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San Bernardino County reopens libraries in 7 communities – San Bernardino Sun
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By BRIAN WHITEHEAD | [email protected] | San Bernardino SunPUBLISHED: June 22, 2020 at 3:59 p.m. | UPDATED: June 22, 2020 at 4:00 p.m.
San Bernardino County libraries in select cities will reopen Tuesday, June 23, with modified hours.
Locations in Apple Valley, Chino Hills, Fontana, Hesperia, Highland, Needles and Trona will welcomevisitors from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday.
The move to reopen several of the county’s 32 branch libraries comes amid a recent upswing incoronavirus cases in the region as businesses gradually begin to welcome back patrons.
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San Bernardino County reopens libraries in 7communitiesThe move comes amid a recent upswing in coronavirus cases regionally
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San Bernardino County reopens libraries in 7 communities – San Bernardino Sun
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Surging coronavirus cases in U.S. raisefear that progress is slipping
Which Southern California casinos haveresumed bus programs
Here’s when Disneyland and otherSouthern California theme parks plan toreopen
Coronavirus testing up in Riverside, SanBernardino counties
Coronavirus state tracker: Californiapasses 5,500 deaths as of June 21
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Friday, nail salons and tattoo parlors were the latest businesses to reopen after closing in March tostem the spread of the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, the potentially lethal disease the viruscauses.
Earlier this month, bars, gyms and move theaters reopened to guests.
For more information, visit sbclib.org or call 909-387-2220.
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Coronavirus Update
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By Amaray D. Alvarez, Palm Springs Desert SunPosted Jun 22, 2020 at 3:51 PM
San Bernardino County health officials confirmed 205 new cases of COVID-19cases and one additional death on Monday.
The county has now reported a total of 9,361 cases and 234 deaths. Eight of thenew cases were in Victorville, while five were in Hesperia.
More than half of the county’s deaths have been among people over 70. Of thetotal number of cases cases, about 1,760 are among people ages 30 to 39. Thereare about 1,666 cases are among people ages 20 to 29 and 1,643 cases ages 40 to49.
An additional 2,156 tests were conducted in the past 24 hours, officials reportedMonday, bringing the county’s total number of tests to 109,061. The county isconsistently testing below its target number of 3,288 tests per day.
An estimated 8.6% of people have tested positive.
As of Saturday, the county reported there were 252 COVID-19 patientshospitalized, a 9.7% increase from the previous day. Thirty-four of the county’s1,136 surge capacity beds are currently in use.The county projects that 5,450people have recovered.
Here is the list of cases and deaths in the high desert. Changes from Sunday arein parentheses:
Adelanto: 126 cases (+2), 3 deaths
Apple Valley: 123 cases (+2), 2 deaths
County reports 205 new virus cases, 1 more
death
Barstow: 34 cases (+1), 2 deaths
Fort Irwin: 2 cases
Hesperia: 240 cases (+5), 2 deaths
Joshua Tree: 18 cases (+1), 2 deaths
Morongo Valley: 7 cases
Oak Hills: 35 cases (+2), 1 death
Phelan: 32 cases (+2)
Twentynine Palms: 12 cases
Victorville: 397 cases (+8), 8 deaths
Yucca Valley: 32 cases, 1 death
Here is the list of cases and deaths in mountain communities:
Big Bear City: 4 cases
Big Bear Lake: 7 cases
Blue Jay: 1 death
Crestline: 19 cases, 2 deaths
Rimforest: 1 case
Running Springs: 5 cases
Wrightwood: 2 cases
Amaray Alvarez is an intern at The Desert Sun. You may reach her at
Fontana becomes 3rd San Bernardino County city with 1K coronavirus cases – Redlands Daily Facts
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By RYAN HAGEN | [email protected] | The Press-EnterprisePUBLISHED: June 22, 2020 at 4:16 p.m. | UPDATED: June 22, 2020 at 4:16 p.m.
Fontana became the third city in San Bernardino County with at least 1,000 confirmed coronaviruscases Monday, June 22.
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Fontana becomes 3rd San Bernardino County citywith 1K coronavirus cases
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Fontana becomes 3rd San Bernardino County city with 1K coronavirus cases – Redlands Daily Facts
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Surging coronavirus cases in U.S. raise
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Countywide, cases grew by 205 compared to Sunday, June 21, to 9,361. COVID-19 deaths rose byone to 234, meaning that 2.5% of positive cases have ended in death.
County health officials project that 5,450 have recovered from the virus.
Fontana has had 1,020 confirmed cases, while San Bernardino counts 1,529 and Chino has had1,199 cases, according to the county public health dashboard. Chino’s numbers include 625 infectedSan Bernardino County residents connected with the Chino Institute for Men and 144 residentsconnected to the Chino Institute for Women.
Outbreaks are reported at three institutions in Fontana, with11 or fewer cases each at Citrus Nursing Center, LaurelConvalescent Hospital and La Fuente Lavender.
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Fontana becomes 3rd San Bernardino County city with 1K coronavirus cases – Redlands Daily Facts
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fear that progress is slipping
Which Southern California casinos haveresumed bus programs
Here’s when Disneyland and otherSouthern California theme parks plan toreopen
Coronavirus testing up in Riverside, SanBernardino counties
Coronavirus state tracker: Californiapasses 5,500 deaths as of June 21
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Testing was up 2% from Sunday, bringing the total of county residents tested for the coronavirus to
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Fontana becomes 3rd San Bernardino County city with 1K coronavirus cases – Redlands Daily Facts
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109,061, with 8.6% of those testing positive. County data also shows that 13,552 people tested forantibodies that reveal if an individual had the virus previously and could be immune. Of those, 1.2%came back positive.
The latest data on county hospitals shows that there 252 patients with confirmed COVID-19 and 78suspected cases, totaling 330 as of Friday, when the numbers were last updated, compared to 293Tuesday, June 16, and 217 on June 1.
As of Friday, the county is using 34 beds set up to handle a potential surge of hospitalized coronaviruscases, with 1,136 available. That number was 12 in early May and 31 Thursday.
The county has 149 available intensive-care beds. Suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients areusing 99 intensive-care beds, and other intensive-care patients are using 375 beds, as of Friday.
Patients — with or without COVID-19 — are using 256 ventilators, with 809 available.
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Tags: All Readers, Coronavirus, Health, public health, Top Stories IVDB, Top Stories RDF,Top Stories Sun
https://www.fontanaheraldnews.com/news/update-fontana-has-more-than-1-000-coronavirus-cases-testing-continues-at-jessie-turner-center/article_b61a�fe-b4c6-11ea-a91a-6716a161f55b.html
UPDATE: Fontana has more than 1,000 coronavirus cases; testingcontinues at Jessie Turner Center
Jun 22, 2020
Coronavirus testing is taking place on weekdays at the Jessie Turner Center in Fontana.
There have now been more than 1,000 cases of coronavirus reported in Fontana, according to San
Bernardino County health of�cials.
Fontana has 1,020 con�rmed COVID-19 cases, the third-highest total of any city in the county, as of
June 22.
The City of San Bernardino has 1,529 cases, by far the most of any city in the county. Chino has
1,199 cases.
Seventeen Fontana residents have died from the coronavirus as of June 22. A total of 234 deaths
have been reported in the county.
----- FREE TESTING for COVID-19 is taking place at the Jessie Turner Center in Fontana and will be
extended through July 31, the city announced.
The testing, which is conducted in partnership with the San Bernardino County Department of
Public Health, takes place Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at 15556 Summit
Avenue.
This is a walk-up testing event inside the Jessie Turner Center and is not a drive-through event.
All testing will be conducted by appointment only. Persons are urged to arrive by their speci�ed
appointment time.
No symptoms are required. Clients are required to wear a face covering and adhere to social
distancing guidelines.
Appointments can be made by calling (909) 387-3911 or by visiting sbcovid19.com.
San Bernardino will not review performance of city manager – San Bernardino Sun
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San Bernardino will not review performance ofcity managerTeri Ledoux took the job in 2019 after the City Council fired Andrea Millerwithout cause
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San Bernardino will not review performance of city manager – San Bernardino Sun
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By BRIAN WHITEHEAD | [email protected] | San Bernardino SunPUBLISHED: June 22, 2020 at 1:37 p.m. | UPDATED: June 22, 2020 at 1:38 p.m.
San Bernardino leaders will not review the performance of City Manager Teri Ledoux as customary fortop administrators each year they are on the job.
Ledoux, who replaced Andrea Miller on an interim basis after the City Council fired Miller withoutcause last summer, was appointed city manager June 19, 2019, for a term of 18 months.
Councilman Henry Nickel and Councilwoman Sandra Ibarra favored an evaluation Wednesday, June17, but were outvoted by colleagues Theodore Sanchez, Juan Figueroa, Fred Shorett, BessineRichard and Jim Mulvihill.
The San Bernardino City Council approved an 18-month employment agreement with new City Manager Teri Ledoux on Wednesday,July 17. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
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San Bernardino leader broke terms of
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“We need to stay true to our (city) charter,” Nickel said ahead of the vote. “I don’t think it needs to beovercomplicated, but it needs to get done.”
While San Bernardino’s governing document says an evaluation of the city’s top administrator shall beconducted annually, it also gives elected officials the discretion to pass on doing so.
With only six months remaining on Ledoux’s contract, Shorett said reviewing her performance wouldbe “a waste of our time and hers.”
“If she stays, we’ll do it,” Shorett said.
Shortly after agreeing to an 18-month contract last summerthat guaranteed her at least $260,000 a year in salary –$50,000 more than she was making as assistant city
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$750,000 settlement, former city managersays
San Bernardino to pay $750,000 to settlesuit by former city manager
Cash-strapped San Bernardino approves3.5% pay raises for police, city manager
San Bernardino will pay new city managerat least $260,000 a year
San Bernardino appoints Teri Ledoux citymanager for next 18 months
manager – Ledoux received a 3.5% pay increase when thecouncil awarded raises to police personnel and the city’spolice chief, as her contract stipulates she earn at least 5%more than the city’s top cop.
Later, Ledoux waived that right when a majority of cityleaders approved 9% pay raises for the city’s top two lawenforcement leaders to bring their compensation to thelevel of police leaders in several other cities withpopulations between 100,000 and 250,000.
Ledoux, a previous assistant to the city manager in Huntington Beach and La Verne, is SanBernardino’s fifth top administrator in the past seven years.
Elected officials are expected to discuss the process behind appointing her successor Wednesday,June 24.
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Tags: government, Top Stories Sun
By Rene Ray De La Cruz Staff Writer Posted Jun 22, 2020 at 12:47 PM
HESPERIA — The City Council has approved the city’s 2020-21 capitalimprovement budget that includes $24 million in street projects throughout thecity.
Highlights of the budget that was approved June 16 include $4.2 millionearmarked as part of the $36.3 million Ranchero Road Corridor Project fromSeventh Avenue to Mariposa Road.
Right-of-way acquisition will be complete this fall. Relocation of SouthernCalifornia Edison facilities and other utilities began last week prior to the newfiscal year that begins July 1. Construction on portions of the project areanticipated to begin in March 2021.
The Ranchero Road Corridor Project consists of various improvements toRanchero Road including the railroad underpass the interchange at Interstate 15,and widening of Ranchero Road from two lanes to four lanes in each directionfrom Seventh Avenue to Mariposa Road.
With completion of the underpass and interchange, traffic on Ranchero Roadhas increased dramatically, with the area seeing 14,000 trips per day. Increasedcapacity on Ranchero Road is vital to traffic circulation and safety along thecorridor, a staff report said.
Approximately five miles of Ranchero Road will be widened from two lanes tofour lanes from Seventh Avenue to just east of Mariposa Road. The aqueductcrossing, Union Pacific Railroad crossing and three signalized intersections areincluded in the Ranchero Corridor Project; all are under separate projectnumbers with the exception of the railroad crossing.
Hesperia Council approves $24 million forstreet projects
The street rehabilitation project will include maintenance and select full-depthreconstruction of a section of roadway on Main Street from C Avenue to IAvenue. The second component of this project includes rehabilitation in theform of slurry seal on Ranchero Road from Seventh to Danbury avenues.
Competitive bids were opened in April, and a contract was awarded in May.Construction is scheduled to begin in late summer or early fall.
Last week, a work crew was seen creating a trench and laying a utility line onMain Street between C Street and I Avenue.
Councilman Bill Holland told the council that it was wise for the utility companyto “tear up” the street prior to the beginning of the street rehabilitation project.
The expansion of the Park and Ride facility near Highway 395 and Joshua Streetis also on the capital improvements list for fiscal 2020-21.The project is in the
plan review process with Caltrans and city staff working on obtaining approvedplans and an encroachment permit to advertise this project for construction.
Staff anticipates that the city will receive plans and permit approval this summer,with advertisement for construction projected to occur by fall. The estimatedcost of the project is $858,344.
The Park and Ride is heavily used by commuters and all 188 spaces are filled eachweekday with overflow vehicles parking on vacant property adjacent to thefacility.
Another project is the administrative work, earmarked at $50,000, associatedwith the paving of Sultana Street, a dirt road, between Escondido and Mariposaavenues, a distance of approximately 3,800 feet.
Sultana Street is currently paved from the west side of the California aqueduct toEscondido Avenue. Total cost of the project is estimated to be $3 million. It isanticipated that preliminary design work on the project will commence in fiscal2021-22. Construction will occur in future fiscal years as funding is secured.
Another project scheduled for the upcoming fiscal year includes street
improvements along Peach Avenue at the golf course to improve drainageconveyance and public safety.
Staff released some statistics on work completed during the 2019-20 fiscal year.The city:
Used 1,100 tons of asphalt to pave 195,000 square feet of roads.
Used 500 tons of cold mix to repair 33,500 potholes.
Completed 19,000 square feet of trench repair for Water Division.
Hauled 5,000 tons of material in the process of shoulder back fill, and dirtroad rebuilding.
Graded 120 miles of dirt roads and shoulders.
Crack-sealed 375,000 linear feet of cracks on 27 miles of road.
The new budget and list of capital improvement projects can be viewed online atwww.cityofhesperia.us or in person at Hesperia City Hall, 9700 Seventh Ave.
Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227, or by email [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz.
Now arriving: Drive-in movies at Ontario International Airport – Daily Bulletin
https://www.dailybulletin.com/2020/06/20/now-arriving-drive-in-movies-at-ontario-international-airport/[6/22/2020 3:17:22 PM]
By STEVE SCAUZILLO | [email protected] | San Gabriel Valley TribunePUBLISHED: June 20, 2020 at 3:18 p.m. | UPDATED: June 20, 2020 at 3:19 p.m.
LOCAL NEWS
Now arriving: Drive-in movies at OntarioInternational Airport'Ford v. Ferrari' kicked off the 4-film series
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Now arriving: Drive-in movies at Ontario International Airport – Daily Bulletin
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The slick racing-car movie with Inland Empire ties, “Ford v. Ferrari,” brought several hundred cars toOntario International Airport on Friday night, June 19. People watched the 2019 motion picture on two50-foot screens from inside their vehicles.
Billed as a new, socially-distanced way to watch movies outside the home during the coronaviruspandemic, Drive-in Movie Night! is a hit — in of all places — an airport parking lot.
