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California Healthline Original Stories

Photo Essay: LA Under Lockdown

Californians are under orders to stay home to slow the spread of the coronavirus — and the result is that some of Southern California's best-known spots are shuttered or deserted, from Santa Monica Pier to Olvera Street. (Heidi de Marco, 3/24)

California Isn't Testing Enough Children For Lead, Prompting Legislation

A recent report by the California state auditor faults two state health departments for failing to ensure that children receive required blood lead tests and for not doing enough to reduce childhood lead exposure in high-risk areas. Lawmakers are proposing several measures to increase testing. (Harriet Blair Rowan, 3/25)

 News Of The Day

Newsom Warns That Social Distancing Measures Will Likely Last At Least Through April If Not Longer: Californians should expect social distancing measures to last at least through April as the state fights coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday. "We're trying to bend that curve, but we haven't bent it," Newsom said. "April for California would be sooner than any of the experts I talked to would believe is possible." Newsom's comments come a day after President Donald Trump said "America will again and soon be open for business" as the dramatic measures taken to fight the disease have ground much of the country's economy to a halt. Read more from Sophia Bollag of the Sacramento Bee, and Joe Garofoli and Alexei Koseff of the San Francisco Chronicle.

California Health Care Workers Test Positive In What Experts Predict Will Be 'First Of Many': Staff members of the UC Davis Medical Center, including one emergency room nurse, have tested positive for COVID-19. On Monday, David Lubarsky, CEO of UC Davis Health, alerted hospital employees that some of their colleagues had been infected. In his memo to staff, he also defended the hospital's infection-control practices and addressed critics who said the hospital had been performing too many "non-essential" surgeries during the pandemic. Meanwhile, three employees at Laguna Honda, San Francisco's huge city-run nursing home, have tested positive for the new coronavirus, raising the frightening possibility of a wider outbreak in the 750-person facility. Gov. Gavin Newsom now says he's looking at loosening rules governing health care workers to free up more doctors and nurses. The Democratic governor is in talks with hospitals and groups representing medical professionals about how to staff any new medical facilities, including several hospitals the state is leasing. Read more from Ryan Sabalow and Jason Pohl of the Sacramento Bee; Jason Fagone of the San Francisco Chronicle; and Sophia Bollag of the Sacramento Bee.

Multiple Factors Could Explain Why New York's Cases Surged So Dramatically Ahead Of California's: California reported some of the earliest coronavirus cases in the United States in late January. And in the first week of March, California and New York were neck and neck on cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. But over the past week, New York case counts have doubled every few days, and the state now has 10 times the cases California does: 25,000 to 2,500. Infectious-disease experts say early maneuvers in California, especially in the Bay Area — first discouraging people from gathering in crowds and then ordering them to shelter in place — may have had a dramatic impact, even if they came only a few days ahead of those in New York. But other factors may also be in play, such as testing levels. Read more from Erin Allday of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Below, check out the full round-up of California Healthline original stories, state coverage and the best of the rest of the national news for the day.

More News From Across The State

Coronavirus

Sacramento Bee: Coronavirus CA: 49 Dead Statewide As Hospital Needs Increase
As the worldwide infection total has exceeded 400,000 and the U.S. death toll is rapidly rising, the coronavirus is bringing about even more dire and unprecedented measures, especially by governments in the pandemic's hot zones. That includes California, where there are now more than 2,400 confirmed COVID-19 cases and at least 49 deaths as of midday Tuesday, according to a Sacramento Bee survey of numbers released by counties' public health departments. (McGough, 3/24)

Los Angeles Times: Garcetti Warns L.A. Coronavirus Crisis Will Get Much Worse
Mayor Eric Garcetti warned Los Angeles on Tuesday that the worst of the coronavirus pandemic is still to come and that residents should be prepared for more loss of life. Garcetti said L.A. could be six to 12 days from seeing similar numbers to the outbreak in New York City, where the death toll has dramatically increased in recent days. "It's coming," Garcetti said. "The peak is not here yet. The peak will be bad. People will lose their lives." (Parvini, Cosgrove and Winton, 3/24)

Sacramento Bee: HHS Send $446,000 To Sacramento Health Centers For Coronavirus
Sacramento-area health centers are receiving more than $446,000 in federal funding to beef up their response to the coronavirus outbreak. The cash is part of nearly $14 million being sent to centers across California to fight the virus that causes COVID-19 from the Department of Health and Human Services, the agency announced Tuesday. The centers — CARES and Wellspace Health in Sacramento; Communicare in Davis; Elica Health Centers in West Sacramento; El Dorado Community Health Centers in Placerville; along with Sacramento County — are among 178 awardees statewide receiving more than $13.8 million from HHS. (Smith, 3/24)

CalMatters: Coronavirus "Can Impact Anybody And Everybody': L.A. County Teen Is First Infected Youngster To Die In US
A day after chastising beachgoers and day-hikers for failing to take California's stay-at-home edict seriously, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the reported death of a Lancaster teen with the coronavirus is a dire sign that the pandemic "can impact anybody and everybody." If confirmed, it would be the first known COVID-19 fatality of anyone under 18 in the United States. (Christoper and Becker, 3/24)

CalMatters: Bay Area Food Bank Opens Pop-Up Pantries As Demand Rises
As Bay Area food banks scramble to meet increased demand for their services, the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank has opened seven new pop-up pantries to fill a gap left by dozens of sites that have shut down due to coronavirus and volunteer shortages. The food bank has seen about 100 of its regular 275 food pantries close in the past few weeks as volunteers — often elderly themselves — are unable to show up to help keep the distribution sites running. The closures come as tens of thousands of Californians experience job losses and growing financial instability during the statewide shelter-at-home orders. (Hellerstein, 3/24)

San Francisco Chronicle: Coronavirus: National Guard Fills Critical Volunteer Shortage At Silicon Valley Food Bank
As food banks across the Bay Area rush to help a growing number of needy families affected by the coronavirus outbreak, the California National Guard has stepped in to fill one of the state's most critical demands as help from volunteers has all but disappeared. Gov. Gavin Newsom has deployed nearly 500 service members to food banks across six counties — Amador, Monterey, Riverside, Sacramento, Santa Cruz and Santa Clara — and service members arrived Monday at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley in San Jose, said Lt. Col. Jonathan Shiroma, spokesman for the California National Guard. (Sanchez and Said, 3/24)

Fresno Bee: Hospitals Face Doctor Shortage
The central San Joaquin Valley for years has struggled to attract medical doctors, with physician-to-resident ratios well below what medical experts say is needed for adequate healthcare. That was before the coronavirus pandemic. The rapid spread of COVID-19 may well expose the Fresno area to even greater risk if the relatively few doctors in the Valley become infected, health experts told The Bee. (Tobias, 3/24)

San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area Airport Workers At Risk Of Coronavirus Face Looming Layoffs
As the new coronavirus devastates the airline industry, workers at Bay Area airports exposed to health risks are enduring mass layoffs as a potential U.S. travel shutdown looms. At San Francisco International Airport, between 800 and 900 workers soon will be laid off, SEIU United Services Workers West reported. Around 250 airline catering workers were already let go, Unite Here Local 2 Union said. (Moench, 3/24)

Sacramento Bee: How Long Can Sacramento Businesses Survive COVID-19 Shutdown?
Sheri Brunquell, who owns a boutique and events space in Roseville, went from eking out a small profit to losing all her income. Lauren Lundsten was left with $50,000 worth of Hawaiian shirts and other inventory at his midtown Sacramento shop. Dan Elliott, owner of a Roseville music shop, was stuck with rent he couldn't afford and thousands of dollars worth of just-delivered violins and cellos he couldn't pay for. (Kasler and Finch II, 3/25)

Fresno Bee: Fresno, CA Lawyers Want Sick And Elderly Inmates Out Of Jail
Defense attorneys are trying to get their elderly clients out of the Fresno County jail, saying their health is at serious risk if they become infected with coronavirus (COVID-19). But so far, state and federal judges have been reluctant to release anyone because of COVID-19, despite the growing concern about a possible outbreak in the jail. As of Tuesday, there have been no confirmed cases of the virus in the jail, although two inmates were tested recently after going through a screening at the jail. (Rodriguez, 3/25)

Fresno Bee: Fresno County, CA Coronavirus COVID-19 Cases Rise To 18
Five new coronavirus (COVID-19) cases were reported in Fresno County on Tuesday, bringing the county's total up to 18. "The clouds are gathering and we are in for some ominous times," said Rais Vohra, interim health officer of the Fresno County Department of Public Health, during a 4 p.m. conference. "I don't want to beat around the bush about that." (George, 3/24)

Sacramento Bee: El Dorado CA First Community Transmitted Coronavirus Case
Officials announced on Tuesday El Dorado County has its first confirmed case of community-transmitted coronavirus in a resident who acquired the COVID-19 respiratory illness from an unknown source. County Public Health Officer Dr. Nancy Williams said officials there have prepared for community-transmitted coronavirus cases, and the first reported case underscores the importance of staying at home to slow the COVID-19 spread. (Ahumada, 3/24)

CalMatters: California Eases Cannabis And Alcohol Rules Amid Coronavirus
There may be a coronavirus pandemic, but California is making it easier than ever for housebound and anxious residents to get buzzed. In a series of new orders and regulations, state authorities have eased restrictions on cannabis dispensaries and on restaurants in the booze business to help them weather the financial impact of shelter-in-place orders. (Christopher, 3/24)

Fresno Bee: Fresno, CA Translaters Speak COVID-19 In Native Languages
Anuvir Singh, a 27-year-old from Fresno who is a medical student at UC San Francisco, is dispensing critical public health information in Punjabi in the response to the coronavirus crisis. For the tens of thousands of people in the central San Joaquin Valley who don't speak English at home, experts like Singh have become a critical resource in a world where life-saving public health information in a native language is either unavailable, distorted, or released too late. (Bergstrom, 3/25)