Coronavirus updates: California surpasses 1,500 dead; changes to unemployment process
California this week suffered its worst 24-hour spike in coronavirus deaths — 115 between Wednesday and Thursday, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom and state health officials.
The death toll wasn’t that much better Friday. During his daily press briefing, Newsom said 93 more people who tested positive for COVID-19 died the day before in California, adding to the deadliest week in the state since the pandemic began.
“Those should be sobering and cautionary statistics as it relates to the desire that we all have to get back to some semblance of normalcy and answer the question of when that will happen,” Newsom said.
Death figures continue to increase across California, but COVID-19, the disease caused by the highly contagious coronavirus, is by no means impacting the state’s population of 40 million people evenly.
For the second consecutive day, Newsom mentioned the California Department of Public Health noticed positive signs in the state’s COVID-19 data despite the increases in cases and deaths. The number of patients who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus remained stable at 3,344 and the number of patients requiring care in ICU beds increased by 1 percent to 1,216.
“Hospitalizations were flat yesterday, no statistical growth,” Newsom said. “You saw yesterday’s decline from the previous day and today we’re seeing with that decline, a flattening. So some stability. We continue to say stability in our models, but particular stability in hospitalizations, that’s good news.”
As of Friday afternoon, a Sacramento Bee survey of counties’ individual public health departments showed 1,539 COVID-19 fatalities statewide. More than half of them, 798, have come in Los Angeles County, which makes up about 25 percent of the state’s population.
Sacramento County in a Thursday update reported five additional deaths from the virus, the jurisdiction’s second-deadliest day since the start of the pandemic, which brought the total death toll there to 41. Another 13 have died in neighboring Yolo County and eight in Placer County as of early Friday, according to those counties’ health departments.
Other, far less densely populated counties have reported no COVID-19 deaths so far. El Dorado County reported two new cases Friday afternoon, bringing the total number of cases there to 42. Of those, only five cases are “active,” the rest recovered..
Given the nature of the pandemic, outbreaks like the one seen in Los Angeles County — which was approaching 18,000 confirmed infections as of Friday — are not surprising in tightly packed urban hubs, just as it is unsurprising that New York City has been devastated by the coronavirus, reporting more than 16,000 fatalities so far, according to data by Johns Hopkins University.
But, as Newsom said earlier this week during a daily news briefing, rural parts of the state face their own unique challenges and dangers from the ongoing coronavirus crisis. A moderate-sized outbreak in some counties could overwhelm smaller hospitals in those areas.
Newsom therefore rebuffed calls from local leaders — including Placerville city officials and a number of mayors and county leaders from several different parts of the state — who had called upon the governor to loosen or modify his statewide stay-at-home order.
“If you’re living in a community where you think, ‘Well, we’re immune, we’re OK, we’ve got this. We’re not LA, we’re not some of these other counties in the state of California,’ I hope you’ll disabuse yourself of that and consider the fact that some of the most challenging parts of the state remain some of our rural parts of our state,” Newsom said this week.
Newsom said there was still plenty of work to do as California continues to focus on six key areas the governor says must see marked improvement before reopening can commence, diagnostic testing and contact tracing chief among them.
Newsom on Friday also made reference to “persons under investigation,” who are patients that are believed to have the coronavirus but have not been tested or not received test results yet. The governor said the number of “PUIs” in hospitals and ICU units around the state decreased from Thursday, when there were just north of 1,600 patients under investigation hospitalized including slightly more than 300 in ICU beds.
“Some encouraging signs, but we’re not by any stretch of the imagination in a position to say those six indicators with which we make our determination about the future of our stay-at-home orders that any new lights are yet green.”
The governor’s mandate, issued March 19, has brought the state economy to a virtual standstill, shuttered small businesses including popular local diners, prompted mass layoffs and furloughs, and brought unemployment numbers to unprecedented highs. Newsom’s office this week made the small step of allowing hospitals to resume scheduling elective surgeries, such as tumor removals; but as far as loosening restrictions order in a more widespread way for the public at large, “there is no date” yet for when Californians should expect a reopening.
