose,” Mr. Stewart said in a phone interview.

The virus is already spreading rapidly in the nation’s lockups, with facilities reporting more inmates and guards testing positive by the day.

Authorities say they are prioritizing the bail or early release of inmates with health problems who have been convicted of nonviolent crimes and are at low risk of reoffending. But prison officials still have broad discretion to decide, stirring fights across the country over who should be freed.

In Texas, for example, Gov. Greg Abbott banned the release of jail inmates accused or previously convicted of violent crimes who can’t pay bail. A state judge overturned his order, but the state’s high court on Friday temporarily blocked the release of inmates.

The governor’s action, which drew ﬁre from civil-liberties groups, came after a county judge released a murder suspect who said he feared contracting Covid-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus, in jail. Rufus Rochell, 68, standing in front of a seaside backdrop, is one of more than 1,000 federal inmates slated for early release to stop the spread of the new coronavirus.

“Where is the public benefit to reintroducing these prisoners into these hot spots during a global pandemic?” said Larry Cosme, national president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, which represents federal probation and pretrial officers, among others. Releasing them, he said, would put an added burden on law-enforcement officers already strained by quarantines and risks of exposure.

Some victims’-rights groups and police chiefs have complained that some of the inmates released are dangerous. In San Jose, Calif., police said a pair of men charged with gun oﬀenses and drug-traﬃcking crimes were released due to Covid-19 concerns. In New York City, a Rikers Island inmate who was released for the same reason was accused last week of robbing a bank, local media reported.

Overall, crime has dropped on the empty streets of large U.S. cities like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Attorney General William Barr underscored the juggling act in a memo to federal prosecutors last week, telling them they should continue “as zealously today as you would have before the pandemic began” to seek pretrial detention for those they believe pose a safety threat, while also considering the medical risks associated with packing more people into prisons during the pandemic.

“Each time a new person is added to a jail, it presents at least some risk to the personnel who operate that facility and to the people incarcerated therein,” he wrote.

More than 16,000 inmates are being released or diverted from local jails and state and federal prisons, according to the University of California, Los Angeles Law Covid-19 Behind Bars Data Project. That amounts to less than 1% of the 2.2 million people behind bars in the U.S.

MORE FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

BUSINESS Stocks rise as officials discuss slowly reopening the economy 1 hour ago Stimulus checks are coming – for some. Here’s what to know – Press Enterprise

BUSINESS • News Stimulus checks are coming – for some. Here’s what to know The IRS tweeted Saturday that it had begun depositing the funds into taxpayers’ bank accounts.

   

https://www.pe.com/...o-know/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_content=tw-pressenterprise[4/14/2020 9:45:44 AM] Stimulus checks are coming – for some. Here’s what to know – Press Enterprise

In this April 3, 2020, file photo, a car exits the drive-thru of a PNC Bank in downtown Scranton, Pa. Americans are beginning to see the first economic impact payments hit their bank accounts this week. The IRS tweeted Saturday, April 11, 2020, that it had begun depositing funds into taxpayers’ bank accounts and would be working to get them out as fast as it can. (Christopher Dolan/The Times- Tribune via AP, File)

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS |  R PUBLISHED: April 13, 2020 at 1:13 p.m. | UPDATED: April 13, 2020 at 6:44 p.m.

By Sarah Skidmore Sell, The Associated Press

Americans are beginning to see the first economic impact payments hit their bank accounts.

The IRS tweeted Saturday that it had begun depositing the funds into taxpayers’ bank accounts and would be working to get them out as fast as possible. The one-time payments were approved by Congress as part of an emergency relief package intended to combat the economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic.

The exact timing of when people get their money depends on a few factors, such as income and payment delivery method.

Read Article

Here is what you should expect:

WHO IS GETTING A CHECK?

Any adult earning up to $75,000 in adjusted gross income who has a valid Social Security number will receive a $1,200 payment.

The payment steadily declines for those who make more and phases out for those who earn more than $99,000. For married couples, both adults receive $1,200, with the phase-out starting at $150,000 of income and falling to zero for couples who earn $198,000.

Parents will also get payments of $500 for each eligible child; this is generally those 16 years old or younger.

For heads of household with one child, the benefit starts to decline at $112,500 and falls to zero at $136,500.

Even those who only receive Social Security or other government benefit programs can receive a check.

WHO DOESN’T GET ONE?

High-income filers are excluded, as is anyone without a valid Social Security number.

