California shutdown: COVID forces state to the edge- CalMatters Better understanding of who is at risk of vaccine failure and may require a booster is a high priority. No, I dont think we need to close down again, at this time. Did you go to a clinic? Chief among them: the cost. California was the first state to implement a stay-at-home order last year, on March 19, plunging the states 40 million residents into the nations largest experiment in preventing transmission of the virus. Gavin Newsom says, statewide order that requires Californians to wear a mask. On the one hand, we have issues of equity and histories of structural racism and access limiting vaccine coverage, and on the other hand, we have kids who are, as you say, simply not eligible. The state will, however, keep in place a mask mandate for the foreseeable future, and there will be some limits on large indoor events or conventions of more than 5,000 people at least until fall. California plans to lift all its coronavirus restrictions on June 15, provided there are enough Covid-19 vaccines available for anyone age 16 or older and hospitalizations remain low and stable . Early data from Britain show that vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic disease for Omicron falls to 34% six months after the second dose of the initial two-shot Pfizer vaccination series. [Read about how politics have shaped Gov. There are hundreds of testing sites across Southern California, and rapid test kits can be bought at pharmacies or ordered online. California conducted an average of 156,000 daily tests over the past two weeks, compared to 114,000 at the same point in July and about 1,900 in early April, state data show. Restaurants are also shuttering across the state, and the mayors of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland and San Rafael recently joined 21 others across the country in begging Congress to provide emergency relief to stave off permanent closures and catastrophic economic impacts. If this virus has taught us anything, its that hubris is our enemy. Her reporting, essays, and opinion columns have been published in San Francisco Weekly, the Deseret News, the San Francisco Now, as the focus has turned to the states vaccine rollout, Californians have been frustrated with what theyve seen as a confusing and chaotic effort. COVID and confusing rules challenge California school reopenings As of February 28, 2023, the Governor terminated the state's COVID-19 State of Emergency. Saturday at the 2023 #AmericasGP - Facebook Many said that bureaucratic hurdles, complicated by limited phone or internet access, were insurmountable. 'People are desperate': California shutdown pushes businesses to (This article is part of the California Today newsletter. Other states have already eased health restrictions at a time when the Biden administration is pleading with them not to make those changes just yet. But that doesnt mean the vaccines arent working. Things got weird fast, Opinion: California wants more psychiatric detentions. And once you finish your plan, compare it to those created by others and share it on social media. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. During a routine update Monday on COVID-19's impact throughout the state, Newsom stressed the importance for individuals to "mitigate the likelihood and need" to reverse course by being mindful of their actions as more aspects of the economy are reopened. A little more than a month after California fully reopened, the state's coronavirus positivity rate has skyrocketed from 0.7%to 5.2% a figure not seen since early February. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. A key problem with Omicron is that it may have a higher chance of reinfecting people who previously survived a coronavirus infection but still havent been vaccinated. "Escheat" simply means that the deceased's property will revert to the state. The battle over state psychiatric beds. The number of patients hospitalized with the virus has gone up 29% in just two weeks, from 3,177 to 4,095. Please contact CalMatters with any commentary questions: commentary@calmatters.org, Emily Hoeven wrote the daily WhatMatters newsletter for three years at CalMatters . California and Michigan moved to shut down indoor dining, and Philadelphia severely limited indoor gatherings. // Los Angeles Times, Firing upheld for California police who played video game during holdup. A firefighter worked on the Kincade Fire in Kellogg, Calif., in October 2019. Some institutions are looking at requiring booster shots. Want to submit a guest commentary or reaction to an article we wrote? Theres been so much confusing media coverage around this question, so I hope I can help clarify. If Omicron is, for example, 30% less severe, but new cases go up by five times, thats still awful, [with] far more hospitalizations & deaths than comparable Delta surge, Wachter wrote. The country is facing a possible fourth surge of the virus, and there are concerns about the spread of virus variants. This is the end result of what happens when a person dies intestate and does not have any surviving legal heirs. // San Francisco Chronicle. The San Joaquin Valleys hospitals have been overwhelmed since the Delta surge began; the Bay Areas hospitals have not sounded similar alarms. He also phased out the executive actions put in place since March 2020 as part of the pandemic response. Are we seeing an uptick in breakthrough cases? Its about resourcefulness, he said in 2020. Coronavirus case counts have been climbing in many states. COVID-19 RISK CALCULATOR: Quiz yourself on the safest, most dangerous things you can do as CA reopens. Some experts say its important to be safe but also not to overreact to an Omicron surge, such as deciding to shut down schools. There are a couple of studies to suggest that if you are infected with Delta, you may be more likely to be hospitalized. San Diego Healths chief information officer, predicted continued frustration as more people become eligible but supply is not available to meet demand., [Track coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and the vaccine rollout across California. Projected losses from a major California earthquake soar. Improving global access is the right thing to do for everyone. With that being said, I think another important message is that, even though the vaccines appear to be highly effective against Delta, that doesnt mean vaccinated people shouldnt be concerned. Governor Gavin Newsom today extended for the third time the state of . I think