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California Healthline Original Stories

'Essential' Or Not, These Workers Report For Duty

In Los Angeles County and beyond, people continue to toil through the coronavirus pandemic, often in positions that put them in constant contact with the public. Many are low-wage workers who can't afford to stop working. (Heidi de Marco, 4/1)

 News Of The Day

Newsom Warns Against Complacency: 'The Only Regret We Will Have Is If People Cut The Parachute Before We Land': Some evidence now suggests that California's early decision to adopt aggressive social distancing policies may be helping to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus compared to other key states. But the governor said it's still too early for optimism. "We are not out of the woods yet—by no stretch of the imagination," he said. The number of confirmed cases in the state topped 8,000, with more than 170 deaths. Los Angeles County officials Tuesday confirmed 10 new coronavirus-linked deaths and reported the first such fatality of a health care worker. The number of deaths in the county is at least 54. Other public health officials mirrored Newsom's caution. "I want to say that: The incredible sacrifice that everyone has made, I believe it is starting to bend the curve. But it's not enough and it hasn't been in place long enough, so we need to keep at it, we just need to keep at it," said Dr. Sara Cody, the Santa Clara County public health officer. Read more from Ben Christopher of CalMatters and Paige St. John, Rong-Gong Lin II, Richard Winton and Howard Blume of the Los Angeles Times.

In related news from the Los Angeles Times: Seven Patients Were An Early Sign The Coronavirus Was On The Loose In L.A. County

Dozens Of California Health Care Workers Have Been Infected While Caring For Patients: Nurse Brenna Frigulti, who has been working at the Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center, is one of dozens of California health care workers sickened while caring for coronavirus patients. In particular, Frigulti worries about protections being offered health workers amid gear shortages. Meanwhile, the California Department of Public Health drastically curtailed the kind of coronavirus data it is sharing with the public this week — including the number of health care workers who test positive for COVID-19 each day — at a time when the public is hungry for the information. The number of infected health care workers in California jumped 52% in one day — from 48 to 73 — between Friday and Saturday, the last time the state reported the numbers. Read more from Mallory Moench of the San Francisco Chronicle.

California Granting Early Release For 3,500 Inmates Amid Worries Outbreak Would Spread Rapidly in Jails: Lawyers for Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday told a panel of federal judges the state is taking "extraordinary and unprecedented protective measures" to slow the spread of the virus and protect those who live and work within California's 35 prisons. The accelerated prison discharges — affecting inmates due to be released over the next 60 days — come in the face of pressure to do much more. Lawyers representing inmates in long-standing civil rights litigation against the prison system have asked those judges for broader prison releases, as well as protective measures to reduce the threat to older or medically vulnerable inmates not likely to be considered for release. Read more from Paige St. John of the Los Angeles Times.

In related news from the Sacramento Bee: See Where California Inmates Are Winning Early Release Because Of Coronavirus Fears

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: 154 Dead, Hospitals Not Yet Overwhelmed
The coronavirus pandemic continues to reach somber milestones worldwide and within the United States, where more than 3,800 people have died of the virus, and serious concern is still growing surrounding hospital capacities and critically needed medical supplies like ventilators. California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday called for "thousands and thousands" more medical workers to treat the state's surge of COVID-19 patients, issuing an executive order giving flexibility in hospital staffing ratios and "scope of practice" regulations. Newsom also called for recently retired health workers to sign up for the state's new Health Corps, to come back to the front lines and fight the virus. (McGough and Bobo, 3/31)

Sacramento Bee: Health Care Authority: Let Health Care Workers Use Own Masks
The U.S. body that sets standards for and accredits 22,000 health care organizations recommended Tuesday that employers not only allow health care workers to bring face masks from home but also allow them to choose when to wear them. Leaders of The Joint Commission stated: "We are receiving reports from across the country that some hospitals are prohibiting staff from bringing in their own N95 respirators, surgical masks, and home-made cloth masks. ... In circumstances of PPE shortages, it is better to allow staff the opportunity to enhance their protection, even if the degree of that increased protection is uncertain." (Anderson, 1/1)