If someone can be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return, such as an adult child or student, they will not get a payment.

Nonresident aliens aren’t eligible.

People who filed Form 1040-PR or 1040-SS for 2019 are not eligible; these are IRS forms used for certain types of self-employment income in Puerto Rico.

WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO GET ONE?

For most people, nothing.

Checks will arrive via direct deposit if a taxpayer included the relevant information on their tax return filed this year or last.

Some Americans are not required to file a tax return — such as low-income taxpayers, Social Security recipients, some veterans and people with disabilities.

After some back and forth with lawmakers, the Treasury and IRS ultimately decided Social Security recipients and railroad retirees, who aren’t typically required to file taxes, would not need to file a simple tax return to get the payment.

Anyone else who isn’t typically required to file taxes and does not receive Social Security will still need to file an abbreviated return to get the payment. On Friday, the Treasury unveiled an online tool that allows these non-filers to more quickly register to get their check.

If someone didn’t file a tax return for either the 2018 or 2019 tax year, the IRS is urging them to file as soon as they can.

And for people who filed taxes for those years but did not include direct deposit information, the IRS plans to have a “Get My Payment” app available later this week that will allow them to add their bank information so their payment can be deposited.

For everyone else, the government will mail a check.

WHEN WILL I GET THE PAYMENT?

Direct deposits began this weekend. The Treasury said paper checks will begin to be issued later in the month.

Everyone who gets a payment will receive written notice within 15 days after the payment that specifies how much you received and how it was delivered. The IRS also said the “Get My Payment” app will allow taxpayers to track the status of their payment.

A memo from lawmakers earlier in the month said that paper checks wouldn’t start being mailed until https://www.pe.com/...o-know/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_content=tw-pressenterprise[4/14/2020 9:45:44 AM] Stimulus checks are coming – for some. Here’s what to know – Press Enterprise

May. And because the paper checks would be issued at a rate of about 5 million a week, the process could take through August.

The Treasury, however, said that paper checks payments would begin later in April but did not confirm a date or how long it would take to complete those distributions.

All payments will be made based on income, with lower-income individuals receiving payment first.

WHY SO LONG?

It’s a tough wait for those who are struggling financially.

However, the Treasury and the IRS need to sort through a tremendous amount of data and create a complex distribution method plan quite quickly, said Mark Mazur, director of the nonprofit Tax Policy Center. The IRS’ outdated technology could also slow things down.

“For the vast majority of people this will work, it may not be as fast as they may like but it will work.” Mazur said.

BE AWARE

Additionally, the IRS is urging people to be on the lookout for any scams related to the economic impact payments.

The IRS will not call, text, email or contact people via social media asking for personal or bank account information ever. It also warns taxpayers to watch out for emails with attachments or links claiming to have special information about economic impact payments or refunds.

RELATED ARTICLES Newsroom Guidelines News Tips Mortgage delinquencies to spike due to Contact Us coronavirus outbreak Report an Error

Kaiser offers help to workers on front lines of coronavirus outbreak

Insurance companies ordered to refund premiums to California drivers amid coronavirus shutdown

https://www.pe.com/...o-know/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_content=tw-pressenterprise[4/14/2020 9:45:44 AM] ADVERTISEMENT

POLITICS

Trump administration seeks months-long delay to complete 2020 census due to pandemic The Trump administration is asking for a delay to complete the 2020 census because of the coronavirus. (stock.adobe.com)

By SARAH D. WIRE STAFF WRITER

APRIL 13, 2020 | 4:10 PM

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is asking Congress to give it four additional months to complete the 2020 Census, blaming the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Census Bureau had previously halted its in-person outreach because of the virus’ spread, but it had maintained it would still be able to meet its legal obligation to present results to the president and Congress by Dec. 31.

In a conference call with members of Congress Monday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross asked for legislation giving the bureau an additional 120 days to present the results. Field operations, such as going door to door to collect information for those who did not respond to the census online or by mail, is now scheduled to resume June 1 and would last until Oct. 31, according to the bureau, which falls under the Commerce Department.

1/77

A jogger runs on a closed trail past dozens of pieces of caution tape, torn o by hikers and mountain bikers at El Escorpion Canyon Park on Saturday in West Hills. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times) That means rather than have the data ready by Dec. 31, the bureau would need until April 30, 2021. Data used to redraw the country’s congressional district boundaries would be delivered to the states no later than July 31, 2021, rather than in March.