Face coverings required in Yolo County
Yolo County has made it mandatory to wear non-medical grade masks or face coverings in public or while working at an essential job, an effort to curb spread of the coronavirus, according to a Friday morning announcement.
The county in a statement announced the new health order, which it says takes effect immediately but is “not enforceable” until 8 a.m. Monday.
Face coverings will be required in public settings, including but not limited to shopping at a store, waiting in line outside the store, picking up food from a restaurant or while taking public transportation or ridesharing. Businesses must also require employees, contractors and volunteers to wear face coverings at their workplace, and inform customers by posting signs telling them to do so.
Businesses also must refuse service to any customer not wearing a face covering, the order says.
Face coverings are not required at home, while in a car alone or with members of the same household, or outdoors when “walking, hiking, bicycling or running” for exercise. Residents must still keep six feet of distance when outside.
Children under 2 or those with health conditions whose doctors have advised against wearing face coverings are also not required to wear them.
Yolo County becomes the first in the four-county Sacramento region to make face coverings mandatory rather than a recommendation. Others in the Bay Area and Southern California, including Contra Costa and Los Angeles counties, have mandated masks since the start of last week.
Roseville: Businesses near ‘irretrievable loss’ under order
Roseville is urging Placer County officials to demand local agencies have more autonomy over lifting stay-at-home orders, as the coronavirus pandemic threatens to irreparably damage the local economy.
“It cannot be overemphasized that many elements of our economy are nearing a point of irretrievable loss,” wrote Mayor John B. Allard II in a letter sent on behalf of the City Council to the county Board of Supervisors and county health official Thursday.
He saying the city is encouraged by health data showing the county has “flattened the curve” but “we must now include a focus on the long-term damage that response has created.”
Roseville City Council’s letter calls on county officials to appeal to Newsom to “allow a degree of responsible autonomy at the county level” to determine timelines for lifting the order, and asks them to involve local leaders in plans for reopening the economy.
“This will ensure one area’s economy isn’t sacrificed because of what’s happening in another part of the state,” Allard wrote.
Across California, cities and counties have begun to pressure Gov. Gavin Newsom to start allowing exceptions and adjustments to the state’s stay-at-home order — neighborhood parks and beaches have started to reopen, protesters have rallied at the Capitol, tourist attractions are already taking summer reservations.
Latest Sacramento numbers: County over 1,000 cases, 62 dead in region
There have been 1,357 lab-confirmed coronavirus cases and 62 COVID-19 deaths across Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer and Yolo counties as of Friday afternoon.
The number of cases in the region continues to grow, but it’s slowed some — there were 169 new cases this week, compared to 305 new cases across the region last week. Deaths have also slowed slightly as well: 14 died this week, compared to 17 the previous week.
Sacramento County surpassed 1,000 total cases in Friday’s update, but no additional deaths were reported overnight, after five new fatalities were disclosed in the previous day’s update and two more on Tuesday morning.
Sacramento County reports 41 deaths among 1,019 confirmed cases, last updated at 10 a.m. Friday. Of the fatalities, 22 are in the capital city, four in Citrus Heights, three in Elk Grove, two in Rancho Cordova and 10 in unincorporated parts of the county, according to the county public health department website.
El Dorado County has reported 42 cases of COVID-19 so far with no deaths, as of Friday afternoon, according to its public health department. The El Dorado Hills area has the highest concentration of cases, with a total of 16 infected there. Fourteen tested positive in the Lake Tahoe area, five in the greater Placerville area and the rest are scattered throughout the foothills.
Placer County reports 139 confirmed coronavirus cases and eight total COVID-19 deaths, last updated 10:10 a.m. Friday. Just three new cases were reported between Wednesday and Thursday’s updates. More than 110 of the cases have come in South Placer, which includes Roseville, Rocklin and Lincoln, according to the county’s public health website.
Yolo County reported 157 cases and 13 fatalities as of Friday afternoon, including two new cases and one new death since Thursday. One of those new cases occurred in Woodland, which accounts for about half of all confirmed cases at 80, and another new case in Davis, where there is a total of 18 people infected. West Sacramento has a total of 48 cases, and Winters and unincorporated Yolo County account for 11 total cases.