Tickets for the next movie, “The Sandlot,” which screens July 3, were gone in one hour, said Dan Bell,Ontario city spokesman. The city, ONT and Street Food Cinema are producing this unique
1 of 17As the sun sets, the makeshift drive-in movie theater plays “Ford v. Ferrari” on two 50-foot screens at Ontario Airport’s Lot 5 Friday, June 19, 2020.(Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
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You can see a drive-in movie at OntarioInternational Airport beginning June 19
‘Ford v Ferrari’ made pit stops in Ontario,
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entertainment venue that is free — but each car must reserve a space in advance via the Internet.
Following the kids’ baseball movie is “Princess Bride,” a 1987 comedy by Rob Reiner on July 17. Theseries concludes on July 31 with “Napoleon Dynamite,” a 2004 cult favorite.
“The city wanted to provide different avenues of entertainment for the community. We had to thinkoutside of the box,” Bell said.
Due to COVID-19, the potentially lethal disease caused bythe coronavirus, the city has canceled its Fourth of Julyparade and fireworks show, as well as concerts in the parkand summer movies in the park. The drive-in movie eventFriday night in ONT’s Parking Lot 5 was a way to providefamily entertainment while abiding by federal public health
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guidelines for not spreading the virus.
“It is a throwback,” Bell said. “I’m old enough to remembergoing to a drive-in. Now you can sit in your car and watch acool movie.”
Reservations are not yet available for the next films. Awaiting list may be available for “The Sandlot” ateventbrite.com. Tickets for “Princess Bride” will be availableJuly 6.
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Coronavirus fallout: San Bernardino County homes sold off 34% in May – San Bernardino Sun
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BUSINESSHOUSING
Coronavirus fallout: San Bernardino Countyhomes sold off 34% in MayBuilder share: 16.1% of sales vs. 10.2% a year earlier.
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Coronavirus fallout: San Bernardino County homes sold off 34% in May – San Bernardino Sun
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By JONATHAN LANSNER | [email protected] | Orange County RegisterPUBLISHED: June 22, 2020 at 2:36 p.m. | UPDATED: June 22, 2020 at 2:40 p.m.
San Bernardino County home sales fell by one-third as coronavirus pushed Southern Californiapurchases to a record-slow May.
DQNews reports for May in San Bernardino County …
• 1,828 homes sold, existing and new — down 33.9% in a year. In the previous 12 months, SanBernardino County’s sales count was 28,941 homes sold — down 1% in a year.
• $368,000 countywide median selling price — up 6.7% over 12 months. The latest median is -3.2%off the county’s record high of $380,000 set in May 2007.
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Coronavirus fallout: San Bernardino County homes sold off 34% in May – San Bernardino Sun
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Coronavirus throttled the economy, with “stay at home” orders making many businesses — includingreal estate — difficult to conduct. It was Southern California’s slowest-selling May in 32 years ofDQNews stats as statewide unemployment hit 16.3%.
Here’s a look into key slices of San Bernardino County in May …
Existing single-family houses: 1,440 sold, down 38% in a year. Median of $340,000 — a 3%increase over 12 months.
Existing condos: 93 sales, down 42.2% over 12 months. Median of $339,500 — a 0.4% increase ina year.
Real estate fan? Then sign up for The Home Stretch newsletter, a free, three-times-a-weekreview of what’s important for housing around the region! Subscribe here!
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Coronavirus fallout: San Bernardino County homes sold off 34% in May – San Bernardino Sun
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Newly built: Builders sold 295 new homes, up 4.2% in a year. Median of $505,500 — a 5.1%increase over 12 months.
Builder share: 16.1% of sales vs. 10.2% a year earlier. San Bernardino County builders’ slice of themarket ranks No. 2 among SoCal’s six counties.
Price rank: How San Bernardino County’s median compared to Southern California’s five othercounties: No. 6 overall; No. 6 for single-family resales; No. 5 for condo resales; and No. 5 for newhomes.
Sign up for The Home Stretch newsletter! Get a twice-a-week serving of hot housing newsfrom around the region! Subscribe here.
What’s next? As of June 13, Southern California house hunters put more homes into escrow for eightconsecutive weeks, leaving the buying pace 2% below a year ago. Record-low mortgage rates maybe fueling the rebound. Pending sales hint where future closings will go.
Elsewhere inSouthernCalifornia,according toDQNews’s tally ofclosed sales …
Six-countyregion: 12,271
Coronavirus fallout: San Bernardino County homes sold off 34% in May – San Bernardino Sun
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Southern California pending home salesrise 8th straight week, just 2% below 2019
California house sales fall 41% duringvirus lockdown, Realtors report
10% more Southern California homes inescrow, 7th consecutive sales gain
Coronavirus rebound: Southern Californiapending home sales up for 6 straightweeks
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sold, down 45.1%over 12 months.Median of$540,000 — a2.7% increase.
Los AngelesCounty: 3,597sold, down 49.5% over 12 months. Median? $620,000 — a 1.6% increase.
Orange County: 1,635 sales, down 50.6%. Median? $750,000 — a 4.2% increase.
Riverside County: 2,394 sold, down 43.7%. Median? $415,000 — a 6.5% increase.
San Diego County: 2,327 sold, down 40.7%. Median? $590,000 — a 3.5% increase.
Ventura County: 490 sold, down 49.4%. Median? $580,000 — a 1.7% decline.
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Riverside community forum to discuss better policing Monday – Press Enterprise
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Riverside community forum to discuss betterpolicing Monday
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Riverside community forum to discuss better policing Monday – Press Enterprise
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Black Lives Matter mural finds home indowntown San Bernardino
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By RYAN HAGEN | [email protected] | The Press-EnterprisePUBLISHED: June 22, 2020 at 2:56 p.m. | UPDATED: June 22, 2020 at 2:56 p.m.
An online community forum on how to improve the Riverside Police Department and its relationshipwith the community is planned for Monday night, June 22.
The forum, set for 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., will invite the community to offer ideas for a better departmentthat works toward social justice and non-violent policing, according to a news release.
The forum is organized by the Riverside Coalition for PoliceAccountability, in partnership with The Group, the NAACPRiverside Chapter, the ACLU of Southern California/IEoffice and All of Us or None.
Edith and Mel Motley show their support at a public defenders employees protest against police violence in front of Riverside CountySuperior Court on Monday, June 8, 2020. (File photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
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Riverside community forum to discuss better policing Monday – Press Enterprise
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Man’s 2017 in-custody death renews callsfor Riverside County Sheriff’s oversight
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Riverside County budget cuts could causelayoffs, slashed services
George Floyd protests raise Juneteenth’sprofile across Southern California
Organizers ask participants to register in advance athttps://ucr.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMvc-usrjMtEtd0n6Tx74dHzeS0pEhM1eAN.
Once registered, a confirmation email with the link to theZoom forum will be sent. The online event is free and opento the public, the news release stated.
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Ryan Hagen | reporterRyan Hagen covers the city of Riverside for the Southern California Newspaper Group. Since he began coveringInland Empire governments in 2010, he's written about a city entering bankruptcy and exiting bankruptcy; politiciansbeing elected, recalled and arrested; crime; a terrorist attack; fires; ICE; fights to end homelessness; fights over thelocation of speed bumps; and people's best and worst moments. His greatest accomplishment is breaking a coffeeaddiction. His greatest regret is any moment without coffee.
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Riverside County coronavirus antibody study starting – Press Enterprise
https://www.pe.com/...-starting/?utm_content=tw-pressenterprise&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com[6/22/2020 4:02:13 PM]
By JEFF HORSEMAN | [email protected] | The Press-EnterprisePUBLISHED: June 22, 2020 at 3:32 p.m. | UPDATED: June 22, 2020 at 3:34 p.m.
About 3,500 randomly selected Riverside County residents will have the chance to take part in a novelcoronavirus antibody study, officials announced Monday, June 22.
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Riverside County coronavirus antibody studystarting
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Riverside County coronavirus antibody study starting – Press Enterprise
https://www.pe.com/...-starting/?utm_content=tw-pressenterprise&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com[6/22/2020 4:02:13 PM]
Surging coronavirus cases in U.S. raisefear that progress is slipping
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The study seeks to learn how many in the county have developed antibodies to COVID-19, whichcome after someone has been infected. Knowing the prevalence of antibodies can help public healthofficials plan and determine the virus’s spread.
“Public health officials around the world continue to learn about coronavirus and this antibody studycould enhance our local understanding of this disease,” Supervisor V. Manuel Perez said in a newsrelease.
“It is important that Riverside County residents get the regular test for coronavirus to protect theirfamilies, coworkers and communities, and, if contacted, to participate in an antibody study as well tohelp our research efforts.”
Residents can’t volunteer to be part of the study. Subjectsare chosen at random to get a more representative sampleof the community.
Those chosen will be contacted by phone or email to gaugetheir interest and if they take part, they’ll fill out a surveyand have their blood drawn at one of nine sites throughoutthe county.
While antibodies can show how far COVID-19 has spread,it’s not clear whether they provide temporary or permanentimmunity from the virus.
Information: www.rivcoph.org/antibodystudy.
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Riverside County reports 1,022 new coronavirus cases, 14 more deaths – Press Enterprise
https://www.pe.com/...e-deaths/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_content=tw-pressenterprise[6/22/2020 4:02:23 PM]
By JEFF HORSEMAN | [email protected] | The Press-EnterprisePUBLISHED: June 22, 2020 at 3:23 p.m. | UPDATED: June 22, 2020 at 3:40 p.m.
Riverside County now has 13,800 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus and 424 deaths from thevirus as the number of county COVID-19 hospitalizations hit another new high in the latest updateposted Monday, June 22 on the county public health website.
Cases went up about 8%, or 1,022, from the last update on Friday while deaths rose by 14, or 3.4%.The weekday updates typically reflect diagnoses and deaths that happened over the past few days asit takes time for that information to reach the public health department.
COVID-19 hospitalizations are now up to 298, including 87 patients in intensive care. It’s the fourth
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Riverside County reports 1,022 new coronaviruscases, 14 more deaths
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Riverside County reports 1,022 new coronavirus cases, 14 more deaths – Press Enterprise
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Map shows coronavirus cases, deaths inRiverside County cities
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straight update in which hospitalizations reached a new high — the number was 291, with 76 inintensive care, on Friday.
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The Inland Empire has seen a surge in new cases in recent days, and the number of new cases,combined with higher positive test rates and hospitalization rates, landed Riverside County on thestate’s coronavirus watch list, meaning more restrictive measures might be coming if the countydoesn’t improve its numbers in a couple of weeks.
Official recoveries — those who are no longer in isolation, show no symptoms and have had theirpublic health cases closed — grew by 4% to 6,895.
The three state prisons in Riverside County have 803active cases as of Monday, according to the CaliforniaDepartment of Corrections and Rehabilitation. ChuckawallaValley State Prison outside Blythe has 716 cases, the most
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Riverside County reports 1,022 new coronavirus cases, 14 more deaths – Press Enterprise
https://www.pe.com/...e-deaths/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_content=tw-pressenterprise[6/22/2020 4:02:23 PM]
Coronavirus testing up in Riverside, SanBernardino counties
Why are Inland Empire coronavirus casesclimbing?
Riverside County placed on statecoronavirus watch list
Coronavirus fallout: Riverside Countyhomes sold tumbles 44% in May
of any state prison.
County jails have 245 confirmed cases with 207 recoveries.Countywide, long-term care facilities, including nursinghomes have 1,596 cases, including 1,003 among patientsand 593 among staff.
More than 189,000 COVID-19 tests have been conductedin the county.
To see a full list of community-by-community cases, clickhere.
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Jeff Horseman | ReporterJeff Horseman got into journalism because he liked to write and stunk at math. He grew up in Vermont and he honedhis interviewing skills as a supermarket cashier by asking Bernie Sanders “Paper or plastic?” After graduating fromSyracuse University in 1999, Jeff began his journalistic odyssey at The Watertown Daily Times in upstate New York,
Tags: All Readers, Coronavirus, Health, public health, Top Stories PE
LA County takes $66.6 million hit to funding, but looks to ‘reset’ jail system – Daily Bulletin
https://www.dailybulletin.com/...utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_content=tw-ivdailybulletin[6/22/2020 4:02:52 PM]
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LA County takes $66.6 million hit to funding, butlooks to ‘reset’ jail systemThe county will lose the money to run realignment programs. But localofficials think it's an opportunity to rethink incarceration in the region.
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LA County takes $66.6 million hit to funding, but looks to ‘reset’ jail system – Daily Bulletin
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By RYAN CARTER | [email protected] | Daily NewsPUBLISHED: June 22, 2020 at 3:14 p.m. | UPDATED: June 22, 2020 at 3:55 p.m.
Faced with declining revenue because of the coronavirus, Los Angeles County’s share of statefunding to supervise people out of jail early through the state’s realignment program is taking a $66.6million hit this year. But officials say that in light of a seismic push for criminal justice reform, it mightbe a chance to reset where that funding goes.
California’s Legislature approved AB 109 in 2011 — an attempt to decrease the state’s prisonpopulation. But it put the burden on counties’ probation departments to supervise released low-leveloffenders. With the responsibility came some cash from the state, this year expected to be around$400 million.
But then came the pandemic.
FILE – In this Sept. 28, 2011 file photo, people walk past the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Men’s Central Jail facility in Los Angeles.The nation’s largest sheriff’s department agreed to federal court oversight and will adopt a new use-of-force policy to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by jail inmates who said they were beaten by guards. The agreement, in effect a consent decree, wasapproved Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. It is the latest in several efforts to reform thescandal-plagued department beset with allegations of rampant abuse by deputies, costly lawsuits and federal convictions of deputiesfor obstructing an FBI probe into jail beatings. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
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LA County takes $66.6 million hit to funding, but looks to ‘reset’ jail system – Daily Bulletin
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State and county budgets took huge financial hits as the shutdown to halt the spread of COVID-19forced the closure of businesses. While the shutdowns for sure were helpful in containing the spread,sales tax revenue took a dive — and that’s part of what the state relies on to allocated funding for AB109.
Ultimately, the hit’s going to be about $66.6 million, officials said Monday.
In the meantime, L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva began releasing inmates at the county’s jails tohelp contain the spread of the virus. In a matter of months, the inmate population went from 17,000pre-COVID-19 to less than 12,000 now.
And that’s where county officials want to keep it — or evengo lower.
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LA County takes $66.6 million hit to funding, but looks to ‘reset’ jail system – Daily Bulletin
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LA County leaders: Jails only a ‘lastresort’
Under new executive order, LA County jailinmate population could be furtherreduced
LA County poised to consider swarm ofcriminal justice reform measures
Stretched thin, L.A. County’s mentalhealth teams struggle to get patients outof jails and into hospitals
Here’s what the healthcare revamp lookslike at L.A. County jails
L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn is pushing for a resetin the way the funding is allocated, shifting away from itgoing from state to the Sheriff’s Department or probationand instead going to treatment-related services. Servicesinclude rehabilitation for people with drug and alcoholproblems, homeless and mental health issues.
“We need to look critically at the State funding that wecurrently give to our jail system and see if there is a smarterway to spend this money,” Hahn said in a statementMonday.