The existing deadlines are set in federal law, and it will take an act of Congress to move them.

President Trump on Monday said the bureau would need a “major delay” and questioned if 120 days was long enough. “Obviously they can’t be doing very much right now,” Trump said at a briefing on the coronavirus. “How can you possibly be knocking on doors for a long period of time now?”

SPONSORED CONTENT In Cleveland, there’s something for everyone.  By This is CLE Next stop: Cleveland.

The 2020 census was already unusually politically fraught after the administration attempted to include a question about citizenship on the form, a move that was ultimately rejected by the Supreme Court. Critics said the effort was an attempt to suppress census response rates in blue states with large immigrant communities, like California.

Democrats said they would review the bureau’s request, but would also want to see detailed information supporting the need for a delay.

“The oversight committee will carefully examine the administration’s request, but we need more information that the administration has been unwilling to provide,” said Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, in a statement. “The director of the Census Bureau was not even on today’s call, and the administration has refused for weeks to allow him to brief members of our committee, despite repeated requests.”

William Frey, a demographer for the Brookings Institution, said it makes practical sense to ask for a delay now, so Congress has time to consider it.

“It’s a fairly big deal to do this. But on the other hand, we’re in a fairly unusual situation,” Frey said.

For the first time this year, people can fill out the census online, and so far 48% of households have responded, according to the bureau. But millions of Americans don’t respond, prompting the need for a half million census workers to make in-person visits nationwide to ensure an accurate count.

But door-to-door canvassing is difficult to imagine at a time when governors in most states have ordered nonessential workers to stay home to slow the spread of the coronavirus that has more than 500,000 positive U.S. cases already.

“People are pretty likely to be home, [so] it seems like a good opportunity to do the census. But it seems unlikely that people are going to feel safe doing that [door- knocking],” Menlo College Political Scientist Melissa Michelson said. “It’s another reminder that we are not living in normal times and a lot of things that would happen this year are not going to happen.”

There is some precedent to a delay. More than 100 years ago, the census director blamed the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, along with World War I and other things, for a five-month delay in delivering the results of the 1920 census. Get our Essential Politics newsletter The latest news, analysis and insights from our bureau chiefs in Sacramento and D.C.

Enter Email Address

SIGN ME UP

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

The once-every-decade count of the country’s population is mandated by the Constitution and the results are used to redraw congressional districts so that each represents about the same number of people. A delay in the results could have a cascading effect, as they are also used to redraw state legislative districts, city council boundaries and even school board seats ahead of the 2022 election.

Michelson said a delay in providing the data to states would compress the time left to redraw those boundaries, and to litigate the court battles that occur in some states over whether the lines were fairly drawn, all before the 2022 primary elections begin.

The decision could have a pronounced impact on California, where a 14-member citizen’s redistricting commission will draw boundaries for congressional and legislative districts for just the second time since voters wrested the job from the California Legislature in 2008. By law, the panel — consisting of Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters chosen through a lengthy public vetting process — must base its work on detailed census data.

In 2011, the citizens panel held extensive hearings across California seeking public input on how best to draw legislative and congressional districts with an eye toward fair representation. The commission’s final deliberations on the maps came in late July 2011. But under the new proposed census schedule, that’s the month in 2021 that states would first receive the data. That delay could push the California commission’s work dangerously close to the 2022 election cycle and could potentially bleed into the time frame in which candidates file paperwork to run for those positions.

Times staff writer John Myers in Sacramento contributed to this report

POLITICS CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Get our Essential Politics newsletter The latest news, analysis and insights from our bureau chiefs in Sacramento and D.C.

Enter Email Address

SIGN ME UP

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

Sarah D. Wire

Twitter Instagram Email Facebook

Sarah D. Wire covers Congress with a focus on the powerful 55-member California delegation. She’s currently chair of the Standing Committee of Correspondents.

MORE FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

POLITICS In a boost to Biden, Obama will endorse his former vice president 1 hour ago San Bernardino mayor requests $50,000 to fight sexual harassment claims – San Bernardino Sun

LOCAL NEWS • News San Bernardino mayor requests $50,000 to fight sexual harassment claims

   

https://www.sbsun.com/...sment-claims/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_content=tw-sbsun[4/14/2020 9:46:37 AM] San Bernardino mayor requests $50,000 to fight sexual harassment claims – San Bernardino Sun

San Bernardino Mayor John Valdivia (right) listens to a speaker during a meeting Wednesday evening Feb. 19, 2020. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

By BRIAN WHITEHEAD | [email protected] | San Bernardino Sun  PUBLISHED: April 13, 2020 at 12:34 p.m. | UPDATED: April 13, 2020 at 3:11 p.m.