Federal coronavirus relief funding in California
The first wave of federal coronavirus relief funding, $375 million, has been allocated to state and local governments in California, including $235 million to help local communities and non-profits.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development allocated the funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act. HUD Secretary Ben Carson announced on Twitter Thursday afternoon that notifications about the funding been sent out to California.
The money for local communities will be used for building medical facilities for testing and treatment, acquiring motels and hotels to expand hospital capacity, replacing HVAC systems to convert commercial buildings or empty schools into clinics or treatment centers and supporting businesses manufacturing medical supplies.
The funding includes $118 million to help people experiencing homelessness by building operating more emergency shelters, offering hotel or motel vouchers, prevent homelessness, and providing childcare, education, outreach, employment assistance and outpatient health services.
There also is $7.1 million to help California residents living with HIV or AIDS, along with $14.2 million to help Native American tribes with creating medical screening areas, building residential areas for quarantine and providing housing assistance for vulnerable residents.
$158 billion in stimulus checks delivered to Americans
As of last week, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have sent coronavirus stimulus payments worth nearly $158 billion to more than 88 million people across the country.
A state-by-state breakdown released Friday reveals California, the country’s most populated state, has had the largest payout so far — more than 9.1 million Californians have received their stimulus checks as of April 17, totaling nearly $15.9 billion. That averages to a little more than $1,700 per resident who received payments thus far.
Overall, California residents will get between $25 billion to $30 billion in cash aid to California residents, according to the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office.
California drops unemployment recertification process
The state has seen an enormous number of claims for unemployment insurance amid the COVID-19 pandemic: close to 3.3 million Californians have filed since March 12, Newsom said Thursday.
The surge “has threatened the ability of people to apply for benefits and our ability to pay benefits,” California Labor Secretary Julie Su said in a news release Thursday.
In response, the state Employment Development Department will no longer require those receiving unemployment benefits to recertify their claims every two weeks to continue getting the money.
This change does not eliminate the requirement for initial eligibility reviews for people filing new claims.
Halt on student debt collection, garnishing of stimulus checks
Also on Thursday, Newsom announced that 21 of the 24 largest student loan providers have agreed to a 90-day forebearance of loan repayment collection. The halt comes as an effort led by Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker, Newsom said.
During that three-month period, loan servicers won’t charge late fees, fines or put down bad credit marks for student loan holders.
Newsom also announced an immediate, retroactive executive order prohibiting debt collectors from garnishing Californians’ stimulus checks, with three exceptions: those who owe child support, spousal support or crime victim compensation.
World numbers: Global death toll approaches 200,000
Nearly 2.8 million people have been infected by COVID-19 worldwide as of Friday afternoon, of whom nearly 196,000 have died, according to a data map maintained by Johns Hopkins University.
The United States as of Friday has surpassed 50,000 fatalities, the most of any nation. More than 40 percent of the deaths, at 21,000, have come in New York state.
Another 5,400 have died in New Jersey, close to 3,000 in Michigan and about 2,400 in Massachusetts. California, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Illinois and Louisiana have reported between 1,000 and 2,000 COVID-19 deaths so far. Florida stood about a dozen deaths short of 1,000 early Friday morning.
After the U.S., Italy has reported over 25,500 coronavirus deaths, Spain reports 22,500, France is nearing 22,000 and the United Kingdom is closing in on 19,000, according to Johns Hopkins. Belgium is next at about 6,700 fatalities, followed by Germany and Iran, each at a little more than 5,500.
What is COVID-19? How is the coronavirus spread?
Coronavirus is spread through contact between people within 6 feet of each other, especially through coughing and sneezing that expels respiratory droplets that land in the mouths or noses of people nearby. The CDC says it’s possible to catch the disease COVID-19 by touching something that has the virus on it, and then touching your own face, “but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.”
Symptoms of the virus that causes COVID-19 include fever, cough and shortness of breath, which may occur two days to two weeks after exposure. Most develop only mild symptoms, but some people develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia, which can be fatal. The disease is especially dangerous to the elderly and others with weaker immune systems.
This story was originally published April 24, 2020 at 7:21 AM.