“It is time to rethink at the way the County spends AB 109 Community Corrections revenue and thinkabout whether the spending breakdown aligns with the future vision that we have for the county,”reads Hahn’s motion, which if approved Tuesday will set forth a renewed examination of how thecounty uses AB 109 funding.
Those visions have long been in the works.
AB 109 became law amid a different-looking Board of Supervisors, with different political incentives.Since then, the county has slowly reimagined its criminal justice system.
In 2015, the board created the Office of Diversion and Reentry, to divert people with mental illness.Four years later, the Board started the Alternatives to Incarceration Workgroup, which includedrepresentatives from county departments and the community. They spent nearly a year hammeringout recommendations for a countywide system of care that goes beyond just locking someone up. Theidea now is to offer treatment.
LA County takes $66.6 million hit to funding, but looks to ‘reset’ jail system – Daily Bulletin
https://www.dailybulletin.com/...utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_content=tw-ivdailybulletin[6/22/2020 4:02:52 PM]
LA County poised to consider swarm ofcriminal justice reform measures
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It was just in early March, before the toll of the virus and the shutdown had taken root, when the boardheard hundreds of personal accounts in favor of “Care First, Jails Last,” a county plan that seeks tomake incarceration “a last resort” and treatment a first priority.
The goal is to stop what officials call a “pipeline” that keeps pushing generations of people into theregion’s criminal justice system, with devastating results for communities and families.
Leaders approved the road map and its recommendations and early action steps — such as studyinghow much will all cost.
Other recommendations included going decision-makers in the county’s courts more latitude indetermining where a defendant in any case might go: Straight to jail or on to treatment. The plan alsocalls for collaboration with health and treatment systems and programs that create and secureaffordable housing.
At play now, too, is Villanueva’s massive, $3.9 billion budget, which supervisors have been trying torein in in recent weeks as they look to establish a changed approach to the county’s public safetyprograms.
Still, with renewed focus on the toll the nation’s criminal justice system has taken, the numbers forL.A. County are beckoning for local officials as they repond to inequities long known but magnified bythe pandemic and by recent social unrest.
They include the reality that 9% of the population is Black,but African Americans comprise 29% of people in countyjails. Latino people make up 49% of the population, butthey are 52% of the county’s incarcerated population. Blackand Latina women are 49% of the county’s population. Butthey make up 75% of the women in the county’s jails.
Villanueva has been highly resistant to budget cuts, sayingthat freezes will cost line deputy positions, communityrelations teams and academy classes, among other things.
But activists say shifting that money may feel like a “tallorder” to public officials. But it shouldn’t be, said LexSteppling, the campaign and policy director for Dignity andPower Now, one of the groups that participated in creatingthe Alternatives to Incarceration plan.
LA County takes $66.6 million hit to funding, but looks to ‘reset’ jail system – Daily Bulletin
https://www.dailybulletin.com/...utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_content=tw-ivdailybulletin[6/22/2020 4:02:52 PM]
“What we want to remind them is that it’s not — that doingthe right thing, especially in a moment like this, where there’s a coalescing of public opinion that lawenforcement systems need to be reimagined, is a good moment for them to do the right thing.”
The Board meets at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 23. You can catch it online here:http://bos.lacounty.gov/Board-Meeting/Live-Broadcast. Or you can call in and listen, at (877) 873-8017. Enter the access code when prompted. Access Code for English: 111111 Access Code forSpanish: 222222. During the pandemic, the board is working remotely. But you can address the boardby calling (844) 721-7239. You can submit written comment athttps://publiccomment.bos.lacounty.gov/.
Reporter Elizabeth Chou contributed to this story.
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L.A. falls short on COVID-19 homeless hotel housing promise - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/homeless-housing/story/2020-06-22/homeless-people-motels-hotels-los-angeles-county[6/22/2020 4:52:15 PM]
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L.A. falls far short of COVID-19 promise to house 15,000 homeless peoplein hotels
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L.A. falls short on COVID-19 homeless hotel housing promise - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/homeless-housing/story/2020-06-22/homeless-people-motels-hotels-los-angeles-county[6/22/2020 4:52:15 PM]
Wendy Brown enters her room at the Cadillac Hotel in Venice on June 1 as part of Project Roomkey. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
By DOUG SMITH, BENJAMIN ORESKES, GALE HOLLAND
JUNE 22, 2020 | 3:09 PM UPDATED 4:41 PM
An ambitious Los Angeles County plan to lease hotel and motel rooms for 15,000medically vulnerable homeless people is falling far short of its goal and may never providerooms for more than a third of the intended population.
Project Roomkey has given safe haven to thousands of those it has housed. But as itenters its fourth month, negotiators have secured only 3,601 rooms. That’s only a fourth ofthe number needed to house all those who are eligible.
As a result, homeless officials are now changing course, saying they will continue workingto find permanent housing for all those eligible, whether they first move into hotel roomsor remain on the street.
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority is scheduled to submit a plan to the Boardof Supervisors Tuesday to house all 15,000 eligible people. Although details have not been
L.A. falls short on COVID-19 homeless hotel housing promise - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/homeless-housing/story/2020-06-22/homeless-people-motels-hotels-los-angeles-county[6/22/2020 4:52:15 PM]
publicly released, it is expected to seek hundreds of millions of dollars over several yearsfor services and housing subsidies.
The goal of Project Roomkey is to provide private rooms to homeless people consideredmost likely to need hospitalization or die if infected by the coronavirus. To get close to thegoal, the pace of new leases would have to increase dramatically. Instead, it is slowing.Only one hotel, with 91 rooms, has been added since May 20.
County officials say that housing more than 3,700 people in three months has been an“unprecedented” achievement and that they are not giving up on the goal.
“In a few short weeks, Project Roomkey has done what many thought was impossible andwe are committed to this continued effort to serve the most vulnerable L.A. Countyresidents,” said Tiana Murillo, an administrator temporarily assigned to oversee thecounty’s emergency housing efforts.
At least in the short term, the program has transformed lives.
Wendy Brown waits for the elevator in the lobby of the Cadillac Hotel in Venice. Those staying at the hotel have their temperature takenupon entrance by nurses. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
For three years, Wendy Brown slept against the wall of the Cadillac Hotel, a funky 1914beach inn in Venice once home to Jim Morrison and Charlie Chaplin. Here, tourists wouldpay up to $240 a night to mingle with B-boy dancers, bikini-clad skateboarders and artists
L.A. falls short on COVID-19 homeless hotel housing promise - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/homeless-housing/story/2020-06-22/homeless-people-motels-hotels-los-angeles-county[6/22/2020 4:52:15 PM]
steps away on the boardwalk.
Now, thanks to Project Roomkey, Brown is living inside the 47-room hotel. She and otherguests have separate, airy bedrooms, bathrooms lined in green tiles, three meals a day —burritos, bowls, wraps and salads — thrice-daily nurse checks, maid service including cleantowels and linens, cable television and HBO.
“I feel spoiled,” said Brown, 58, a boardwalk artist who keeps her easel, pink bike andsupply trailer in her room. Brown chose a quiet room overlooking the street, but herhallway window opens on a view of a palm tree stand, rippling sand and a blue strip ofocean
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“This is a really good thing for homelessness,” said Brown, who has used the time awayfrom the shouting tweakers and cold to run several times a week and to make art —urban landscapes in acrylic paints and water colors — for online sales.
Artist Wendy Brown looks over her urban sketches in her hotel room. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
But with the slowing pace of new leases, outreach workers can’t get their clients intorooms even when they are eligible.
Tasha Tinsley, 41, who has hepatitis C, said in an interview that she’d been waiting for
L.A. falls short on COVID-19 homeless hotel housing promise - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/homeless-housing/story/2020-06-22/homeless-people-motels-hotels-los-angeles-county[6/22/2020 4:52:15 PM]
three weeks to be given a hotel room. Throughout the recent protests and civil unrest, she
mostly she stayed in her tent at 3rd and Main streets, not wanting to get in trouble withthe police.
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“I am trying to get my business done during the day,” she said last week before the curfewwas lifted, “because at night I’m not leaving my tent.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom launched Project Roomkey in early April with a statewide goal ofleasing 15,000 rooms in hotels and motels that had lost business because of thecoronavirus. The Federal Emergency Management Agency agreed to pay 75% of the cost,and Newsom put in $150 million of state money.
Officials in Los Angeles quickly doubled down on the governor’s goal, saying 15,000rooms were needed in the county after the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authorityidentified that many people in its database — about a quarter of the county’s estimatedhomeless population — who met the federal criteria for FEMA reimbursement.
The precipitous decline of travel caused by the COVID-19 pandemic made the leasingprogram attractive to many hotel owners as a way to sustain income while their propertieswould otherwise be closed. There are still tens of thousands of rooms available for lease, aspokesman for the Hotel Association of Los Angeles said.
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County officials would not comment on what’s kept them from closing deals. Obstaclesrelated to insurance and indemnity are at least partly responsible. Another factor is howquickly homeless officials can muster the services needed to manage the hotels.
After setting up 35 hotels, the Homeless Services Authority is facing a limit on its capacity,interim executive director Heidi Marston said.
The window may now be closing as some owners begin developing ways to instillcustomer confidence as portions of the economy reopen.
While tacitly acknowledging that they may never reach the goal, homeless officials aresticking by their commitment to find shelter or housing for all of those designated asvulnerable because they are 65 or older or have chronic health conditions such as heartdisease, respiratory ailments or diabetes.
L.A. falls short on COVID-19 homeless hotel housing promise - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/homeless-housing/story/2020-06-22/homeless-people-motels-hotels-los-angeles-county[6/22/2020 4:52:15 PM]
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“We have people’s lives in our hands. It’s a matter of life or death,” Marston said in a newsbriefing late last month. “That is a different priority than we’ve seen in the past.”
The shortfall is most pronounced in downtown and South Los Angeles, the two areas withthe highest concentrations of homeless people. Only two motels with a total of just over100 rooms have been leased in South Los Angeles, enough to shelter less than 1% of theestimated 13,000 homeless people in the area.
A 467-room hotel lease negotiated by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s staff hasbuttressed the effort in downtown. But the nearly 1,000 rooms under lease there are onlyenough to house 6% of the estimated 17,000 homeless people living in the area in andaround downtown.
The best results have been in the San Gabriel Valley, where the homeless count iscomparatively low. Enough rooms are currently under lease for nearly 14% of theestimated homeless population. The bed rate trailed in other areas: 10% in East LosAngeles, 7% in the South Bay, 5% in the San Fernando Valley, 3% in West Los Angeles and2% in the Antelope Valley.
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The geographic disparities are reflected in low rates of Latinos served by Project Roomkey.A report to the Board of Supervisors by an academic team retained by the county showedthat through April, 45% of those served were white and only 17% Latino, while thehomeless population is 25% white and 37% Latino. Blacks made up about 33% of theRoomkey population, about the same as in the homeless population.
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Racism is the reason Black people are disproportionately homeless in L.A., report showsJune 12, 2020
Marston noted the issue, saying the post-Roomkey effort must ensure that “we arerecognizing and rectifying historical injustices and not just perpetuating them.”
L.A. falls short on COVID-19 homeless hotel housing promise - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/homeless-housing/story/2020-06-22/homeless-people-motels-hotels-los-angeles-county[6/22/2020 4:52:15 PM]
From the outset of Project Roomkey, city and county officials have vowed to come up withan exit plan to ensure that no one temporarily housed in a hotel would be forced backonto the street.
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City and county officials and nonprofits such as United Way and the California CommunityFoundation have been brainstorming with LAHSA on how to achieve that goal. Amongthe ideas under review are expanding traditional shelters, paying subsidies to make rentalhousing affordable and purchasing motels that are currently under short-term lease.
Joel John Roberts, the CEO of PATH and PATH Ventures, a homeless services and housingdevelopment agency, said his organization is looking for motels and hotels that the countycan purchase.
But John Maceri, executive director of The People Concern, a nonprofit social serviceagency, expressed doubts. “I think there will be some that will be sold,” he said, “but Idon’t think it’s going to be anywhere near what’s going to be needed to fill in the gap.”
Marston had said the aim was to have all 15,000 people in interim or permanent housingby April 2022. But she said she could not yet provide a breakdown of how many peoplewould be placed in shelters, how many would receive rent subsidies and how many wouldbe able to stay in hotel or motel rooms purchased by the city or county. Nor would shecommit to how it would be funded.
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United Way, which has been convening discussions on the funding, is proposing that alarge portion of it come from just over $10 billion in federal coronavirus relief fundsdelivered to the state, county and city.
Those funds, which are restricted to coronavirus relief, could “allow all 15,000 peopleexperiencing homelessness who are especially at-risk of hospitalization, because of theirage or health conditions, to come or stay inside,” said Tommy Newman, the nonprofit’ssenior director of impact initiatives.
“The only question now is whether we’ll make the choice to embrace this critical goal.”
United Way is pushing for at least $600 million to lease, buy, or build that housing by the
L.A. falls short on COVID-19 homeless hotel housing promise - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/homeless-housing/story/2020-06-22/homeless-people-motels-hotels-los-angeles-county[6/22/2020 4:52:15 PM]
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end of the year.
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The new commitment to housing all those eligible for Project Roomkey, whether theyobtain hotel rooms or not, amounts to a change of strategy that prioritizes age andphysical health over a complex scoring system that rated factors such as mental health,substance use and criminal record.
Though meant to be temporary, the strategy change has the virtue of being simple andmorally clear, said Randall Kuhn, a professor in UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Healthwho co-wrote a report on the potential for coronavirus to devastate homeless camps.
“People that age should not be allowed to be homeless,” Kuhn said. “They deserve achance to live out their time in dignity and to perhaps extend that time.”
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Counties Urge Residents To Stop Private SocialGatherings As California COVID-19Hospitalizations Rise Sammy Caiola
Monday, June 22, 2020 | Sacramento, CA | Permalink
Jesus Rodriguez brings hot sauce to diners Jennifer, left, and Tracy Kniesel at the Tequila Museo Mayahuelrestaurant in Sacramento, Calif., Friday, May 22, 2020.
Rich Pedroncelli / AP Photo
Public health workers say the reopening of businesses in many California counties gave residents
the idea it was safe to host parties, which has driven much of the recent uptick in COVID-19 cases.
According to the latest state data, hospitalizations due to COVID-19 increased 19% during the
past week, from 3,103 hospital admissions on June 14 to 3,702 on June 21. This is the highest
hospitalization numbers have been since April.
“Those that suggest we’re out of the woods, those that suggest this is going to somehow
disappear, these numbers tell a different and very sobering story,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a
Monday press conference.
Since releasing the state’s roadmap to re-opening this spring, Newsom has warned that case
numbers and hospitalizations would increase as people left their homes. He says what we’re seeing
now is still in line with that expected rise, and that hospitals have the capacity to address it. But it’s
up to county health departments to keep an eye on disease trends and put in more restrictive
measures when appropriate.
Many California counties are pressing on with plans to reopen retail and social venues, so long as
patrons and staff take measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, such as wearing masks and
staying six feet from others.