thats really important for people to be aware of. New developments are posing both good news and bad news. A third Pfizer dose, however, raises that effectiveness back up to 76%, Rutherford said. Timeline: Notable moments, events 1 year after COVID-19 shutdown - KCRA California Gov. Gavin Newsom faces a COVID quandary - CalMatters 1. If we were just going to rely on vaccination, then, yes, with Delta we almost certainly cant get to that situation purely through vaccination. Some experts think it would help to make some adjustments, but many health experts are also emphasizing the importance of seeing family and friends. Los Angeles County on Tuesday urged residents to postpone nonessential gatherings and avoid some activities. And indeed, thats what were seeing. Four residential units in an adjacent building were initially red-tagged as unsafe and then overnight all 24 units were evacuated because the hillside continued to move, said Mayor Chris Duncan. Testing is also important, and I dont think we should neglect the role of testing just because we have vaccines. Image via iStock In summary The highly contagious Delta variant now accounts for nearly 83% of California's sequenced coronavirus cases up from 53% in late June and just 6% in late May. 1 thing we can do to protect unvaccinated people is to get vaccinated. Leaving aside the question of severity, it certainly poses more danger to those who are unvaccinated. Falling debris halted rail service on shoreline tracks at the base of the cliff that are used by Metrolink and Amtraks Pacific Surfliner, officials said. Los Angeles Unified, the states largest, reopened Tuesday but, with more than 62,000 students and staff testing positive for COVID, nearly 2,000 district employees had to step in to keep things running. If all goes well, were expecting vaccines to be available for children in October, so we just need to get them past this window. I have a 6-year-old and a 10-year-old, and thats what they wear to school and indoors in public places and will continue to do so. All rights reserved. "States will be more accountable to us and can cooperate and compete for citizens.". Did you wait at a mass vaccination site in hopes of scoring an unused dose? Continued use of face masks indoors, paired with vaccination, rapid testing and contact tracing, can help prevent another shut down in the face of the highly transmissible Delta variant, a UC Berkeley public health expert says. The inmates attorneys say the hospitals should start accepting prisoners without first requiring they test negative for COVID-19, as well as those who have tested positive. In this image from KABC7 video, is an aerial view of a landslide on the western side of the Casa Romantica and Cultural Center and Gardens in San Clemente, Calif., on Thursday, April 27, 2023. Although the state needs to build an estimated 125,000 affordable housing units annually through 2029 to meet demand, its only supported an average of 19,000 units annually, the auditor found. The news comes as California scrambles to find permanent homes for homeless people temporarily housed in hotels amid the pandemic and thousands of renters stare down an eviction moratorium that expires in February. A previous light at the end of the tunnel turned out to be a freight train called Delta.. Official: California COVID surge could ease next month While most large states have one department that handles affordable housing funding, California has five and they report to different elected officials, meaning no one oversees the entire system, the Los Angeles Times reports. Weve had so much rain, unprecedented amounts of rain in the last several months, that these hillsides are very unstable, Katrina Foley, a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, told KABC-TV. Officials are concerned that lower vaccination rates in areas, like the Central Valley, could result in a winter coronavirus surge. What does it mean for L.A.? But its important for people to continue to protect themselves and protect their loved ones. My husband and I definitely wear masks if we go into public spaces where we dont know the vaccination status of everybody in that space. My colleagues put together thoughts from readers on what may be different about our lives from before. Its also possible that parts of highly vaccinated coastal California might be able to withstand the variant better than inland areas, which have struggled with getting residents inoculated as well as promoting mask wearing in indoor public places. As coronavirus ravages Californias psychiatric hospital system, the Department of State Hospitals has found itself enmeshed in a web of lawsuits one asking it to release patients, another asking it to admit more. That's a 69% increase in new cases in just two days. Consequently, this list will no longer be updated unless case rates again force a substantial number of schools to close. By December, hospitals especially in hard-hit areas, like Los Angeles were overwhelmed with patients, and the state ordered Californians to stay at home again. // Associated Press, California budget surplus could lead to early CalPERS debt payments. In San Francisco, 45% of children in this age group have received at least one dose of vaccine, compared to 21% in L.A. County and 10% in San Bernardino County. Here's how to get them Dec. 20, 2021 Early data from Britain show that vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic disease for. On Monday, the California Department of Housing and Community Development announced it would temporarily pause some affordable housing funding programs while other state agencies revised their funding criteria in order to achieve increased collaboration and alignment for our customers., 2. California Landslide Halts Rail Service, Homes Evacuated - US News And with the higher underlying transmissibility, cases are now going up, and were expecting that to continue. By David Caraccio This story was. Six of the units are residential and the rest are vacation rentals, he said. [New York Times], Many people living in homeless shelters and on the street have not received the federal stimulus checks theyre entitled to. Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy. Gavin Newsom initiated prior lockdowns in March and July? Yes. What were looking for is a combination of things that keep the epidemic under good control, while keeping our society and schools open and allowing us to go about our lives. Making sense of monkeypox and California's state of emergency August 04, 2022 The answer is yes.