Fresno Bee: Fresno Lacks Doctors To Staff Coronavirus Emergency Beds
Fresno will have to give away 100 emergency hospital beds intended to treat coronavirus patients because the Valley's long-standing shortage of doctors means there aren't enough medical professionals to monitor those beds. About 250 beds will be delivered to the county after state officials green light the county's proposed field hospital location on Wednesday. The beds will service the seven-county central San Joaquin Valley, but there are not enough doctors in Fresno to staff all units. (Tobias, 3/31)

The Wall Street Journal: Foundation Offers To Buy Los Angeles Hospital, Reopen It For Coronavirus Treatment
A foundation run by the billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times is looking to buy the closed St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles out of bankruptcy for $135 million and reopen it to treat coronavirus patients. The Chan Soon-Shiong Family Foundation, a nonprofit founded about a decade ago by Patrick Soon-Shiong and his wife, Michele B. Chan, has agreed to serve as the lead bidder to acquire St. Vincent from the hospital's bankrupt owner, Verity Health System of California Inc., according to court papers. (Al-Muslim, 3/31)

San Francisco Chronicle: New Rules: No Playgrounds, Picnics Or Dog Parks; Schools Likely To Remain Closed
Six Bay Area counties announced even more restrictive shelter-in-place orders Tuesday — including limits on how many people can attend a funeral and directives to close golf courses, playgrounds, dog parks and tennis courts — in an effort to further slow the regional coronavirus outbreak. The new restrictions, which take effect at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday and extend the stay-home order until at least May 3, were issued the same day the state superintendent told county officials that California schools should not reopen this school year, according to a letter obtained by The Chronicle. (Allday and Tucker, 3/31)

Fresno Bee: If You Don't Follow Stay At Home Orders, Charges Possible
Central San Joaquin Valley residents who ignore California's shelter-in-place order may soon find themselves with misdemeanor charges. That enforcement option could be considered during a Kings County Board of Supervisors meeting next week, warned Kings County Supervisor Richard Valle in a stern video Tuesday. (George, 3/31)

Los Angeles Times: Outreach Workers Are Glue Of L.A's. Safety Net
They were looking for a man named Wayne who was old and frail and probably hadn't eaten in a while, putting him in the most vulnerable category for contracting the novel coronavirus. Homeless outreach workers Christian Riehl and John Cudol had last seen Wayne in his dilapidated RV, which was parked at 135th Street and Broadway in unincorporated Willowbrook. (Smith, 4/1)

Sacramento Bee: Sacramento CA Homeless Occupy Vacant Home To Avoid COVID-19
As California's mandatory "stay at home" order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus approaches the two-week mark, but with no new shelter beds yet available in Sacramento, three of the city's homeless resorted to a drastic measure over the weekend: moving into a vacant house. Sacramento police Sunday removed three homeless adults who had been living in a vacant Land Park home. The incident ended peacefully, as police detained the three adults in squad cars, cited them for trespassing and released them, while a group of activists watched and took videos. (Clift, 1/1)

Los Angeles Times: Women Get Creative As Coronavirus Bears Down On L.A. Hospitals
Two weeks before her son was due, Layla Shaikley sat down to repack her hospital bag. In went the Adidas slides, Glossier blush, washable prayer mat and a new baby swaddle printed with protective nazar eyes. Out went the "Big Sister" T-shirts for her toddler Kamila, replaced with Shaikley's iPad — a tool she now fears could be her only source of support in the delivery room. (Sharp, 4/1)

Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus: Farmworkers, Essential To Our Food Supply, Are At Risk
Before heading out with his crew of farmworkers, field lead Carlos Garcia donned a blue button-up shirt, a jacket, jeans and work boots. He washed his hands before slipping gloves over them. He washed his hands when he got to the orange grove near Visalia in the San Joaquin Valley, where pickers filled nearly 100 bins with Cara Cara oranges on a recent sunny morning. He washed his hands before and after using the restroom. He washed his hands before he left the ranch. (Castillo, 4/1)