San Bernardino could spend up to $50,000 on an attorney to defend Mayor John Valdivia against claims of sexual harassment and hostile work environment by two former and one current city employee.

City leaders will discuss the item Wednesday, April 15.

According to state law, an elected official can seek city-funded legal defense of civil claims and actions.

A city can refuse such a request, however, if the behavior in question was not within the course and https://www.sbsun.com/...sment-claims/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_content=tw-sbsun[4/14/2020 9:46:37 AM] San Bernardino mayor requests $50,000 to fight sexual harassment claims – San Bernardino Sun

scope of employment; the employee acted with actual fraud, corruption or malice; or the defense would not create a specific conflict of interest between it and the employee.

TOP ARTICLES 1/5

.st0{fill:#FFFFFF;}.st1{fill:#0099FF;}

READ MORE Voters reject Trump’s pick in chaotic Wisconsin court Legal representation can be provided through the city, outside counsel or an insurer.

Before council members Wednesday is an initial list of RELATED LINKS outside attorneys and their respective rates, as well as a

proposal to spend no more than $50,000 for the initial Top aide says San Bernardino mayor has phase of reviewing and responding to the claims. retaliated against employees

Such a contract can be absorbed in the City Attorney’s San Bernardino mayor’s top aide retains fiscal 2019-20 budget, staffers say. attorney to prevent retaliation

Five people in the past two months have accused Valdivia San Bernardino commissioner alleges

sexual harassment by Mayor John of sexual harassment and hostile work environment. Valdivia Three have filed claims with the city. 3rd former San Bernardino employee accuses mayor of creating hostile workplace

San Bernardino mayor accused of sexual harassment by 2 employees

San Bernardino’s top elected official has called the allegations false and politically motivated, declining further comment until the city concludes its investigation into the matter.

On Feb. 5, former city employees Mirna Cisneros and Karen Cervantes accused Valdivia of belittling, berating and subjecting them to offensive and graphic sexual innuendos and comments, creating the hostile work environment that they say prompted their resignations in late January.

Jackie Aboud, a third former San Bernardino employee, went public three weeks later with similar hostile work environment allegations.

City commissioner Alissa Payne and part-time legislative field representative Don Smith have since accused Valdivia of abusing his power.

Prior to and early in his tenure as mayor, Valdivia was admonished by city officials for behavior that interfered with the administration of the city and was in violation of the Municipal Code.

Two years ago, former City Attorney Gary Saenz explicitly warned the two-term councilman that his conduct could expose the city to liability related to a hostile work environment.

In light of the recent allegations, Councilwoman Sandra Ibarra has urged Valdivia to step down if they are true.

Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Redlands, has called for the mayor to step down immediately.

The City Council’s web conference begins at 7 p.m. and can be streamed at sbcity.org.

https://www.sbsun.com/...sment-claims/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_content=tw-sbsun[4/14/2020 9:46:37 AM] ADVERTISEMENT

CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT

Scientists say Joshua trees may warrant listing as a threatened species

The moon rises over Joshua trees inside Joshua Tree National Park, (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

By LOUIS SAHAGUN STAFF WRITER

APRIL 13, 2020 | 2:50 PM Joshua trees face the risk of extinction after decades of development, drought and more frequent wildfires due to climate change in their Mojave Desert stronghold, according to state wildlife authorities who are recommending that the trees be considered for listing as an endangered species.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife on Monday said it based its recommendation on a review of a petition submitted by the Center for Biological Diversity, which argues that the western Joshua tree’s spindly desert woodlands are “likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future” without protection under the California Endangered Species Act.

The fate of Joshua Tree National Park’s namesake plant is now in the hands of the state Fish and Game commissioners. They are to decide in June whether to accept the department’s recommendation and declare the tree a candidate for listing. If the trees are listed, the law requires state wildlife managers to devise a recovery plan for them, which could limit development on some of Southern California’s sunniest real estate.

A final decision is expected sometime next year.

Public announcement of the department’s recommendation was delayed several days due to a teleconference with the commissioners on Thursday that descended into chaos after they were overwhelmed by hundreds of angry anglers participating in the call. Many of the critics who labeled the commissioners “fascists” and shouted “make fishing great again!” mistakenly believed they aimed to cancel the entire fishing season statewide.