As counties discuss bringing back everything from zoos to tattoo parlors, many residents and
public health officers are worried change is happening too fast, and without a clear idea of the
impact.
“The problem is we’re not seeing the kind of flattening we would like,” said Dr. Lee Riley, an
infectious disease expert at UC Berkeley.
Riley said hospitalization numbers are more telling than case numbers in terms of how the virus is
behaving.
“The fact that there’s also an increase in the number of hospitalizations suggests that it’s not just
because of the testing," he said. "That means that there are more transmissions occurring.”
It can take up to two weeks for COVID-19 symptoms to show up, so the current hospitalization
numbers are likely tied to transmissions that occurred in early June.
Jenny Tan, a spokesperson for Yolo County, said officials started to see an uptick right around June
10 and 11. Public health workers who’ve been doing contact tracing learned that most of the
spread happened among friends and family gathering in large groups in someone’s home or yard.
“As the warmer weather was coming, and it was just past Memorial Day, people were going out
more,” Tan said. “People from different households were actually gathering … people from other
counties were coming in to visit Yolo County residents.”
Currently, state guidelines do not permit gatherings that bring people from multiple households
together.
Daniel Kim, a public health educator for San Joaquin County, said the gradual reopening of stores
and restaurants has given people the impression that parties are allowed.
“The intent was always that households would be able to visit these locations and enjoy the
business or enjoy a meal,” he said. “However, people had been thinking that once businesses start
opening they’re free to get together more, and unfortunately that’s where we’re seeing the
community transmissions happening.”
While bars and restaurants are required to have strict sanitization and physical distancing measures
in place, at-home gatherings aren’t regulated that way. Friends and family who are comfortable
around each other may be more likely to forgo face coverings or ignore the six foot rule.
“People kiss, they hug, they share food — it’s very much the typical way respiratory diseases
spread,” said Dr. Bela Matyas, Solano County’s public health officer. “All of this effort is on
masking, but the problem isn’t where the mask is being used, it’s where the mask isn’t being used,
at family and friend gatherings.”
County officials say it’s best to avoid social gatherings entirely. If you do attend one, UC Berkeley's
Riley has a few suggestions:
wear a face covering
keep at least six feet of distance between yourself and others
wash your hands frequently
outdoor gatherings are considered safer than indoor gatherings
“For now, people need to be aware,” Riley said. “People who are high-risk, they really should
avoid these private gatherings. “
He said the state also needs to get more data on whether the disease has been spreading at bars
and restaurants in counties where those businesses are open.
“If we find certain types of businesses are at risk of transmissions, we may need to go back to more
restricted measures,” he said.
Already, some counties that originally chose to reopen their economies have rescinded those
orders after seeing increases in cases.
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Social gatherings fuel rising California coronavirus spread - Los Angeles Times
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CALIFORNIA
Social gatherings help fuel rising coronavirus spread in parts of California
Beach goers recreate at the water’s edge to cool off amid high temperatures this month in Huntington Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
By RONG-GONG LIN II | STAFF WRITER
JUNE 22, 2020 | 10:39 AM
Elevated coronavirus transmissions and related hospitalizations are worsening in someparts of California, and a failure to wear masks in public and increased gatherings are
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partly to blame, health officials said.
Riverside and San Bernardino counties have recently appeared or reappeared on thestate’s list of counties needing targeted monitoring by state officials. In both counties,increases in gatherings were a factor in elevated disease transmission, as were outbreaksat state prisons, nursing homes and patients being transferred from Imperial County,which is home to a particularly bad outbreak.
Gatherings were also a factor in increasing hospitalizations in Santa Barbara, San Joaquinand Stanislaus counties. Officials also blamed “decreased attention to personal protectionmeasures such as face coverings and social distancing” in Stanislaus County, whose largestcity is Modesto.
To be sure, California health officials say long-term hospitalization rates remain stable, asis the percent of those testing positive. But there has been an uptick in hospitalizationsrelated to the coronavirus in the last week; between June 14 and June 20, the number ofpeople in the hospital with confirmed and suspected cases of COVID-19 rose from 4,323to 4,679, an 8% increase.
CALIFORNIA
Alarmed by spiking coronavirus numbers? Here’s why officials insist they aren’t worriedJune 22, 2020
The concern comes as healthcare experts sounded the alarm about growing diseasetransmission rates across the nation. Community transmission of the highly contagiousvirus continues to be a problem not only in states such as Arizona, Florida and Texas, butalso in California, according to Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former head of the U.S. Food and Drug
Social gatherings fuel rising California coronavirus spread - Los Angeles Times
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Administration, who was speaking on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
In fact, the pandemic may not slow during the summer as some experts had hoped itmight. Instead of distinct waves — a first wave in the spring, followed by a quieter summerand a second wave in the fall — the nation, still stuck in its first wave, may continue to seethe pandemic persist without a summer respite.
“This is more like a forest fire. ... Wherever there is wood to burn, this fire is going to burn.And right now, we have a lot of susceptible people,” Michael Osterholm, director of theUniversity of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, warnedSunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “I don’t see this slowing down through the summer orinto the fall. ... I think we’re going to just see one very, very difficult forest fire of cases.”
Some parts of California, including the Bay Area and Los Angeles County, have not seenspikes in hospitalizations even though overall cases are going up.
Barbara Ferrer, L.A. County’s public health director, said Friday that average daily deathshave continued to decline. In early May, L.A. County experienced an average of 45 deathsper day; in early June, there were an average of 20 to 30 deaths reported daily.
Hospitalizations in L.A. County had been steadily decreasing but have recently plateaued,Ferrer said.
It’s possible that a reason for this might be that all hospital patients are being tested forthe coronavirus, even if they’re in the facility for a completely different reason. “So we’llneed to watch this information carefully over the weeks ahead,” Ferrer said.
SCIENCE
Why scientists say talk about a second wave of COVID-19 cases is prematureJune 22, 2020
In Riverside, County, potential transmissions are occurring at public protests with largenumbers of people close together and not wearing face coverings.
Patients from northern Baja California seeking care are also a factor in increasinghospitalizations in the county, state officials said. The number of people in the hospital
Social gatherings fuel rising California coronavirus spread - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-22/social-gatherings-coronavirus-spread-california[6/22/2020 4:03:03 PM]
with confirmed or suspected coronavirus infections reported Saturday was 366, a 36%increase from what it was three weeks earlier, on May 30, when 269 people were in thehospital.
San Bernardino County is also seeing increasing hospitalizations, and state officials citedconcerns about increasing disease transmission at workplaces, state hospitals, county jailsand academy facilities. The number of people in San Bernardino County with confirmed orsuspected coronavirus infections on Sunday was 330, a 47% increase from what it wasthree weeks earlier, on May 30, when 225 people were in hospitals.
Riverside and San Bernardino counties were among those that rescinded mandatory maskorders. Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom imposed a statewide order requiring masks to beworn in public. Until Newsom’s order, only about two dozen California counties hadmandates requiring residents to wear face coverings, the largest being Los Angeles, SanDiego, Santa Clara, Alameda, Sacramento, Contra Costa, San Francisco and San Mateo.
CALIFORNIA
Californians must wear face masks in public under coronavirus order issued by NewsomJune 18, 2020
Out of California’s 58 counties, Riverside County observed the highest percent increase inhospitalizations in the last three days as of Sunday, tallying a 20.9% jump. The othercounties the state is tracking include Stanislaus (19.7%), Kings (17.9%), San Joaquin (16.2%),San Bernardino (13.9%) and Fresno (12.4%).
Some public health officials have expressed concern that as the economy opens up,people are assuming they can get back to other routines, such as social gatherings.
“We have found as businesses begin to open up, for some people, there was a sense thatthings are OK now, and they began having gatherings in the home and birthday parties,”Sacramento County health officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye told the Sacramento Bee earlier thismonth.
“That is most of the exposure. They are multi-generational. They have people with higherrisk,” she added. “You have people together for an extended period of time” notobserving six-feet social distancing, and often not wearing face coverings.
Social gatherings fuel rising California coronavirus spread - Los Angeles Times
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San Diego County has also recorded several new outbreaks over the last week — sometied to gatherings.
Of the eight outbreaks reported in the last seven days, the biggest had four or five cases,Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county’s public health officer, said last week. She said no deathshad been associated with any of the outbreaks.
Two confirmed Wednesday and announced Thursday were at a campground and a “socialclub,” according to county officials.
San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher said the social club should not have beenopen.
Officials said they were asking residents to voluntarily comply with the public healthorders. If officials find egregious violations at businesses, they could be shut down or citedby law enforcement agencies.
The county refused to release the names of facilities associated with outbreaks. They saidoutbreaks at businesses had involved only employees, and identifying the places wouldcreate the risk of businesses not reporting or cooperating with contact-tracing efforts.
Fletcher acknowledged that gatherings in people’s homes that involve people fromdifferent households would present a challenge for law enforcement agencies. Suchgatherings are illegal under the county’s public health order.
Wooten said such private gatherings in homes, where people are less inclined to wearmasks, would likely be banned under the public health order until herd immunity could beachieved, and that was unlikely to happen this year.
Paul Sisson and Morgan Cook of the San Diego Union-Tribune contributed to this report.
CALIFORNIA CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
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California summer fun collides with coronavirus danger as hospitalizations, new cases keep rising - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/...rnia/story/2020-06-23/california-summer-fun-collides-with-coronavirus-danger-as-hospitalizations-new-cases-kee[6/23/2020 9:19:19 AM]
CALIFORNIA
California summer fun collides with coronavirus danger ashospitalizations, new cases keep rising
Masked employees work at a food booth at the Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet on Saturday. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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By RONG-GONG LIN II, TARYN LUNA
JUNE 23, 2020 | 5 AM
SAN FRANCISCO — The California tradition of summer fun — barbecues, garden parties,group excursions to beaches and mountains — is colliding with the state’s desperateefforts to prevent new surges of coronavirus cases as the economy opens up and peoplebegin freeing themselves from months of stay-at-home rules.
Confirmed coronavirus cases have continued to climb as California allowed manybusinesses to reopen. But on Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom said COVID-19 hospitalizationsare also beginning to rise again statewide, a troubling shift that raises new questionsabout whether the reopening might need to be slowed.
“Those that suggest we’re out of the woods, those that suggest this somehow is going todisappear, these numbers tell a very, very different and sobering story,” Newsom said.
The number of people hospitalized with confirmed coronavirus infections in California wasup 16% over the last two weeks, rising to 3,702 as of Sunday. Of them, 1,199 were in theintensive care unit, an 11% jump over the same period.
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California summer fun collides with coronavirus danger as hospitalizations, new cases keep rising - Los Angeles Times
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Source: California Department of Public Health
California coronavirus hospitalizationsThere has been a 16% jump in the number of people with confirmed COVID-19 infections in California hospitals in thelast two weeks.
Rong-Gong Lin II
In some counties, officials tied the increased hospitalizations to the resurgence of socialgatherings as well as some people’s unwillingness to wear masks in public. Simplybreathing can propel potentially infectious droplets from a person’s mouth a distance of4½ feet; a sneeze can send droplets as far as 26 feet, Newsom said.
California summer fun collides with coronavirus danger as hospitalizations, new cases keep rising - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/...rnia/story/2020-06-23/california-summer-fun-collides-with-coronavirus-danger-as-hospitalizations-new-cases-kee[6/23/2020 9:19:19 AM]
Face coverings can significantly reduce the spread of potentially infectious oral droplets. (State of California)
In Sacramento, health officials said they’ve seen multi-generational outbreaks fromgatherings, with some residents assuming it was fine to begin socializing now thatbusinesses had reopened. In San Diego County, officials have recorded several newoutbreaks over the last week, including some at gatherings.
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Health officials are trying to grapple with how to keep the coronavirus at bay while alsoaddressing the pent-up needs of many residents to socialize during the summer months.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, officials have released new rules allowing small, limitedgatherings, acknowledging that people are meeting up and need guidelines to keep themas safe as possible.
“We … know people are already congregating outside their households in more risky ways.This model provides guardrails so small gatherings can occur in a safe way, especially aswe move into the summer season,” said Dr. Matt Willis, health officer for Marin County.
California summer fun collides with coronavirus danger as hospitalizations, new cases keep rising - Los Angeles Times
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In rules released in San Francisco, social gatherings that do resume are to be heldoutdoors, except to use bathrooms, and last no longer than two hours. And people mustwear face coverings at all times except when eating and drinking, unless they have awritten exemption from a healthcare provider or are under 12 years of age.
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“It’s less likely to be transmitted outdoors,” said Dr. Grant Colfax, San Francisco’s directorof public health. “My mask protects you and your mask protects me.”
The Bay Area’s second-most populous county, Alameda, offers a framework in whichpeople from more than one household can meet in what’s called a “social bubble.” This isdefined as a stable group of no more than 12 people that can socialize together outdoors.Members can be part of only one bubble at a time, and should wear masks as much aspossible and comply with social distancing requirements to stay six feet away from others.
Contra Costa County also outlined social bubble guidelines, warning that getting togetherindoors is much riskier. “If you meet people indoors, you must always wear a facecovering. Make sure you are in a room with open windows or good ventilation. Try not totouch surfaces inside. … Try to avoid using other people’s bathrooms, if possible,” thecounty said.
That said, Contra Costa officials noted that seeing loved ones and friends “can beimportant for your mental health.”
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But other counties harder hit by the pandemic are adamant that it’s too early forsocializing.
“I’m really sorry — I know how desperate people are to be able to get back to events …but this is not a time for parties or gatherings at your house,” Los Angeles County Public
California summer fun collides with coronavirus danger as hospitalizations, new cases keep rising - Los Angeles Times
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Health Director Barbara Ferrer said earlier this month. L.A. County has recorded 31 deathsfor every 100,000 residents; San Francisco has logged 5.5 deaths for every 100,000residents.
Coronavirus cases statewide »As of June 22, 9:38 p.m. Pacific
184,715confirmed
5,564deaths
Statewide deaths by dayCalifornia » L.A. County » Orange County »
We are moving into Stage 3 of reopening the state. Lower-risk businesses can now reopen with socialdistancing guidelines.
San Diego County, which has recorded 10 deaths per 100,000 residents, has also notpermitted social gatherings.
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The concern over such gatherings is becoming all the more important as a higherpercentage of tests are coming up positive for the coronavirus.
Just 10 days ago in L.A. County, only 5.8% of coronavirus tests were coming back positiveover the previous week. But on Monday, that rose to 8.4%, Ferrer said.
And the number of new cases continues to climb. L.A. County reported more than 2,600new cases Monday, and that’s only the third day on record that the county has reportedmore than 2,000 new cases in a single day, Ferrer said.
California summer fun collides with coronavirus danger as hospitalizations, new cases keep rising - Los Angeles Times
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“And while some of this may be due to lags in reporting, the numbers do tell us that we’reseeing an increase in community transmission,” Ferrer said, adding that 40% of L.A.County’s cases are occurring among the youngest adults, ages 18 to 40.
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“So while many of us are done with this virus, unfortunately, this virus is not done with us,”Ferrer said.
Though only about 30% of L.A. County residents had close contact with someone outsideof their household in a seven-day period around early April, now more than 50% said theyhad such contact by early June, according to a survey by the USC Dornsife Center ofEconomic and Social Research that was analyzed by L.A. County.
While only about 30% of L.A. County residents had close contact with someone outside of their household in early April, now morethan 50% said they had close contact with someone they did not live with as of early June.
California summer fun collides with coronavirus danger as hospitalizations, new cases keep rising - Los Angeles Times
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Statewide, the rate of tests coming back positive for coronavirus infections also rose asmore Californians sought to return to a greater sense of normalcy. Last week, thepercentage of tests showing positive over the previous two weeks was 4.5%; it was 4.8%as of Sunday, Newsom said.
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The Democratic governor started easing his stay-at-home order roughly six weeks agoand has now allowed 54 of the state’s 58 counties to open businesses again.
The state has closely monitored hospitalizations and positivity rates as key metrics indetermining the spread of the coronavirus in California. Newsom has repeatedly said thatthe state may need to reinstate some of the restrictions of the stay-at-home order if thosemetrics spike, but has so far declined to provide details on the level of increases thatwould serve as an impetus to do so.
The governor said he felt confident that the state will be able to respond to the virus in theweeks and months ahead.
“We’ve always walked into this with our eyes wide open. We’ve always prepared for asurge,” Newsom said. “We’re in that band, where I feel like we anticipated the likelihood aswe’ve reopened, of the numbers increasing, and they have.”
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When asked how worried he felt about the data, Newsom pointed to some of theeconomic effects of the shutdown, including the 5.7 million Californians seekingunemployment benefits, and said poverty and hunger also have “profound healthimpacts.”
“One has to be mindful of that as well,” Newsom said. “That’s why we’ve worked hard tosafely reopen the economy. That’s why we’ve given the tools to the locals to make the
California summer fun collides with coronavirus danger as hospitalizations, new cases keep rising - Los Angeles Times
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decisions for themselves.”
Last week, Newsom required Californians to wear masks in most public settings. OnMonday, he repeated a call for people to move about safely when in public.
Some parts of California are struggling with COVID-19 more than others.
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Riverside and San Bernardino counties have recently appeared or reappeared on thestate’s list of counties needing targeted monitoring by state officials. In both counties,increases in gatherings were a factor in elevated disease transmission, as were outbreaksat state prisons, nursing homes and in patients being transferred from Imperial County,which is home to a particularly bad outbreak.
Gatherings were also a factor in increasing hospitalizations in Santa Barbara, San Joaquinand Stanislaus counties. Officials also blamed “decreased attention to personal protectionmeasures such as face coverings and social distancing” in Stanislaus County, whose largestcity is Modesto.
Some of the several new outbreaks over the last week in San Diego County have beentied to gatherings.
Of the eight outbreaks reported in the last seven days, the biggest had four or five cases,Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county’s public health officer, said last week. She said no deathshad been associated with any of the outbreaks.
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Two confirmed Wednesday and announced Thursday were at a campground and a “socialclub,” according to county officials. San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher said thesocial club should not have been open. Officials said they were asking residents tovoluntarily comply with the public health orders. If officials find egregious violations at
California summer fun collides with coronavirus danger as hospitalizations, new cases keep rising - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/...rnia/story/2020-06-23/california-summer-fun-collides-with-coronavirus-danger-as-hospitalizations-new-cases-kee[6/23/2020 9:19:19 AM]
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businesses, they could be shut down or cited by law enforcement agencies.
As of Monday night, there were 5,564 deaths attributed to the coronavirus in California,and 184,715 confirmed cases, according to the Los Angeles Times’ survey of local healthagencies in the state.
Nationally, there are more than 120,000 deaths and more than 2.3 million cases, accordingto Johns Hopkins University.
Lin reported from San Francisco, Luna from Sacramento. Times staff writers Colleen Shalbyand Ryan Murphy contributed to this report, as did Paul Sisson and Morgan Cook of theSan Diego Union-Tribune.
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Rong-Gong Lin II
Rong-Gong Lin II is a metro reporter, specializing in covering statewide earthquake safetyissues. The Bay Area native is a graduate of UC Berkeley and started at the Los Angeles
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YOUR HEALTH
The New Rules of Social Distancing: HealthExperts Answer Your QuestionsSix feet or 10 feet? Is riding an elevator risky? As lockdowns ease, experts address limiting your chances
of catching Covid-19.
Dog-walkers and diners in Boston’s North End neighborhood this month, when Massachusettsrestaurants were allowed to re-open for outdoor service.PHOTO: STEVEN SENNE�ASSOCIATED PRESS
By
June 15, 2020 10�07 am ETSumathi Reddy
As states across the country re-open and several report fresh outbreaks of thecoronavirus, many people are unsure how to navigate this confusing time.
We asked experts about resuming a near-normal life while minimizing the risk of gettingthe virus that causes Covid-19.
What’s the latest thinking on how the virus spreads?
Health agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World HealthOrganization have long focused on preventing transmission of the virus through droplets,largely through coughing and sneezing. Now, many experts say, there is increasingevidence that it can spread through smaller particles, called aerosols, which are releasedand inhaled through breathing, talking, singing and other activities. Unlike largerdroplets, which quickly fall to the ground, aerosols can linger in the air for hours.Preventing transmission through these invisible particles is trickier and underscores theimportance of face coverings and distance, air filtration and proper ventilation.
What’s the optimal social distance?
“Six feet is good, but 10 feet is better,” says Joseph Allen, director of the Healthy Buildingsprogram at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, who has warned about airbornetransmission of the new coronavirus for months. More space from other people is alwaysbetter, he and other experts say, and there is no magic number for the optimal distance.
Can we start expanding our social circles?
Yes, particularly if you are gathering outside and taking the proper precautions in termsof distance and masks. “The fewer contacts we have the better,” Dr. Allen says. “I thinkyou can start to expand your circle but it depends on how seriously the other family istaking their precautions and if they have quarantined and locked down.”
Are elevators risky?
If you can, take the stairs. If you can’t, don’t board a crowded elevator—unless the lobby ismore crowded. Don’t touch buttons if possible, though it is fine to use your elbow or evenfingers as long as you avoid touching your face before cleaning your hands. Dr. Allen saystry not to cough or sneeze but if you do, be sure to face the wall and have your mask on.Richard Corsi, dean of engineering and computer science at Portland State University inOregon, says in an elevator your breathing rate matters. Someone who just went for a run
may have a breathing rate that is 20 times greater than someone who was sitting on thecouch beforehand. So if you come back from exercising, try to take the stairs. Dr. Corsisays a person speaking emits 10 times more particles than someone who is just breathing,so don’t talk on an elevator. And face away from other people.
Is it safe to take a summer vacation?
Yes! “We need to get out and about in the world for our mental health,” Dr. Allen says. “Weshould take advantage of the summer when we can be outdoors because we don’t knowwhat the winter is going to bring.”
Choose destinations where it is easy to practice social distancing. That can includenational parks and beaches if not crowded. Marybeth Sexton, assistant professor ofinfectious diseases at Emory University School of Medicine, recommends places whereyou can bring your own food and supplies, or where there are options that make it easy toavoid crowded restaurants or grocery stores.
Can I get Covid-19 from swimming in a pool, lake or the ocean?
It is extremely unlikely. The bigger risk isn’t from the water itself, it is from how close youare to other people in the water, experts say. In a pool the chlorine treatments of the watershould kill the virus that causes Covid-19, says Joshua Santarpia, an associate professor ofpathology and microbiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. “People areworried about urine but the virus is not shed in urine,” says Ruth Collins, associateprofessor of molecular medicine at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell
Visitors at the Tunnel View lookout in Yosemite National Park in California this month.PHOTO: EZRA SHAW�GETTY IMAGES
University. Lakes and oceans have significant dilution factors and currents, Dr. Santarpiasays.
Is camping OK?
It is a great idea. “Camping you’re usually only exposed to your family so it would berelatively safe,” says Stephen Gluckman, professor of medicine at the University ofPennsylvania and medical director of Penn Global Medicine.
Linsey Marr, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech, says themain concern with camping is using a poorly ventilated or crowded bathroom. Try to userestrooms that are empty and wear a mask.
If camping with people outside your immediate family, maintain the 6-feet distance evenwhen outside, don’t share food and drinks, and try not to touch each other’s supplies (orwash or sanitize your hands before and after if you do).
What about an RV?
This may be the year of the RV vacation. Dr. Marr says her family scrapped plans for aninternational trip involving planes, hotels and rental cars in favor of a holiday in a rentedRV. “The only thing we really need to do is go get groceries,” Dr. Marr says. Dr. Gluckmanalso is planning an RV vacation, in September in the Pacific Northwest. “RVs are relativelysafe,” he says. “They’re not too different from being at home.”
Any tips for visiting national parks?
National parks can be crowded in the summer. Many are just reopening and not openingall their trails or operating shuttle buses. Dr. Marr says on her family’s RV trip they choselightly traveled hiking trails and went during off-hours to avoid crowds. When hiking,keep a face covering handy so you can put it on when passing others on trails.
What is safer: A hotel or a rented house?
Rental houses are less risky because inside there is no exposure to anyone but yourtraveling companions. In a hotel, avoid common areas like the lobby and pool. Skip thedaily housekeeping and turn-down service to avoid others entering your room. In a rentalproperty, ask the owner to open the windows before you arrive. Dr. Allen says, “Time is adisinfectant and it will dilute anything in the air.” If you can have a day between you andthe previous occupants, that allows time for the virus to decay on any surfaces and the airto change over, Dr. Marr says. “Despite the expectation that places that rent houses will bediligent about cleaning I would probably bring my own supply of wipes and wipeeverything down,” says Dr. Gluckman.
What about renting a car?
Dr. Sexton says try to make sure at least a couple of hours have elapsed before you get intoa car that someone else rented. Make sure the rental firm wiped down the steering wheels,handles and other high-touch areas. “If you have the windows open even for a little bitanything in the air should be gone,” says Dr. Allen.
How can I minimize risks while using public restrooms?
There is evidence that the new coronavirus is in fecal matter though it’s unclear if it canbe transmitted from fecal matter, Dr. Collins says. She says it is likely as that is the casefor other coronavirus infections.
Swimmers gathered at Fairfax Beach on Lake Monroe in Bloomington, Ind., over the Memorial Dayweekend.PHOTO: JEREMY HOGAN�SOPA IMAGES�ZUMA PRESS
Always wear a mask in a restroom because many are poorly ventilated, Dr. Marr says.Push the door open without using your hands, if possible. Don’t use air dryers, which mayspread the viral particles.
Is it safe for my house cleaner to return?
Try not to be home when your cleaner comes over, Dr. Sexton says. The company she usesdoes symptom and temperature screenings of employees, who wear masks when working.Dr. Marr said her family had their cleaner resume work a few weeks ago and made sure toair the house before she came. They kept the windows open while she was there. Sherecommends airing your house or apartment for an hour or so after the cleaner leaves. Dr.Gluckman says to make sure your cleaner wears gloves; if you are home at the same time,you both should wear face coverings.
Should I send my child to day camp or hire a babysitter for the summer?
In general, experts say, hiring a babysitter poses less risk than sending a child to campbecause of fewer outside contacts. But if you want your children to socialize with others, ashared babysitter with another family may be the best option. “A babysitter shared withanother family minimizes the number of contacts,” says Dr. Marr. Make sure you share ababysitter with a family who shares the same precautions as you do, says Dr. Gluckman. Ifyou do a day camp, try to make it an outdoor one that focuses on sports like tennis orsurfing.
What about sleepaway camp?
This one is tricky as children from different areas of the country are converging. Somecamps cluster children in groups of 10 or so to spend all their time together. They bunk inthe same cabin so they don’t have to social distance or wear masks with their cluster, onlywith other people in camp. Experts say this approach is fine but may be challengingduring meals or larger camp activities. Also, it is important that staff aren’t coming andgoing from camp—and possibly becoming infected—and outsiders aren’t coming in.Testing for the virus before camp isn’t always reliable and it is hard to monitor mandatory14-day quarantines before coming to camp. “You could have Covid circulating in a campfor a while before you know,” Dr. Sexton says.
What’s the safest way to visit grandparents?
Experts advise keeping visits outside and wearing masks when not at least six feet apart.Everyone should wash or sanitize their hands frequently. And no-one feeling under theweather should be visiting. It is fine to use the bathroom in a grandparent’s home,particularly if there is more than one. It is a good idea to designate one bathroom forvisitors and make sure the window is open or the exhaust fan is on.
Hands should be sanitized before entering and washed before leaving. The homeownershould clean the bathroom after all visitors have left and even wait a day if there are otherbathrooms that can be used.
A quick hug is fine if people aren’t facing one other, Dr. Marr says. She advises againstsharing food or serving buffet-style meals.
“Here’s where 10 feet is better than six,” Dr. Allen says. “If I’m with my mom I would give alittle bit more distance.”
Can I go to the gym?
Try to exercise outdoors or at home when you can. It’s hard to be six feet or more awayfrom other people at a gym so unless your gym is limiting the number of people in it orspacing equipment adequately, be cautious.
Also, see how much ventilation is in your gym. Look for open windows and ask about theirair filtration systems.
Try to exercise outdoors rather than in a gym, some health experts recommend. A runner workedout last month on Willard Beach in South Portland, Maine.PHOTO: ROBERT F. BUKATY�ASSOCIATED PRESS
Newsom flags notable increase in California coronavirus cases - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-22/newsom-coronavirus-masks-reopening-hospitalizations-rise[6/23/2020 8:34:58 AM]
CALIFORNIA
Increase in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations tell‘sobering story,’ Newsom says
California is not out of the woods, Gov. Newsom said on Monday. (Associated Press)
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Los Angeles Times
Newsom flags notable increase in California coronavirus cases - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-22/newsom-coronavirus-masks-reopening-hospitalizations-rise[6/23/2020 8:34:58 AM]
By TARYN LUNA | STAFF WRITER
JUNE 22, 2020 | 3:27 PM
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that hospitalizations from COVID-19grew 16% over the last two weeks as the state reported more than 46,000 new cases ofthe virus, marking significant increases as more Californians begin to return to a sense ofnormalcy.
The Democratic governor started easing his stay-at-home order roughly six weeks agoand has now allowed 54 of 58 counties in the state to open businesses again. Newsomalso noted a modest uptick in the rate of positive cases — from 4.5% to 4.8% — in the lastweek. The number of patients in intensive care has also increased by 11% over two weeks,he said.
“Those that suggest we’re out of the woods, those that suggest this somehow is going todisappear, these numbers tell a very, very different and sobering story,” Newsom said.
The state has closely monitored hospitalizations and positivity rates as key metrics indetermining the spread of the coronavirus in California. Newsom has repeatedly said thatthe state may need to reinstate some of the restrictions of the stay-at-home order if thosemetrics spike, but has so far declined to provide details on the level of increases thatwould serve as an impetus to do so.
Source: California Department of Public Health
California coronavirus hospitalizationsThere has been a 16% jump in the number of people with confirmed COVID-19 infections in California hospitals in thelast two weeks.
Rong-Gong Lin II
Newsom flags notable increase in California coronavirus cases - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-22/newsom-coronavirus-masks-reopening-hospitalizations-rise[6/23/2020 8:34:58 AM]
The governor said he felt confident that the state will be able to respond to the virus in theweeks and months ahead.
“We’ve always walked into this with our eyes wide open. We’ve always prepared for asurge,” Newsom said. “We’re in that band, where I feel like we anticipated the likelihood aswe’ve reopened, of the numbers increasing, and they have.”
When asked how worried he felt about the data, Newsom pointed to some of theeconomic effects of the shutdown, including the 5.7 million Californians seekingunemployment benefits, and said poverty and hunger also have “profound healthimpacts.”
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“One has to be mindful of that as well,” Newsom said. “That’s why we’ve worked hard tosafely reopen the economy. That’s why we’ve given the tools to the locals to make thedecisions for themselves.”
Last week, Newsom required Californians to wear masks in most public settings. OnMonday, he repeated a call for people to move about safely when in public.
“Wear your masks. Practice physical distancing. Continue the hygiene that is sofoundational in terms of mitigating the spread of this virus,” Newsom said. “We’re notdiscussing yet the second wave because we still need to work through the first wave of thisvirus.”
https://nyti.ms/3fON2k6
Bars, Strip Clubs and Churches: U.S. Virus Outbreaks Enter Unwieldy PhaseFor months, clusters often centered in nursing homes, prisons and food processing plants. With Americans venturing into public more, newtypes of outbreaks are emerging.
By Sarah Mervosh, Mitch Smith and Lucy Tompkins
June 22, 2020
PITTSBURGH — After months of lockdown in which outbreaks of the coronavirus often centered in nursing homes, prisons andmeatpacking plants, the nation is entering a new and uncertain phase of the pandemic. New Covid-19 clusters have been found in aPentecostal church in Oregon, a strip club in Wisconsin and in every imaginable place in between.
In Baton Rouge, La., at least 100 people tested positive for the virus after visiting bars in the Tigerland nightlife district, popular amongLouisiana State University students.
At a Christian summer camp near Colorado Springs, at least 11 employees fell ill just before the season’s opening, leading the camp tocancel overnight stays for the first time in 63 years.
And in Las Vegas, just weeks after casinos reopened, a handful of employees from casinos, restaurants and hotels have tested positive,and frightened workers on Monday begged guests to wear masks in a news conference conducted over video.
The newly emerging clusters — which vary in size from a handful of cases to hundreds and have cropped up in large cities as well as smalltowns — reflect the unpredictable course of the coronavirus. They also underscore risks that experts say are likely to persist as long asstates try to reopen economies and Americans venture back into public without a vaccine.
New known virus cases were on the rise in 23 states on Monday as the outlook worsened across much of the nation’s South and West.Hospitalizations for the coronavirus reached their highest levels yet in the pandemic in Arizona and Texas, and Missouri reported itshighest single-day case totals over the weekend. Even as much of the Northeast and Midwest continued to see improvement, there weresigns of new spread in Ohio, where case numbers have started trending upward after weeks of improvement, and in Pennsylvania, whereseveral counties have had troubling numbers of cases.
“This is exactly what most people would expect when you lift stay-at-home orders and isolation orders,” said Rebecca Christofferson, aninfectious-disease expert at Louisiana State University, who said that reopening along with fatigue over social distancing for manyAmericans were creating new sorts of virus clusters.
“All of those things combined just make it a complex problem — human behavior, contact and virus,” she said. “You put it all in a big pot,and boom!”
It is in some ways a return to the earliest days of the virus in the United States, when the coronavirus was silently brewing, and whenoccasions like funerals, choir practices and birthday parties became events that led to widespread transmission.
Those kinds of group gatherings were always risks, but they became far less common during a period of months in which much of thecountry was shut down. The return to public life has brought those opportunities back, as more and more people go shopping, dining,visiting family and friends, and even hugging one another again.
“It really is just all about contact,” Dr. Christofferson said.
The virus is now hitting places that had once escaped the worst of the pandemic, reflecting how a disease that initially ravaged urbancenters like New York City has grown more widespread. Known cases now have been on the rise near places like McAllen, Texas;Charleston, S.C.; and Nogales, Ariz.
At least four cases of the virus were tied to the Cruisin’ Chubbys Gentlemen’s Club in the Wisconsin Dells. Lauren Justice for The New York Times
In Union County, Ore., a rural community of 27,000 about four hours from Portland, officials had recorded only eight cases of the virus byearly June. By June 20, the tally had swelled to over 250. Most have been tied to an outbreak at a local church, the Lighthouse PentecostalChurch. “It was a little bit surprising, because so many people for so long were following stay-at-home,” said Paul Anderes, a Union Countycommissioner.
Houses of worship, which were once shut down under governors’ orders in many states, are now emerging as sources of major clusters.Outbreaks at churches have been reported in states including Alabama, Kansas and West Virginia.
Gov. Jim Justice of West Virginia, a Republican, said that six outbreaks had been linked to churches in the state, including three that werestill active as of last week. He said he had no plans to close churches, describing them as “the most sacred ground,” but also acknowledgedthat they posed a significant danger.
“The reality is really simple,” he said. When congregants do not adhere to wearing masks or sitting every other pew, he said, “we’re askingfor it.”
Other vectors for the virus have swiftly emerged in the weeks after many states reopened businesses. At least four cases of the virus weretied to the Cruisin’ Chubbys Gentlemen’s Club in Wisconsin Dells, and several cases were linked to fraternity rush parties in Oxford, Miss.
In Las Vegas, one coronavirus case was reported among workers at The LINQ Hotel + Experience on the Strip. Two more cases wereidentified among employees at Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino.
“I am very, very afraid,” said Diana Thomas, a guest room attendant at the Flamingo.
She said that most guests had not been wearing masks, and that she feared bringing the coronavirus home to her son, who is 21 and hasasthma.
“I am a single parent,” Ms. Thomas said. “And for me to have my son get sick, no, that’s unacceptable.”
Cases have been on the rise since early June, including after casinos reopened on June 4. In Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, thedaily average of new cases has doubled in two weeks, up from 124 to 250 on Sunday. Nevada reported its highest single-day increase incases last week, at 452 cases.
The uptick comes after officials took steps to safely reopen tourism in a state where many workers depend on the hospitality industry, anda staggering one in four workers reported being unemployed in May. In the newly reopened casinos, dealers and players are separated byclear plastic dividers, and dice are doused in sanitizer after every throw.
Lighthouse Pentecostal Church in Union County, Ore., has been tied to a number of thearea’s coronavirus cases. Ronald Bond/The Observer, via Associated Press
“It’s great that the tourists are coming back, but workers need to be safe,” said Florence Lee, who works at MGM Grand casino. “Pleasewear masks and social distance for us.”
As more segments of the nation reopen, predicting where new clusters will emerge has grown complex. Public health experts are closelywatching group gatherings, which threaten to become “super spreader” events, as well as less understood circumstances, in which certainpeople seem to be more predisposed to transmit the virus.
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“The characteristic of this virus — and this is what makes it so difficult to control — is that you do not necessarily have uniformspreading,” said Dr. Arnold S. Monto, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. “It’s erratic.”
Customers flocked to a frozen daiquiri stand along the Strip on Monday as temperatures passed 100 degrees in Las Vegas. Bridget Bennett for The New York Times
The Coronavirus Outbreak
Frequently Asked Questions and AdviceUpdated June 22, 2020
Is it harder to exercise while wearing a mask?A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal ofSports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes withissues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires“balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise,says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the AmericanCouncil on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research andcertifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heartrates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Somepeople also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while
•
Just as earlier in the pandemic, outbreaks continue to emerge in prisons, nursing homes and food processing facilities. More than 230people were infected at a Dole vegetable packaging facility in Springfield, Ohio, and at least a dozen cases have been linked to an applepackaging facility in Oswego County, N.Y.
Public health officials in several states have identified coronavirus cases in more than 50 people who attended or worked at protests ofpolice misconduct after the death of George Floyd at the hands of the police in late May. So far, no major outbreaks had been directlylinked to those gatherings.
Some of the newest clusters of cases have been tied to athletics, as student athletes return to campus and professional teams hope to playagain. At least 23 football players at Clemson University have been infected, along with at least 10 athletes at Iowa State and at least fivefootball players at Texas State. Several professional sports teams, including the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Lightning, have alsoreported cases.
New outbreaks in some cities have overwhelmed hospitals.
Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, warned over the weekend of “a desperate situation for public health” in Central Washington’s Yakima County,where coronavirus cases have spiked, hospitals have reached capacity and patients were being taken to Seattle for medical care.
It echoes an earlier stage of the virus, when Washington State was in crisis mode after it reported the country’s first known case of thecoronavirus in January and the country’s first major cluster at a nursing facility near Seattle in February.
After getting the initial outbreak under control, officials saw a resurgence in Yakima County, home to 250,000 people and more than 6,400coronavirus infections. The situation has now grown dire: The county has more cases than all of South Dakota, and the virus has spread sowidely that many Yakima hospital employees are calling off work because they feel ill or are in quarantine.
“We are frankly at the breaking point,” said Mr. Inslee, who planned to require people in the county to begin wearing face coverings inpublic. “We don’t want to see people in parking lots unable to get hospital care. And if we do not act aggressively now, that is what’s goingto happen.”
Sarah Mervosh reported from Pittsburgh, Mitch Smith from Chicago and Lucy Tompkins from New York. Lauryn Higgins contributed reporting from Lincoln, Neb.
HEALTH NEWS
JUNE 22, 2020 / 3:16 AM / A DAY AGO
Antibody levels in recovered COVID-19 patients decline quickly:research
BEIJING (Reuters) - Levels of an antibody found in recovered COVID-19 patients fell sharplyin 2-3 months after infection for both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients, according to aChinese study, raising questions about the length of any immunity against the novelcoronavirus.
The research, published in Nature Medicine on June 18, highlights the risks of using COVID-19‘immunity passports’ and supports the prolonged use of public health interventions such associal distancing and isolating high-risk groups, researchers said.
Health authorities in some countries such as Germany are debating the ethics andpracticalities of allowing people who test positive for antibodies to move more freely thanothers who don’t.
The research, which studied 37 symptomatic patients and 37 asymptomatic patients, foundthat of those who tested positive for the presence of the IgG antibody, one of the main types ofantibodies induced after infection, over 90% showed sharp declines in 2-3 months.
The median percentage decrease was more than 70% for both symptomatic and asymptomaticpatients.
For neutralising serum antibodies, the median percentage of decrease for symptomaticindividuals was 11.7%, while for asymptomatic individuals it was 8.3%.
The study was conducted by researchers at Chongqing Medical University, a branch of theChinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and other institutes.
FILE PHOTO: A computer image created by Nexu Science Communication together with Trinity College in Dublin, showsa model structurally representative of a betacoronavirus which is the type of virus linked to COVID-19, better known asthe coronavirus linked to the Wuhan outbreak, shared with Reuters on February 18, 2020. NEXU ScienceCommunication/via REUTERS
Jin Dong-Yan, a virology professor at the University of Hong Kong who was not part of theresearch group, said the study does not negate the possibility that other parts of the immunesystem could offer protection.
Some cells memorize how to cope with a virus when first infected and can muster effectiveprotection if there is a second round of infection, he said. Scientists are still investigatingwhether this mechanism works for the new coronavirus.
“The finding in this paper doesn’t mean the sky is falling,” he said, also noting that number ofpatients studied was small.
Reporting by Roxanne Liu and Se Young Lee in Beijing; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Edwina Gibbs
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
M O R E F R O M R E U T E R S
AP-NORC poll: Nearly all in US back criminal justice reform
https://apnews.com/ffaa4bc564afcf4a90b02f455d8fdf03?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_medium=AP&utm_source=Twitter[6/23/2020 8:09:59 AM]
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans overwhelmingly want clear standards on when policeofficers may use force and consequences for officers who do so excessively, according to a newpoll that finds nearly all Americans favor at least some level of change to the nation’s criminal
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AP-NORC poll: Nearly all in US backcriminal justice reformBy COLLEEN LONG and HANNAH FINGERHUT 6 minutes ago
AP-NORC poll: Nearly all in US back criminal justice reform
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justice system.
The new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research also findsthere is strong support for penalizing officers who engage in racially biased policing.Americans are more likely now than five years ago to say that police violence against thepublic is a very serious problem and that officers who cause injury or death on the job aretreated too leniently.
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“For me, as a Black person, I’m like, this has been happening,” said Kevin Richardson, 38, ofCharlotte, North Carolina. “We should’ve been knowing it, we should’ve been seeing this andso now what’s happened is, I’ll be honest, white people are seeing it and saying, ‘This iswrong.’”
The survey of American adults took place after weeks of mass demonstrations against policeviolence and calls from some politicians and activists to “defund” departments in response tothe death of George Floyd, a Black man who died in custody after a white Minneapolis officerpressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for nearly eight minutes.
Americans are largely united behind the idea that action is required: 29% think the criminaljustice system needs “a complete overhaul,” 40% say it needs “major changes” and 25% say itneeds “minor changes.” Just 5% believe no changes are necessary.
Majority say criminaljustice system needsoverhaul or major changeA new AP-NORC poll finds a majority ofAmericans say the criminal justice systemneeds at least major changes including manyMegan Pecknold, 33, of Spokane, Washington, said the protests have forced her to think aboutthese issues in a way she had the luxury, as a white person, of previously ignoring.
“I had never really given much thought to police use of force. I’m white. I’ve never had a bad
AP-NORC poll: Nearly all in US back criminal justice reform
https://apnews.com/ffaa4bc564afcf4a90b02f455d8fdf03?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_medium=AP&utm_source=Twitter[6/23/2020 8:09:59 AM]
encounter with a police officer,” she said. “The last few months have brought to light more ofthis for me, and now I am educating myself.”
Nearly 6 in 10 Black Americans think the criminal justice system needs a complete overhaul,compared with about a quarter of white Americans who said the same. About 4 in 10 whiteAmericans say major changes are needed; 3 in 10 prefer minor changes.
While Democrats are more likely than Republicans to think the system needs an overhaul,44% to 12%, Americans across party lines are nearly unanimous in thinking at least somechange is necessary. Another 44% of Democrats think major changes are necessary. AmongRepublicans, 34% call for major changes and 47% for minor changes.
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The poll finds overwhelming support for changes in how police departments operate:requiring officers to wear body cameras, establishing clear standards for use of force,prosecuting officers who use excessive force and requiring officers to report misconduct bytheir peers.
Wide support for manypolice reformsA new AP-NORC poll finds majorities ofAmericans strongly in favor of many policereforms, including establishing standards foruse of force and prosecuting officers who use
Despite their popularity, body cameras have not always proved to be the fix reformers hoped.But Kimberly Jones, 52, of New York City, said they are at the top of her list.
“You need more seeing what’s going on as they’re pulling up on people,” she said. “You need toknow from the start so you can stop something bad from happening.”
Majorities of Democrats and Republicans alike strongly support establishing clear standardsfor use of force, requiring officers to wear video cameras and requiring officers to reportmisconduct by their peers. There also is bipartisan support for prosecuting officers who use
AP-NORC poll: Nearly all in US back criminal justice reform
https://apnews.com/ffaa4bc564afcf4a90b02f455d8fdf03?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_medium=AP&utm_source=Twitter[6/23/2020 8:09:59 AM]
excessive force and penalizing officers for racially biased policing, though more Democratsthan Republicans intensely favor these policies.
Brian Bernard, 54, a Republican and retired IT worker from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said thebystander video of Floyd’s death was like watching a “9-minute murder.” But he said theproblem is one of a bad cop, not a bad system. Banning chokeholds or requiring retrainingwon’t make a bad officer better, he said.
“Democrats and liberals seem to have a problem of only fixing symptoms,” he said. “They cannever see the actual problem, and the problem is just a bad cop.”
While chants of “defund the police” have become a rallying cry at some protests, the surveyfound that only 25% of Americans favor reducing law enforcement funding. Democrats aresomewhat more likely to support than oppose doing so, 41% to 33%, while Republicans areoverwhelming opposed.
Bob Haines, 75, a pilot from Oklahoma City who supports President Donald Trump, said hethinks police officers do an excellent job.
“Just like in my profession, most of us do a good job, but there are a few bad pilots,” Hainessaid. “A couple of incidents have happened, and all of a sudden the sky’s falling, you know?”
Democrats and Republicans divide on whether the justice system should reduce the focus onpolicing and prosecuting low-level offenses, with 63% of Democrats and 30% of Republicansin favor. Overall, Americans are more likely to be in favor than opposed, 46% to 25%.
To prevent police violence, most Americans also favor requiring all officers to participate inmore extensive racial bias training. Majorities of Americans think that police are more likelyto use deadly force against a Black person and that Black Americans are generally treated lessfairly by police.
Pecknold, who favors moderate changes in the criminal justice system, said those changesshould be targeted at chipping away at systemic racist behavior.
“I don’t think Americans really understand how police are taught these tactics to begin with,”she said. “Understanding the details more will help us make smarter changes.”
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AP writer Sean Murphy contributed to this report from Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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AP-NORC poll: Nearly all in US back criminal justice reform
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The AP-NORC poll of 1,301 adults was conducted June 11-15 using a sample drawn fromNORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of theU.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.7percentage points.
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Online:
AP-NORC Center: http://www.apnorc.org/.
___
This story has been corrected to show the woman’s surname is Pecknold, not Peckhold.
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Trending on AP News
By Jose Quintero Staff Writer Posted Jun 22, 2020 at 5:53 PM
APPLE VALLEY — Two female pedestrians were hit by a vehicle Sunday nightand were airlifted to a local trauma center with major injuries, authorities said.
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department officials did not name the twopedestrians but said both women, ages 69 and 72, are Apple Valley residents.
An update on their conditions was not immediately available Monday.
Deputies and medical personnel responded to the collision near Tomahawk andChickasaw roads in Apple Valley just after 7:37 p.m.
Sheriff’s officials said investigators believe the women were crossing TomahawkRoad, near the golf course, and were hit by a 78-year-old man driving a whiteJeep SUV.
The Apple Valley Sheriff’s Station Major Accident Investigation Teamresponded to assume the investigation.
Sheriff’s officials are asking anyone who witnessed the collision to call the AppleValley Sheriff’s Station at 760-240-7400.
2 women struck by vehicle in Apple Valley
Death threats target L.A. County health director - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-22/la-county-health-director-receives-death-threats-over-coronavirus-rules[6/22/2020 1:40:37 PM]
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L.A. County health director receives death threats over coronavirus rules
Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said she’s received threats since March. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
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Death threats target L.A. County health director - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-22/la-county-health-director-receives-death-threats-over-coronavirus-rules[6/22/2020 1:40:37 PM]
By COLLEEN SHALBY | STAFF WRITER
JUNE 22, 2020 | 12:59 PM
As local health officers have been thrust into the spotlight amid the coronavirus pandemic,an increasing number have become the focus of personal attacks, including Los AngelesCounty’s Barbara Ferrer.
On Monday, as Los Angeles County announced it would reduce news briefings on thevirus to once a week, Ferrer revealed details of written attacks and physical threats she hasreceived over the past three months in response to the county’s stay-at-home orders.
The death threats began last month, she said. During a public briefing streamed on thecounty’s Facebook page, the health director said that her husband, children andcolleagues noticed that someone had posted a message in the comments section that“casually” suggested she should be shot.
Ferrer did not say what prompted the threat or when the message was posted. But onMay 13 — the day she suggested during a Board of Supervisors meeting that the countywould not fully reopen until July Fourth weekend, setting off a torrent of complaints —more than 1,000 comments were posted on the briefing’s video.
One person said Ferrer “needs to stick her wet finger in a light socket,” and anotheraccused a different commenter of threatening to kill health officials, though that postappears to have since been deleted.
Death threats target L.A. County health director - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-22/la-county-health-director-receives-death-threats-over-coronavirus-rules[6/22/2020 1:40:37 PM]
Public health officials throughout the state have received such threats and have beentargeted because of restrictions implemented to slow the spread of the virus.
CALIFORNIA
Anti-vaccine activists, mask opponents target public health officials — at their homesJune 18, 2020
Ferrer said attacks against her have been received via email, public posting and letterssince March, when the county enacted its Safer at Home order. She said that’s one reasonwhy she’s handled the coronavirus briefings on her own: “to shield the extraordinary teamat L.A. County Public Health from these attacks.”
“It is deeply worrisome to imagine that our hardworking infectious disease physicians,nurses, epidemiologists and environmental health specialists or any of our other teammembers would have to face this level of hatred,” she said in a statement.
In L.A. County, the number of COVID-19 infections has surged past 83,000 and the deathtoll is more than 3,100. The county makes up the bulk of the state’s total number ofinfections and deaths.
“We did not create this virus,” Ferrer said about herself and the other health officials whohave been setting the county’s reopening rules.
In noting the continued fight against the outbreak, Ferrer reminded residents that facecoverings are one of the best tools available.
A statewide requirement was set Thursday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, a week after OrangeCounty rescinded its face mask order. That decision came after the county’s health officerresigned following attacks and death threats similar to what Ferrer has received.
CALIFORNIA
Californians must wear face masks in public under coronavirus order issued by NewsomJune 18, 2020
Death threats target L.A. County health director - Los Angeles Times
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Face covering mandates have been a prickly topic in Southern California, where Ferrersaid the decisions have been driven by data, not politics.
“As public health officials, we try hard not to be influenced by partisan politics or publicsentiment — we must follow the science in order to save lives,” she said. “And the sciencesays if we don’t change the way we go about our daily routines, we could pay for it withour lives or the lives of others around us.”
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Colleen Shalby
Colleen Shalby is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times. She previously worked at PBSNewsHour in Washington, D.C. She’s a graduate of George Washington University and anative of Southern California.
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Mysterious deaths of infants and others raise questions about how early coronavirus hit California
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Health Officials Had to Face a Pandemic. Then Came the Death Threats.State and local health officials have found themselves at the center of regular news briefings amid the coronavirus outbreak, making themtargets for harassment and threats.
By Julie Bosman
Published June 22, 2020 Updated June 23, 2020, 12:00 a.m. ET
Leaders of local and state health departments have been subject to harassment, personal insults and death threats in recent weeks, aresponse from a vocal and angry minority of the public who say that mask requirements and restrictions on businesses have gone too far.
One top health official, Dr. Barbara Ferrer, the director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, issued a statement onMonday condemning attacks on public health directors and disclosing that she faced repeated threats to her safety.
“The death threats started last month, during a Covid-19 Facebook Live public briefing when someone very casually suggested that Ishould be shot,” Dr. Ferrer said in a statement. “I didn’t immediately see the message, but my husband did, my children did, and so did mycolleagues.”
“It is deeply worrisome,” she added, “to imagine that our hardworking infectious disease physicians, nurses, epidemiologists andenvironmental health specialists or any of our other team members would have to face this level of hatred.”
Across the country, many public health officials entered the coronavirus pandemic with bare-bones staffs and strained budgets, leavingthem ill-prepared to handle a mounting crisis. Before the pandemic, they had focused on illness prevention, contact tracing forcommunicable diseases, vaccinations and campaigns against smoking and vaping.
Now some of them, suddenly facing the public with regular television briefings about efforts to fight the coronavirus, are choosing to leavetheir positions entirely.
Lori Tremmel Freeman, the chief executive of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, said last week that dozens oftop health officials have resigned or been fired since the pandemic began. At least four state health directors have resigned from theirposts; Dr. Amy Acton, the state health director of Ohio, stepped down this month after enduring anti-Semitic attacks and demonstrationsby armed protesters on her front lawn.
Dr. Umair A. Shah, the executive director of the public health department in Harris County, Texas, which includes Houston, described atense new role. “Now that we’re quite visible and we’re part of very difficult decision-making, naturally those decisions are having anincredible impact on community members in a very specific way,” Dr. Shah said. “That’s where the problem comes in.”
Not all of the officials have said why they are leaving, and some have cited personal reasons or planned retirements, but Ms. Freeman saidshe had heard many accounts of harassment.
“There’s a big red target on their backs,” Ms. Freeman said. “They’re becoming villainized for their guidance. In normal times, they’revery trusted members of their community.”
Some critics of the public health directors have said that they believe that allowing businesses to operate is worth the risk of spreading thecoronavirus, and that health directors are too cautious about reopenings. Others have cited conspiracy theories that claim that thecoronavirus is a hoax; that the development of a vaccine is part of a massive effort to track citizens and monitor their movements; andthat wearing a mask or cloth face covering is a practice that impedes personal freedom.
In Washington State, where rural counties are struggling with new outbreaks and trying to warn residents to take basic precautions tostem the spread of the virus, pleas from local health officials have often been answered with hostility and threats.
In Yakima County, which has more than six times as many cases per capita as the county that includes Seattle, hospitals have reachedcapacity and patients were being taken elsewhere for medical care. Gov. Jay Inslee warned over the weekend that “we are frankly at thebreaking point,” and has said he would require Yakima residents to wear face coverings in an effort to slow the virus’s spread.
“I’ve been called a Nazi numerous times,” said Andre Fresco, the executive director of the Yakima Health District. “I’ve been told not toshow up at certain businesses. I’ve been called a Communist and Gestapo. I’ve been cursed at and generally treated in a veryunprofessional way. It’s very difficult.”
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In California, angry protesters have tracked down addresses of public health officers and gathered outside their homes, chanting andholding signs. Last week, a group called the Freedom Angels did just that in Contra Costa County, Calif., filming themselves and postingthe videos on Facebook.
“We came today to protest in front of our county public health officer’s house, and some people might have issues with that, that we took itto their house,” one woman said in a video. “But I have to tell you guys, they’re coming to our houses. Their agenda is contact tracing,testing, mandatory masks and ultimately an injection that has not been tested,” she said, apparently referring to a vaccine even thoughnone have been approved.
Dr. Nichole Quick, the chief health officer for Orange County, Calif., resigned as protests and harassment intensified after an order torequire face masks in certain businesses, including grocery stores and pharmacies. Emily Brown, director of the Rio Grande CountyPublic Health Department in rural Colorado, was fired when she encountered community resistance to the stricter rules she hadencouraged.
The departures across the country have prompted industry officials to ask whether a dearth of leadership is ahead for health departments,even as they combat the pandemic.
“We’ve never seen this level of vitriol before,” said Kat DeBurgh, the executive director of the Health Officers Association of California.“I’m worried not just about the present but about the future. When they’re subject to such harassment, who is going to step into thesejobs?”
Mitch Smith contributed reporting.
Frequently Asked Questions and AdviceUpdated June 22, 2020
Is it harder to exercise while wearing a mask?A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal ofSports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes withissues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires“balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise,says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the AmericanCouncil on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research andcertifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heartrates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Somepeople also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while
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Many men dislike coronavirus masks. How can we change that? - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2020-06-22/masks-and-masculinity-better-fit[6/23/2020 8:35:09 AM]
LIFESTYLE
Why more men aren’t wearing masks — and how tochange that
According to a new study, men are less likely than women to wear a face mask to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, and they tend to experience
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Many men dislike coronavirus masks. How can we change that? - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2020-06-22/masks-and-masculinity-better-fit[6/23/2020 8:35:09 AM]
negative emotions while doing so. (Steven Banks / Los Angeles Times; Getty)
By ADAM TSCHORN | SENIOR FEATURES WRITER
JUNE 22, 2020 | 3:26 PM
Darth Vader, the Minnesota Vikings and Mike Pence, who’s wearing a “Make AmericaGreat Again” face mask, walk into a bar.
That may sound like the setup to a very funny (and perhaps risqué) joke, but it also hintsat how to solve a deadly serious problem: getting more people — particularly theswaggeringly toxic mask-averse males of the species — to don face coverings in public tohelp prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Although there’s certainly no shortage of antimask women out there (including a few inmy own family tree), we’re focusing specifically on men here for two reasons. First, menare statistically more adversely affected by COVID-19 than women.
Second, a recently released study authored by researchers Valerio Capraro of London’sMiddlesex University and Hélène Barcelo of the Mathematical Science Research Institute inBerkeley found that in comparing the mask-wearing intentions of men and women, menare less likely than women to wear face coverings.
Many men dislike coronavirus masks. How can we change that? - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2020-06-22/masks-and-masculinity-better-fit[6/23/2020 8:35:09 AM]
A maskless Vice President Mike Pence visits the molecular testing lab at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., in April. (Associated Press)
That probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone who has watched thepresident of the United States and his No. 2, the latter of whom happens to be the chair ofthe White House Coronavirus Task Force, fly in the face of science by not covering theirown faces in public. Or maybe your lack of surprise comes from the curious sight of afamily unit who has caught your eye: The mother and children are dutifully mask-clad outin public but, for some reason, the father is not.
It was the latter scenario happening on a Berkeley street that inspired mathematicianBarcelo to crunch the numbers on gender differences and mask-wearing, she explained toThe Times.
Many men dislike coronavirus masks. How can we change that? - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2020-06-22/masks-and-masculinity-better-fit[6/23/2020 8:35:09 AM]
CALIFORNIA
Some shun wearing masks even though they’re essential coronavirus protectionJune 12, 2020
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“They were outside on bicycles — a papa, a mama and two kids,” Barcelo said. “And themama and the two kids were wearing masks. And the papa had a mask, but it was aroundhis neck, not on his face. I thought, ‘OK, maybe there is something there,’ and Valerio andI decided to look into it more carefully.”
Posted online in mid-May, the resulting study of 2,459 U.S. participants, “The Effect ofMessaging and Gender on Intentions to Wear a Face Covering to Slow Down COVID-19Transmission,” offers an interesting glimpse into why some men resist the call to cover up— and provides some clues as to how to influence that behavior. In addition to findingthat men are less inclined to wear a face mask, the study found that men are less likelythan women to believe they will be seriously affected by the coronavirus.
Further, it found a big difference between men and women when it came to the self-reported negative emotions that come with that simple strip of fabric across the face.
As study co-author Capraro explained, “We asked [participants to rank] on a scale of oneto 10 how much they agreed with five different statements: ‘Wearing a face covering iscool,’ ‘Wearing a face covering is not cool,’ ‘Wearing a face covering is shameful,’‘Wearing a face covering is a sign of weakness’ and ‘The stigma attached to wearing aface covering is preventing me from wearing one as often as I should.’
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Many men dislike coronavirus masks. How can we change that? - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2020-06-22/masks-and-masculinity-better-fit[6/23/2020 8:35:09 AM]
“The two statements that showed the biggest difference between men and women,”Capraro said, “were, ‘Wearing a face covering is a sign of weakness’ and ‘The stigmaattached to wearing a face covering is preventing me from wearing one as often as Ishould.’”
Armed with this sort of insight, might it actually be possible to hack the male mind tomotivate more men to wear a face covering in public? To answer that question, we soughtthe input of folks who’ve studied the topic, including the study’s authors, a couple ofpsychologists who focus on men’s behavior and a medical historian. Together, theirsuggestions make up a broad, four-pronged strategy we’re going to call the M.A.S.K.Approach.
M — Make it about the community, not the individual
A big part of Capraro and Barcelo’s study focused on trying to figure out what sort ofmessaging would be most effective in convincing mask-averse folks (male and female) towear one. It found that emphasizing the benefit to one’s community rather than one’sfamily, one’s country or one’s self was the biggest motivator.
However, they note, and it bears repeating here, the biggest motivator of all is amandatory mask order. In that instance, the authors write, the gender difference on theintention to wear a mask “almost disappears.”
CALIFORNIA
This is where you now must wear a mask in California under sweeping new rulesJune 18, 2020
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Many men dislike coronavirus masks. How can we change that? - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2020-06-22/masks-and-masculinity-better-fit[6/23/2020 8:35:09 AM]
Peter Glick, a professor at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., whose work focuses onunderstanding and overcoming biases and stereotyping, agrees that reframing thedecision to wear a mask to be about community, not self, might have merit. “One of myareas of research is in benevolent sexism . So one way to rebrand this is instead of[making it about] protecting yourself, make it about protecting other people. [Make itabout being] paternalistic and chivalrous. You’re saying, ‘I’m protecting the weak, theelderly, [and] I’m being a hero.”
A — Appeal to patriotism
If mask-hating men won’t wear face coverings for the health and safety of the fragileflower on her fainting couch or for the old and infirm, perhaps they’ll do it for God andcountry.
According to Alex Navarro, assistant director of the Center for the History of Medicine atthe University of Michigan and one of the editors-in-chief of the American InfluenzaEpidemic of 1918-1919: A Digital Encyclopedia, an overt appeal to patriotism was used toencourage mask-wearing in the early stages of the Spanish flu epidemic as the countrywas still fighting World War I.
Navarro said that although the first mandatory mask orders were met with opposition,they also were bolstered by what he described as a surge in patriotic messaging — PSAsby the Red Cross and other groups that urged people to “do their part” and chided thenoncompliant as “slackers.”
LIFESTYLE
How to make a no-sew coronavirus mask with a T-shirt
Many men dislike coronavirus masks. How can we change that? - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2020-06-22/masks-and-masculinity-better-fit[6/23/2020 8:35:09 AM]
April 20, 2020
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Navarro said that although there is no historical data to show how effective the appeal topatriotism ultimately was, there was plenty of press coverage chronicling the opposition tomasks later in 1919, when the war was over and San Francisco saw the formation of anantimask league. Might an appeal to patriotism affect mask-donning in the currentpandemic? After a note of caution about predicting the future based on the past(“Historians are always a little bit leery about that,” he said), Navarro suggested it could.
Many men dislike coronavirus masks. How can we change that? - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2020-06-22/masks-and-masculinity-better-fit[6/23/2020 8:35:09 AM]
An American flag mask such as the one worn by Jayse Garcia at a recent demonstration in Hollywood might sway a patriotic butotherwise mask-averse man to wear one. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
“If not necessarily in a direct appeal to patriotism like we saw in 1918,” he said, “I thinkcertainly in an appeal to do the right thing for America by [emphasizing] getting back to anormal economy. The message is, ‘We cannot have a normal economy until we get thepandemic under control,’ and that is not going to happen 100% until we get a vaccine. Butwe can get much closer to having it under control if people comply with social distancingand wearing a mask while in public.”
S — Stick with the stereotypes
If stereotypical masculine behavior is part of the problem, might it be part of the solution?Could some of the traits traditionally associated with manliness be Trojan Horsed toincrease the number of masked men? Glick, who back in April penned a piece for ScientificAmerican titled “Masks and Emasculation: Why Some Men Refuse to Take SafetyPrecautions,” thinks the approach might work.
Many men dislike coronavirus masks. How can we change that? - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2020-06-22/masks-and-masculinity-better-fit[6/23/2020 8:35:09 AM]
“Of course you’d be playing into this kind of masculinity,” Glick said, “but I think tough-looking masks — MAGA masks, camouflage[-print masks], [masks printed with] sharkteeth — might. They wear masks in wrestling, right? And what about superheroes andvillains?
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Study authors Capraro and Barcelo mused that sports-team-affiliated face masks might beworth a try. “We didn’t study this so we can’t say for sure. [We can] only give our opinion,”Capraro said. “But I agree [with Hélène] that masks that identify people with something —for example, a sport team — might [convince more men to wear face coverings],especially because we know from other research that men compared to women have astronger tendency to identify with a team. … But again, it’s just an opinion so maybe weshould look at it in future research.”
LIFESTYLE
The do’s and don’ts of wearing a face mask correctly (and comfortably)April 16, 2020
Before you scoff at the notion of truculent menfolk falling for such a simple andtransparent ploy, typing the words “manly mask” at the Etsy website reveals a treasuretrove of options that practically ooze testosterone: masks in lumberjack plaids andbandanna patterns, masks adorned with farm tractors, cigars, whiskey bottles, trout,handlebar mustaches and the Minnesota Vikings’ team logo for starters.
There is some precedent in tapping into masculine stereotypes to influence healthbehavior, according to Matt Englar-Carlson, author of several books on masculinity anddirector of Cal State Fullerton’s Center for Boys and Men. He pointed to a 2003-2005
Many men dislike coronavirus masks. How can we change that? - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2020-06-22/masks-and-masculinity-better-fit[6/23/2020 8:35:09 AM]
NIMH campaign called “Real Men. Real Depression.” “They created a bunch of PSAs[featuring] tough men,” Englar-Carlson said, “a retired Air Force guy, a guy in lawenforcement, a firefighter, who would talk, essentially, talk about being tough and alsohaving depression. So people in public health have actually tried to do things like this.”
K — Key into humor
While the coronavirus pandemic is certainly no laughing matter, Englar-Carlson thinksgetting more guys to wear face coverings might be.
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“I think [humor] definitely could work,” he said. “A lot of men communicate this way. Theyhave serious conversations but in humorous ways because [they] can’t fully own it so[they] joke about it. For example, guys in the locker room might be talking about thedifficulties in [their] marriages but by joking about it. It’s kind of a code they use tocommunicate, to admit they’re having a hard time.”
Many men dislike coronavirus masks. How can we change that? - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2020-06-22/masks-and-masculinity-better-fit[6/23/2020 8:35:09 AM]
Using “Star Wars” villain Darth Vader, pictured here in “Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back,” in a “Real Men Wear Masks”PSA could be one way to get more guys to wear face coverings. (20th Century Fox)
Englar-Carlson said he wasn’t exactly sure what a humorous messaging campaign aroundmask-wearing might look like, but with Glick’s comment about wrestlers, superheroes andvillains echoing in my ears, I floated one possibility: a PSA featuring Darth Vader, Banefrom “The Dark Knight Rises” and a cadre of Lucha Libre wrestlers playing it tough whileurging guys to put on their own masks.
“Like a ‘real men wear masks’ thing, right?” Englar-Carlson said. “That could be a way intoit, even though the ‘real men’ thing is something that I really hate.”
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Many men dislike coronavirus masks. How can we change that? - Los Angeles Times
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LIFESTYLE
Mask or no mask? Follow the flowchart and find your pandemic personaMay 22, 2020
Until there’s a sweeping nationwide campaign, humorous or otherwise, aimed at gettingmore men to wear face coverings in public, it’s up to every individual, business and localgovernment entity to use all four prongs of the M.A.S.K. approach to convince mask-averse men to do the right thing. That Independence Day bash you’re hosting, forexample? That could be a good opportunity to put out a stack of star-spangled facecoverings. (After all, who can say no to Old Glory on the Fourth of July?)
Even if deployed skillfully and surreptitiously, none of these man-brain hacks will be totallyeffective. As mentioned, the most effective way to increase mask-wearing (for bothgenders) is to simply make the order mandatory. That’s what California Gov. GavinNewsom did Thursday in response to a spike in COVID-19 cases. However, as theUniversity of Michigan’s Navarro points out, getting every last man, woman and child towear a mask is not really the goal that matters.
“Whether it’s through vaccination, [PSA] campaigns or social distancing measures, you’renever going to get a 100% compliance. You try and get as high [a percentage] as youcan,” he said. “We now know from a lot of modeling studies and studies involving masksthat if we can get over 50% — preferably 60% to 80% of compliance with mask orders —we could really drive this epidemic to a manageable level between now and the time weget a vaccine.”
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Man found dead on San Bernardino street after hit-and-run – San Bernardino Sun
https://www.sbsun.com/...r-hit-and-run/?utm_content=tw-sbsun&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com[6/23/2020 8:34:53 AM]
NEWSCRIME + PUBLIC SAFETY
Man found dead on San Bernardino street afterhit-and-run
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Man found dead on San Bernardino street after hit-and-run – San Bernardino Sun
https://www.sbsun.com/...r-hit-and-run/?utm_content=tw-sbsun&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com[6/23/2020 8:34:53 AM]
By RICHARD K. DE ATLEY | [email protected] | The Press-EnterprisePUBLISHED: June 23, 2020 at 8:32 a.m. | UPDATED: June 23, 2020 at 8:33 a.m.
A 54-year-old man was apparently killed in a late-night hit-and-run in the 200 block of North MeridianAvenue in San Bernardino, police said.
The man, whose identified had not yet been released, was found at 10:23 p.m. Saturday, June 20, byofficers called about a body in the roadway.
He appeared to have been struck by at least one vehicle going northbound on Meridian, police said,with no indication that anyone stopped.
Police asked that anyone with information about the call them at 909-384-5792.
Man found dead on San Bernardino street after hit-and-run
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Rialto police investigate death of man found at Henry Elementary – Daily Bulletin
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NEWSCRIME + PUBLIC SAFETY
Rialto police investigate death of man found atHenry Elementary
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Rialto police investigate death of man found at Henry Elementary – Daily Bulletin
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By ALMA FAUSTO | [email protected] | Orange County RegisterPUBLISHED: June 22, 2020 at 11:09 a.m. | UPDATED: June 22, 2020 at 11:34 a.m.
A 19-year-old San Bernardino man was found dead Monday morning leaning up against a tree atHenry Elementary School.
The janitorial staff at about 7 a.m found the man, who was wearing a backpack, at the campus onEast Etiwanda Avenue, Rialto police Capt. Anthony Vega said.
San Bernardino County Coroner’s personnel and Rialto Police place in a van the body of a man found dead at Henry ElementarySchool in Rialto on Monday, June 22, 2020. (Photo by Eric Vilchis, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
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Rialto police investigate death of man found at Henry Elementary – Daily Bulletin
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Coroner officials were investigating what led to the man’s death, Vega said, but there were noweapons or obvious signs of trauma. There were also no signs as of Monday morning that it was asuicide or a homicide.
The man was identified by police as Issac Alaniz.
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Rialto police investigate death of man found at Henry Elementary – Daily Bulletin
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Police said that after reviewing camera footage from nearby buildings, they found that Alaniz hadjumped the fence off of Acacia Avenue and onto the school property on Saturday, June 20.
“He walked several yards to the location of the tree and slumped down and did not move for the nexttwo days,” Vega said.
Though the cause of death has yet to be determined, police said coroner officials may check to see ifdrugs were involved. Vega said there have been a few “peculiar” overdose deaths in the arearecently.
“Right now, there is some indication that leads investigators to believe it was a possible overdose,” hesaid.
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1 of 7A body was found dead on the campus of Henry Elementary School in Rialto on Monday, June 22, 2020. (Photo by Eric Vilchis, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Why Sacramento fails California and itself
Upland Police Chief Darren Goodman placed on leave – San Bernardino Sun
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LOCAL NEWS
Upland Police Chief Darren Goodman placed onleaveCapt. Cliff Matthews appointed temporary police chief
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Upland Police Chief Darren Goodman placed on leave – San Bernardino Sun
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By STEVE SCAUZILLO | [email protected] | San Gabriel Valley TribunePUBLISHED: June 22, 2020 at 8:59 p.m. | UPDATED: June 22, 2020 at 9:13 p.m.
The Upland chief of police has been placed on paid administrative leave, city officials confirmed lateMonday, June 22, 2020.
Officials didn’t immediately provide a reason for placing Darren Goodman on leave.
Goodman, chief of police for the past two years, is on a paid leave of absence effective Monday,confirmed City Councilman Bill Velto.
“Our police chief has been placed on paid administrative leave,” Velto said Monday night during theCity Council meeting Monday night. He did not elaborate.
In this file photo, Upland Police Chief Darren Goodman speaks to those gathered at Upland City Hall on Monday, July 16, 2018 afterbeing sworn in as chief. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
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Upland Police Chief Darren Goodman placed on leave – San Bernardino Sun
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In a video tweet from a news organization earlier in the day, City Manager Rosemary Hoerning brieflyanswered questions in a live interview regarding the situation.
“I think Chief Goodman has done a very fine job for the city of Upland. Now he is on leave of absenceand we will see where that goes,” Hoerning said in the video tweet.
Capt. Cliff Matthews has been appointed acting chief of police, she said. “The police department willcontinue to function.” She said she could not elaborate, saying it was a personnel matter.
Goodman served 27 years in the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department before coming toUpland in July 2018. He lives in Riverside.
Hoerning and Goodman did not return phone calls on Monday.
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By Jose Quintero Staff Writer Posted Jun 22, 2020 at 5:49 PM
APPLE VALLEY — Authorities said a woman was found slumped over in avehicle Saturday night at the Apple Valley Towne Center parking lot.
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department officials said the coroner’s office isinvestigating the woman’s death and a cause of death is still undetermined.Sheriff’s officials said it appeared the woman, whose identity has not beenreleased pending notification of next of kin, had died several days before she wasfound.
Deputy Alfred Flores, of the Apple Valley Sheriff’s Station, responded to theparking lot, between Del Taco and Lowe’s Home Improvement, atapproximately 7:30 p.m. regarding an unresponsive woman in a car.
“Det. Roosevelt Dutra and a coroner investigator were requested and respondedto the location to conduct a death investigation,” Sheriff’s officials said in astatement. “Upon review of video footage from nearby businesses and apreliminary examination of the female’s body, it did not appear anyone else wasinvolved in her death. However, the coroner’s office has yet to complete itsinvestigation and the cause of death is undetermined at this time.”
Sheriff’s officials said additional information would be released once available.
The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to call Dutraat 760-240-7400. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call the WeTiphotline at 800-782-7436 or visit www.wetip.com.
Woman found dead in vehicle in park ing lot