San Francisco Chronicle: Coronavirus: Crime Falls Dramatically In Bay Area Cities As Residents Stay Home
Crime in some of the Bay Area's largest cities fell sharply during the first week of the region's shelter-in-place orders as streets emptied, shops shuttered and tens of thousands of people were forced to work from home. The trend is a rare piece of good news amid the global coronavirus pandemic, and criminologists think it could hold as long as social restrictions remain in place. (Palomino and Cassidy, 3/31)

San Francisco Chronicle: San Francisco Projecting Budget Shortfall As High As $1.7 Billion Because Of The Coronavirus
The staggering economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to create a budget deficit in San Francisco of from $1.1 billion to $1.7 billion over the next two fiscal years, city officials said Tuesday. The grim projections, released by Mayor London Breed and City Controller Ben Rosenfield, accompanied an announcement that San Francisco's budget-setting process would be delayed for two months to buy the city's financial experts time to readjust their spending plans in light of stark revenue losses. (Fracassa, 3/31)

Sacramento Bee: Coronavirus CA: Santa Rosa Police Officer Dies From COVID-19
A Santa Rosa police officer died Tuesday from coronavirus complications, the Santa Rosa Police Department announced. The officer, identified as Marylou Armer, worked as a detective and was a 20-year veteran of the department. Armer was among the first two members of the department to test positive for COVID-19 on March 24, the department said in a social media post and news release. She later "succumbed to complications from the illness." (Sullivan, 3/31)

CalMatters: A's For All? Coronavirus Impacts College Grading Policies
The weekend before the coronavirus-induced Bay Area lockdown, Anna Tseselsky tried to catch up on homework assignments and found that she couldn't focus. "I was getting really anxious. Everyone was unsure of what was happening," Tseselsky, a junior at UC Berkeley, said. Family members were calling, urging her to stock up on food and essentials — so instead of studying, she dedicated the weekend to scavenging supermarket shelves for cleaning supplies and toilet paper. (Arredondo, 3/31)

Fresno Bee: Coronavirus: How To Get Financial Help During CA Lockdown
As millions of Americans lose jobs, shifts and other sources of income during the coronavirus health crisis, financial experts worry about loan sharks who stand to profit. "We saw this during the foreclosure crisis, where people were in distress and scammers took advantage to promise to help people connect to relief for a fee they could not afford," said Kevin Stein, deputy director of the California Reinvestment Coalition. In 2018, there were 133 payday lenders in the central San Joaquin Valley, according to California records. But there were nearly 198 ten years prior when the valley began feeling the effects of the 2008 recession and spiking unemployment. (Tobias, 3/31)

Sacramento Bee: Pandemic Drives CA Unemployment To Great Recession Level
It took the coronavirus pandemic less than a month to triple California's unemployment rolls and plunge the state's economy into a tailspin comparable to the Great Recession. Gov. Gavin Newsom, in his daily update on the fight against COVID-19 on Tuesday, said "well over 1.6 million Californians" have filed for unemployment. A record 150,000 Californians filed claims Monday alone, he said. (Kasler and Reese, 4/1)

Sacramento Bee: Coronavirus Complicates PG&E Bankruptcy Plan For CA Victims
Like a lot of Paradise residents who lost their homes in the Camp Fire, Michael Zuccolillo is furious at PG&E Corp. and isn't thrilled about the utility's plan for paying wildfire victims to get out of bankruptcy. But in a world suddenly consumed with economic uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, he isn't sure he and his fellow wildfire victims can afford to walk away from PG&E's most recent offer. "If we say no to this, what's coming down the pike?" said Zuccolillo, the vice mayor of Paradise. "It's possible … a no vote puts us in a riskier position." (Kasler, 4/1)