Conservationists see Monday’s announcement as a triumph of state environmental law. Critics, however, describe it as misguided overreach because Joshua trees are already protected under many city and county ordinances, and within the 800,000-acre national park.

“We’re elated that Joshua trees are a step closer to protection,” said Brendan Cummings, the center’s conservation director and a resident of the community of Joshua Tree. “We urge the state to finalize these protections quickly so Joshua trees can survive and thrive in California for generations to come.”

But the prospect of offering more protection to Joshua trees concerns some residents in struggling high desert communities such as Yucca Valley, about 10 miles northwest of the main entrance to the national park.

SPONSORED CONTENT 4 ways businesses are getting the tech they need now with...  By Hewlett Packard Enterprise In this uncertain time, HPE Financial Services has options to alleviate the strain felt by businesses.

The town of 21,000 residents, which sits along California 62 about 25 miles north of Palm Springs, has a median household income of about $45,200, compared with about $60,100 countywide, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

“In my opinion, Joshua trees are as majestic as redwoods,” said Bob Armstrong, a real estate broker and resident of Yucca Valley for 40 years. “But it would be ridiculous to make it tougher than it already is for citizens to move a Joshua tree in order to improve their property by, say, building a swimming pool.”

Local jurisdictions in Joshua tree habitat that currently have plant protection ordinances include Hesperia, Palmdale, Victorville, Yucca Valley and Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.

CALIFORNIA

In Joshua Tree, the county is cracking down on vacation rentals, sparking a backlash Feb. 10, 2020

The petition argues, however, that existing state laws and ordinances that require permits to harvest or sell native desert plants may help protect individual trees but are largely inadequate at protecting the species from habitat loss.

In addition, since Joshua trees are not listed as threatened or endangered species, it is uncertain whether the potential environmental effects of a large-scale development or highway project would be adequately mitigated, the petition says.

Researchers for decades have warned that time is running out for the trees, which reach about 40 feet in height and live about 200 years. Many desert species rely on the trees’ blossoms, roots, inner chambers and decaying husks to complete their life cycles: yucca moths, bobcats, termites, skipper butterflies, desert night lizards, kangaroo rats and 20 species of birds, including Scott’s orioles, ladder-backed woodpeckers and great horned owls.

Recent studies show the tree’s range is contracting at lower elevations, and its reproduction has all but come to halt.

Joshua trees were once dispersed across landscapes with help from ancient pack rats and elephant-size giant ground sloths, a finding based on the abundance of seeds found in fossilized dung. But these sloths went extinct about 10,000 years ago, taking away the tree’s Johnny Appleseed. Today, rodents are its main agents of seed dispersal.

Beyond their ecological value, Joshua trees are cultural mainstays for movies, fashion shoots, advertising campaigns and wedding ceremonies.

The tree was named for the biblical figure Joshua by a band of Mormons traveling through the Cajon Pass back to Utah in 1857. They imagined the trees as prophets, their outstretched limbs pointing the way to their promised land.

During the 1980s, hundreds of thousands of Joshua trees were replaced by development in desert boom towns. Many more were removed later to make way for transmission lines and renewable energy facilities.

In the 1990s, heavy rains triggered explosive growth of exotic grasses throughout Southern California’s desert regions. Feeding off nitrogen-laden smog wafting in from the Los Angeles area, the grasses left Joshua tree forests vulnerable to large-scale brush fires.

Now, the trees are failing to reproduce at hotter, drier lower elevations and scientists project they could become functionally extinct in California by the end of the century.

Prolonged droughts, which are expected to occur with greater frequency and intensity over the coming decades, will lead to higher death rates for mature Joshua trees, scientists say.

The western Joshua tree is one of two genetically distinct species that occur in California. It has a boomerang-shaped range that extends from the national park westward along the northern slopes of the San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountains, northward along the eastern flanks of the Sierra Nevada and eastward to the edges of Death Valley National Park.

About 40% of the western Joshua tree’s range is on private land where state endangered species law would apply, according to the petition, and includes the cities of Palmdale, Lancaster, Hesperia, Victorville and Yucca Valley.

The eastern Joshua tree’s range in California is centered in the Mojave National Preserve and eastward into Nevada.

“Unfortunately, federal wildlife and public land managers are doing little to address the realities of climate change,” Cummings said. “If the Joshua tree is to survive in California, it is essential that the state step in and lead recovery efforts before it’s too late.”

CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT