latimes--2020-03-26--Will California's coronavirus crisis look like Italy's soon?

It begins each day in the early afternoon : Patients stream into hospitals with fevers , shakes , chills and breathing problems .
In Italy , the country hardest hit by the new coronavirus , it ’ s been happening seemingly like clockwork .
“ It ’ s really hard to see so many people sick at the same time , ” Dr. Roberto Cosentini , a doctor in the northern city of Bergamo near Milan , said in a podcast for emergency room physicians .
“ It ’ s like a regular daily earthquake.
” Is this what ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than 3,100 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the Golden State and 67 people have died of the respiratory disease .
That ’ s a far cry from the 74,000 cases and 7,500 deaths reported in Italy .
But health officials here have hinted that it ’ s possible .
“ We are in a grave crisis , ” warned Dr. Scott Morrow , San Mateo County ’ s health officer .
“ Unless everyone does their part and follows the county ’ s shelter-in-place order and the governor ’ s Safer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ facing an Italy-type catastrophe very soon , ” he said in a statement released Monday night .
In nearby San Francisco , Dr. Grant Colfax , director of the Department of Public Health , is bracing for a surge in hospitalized patients within the next week or two .
“ The worst is yet to come , ” he said .
California ’ s first coronavirus infection was confirmed in late January , and COVID-19 cases and deaths have been climbing exponentially since the beginning of March .
On Wednesday , county officials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus infection ; the previous Wednesday , there were only 140 new cases .
Likewise , on Wednesday , 13 new deaths were reported across the state ; the previous Wednesday , there were three new deaths .
No one can be sure what the future holds for California .
If residents respect Gov .
Gavin Newsom ’ s order to stay home as much as possible , illnesses and deaths may be avoided or delayed .
On the other hand , if a single asymptomatic person enters the state and becomes a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ large number of people — he or she could ignite a new outbreak .
Either way , there ’ s good reason to expect that the worst can come suddenly , as it has in Italy .
For weeks , King County in Washington state and the San Francisco Bay Area were the hardest-hit areas in the U.S. Then , seemingly out of nowhere , New York Gov .
Andrew Cuomo announced 5,707 new coronavirus cases on Monday night .
Over the next two days , there were an additional 9,936 cases , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to 30,811 .
“ It ’ s happening right now in New York , ” said Dr. George Rutherford , an epidemiologist and infectious disease expert at UC San Francisco .
“ They ’ re up against it.
” In Italy , the sudden rise in the death toll was probably due to a combination of bad luck and a failure to act quickly , Rutherford said .
In fact , Italy ’ s death toll is more than double that of China , the birthplace of the pandemic , despite the fact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ times larger .
The first sign of problems came on Feb. 20 in the form of a previously healthy man in his 30s with an unusual case of pneumonia that required intensive care .
Although he had no history of travel to China , he tested positive for the coronavirus at Codogno Hospital in the province of Lodi , about 30 miles southeast of Milan , according to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Assn .
Within the next day , 36 additional coronavirus cases were identified .
Even worse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hospital ’ s medical staff , said Dr. Maurizio Cecconi , president-elect of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine and a coauthor of the JAMA report .
“ Don ’ t underestimate this .
This is not a normal flu .
This is serious , ” Cecconi said in an interview with the medical journal ’ s editor in chief .
“ The percentage of patients that require intensive care admission is high.
” An uneven public health response worsened matters .
The Codogno area quickly closed businesses and many stayed at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t act so decisively .
It wasn ’ t until March 8 — more than two weeks later — that a stay-in-place directive was ordered for some 16 million people in Italy ’ s north , an area that included Venice and Milan .
The delays proved deadly .
Bergamo was hit hard ; the chapel at the city cemetery had to be converted into a morgue to handle the dead .
Italy was particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 because its population skews older , Rutherford said .
According to the World Bank @ @ @ @ @ @ @ population is at least 65 .
Only Japan ’ s population is older .
( In the United States , 16 % of the population is 65 or older ; in China , it ’ s just 11 % . )
In a study of 803 people who died in Italy , about 88 % of them were at least 70 years old , according to data Cecconi shared .
The elderly and those with preexisting health conditions face the highest risk for critical illness and death if they become infected with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the virus settles deep in the lungs , it can leave victims unable to breathe on their own and cause septic shock and multiple organ failure .
The immune system ’ s response to infection can make matters worse by drowning the tiny air sacs in the lungs that deliver oxygen to the bloodstream .
Furthermore , Italy was stymied by a problem familiar to the U.S. — the inability to carry out widespread testing .
That impacted doctors ’ “ ability to make accurate diagnoses and allocate patients appropriately , ” Cecconi @ @ @ @ @ @ @ circumstances , adding more ICU hospital beds isn ’ t enough , the authors said .
Stay-at-home measures “ may be the only possible way to contain the spread of infection and allow resources to be developed for the time-dependent disease , ” they wrote .
Health workers in California have been paying attention to the podcasts from Italy as they brace for an expected onslaught of COVID-19 patients .
The podcast featuring Cosentini described conditions so intense that the medical staff needed the help of a staff psychologist .
On one particularly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ department took in 80 patients with pneumonia .
With no available beds inside the 800-bed hospital , patients had to wait all over the emergency department , Cosentini said .
Treating COVID-19 patients takes time .
A patient who can ’ t breathe on his or her own may need to be on a ventilator for three to 20 days .
A study of patients in Wuhan , China , reported that the median time between the onset of illness to discharge from a hospital was 22 days .
( Those who died @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appeared . )
“ We not only fill up the beds with people with this disease and those who are suspected of having it , but we can ’ t move [ them ] out until we ’ re sure they ’ re negative , ” Rutherford said .
Times staff writers Harriet Ryan and Sean Greene contributed to this report .

A worker carries out sanitation operations for the coronavirus emergency near the Tower of Pisa amid a devastating coronavirus outbreak.
It begins each day in the early afternoon: Patients stream into hospitals with fevers, shakes, chills and breathing problems. In Italy, the country hardest hit by the new coronavirus, it’s been happening seemingly like clockwork.
“It’s really hard to see so many people sick at the same time,” Dr. Roberto Cosentini, a doctor in the northern city of Bergamo near Milan, said in a podcast for emergency room physicians. “It’s like a regular daily earthquake.”
Is this what’s in store for California?
More than 3,100 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the Golden State and 67 people have died of the respiratory disease. That’s a far cry from the 74,000 cases and 7,500 deaths reported in Italy.
But health officials here have hinted that it’s possible.
“We are in a grave crisis,” warned Dr. Scott Morrow, San Mateo County’s health officer. “Unless everyone does their part and follows the county’s shelter-in-place order and the governor’s Safer at Home order, we will be facing an Italy-type catastrophe very soon,” he said in a statement released Monday night.
In nearby San Francisco, Dr. Grant Colfax, director of the Department of Public Health, is bracing for a surge in hospitalized patients within the next week or two. “The worst is yet to come,” he said.
California’s first coronavirus infection was confirmed in late January, and COVID-19 cases and deaths have been climbing exponentially since the beginning of March.
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On Wednesday, county officials across California announced 537 new cases of coronavirus infection; the previous Wednesday, there were only 140 new cases. Likewise, on Wednesday, 13 new deaths were reported across the state; the previous Wednesday, there were three new deaths.
No one can be sure what the future holds for California. If residents respect Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order to stay home as much as possible, illnesses and deaths may be avoided or delayed. On the other hand, if a single asymptomatic person enters the state and becomes a superspreader — transmitting the virus to a large number of people — he or she could ignite a new outbreak.
Either way, there’s good reason to expect that the worst can come suddenly, as it has in Italy.
For weeks, King County in Washington state and the San Francisco Bay Area were the hardest-hit areas in the U.S. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced 5,707 new coronavirus cases on Monday night. Over the next two days, there were an additional 9,936 cases, bringing the Empire State’s total to 30,811.
“It’s happening right now in New York,” said Dr. George Rutherford, an epidemiologist and infectious disease expert at UC San Francisco. “They’re up against it.”
In Italy, the sudden rise in the death toll was probably due to a combination of bad luck and a failure to act quickly, Rutherford said.
Tracking the coronavirus in California The latest maps and charts on the spread of COVID-19 in California.
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In fact, Italy’s death toll is more than double that of China, the birthplace of the pandemic, despite the fact that China’s population is 23 times larger.
The first sign of problems came on Feb. 20 in the form of a previously healthy man in his 30s with an unusual case of pneumonia that required intensive care. Although he had no history of travel to China, he tested positive for the coronavirus at Codogno Hospital in the province of Lodi, about 30 miles southeast of Milan, according to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Assn.
Within the next day, 36 additional coronavirus cases were identified. Even worse, the virus quickly spread among the hospital’s medical staff, said Dr. Maurizio Cecconi, president-elect of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine and a coauthor of the JAMA report.
“Don’t underestimate this. This is not a normal flu. This is serious,” Cecconi said in an interview with the medical journal’s editor in chief. “The percentage of patients that require intensive care admission is high.”
An uneven public health response worsened matters. The Codogno area quickly closed businesses and many stayed at home, but other communities nearby didn’t act so decisively. It wasn’t until March 8 — more than two weeks later — that a stay-in-place directive was ordered for some 16 million people in Italy’s north, an area that included Venice and Milan.
The delays proved deadly. Bergamo was hit hard; the chapel at the city cemetery had to be converted into a morgue to handle the dead.
Italy was particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 because its population skews older, Rutherford said. According to the World Bank, 23% of Italy’s population is at least 65. Only Japan’s population is older. (In the United States, 16% of the population is 65 or older; in China, it’s just 11%.)
In a study of 803 people who died in Italy, about 88% of them were at least 70 years old, according to data Cecconi shared.
The elderly and those with preexisting health conditions face the highest risk for critical illness and death if they become infected with the coronavirus officially known as SARS-CoV-2. If the virus settles deep in the lungs, it can leave victims unable to breathe on their own and cause septic shock and multiple organ failure. The immune system’s response to infection can make matters worse by drowning the tiny air sacs in the lungs that deliver oxygen to the bloodstream.
A medical worker in protective gear tends to a COVID-19 patient in the intensive care unit of a hospital near Rome. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP/Getty Images)
Furthermore, Italy was stymied by a problem familiar to the U.S. — the inability to carry out widespread testing. That impacted doctors’ “ability to make accurate diagnoses and allocate patients appropriately,” Cecconi and his colleagues wrote.
Under those circumstances, adding more ICU hospital beds isn’t enough, the authors said. Stay-at-home measures “may be the only possible way to contain the spread of infection and allow resources to be developed for the time-dependent disease,” they wrote.
Health workers in California have been paying attention to the podcasts from Italy as they brace for an expected onslaught of COVID-19 patients. The podcast featuring Cosentini described conditions so intense that the medical staff needed the help of a staff psychologist.
On one particularly bad day, Cosentini’s emergency department took in 80 patients with pneumonia. With no available beds inside the 800-bed hospital, patients had to wait all over the emergency department, Cosentini said.
Treating COVID-19 patients takes time. A patient who can’t breathe on his or her own may need to be on a ventilator for three to 20 days. A study of patients in Wuhan, China, reported that the median time between the onset of illness to discharge from a hospital was 22 days. (Those who died lasted 18.5 days after their symptoms first appeared.)
“We not only fill up the beds with people with this disease and those who are suspected of having it, but we can’t move [them] out until we’re sure they’re negative,” Rutherford said.
Times staff writers Harriet Ryan and Sean Greene contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-04-16--Irene Hirano Inouye, champion of Japanese American causes, dies at 71

Irene Hirano Inouye , a prodigious fundraiser who led the nation ’ s premier Japanese American museum in Los Angeles and built bridges across cultures with groundbreaking projects , has died .
She was 71 .
Inouye was diagnosed last year with leiomyosarcoma , a rare form of cancer , and died April 7 at her Los Angeles home , said her daughter , Jennifer Hirano .
The Japanese American leader , whose soft-spoken mien belied powerful drive and farsighted vision , rose to national prominence in the nonprofit world as board chair of the Ford and Kresge foundations .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ diplomacy ” between the two foundations , which resulted in their combined gifts of $ 225 million to jump-start the successful 2014 effort to bring Detroit out of the nation ’ s largest-ever municipal bankruptcy , according to a statement by Kresge Foundation President and Chief Executive Rip Rapson and Board Chair Elaine Rosen .
But in California and across Asian America , Inouye is best known for her work over five decades to empower women of color , develop the Japanese American National Museum and launch an international council to deepen ties @ @ @ @ @ @ @ She was the widow of the late U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye , the powerful Hawaii Democrat who died in 2012 .
“ Irene was a visionary and she was golden in everything she touched , ” said Mitchell T. Maki , president of the Go For Broke National Education Center , which preserves and shares the history of Japanese American veterans of World War II .
Irene Ann Yasutake was born Oct. 7 , 1948 , in Los Angeles , the oldest of Jean and Michael Yasutake ’ s four children .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ father a U.S. Army major who served in the military intelligence service as a translator during World War II and later became an international businessman .
After graduating from USC with bachelor ’ s and master ’ s degrees in public administration , she worked as executive director for T.H.E .
Clinic , a South Los Angeles health clinic that primarily served women of color .
Through her community work , she met Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas , who was then a high school teacher , and forged a lifelong friendship @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the local Los Angeles board of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and , Ridley-Thomas said , worked hard to spread the Rev .
Martin Luther King , Jr. 's founding vision of social change through nonviolent resistance .
“ She was always there , ” Ridley-Thomas said .
“ She was warm , unassuming , loyal , faithful , diligent .
I just wish there were more people like her in the world.
” In 1976 , she caught the attention of then-Gov .
Jerry Brown , who appointed her to head the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
She advocated gender pay equity and called out efforts by male state legislators to defund the commission as “ an insult to every woman in California.
” In 1980 , she helped form local and national networks to empower Asian Pacific American women , whom she believed lacked visibility and leadership opportunities .
She fought against the abuse of Asian women brought to the United States as mail-order brides and sought greater representation in educational , employment and political realms .
“ Many of us are conditioned to sit back , get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not confront , ” she told The Times in 1980 .
“ It ’ s much easier that way , but we must fight against falling into that trap.
” Her defining work came after businessman Bruce T. Kaji and a group of World War II military veterans joined forces in 1985 to launch what was then an audacious idea : a national museum to honor the history and culture of Japanese Americans .
Inouye was hired over 150 applicants in 1988 , according to a museum history .
Actor George Takei , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since its inception , said Inouye brought an “ indefatigable ” work ethic , “ calm competence ” and extensive management and fundraising expertise .
She traveled the nation and later Japan with prominent Japanese American business leaders as they enlisted community support and collectively raised more than $ 60 million for the museum .
A breakthrough donation was $ 10 million from the Keidanren , Japan ’ s leading economic and business organization , reflecting the group ’ s work to bridge divides between Japanese Americans and their ancestral country rooted in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ major expansions of the museum , whose primary holdings are housed in a state-of-the-art pavilion in Little Tokyo .
The museum explored the World War II incarceration of 120,000 people of Japanese descent in an exhibit provocatively titled “ America ’ s Concentration Camps , ” the history-making heroics of Japanese American soldiers , the art of Isamu Noguchi , untold stories of first-generation Issei pioneers .
The museum became an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution , giving it access to artifacts , traveling exhibits and collaborations .
“ Irene was always looking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ next big idea ?
’ ” said Chris Komai , a former museum official who worked with her for 18 years .
Former congressman Norman Mineta said one of Inouye ’ s greatest legacies is her bridge-building to other communities .
After the Sept. 11 attacks , she arranged a meeting between museum board members and leaders in the Arab , South Asian and Muslim communities in Michigan .
Ultimately , the Japanese Americans offered support to launch an Arab American National Museum and have led efforts to use their wartime incarceration as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and other vulnerable groups .
“ Without her , we wouldn ’ t have become the Japanese American National Museum that we are today , ” Takei said .
But her vision and ambition could be costly , as she took exhibits to Brazil , Hawaii and Japan .
Fundraising for the expansive pavilion fell short .
The museum fell into a $ 10-million debt , leading to pay cuts and layoffs .
Inouye also got caught in a tussle over the museum ’ s direction .
Her growing interest in building ties @ @ @ @ @ @ @ members who believed the focus should remain on the Japanese American experience .
In 2008 , she announced she would marry the senator and resigned from the museum .
( The museum today has reduced its debt to $ 2.37 million and held membership steady at about 20,000 , according to current President Ann Burroughs . )
Inouye pursued her passion to strengthen trans-Pacific ties by helping launch the U.S.-Japan Council in 2009 and served as president until resigning in January .
The council has promoted exchanges between Japanese American leaders and counterparts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami .
Despite Inouye ’ s many awards and leadership roles in the educational , cultural and nonprofit worlds , Jennifer Hirano said her mother rarely talked about herself and never lost her humility .
“ She had a bit of the Japanese American spirit : You keep your head down , you do the best work you can , but you don ’ t necessarily talk a lot about it , ” Hirano said .
In addition to Hirano , Inouye is survived by her mother , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Patti Yasutake , brother Steven Yasutake , stepson Kenny Inouye and granddaughter Maggie Inouye .

Irene Hirano Inouye, a prodigious fundraiser who led the nation’s premier Japanese American museum in Los Angeles and built bridges across cultures with groundbreaking projects, has died. She was 71.
Inouye was diagnosed last year with leiomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer, and died April 7 at her Los Angeles home, said her daughter, Jennifer Hirano.
The Japanese American leader, whose soft-spoken mien belied powerful drive and farsighted vision, rose to national prominence in the nonprofit world as board chair of the Ford and Kresge foundations. A major achievement was her “shuttle diplomacy” between the two foundations, which resulted in their combined gifts of $225 million to jump-start the successful 2014 effort to bring Detroit out of the nation’s largest-ever municipal bankruptcy, according to a statement by Kresge Foundation President and Chief Executive Rip Rapson and Board Chair Elaine Rosen.
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But in California and across Asian America, Inouye is best known for her work over five decades to empower women of color, develop the Japanese American National Museum and launch an international council to deepen ties between the United States and Japan. She was the widow of the late U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, the powerful Hawaii Democrat who died in 2012.
“Irene was a visionary and she was golden in everything she touched,” said Mitchell T. Maki, president of the Go For Broke National Education Center, which preserves and shares the history of Japanese American veterans of World War II.
Irene Ann Yasutake was born Oct. 7, 1948, in Los Angeles, the oldest of Jean and Michael Yasutake’s four children. Her mother was a homemaker and her father a U.S. Army major who served in the military intelligence service as a translator during World War II and later became an international businessman.
After graduating from USC with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public administration, she worked as executive director for T.H.E. Clinic, a South Los Angeles health clinic that primarily served women of color. Through her community work, she met Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who was then a high school teacher, and forged a lifelong friendship.
At his invitation, she joined the local Los Angeles board of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and, Ridley-Thomas said, worked hard to spread the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s founding vision of social change through nonviolent resistance.
“She was always there,” Ridley-Thomas said. “She was warm, unassuming, loyal, faithful, diligent. I just wish there were more people like her in the world.”
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In 1976, she caught the attention of then-Gov. Jerry Brown, who appointed her to head the California Commission on the Status of Women. She advocated gender pay equity and called out efforts by male state legislators to defund the commission as “an insult to every woman in California.”
In 1980, she helped form local and national networks to empower Asian Pacific American women, whom she believed lacked visibility and leadership opportunities. She fought against the abuse of Asian women brought to the United States as mail-order brides and sought greater representation in educational, employment and political realms.
“Many of us are conditioned to sit back, get done what needs to be done and not confront,” she told The Times in 1980. “It’s much easier that way, but we must fight against falling into that trap.”
Irene Hirano Inouye, center, was the widow of the late U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, left, the powerful Hawaii Democrat who died in 2012. (Manuel Balce Ceneta / Associated Press)
Her defining work came after businessman Bruce T. Kaji and a group of World War II military veterans joined forces in 1985 to launch what was then an audacious idea: a national museum to honor the history and culture of Japanese Americans. Inouye was hired over 150 applicants in 1988, according to a museum history.
Actor George Takei, who has served on the museum board since its inception, said Inouye brought an “indefatigable” work ethic, “calm competence” and extensive management and fundraising expertise.
She traveled the nation and later Japan with prominent Japanese American business leaders as they enlisted community support and collectively raised more than $60 million for the museum. A breakthrough donation was $10 million from the Keidanren, Japan’s leading economic and business organization, reflecting the group’s work to bridge divides between Japanese Americans and their ancestral country rooted in World War II.
Inouye oversaw three major expansions of the museum, whose primary holdings are housed in a state-of-the-art pavilion in Little Tokyo. The museum explored the World War II incarceration of 120,000 people of Japanese descent in an exhibit provocatively titled “America’s Concentration Camps,” the history-making heroics of Japanese American soldiers, the art of Isamu Noguchi, untold stories of first-generation Issei pioneers. The museum became an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, giving it access to artifacts, traveling exhibits and collaborations.
“Irene was always looking forward: ‘What’s the next big idea?’” said Chris Komai, a former museum official who worked with her for 18 years.
Former congressman Norman Mineta said one of Inouye’s greatest legacies is her bridge-building to Japan and to other communities.
After the Sept. 11 attacks, she arranged a meeting between museum board members and leaders in the Arab, South Asian and Muslim communities in Michigan. Ultimately, the Japanese Americans offered support to launch an Arab American National Museum and have led efforts to use their wartime incarceration as a warning against scapegoating Muslims, immigrants and other vulnerable groups.
‘Without her, we wouldn’t have become the Japanese American National Museum that we are today.’ — George Takei
“Without her, we wouldn’t have become the Japanese American National Museum that we are today,” Takei said.
But her vision and ambition could be costly, as she took exhibits to Brazil, Hawaii and Japan. Fundraising for the expansive pavilion fell short. The museum fell into a $10-million debt, leading to pay cuts and layoffs.
Inouye also got caught in a tussle over the museum’s direction. Her growing interest in building ties with Japan was opposed by some board members who believed the focus should remain on the Japanese American experience.
In 2008, she announced she would marry the senator and resigned from the museum. (The museum today has reduced its debt to $2.37 million and held membership steady at about 20,000, according to current President Ann Burroughs.)
Inouye pursued her passion to strengthen trans-Pacific ties by helping launch the U.S.-Japan Council in 2009 and served as president until resigning in January. The council has promoted exchanges between Japanese American leaders and counterparts in Japan, including those affected by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
Despite Inouye’s many awards and leadership roles in the educational, cultural and nonprofit worlds, Jennifer Hirano said her mother rarely talked about herself and never lost her humility.
“She had a bit of the Japanese American spirit: You keep your head down, you do the best work you can, but you don’t necessarily talk a lot about it,” Hirano said.
In addition to Hirano, Inouye is survived by her mother, Jean Yasutake, sisters Linda Hayashi and Patti Yasutake, brother Steven Yasutake, stepson Kenny Inouye and granddaughter Maggie Inouye.


latimes--2020-04-16--California food workers will get extra paid sick leave amid coronavirus crisis

Gov .
Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Thursday requiring companies in the food sector that employ 500 or more people to provide two weeks of supplemental paid sick leave for full-time workers who contract COVID-19 or are exposed to the virus and need to isolate themselves .
Under the order , part-time workers are eligible for a lesser amount of sick time determined by the numbers of hours they typically work in a two-week period .
“ We don ’ t want you going to work if you ’ re sick , and we want to make sure that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sick , it ’ s OK to acknowledge it , ” Newsom said .
“ It ’ s OK to let your employer know and still know that you ’ re going to get a supplemental paycheck for a minimum of two weeks.
” The California Grocers Assn .
and the United Food and Commercial Workers union support the new sick leave benefits , which the governor ’ s office said fills a gap left by a federal law that provides paid leave benefits to workers at smaller businesses .
The supplemental paid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to any existing benefits employees receive and applies across the food sector , to businesses including grocery stores , restaurants , fast-food chains , food processing and packaging plants , agriculture and delivery services .
“ Today ’ s announcement expands on safety efforts already underway and provides added comfort to valued grocery store employees and customers that a consistent set of best practices is being followed by all essential retailers regardless of size and location , ” Ron Fong , president of the California Grocers Assn.
, said in a statement .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ win for workers on the front lines of the pandemic .
“ I ’ m not aware of anywhere where there has been a standard that applies to all workers in a division or sector , ” said John Grant , president of UFCW 770 .
“ This is pretty significant.
” UFCW 770 represents 20,000 grocery workers in Los Angeles , Ventura , Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties .
It has called for more retail protections over the last several weeks .
Grant acknowledged that it would have been beneficial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ paid leave earlier in the crisis .
But as is Newsom ’ s style , the governor issued the order after bringing the union and grocers together to reach an agreement first , rather than mandating the change without input , Grant said .
“ I wouldn ’ t have minded a command decision-making process back in March , but on the other hand this does go farther and it will be better , ” he said .
Grocery store workers in particular have been regularly interacting with customers during the pandemic at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stores that Californians are allowed to frequent under the stay-at-home order .
Grant said the order will allow them to feel more comfortable speaking out about any potential symptoms and immediately receive paid time off to prevent the virus from spreading to co-workers or customers .
In California , 81 % of workers reported having some paid sick leave , but just 14 % had access to at least two weeks of paid sick leave , according to new research by the Shift Project at the University of California .
Studies show paying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reduce the spread of the seasonal flu .
It could help reduce the rate of spread of the coronavirus too , experts say .
Grant described the order as one piece of a larger campaign to protect workers .
After some businesses initially pushed back on allowing employees to wear masks , Grant said about 75 % of grocery retailers are now complying with health and safety standards .
Several companies have expanded sick leave and relaxed attendance policies amid the virus outbreak .
Walmart , Target and Whole Foods , for example @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of paid leave for employees diagnosed with the coronavirus or who are put under a mandatory quarantine .
But concerns have still sparked protests at some companies .
A contingent of Whole Foods employees across the country called in sick last month in an effort to press the Amazon.com-owned grocery chain for paid leave for all workers who self-quarantine regardless of whether they have been diagnosed with coronavirus , among other demands .
The California Division of Occupational Safety & Health recently released new guidelines that advise grocery stores on employee training , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , disinfecting equipment and surfaces , and steps to take if workers may be sick .
Los Angeles County passed an ordinance this week that requires grocery stores and pharmacies to set up plexiglass barriers at registers where customers and employees could come in close contact .
Other L.A. County rules require grocery stores and essential businesses to limit the number of people who can enter at one time and to ensure customers maintain at least six feet of physical distance between one another .
Newsom ’ s paid leave order stays in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mandate remains in effect .
Workers who are eligible for leave but have been denied by their employers can report a labor law violation with the state labor commissioner .

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Thursday requiring companies in the food sector that employ 500 or more people to provide two weeks of supplemental paid sick leave for full-time workers who contract COVID-19 or are exposed to the virus and need to isolate themselves.
Under the order, part-time workers are eligible for a lesser amount of sick time determined by the number of hours they typically work in a two-week period.
“We don’t want you going to work if you’re sick, and we want to make sure that you know that if you’re sick, it’s OK to acknowledge it,” Newsom said. “It’s OK to let your employer know and still know that you’re going to get a supplemental paycheck for a minimum of two weeks.”
The California Grocers Assn. and the United Food and Commercial Workers union support the new sick leave benefits, which the governor’s office said fills a gap left by a federal law that provides paid leave benefits to workers at smaller businesses.
California 20 heartwarming photos show gratitude for healthcare workers Firefighters and law enforcement officers from L.A. to Laguna Beach express their gratitude to healthcare workers for their efforts in fighting COVID-19.
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The supplemental paid sick leave would be offered in addition to any existing benefits employees receive and applies across the food sector, to businesses including grocery stores, restaurants, fast-food chains, food processing and packaging plants, agriculture and delivery services.
“Today’s announcement expands on safety efforts already underway and provides added comfort to valued grocery store employees and customers that a consistent set of best practices is being followed by all essential retailers regardless of size and location,” Ron Fong, president of the California Grocers Assn., said in a statement.
Labor unions hailed the agreement as a win for workers on the front lines of the pandemic.
“I’m not aware of anywhere where there has been a standard that applies to all workers in a division or sector,” said John Grant, president of UFCW 770. “This is pretty significant.”
UFCW 770 represents 20,000 grocery workers in Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. It has called for more retail protections over the last several weeks.
Grant acknowledged that it would have been beneficial for his members to have access to paid leave earlier in the crisis. But as is Newsom’s style, the governor issued the order after bringing the union and grocers together to reach an agreement first, rather than mandating the change without input, Grant said.
“I wouldn’t have minded a command decision-making process back in March, but on the other hand this does go farther and it will be better enforced,” he said.
Grocery store workers in particular have been regularly interacting with customers during the pandemic at one of the few types of retail stores that Californians are allowed to frequent under the stay-at-home order.
Grant said the order will allow them to feel more comfortable speaking out about any potential symptoms and immediately receive paid time off to prevent the virus from spreading to co-workers or customers.
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In California, 81% of workers reported having some paid sick leave, but just 14% had access to at least two weeks of paid sick leave, according to new research by the Shift Project at the University of California.
Studies show paying for sick employees to stay home helps reduce the spread of the seasonal flu. It could help reduce the rate of spread of the coronavirus too, experts say.
Grant described the order as one piece of a larger campaign to protect workers.
After some businesses initially pushed back on allowing employees to wear masks, Grant said about 75% of grocery retailers are now complying with health and safety standards.
Several companies have expanded sick leave and relaxed attendance policies amid the virus outbreak. Walmart, Target and Whole Foods, for example, have offered up to two weeks of paid leave for employees diagnosed with the coronavirus or who are put under a mandatory quarantine.
But concerns have still sparked protests at some companies. A contingent of Whole Foods employees across the country called in sick last month in an effort to press the Amazon.com-owned grocery chain for paid leave for all workers who self-quarantine regardless of whether they have been diagnosed with COVID-19, among other demands.
The California Division of Occupational Safety & Health recently released new guidelines that advise grocery stores on employee training, proper hand-washing, social distancing in stores, disinfecting equipment and surfaces, and steps to take if workers may be sick.
Los Angeles County passed an ordinance this week that requires grocery stores and pharmacies to set up plexiglass barriers at registers where customers and employees could come in close contact. Other L.A. County rules require grocery stores and essential businesses to limit the number of people who can enter at one time and to ensure customers maintain at least six feet of physical distance between one another.
Newsom’s paid leave order stays in place as long as the statewide stay-at-home mandate remains in effect. Workers who are eligible for leave but have been denied by their employers can report a labor law violation with the state labor commissioner.
Times reporter Suhauna Hussain contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-04-16--Dozens of homeless people relocated after skid row shelter reports six coronavirus cases

The Union Rescue Mission in downtown Los Angeles was scrambling Thursday to relocate dozens of homeless people after the novel coronavirus infected six of its residents .
The spike in cases at the massive mission , located in the heart of skid row , occurred amid a countywide increase of coronavirus infections among the local homeless population .
Barbara Ferrer , director of the L.A. County Department of Public Health , announced in her briefing Thursday that there were 33 cases .
Most involved people who lived on the streets , rather than in shelters .
The Union Rescue Mission @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s death .
Gerald Shiroma , who became a driver for the mission after graduating from its third-floor transitional program , contracted the virus in late March and died last week at County-USC Medical Center .
Shiroma also lived at the mission .
The Rev .
Andy Bales , the mission ’ s chief executive officer , said that 27 people were moved to quarantine sites as soon as Shiromo tested positive .
But there were soon two additional positive cases from the third floor , two from the second floor and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ source of the additional infections was not known , he said .
“ The loss of a teammate was the toughest blow , ” Bales said .
“ The new reality that we ’ re all living in is probably the most challenging time in the 128-year history of the Union Rescue Mission.
” Bales said he expects the mission ’ s occupancy to drop from 770 to about 500 .
So far , 19 men who have underlying health issues or are 65 or older were transported Wednesday into a county-run isolation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ high-risk homeless men will he moved on Thursday .
Bales said he has had to push back on rumors of a widespread outbreak at the shelter .
“ Even with local media , ” he said , “ I had to assure them that these were just private ambulances the county had lined up to take people to more private lodging.
” To allow for proper social distancing for those who remain , 47 men are being sent to stay in the staff cafeteria and boardroom , which have been turned into a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who were sleeping in a tent-like sprung structure erected outside the mission last year will be moved into the family quarantine wing , Symptomatic families will be isolated in the fifth floor boardroom until they can be transported to another location .

Staff and volunteers practice social distancing as they line up for lunch at Union Rescue Mission on Tuesday.
The Union Rescue Mission in downtown Los Angeles was scrambling Thursday to relocate dozens of homeless people after the novel coronavirus infected six of its residents.
The spike in cases at the massive mission, located in the heart of skid row, occurred amid a countywide increase of coronavirus infections among the local homeless population. Barbara Ferrer, director of the L.A. County Department of Public Health, announced in her briefing Thursday that there were 33 cases. Most involved people who lived on the streets, rather than in shelters.
The Union Rescue Mission was struck within days of an employee’s death. Gerald Shiroma, who became a driver for the mission after graduating from its third-floor transitional program, contracted the virus in late March and died last week at County-USC Medical Center. Shiroma also lived at the mission.
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The Rev. Andy Bales, the mission’s chief executive officer, said that 27 people were moved to quarantine sites as soon as Shiromo tested positive. But there were soon two additional positive cases from the third floor, two from the second floor and one from the first floor.
The source of the additional infections was not known, he said.
“The loss of a teammate was the toughest blow,” Bales said. “The new reality that we’re all living in is probably the most challenging time in the 128-year history of the Union Rescue Mission.”
Bales said he expects the mission’s occupancy to drop from 770 to about 500. So far, 19 men who have underlying health issues or are 65 or older were transported Wednesday into a county-run isolation site in Bell Gardens. Another 30 high-risk homeless men will he moved on Thursday.
Bales said he has had to push back on rumors of a widespread outbreak at the shelter.
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“Even with local media,” he said, “I had to assure them that these were just private ambulances the county had lined up to take people to more private lodging.”
To allow for proper social distancing for those who remain, 47 men are being sent to stay in the staff cafeteria and boardroom, which have been turned into a large open space.
High-risk single women who were sleeping in a tent-like sprung structure erected outside the mission last year will be moved into the family quarantine wing, Symptomatic families will be isolated in the fifth floor boardroom until they can be transported to another location.


latimes--2020-04-16--UC reeling under staggering coronavirus costs; 'the worst impacts ... all at once'

The University of California was hit with $ 558 million in unanticipated costs in March alone due to coronavirus , a staggering sum as students canceled housing and dining contracts , medical centers paused elective surgeries and campus costs soared for online learning .
UC President Janet Napolitano detailed the grim financial picture in a letter Wednesday to Gov .
Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders and asked them to provide more funding to help cover the unprecedented costs .
She noted that the public research university system was incurring added expenses and revenue losses in multiple areas , as health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worked on potential cures and campuses sent most students home .
“ As the world ’ s largest public research university system , UC is confronting many of the worst impacts of the virus all at once , ” she wrote .
More funding , she added , would “ help UC provide students the education they were promised , treat our employees with fairness and provide our communities with compassionate care.
” The 23-campus California State University system estimates its lost monthly revenue at about $ 100 million , according to spokesman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not immediately available for comment .
Napolitano ’ s letter provided the first detailed look at the extraordinary financial impact of the pandemic on the 10-campus UC system , which educates 285,000 students and employs 227,000 faculty , researchers and staff .
The recently enacted federal Coronavirus Aid , Relief , and Economic Security Act , known as CARES , will provide an estimated $ 437 million in aid to UC campuses and medical centers , Napolitano said , but that would not fully cover even a month of the extra costs — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coming weeks .
The federal bill provides nearly $ 14 billion overall for higher education .
But the American Council on Education , an association of more than 1,700 colleges and universities , has criticized that sum as “ woefully inadequate ” and called for $ 50 billion in aid .
Colleges and universities throughout the state and nation already are beginning to take austerity measures as pandemic-related costs mount .
UC Berkeley alone announced this month that the pandemic would cost the campus `` $ 100 million and growing ” with lost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , public performances and sports events , along with higher costs for technology .
“ The longer that normal operations are disrupted , the more dire the situation becomes , ” Chancellor Carol Christ and Provost Paul Alivisatos said in a message to faculty and staff .
UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla said the campus losses for about 10,000 canceled housing and dining contracts could total nearly $ 40 million .
The medical center had to cancel all elective surgeries and keep 40 % of hospital beds open in case of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cost more than $ 40 million in lost revenue .
Technology costs sharply increased as well , he said , as the campus purchased more than 500 laptops for students for the shift to remote learning .
“ We are in for some really challenging times , ” Khosla said in an interview .
To reduce costs , UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco have instituted a campus-wide hiring freeze , as have dozens of other campuses including USC , Stanford and Harvard .
Those private institutions also have announced salary cuts for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it also will probably suffer the loss of expected new revenue from the state .
Napolitano said this month that she was informed that Newsom ’ s proposed 5 % increase for UC , amounting to $ 217.7 million , was off the table for now , although additional funding would be considered after July tax returns are in .
In addition , UC regents have postponed a planned vote on a five-year plan to raise tuition for incoming classes beginning this fall .
According to Napolitano , unanticipated new costs and revenue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for UC campuses for canceled housing and dining contracts , facility cleaning costs and transitioning to remote instruction .
Costs were mostly incurred in the last two weeks of March and will probably increase when the full month of April is tallied .
An expected $ 260 million in federal relief won ’ t cover the costs , Napolitano said .
• $ 248 million for UC ’ s health system , which includes six academic health centers .
The sum includes costs for emergency medical services and other patient services .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ patients for COVID-19 , which initially cost between $ 1 million and $ 10 million per person in the early weeks to prepare facilities for the critical care .
Losses from cancellation of elective procedures amounted to about $ 170 million , an “ unprecedented ” sum that will probably climb much higher in coming months , Napolitano said .
The health centers expect to receive about $ 177 million in funding from the Department of Health and Human Services — '' short of the first month ’ s losses , ” Napolitano @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supplies and equipment and more skilled technicians to perform diagnostic testing .
• Greater demand for financial aid as massive job losses have upended family economic stability .
But $ 130 million in federal emergency financial aid grants that UC expects to receive should cover the additional needs for the next several academic terms , Napolitano wrote .
• Unknown costs to buttress academic support for vulnerable students .
It is not clear how many will choose to return to campus this fall .
• Unknown impact on research funding as the pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the virus .
More funding is needed to support UC ’ s 300 COVID-related research programs , Napolitano said .
• Expanded paid administrative leave of up to 128 hours .
UC also pledged to avoid layoffs for most of its 227,000-member workforce , the third largest in the state .
• Loss of revenue due to the cancellation of artistic performances , museum exhibits and athletic events .
“ As the Governor and Legislature distribute emergency funding ...
I am asking you to remember the important function of the University of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ partner with the state , ” Napolitano wrote .

Student Shaya Naimi, 19, hangs out on the steps of Powell Library at UCLA, where most students have left campus and classes have moved to online only.
The University of California was hit with $558 million in unanticipated costs in March alone due to the coronavirus, a staggering sum as students canceled housing and dining contracts, medical centers paused elective surgeries and campus costs soared for online learning.
UC President Janet Napolitano detailed the grim financial picture in a letter Wednesday to Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders and asked them for more funding to help cover the unprecedented costs.
She noted that the public research university system was incurring added expenses and revenue losses in multiple areas, as health centers treated high-cost COVID-19 patients, researchers worked on potential cures and campuses sent most students home. UC also has pledged to avoid layoffs of most employees.
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1 / 83 Socially distanced bikers and walkers, against a backdrop of the Queen Mary, make their way along pedestrian and beach bike path on the first day that Long Beach reopened the path on Monday May 11, 2020. The city of Long Beach eased a few of its public health restrictions, allowing under certain guidelines the reopening of pedestrian and beach bike paths, tennis centers and courts. Beach bathrooms are also reopening, but the parking lots and beaches still remain closed. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times) 2 / 83 Traffic remains light on the southbound 110 Freeway headed toward downtown Los Angeles on April 28. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 83 Dominique Barrett, center, known as “King Vader” to his 2.4 million TikTok followers, prepares to shoot a video on April 30 in Glendora. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 83 Cody Purcell of Redondo Beach rides a wave, glowing from the bioluminescence, in Hermosa Beach, CA, after midnight Friday morning, May 8. (Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times) 5 / 83 Friends play spikeball, a game perfect for social distancing on an open but restricted San Buenaventura State Beach. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 83 The majority of golfers are wearing masks while hitting balls on the driving range at Van Buren Executive Golf Course in Riverside. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 83 Beaches including Harbor Cove Beach were open but beachgoers were not supposed to be sitting on the sand. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 83 Tango instructor Yelizaveta Nersesova leads a Zoom tango event from her Los Angeles home April 27 that brought together hundreds of dancers from around the world. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 83 Grocery store workers, joined by United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 770 representatives and community members, hold a rally in support of strict social distancing on May 1 at a Ralphs store in Hollywood where 19 employees have tested positive for COVID-19. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 83 Mostly masked commuters keep their distance from one another on a Metro bus in downtown Los Angeles on April 29. (Gabriella Angotti-Jones / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 83 Gregory Kuhl, 69, heads home after a shopping trip in Hollywood on April 28. Big cracks in the street, cars parked in driveways blocking sidewalks and uneven pavement levels make navigating his route difficult. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 83 Tenants and their supporters from across Los Angeles gather at city hall to call on L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, the L.A. City Council and California Gov. Gavin Newsom to cancel rent and mortgage payments during the COVID-19 crisis. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 83 Aerial view of over 100 vehicles lined up at the West Valley COVID-19 testing center at Warner Center in Woodland Hills. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 83 Senior Mason Wise, left, helps his sister, Mackenzie, a sophomore, clean out her PE locker at El Camino Real Charter High School in Woodland Hills. School officials were allowing no more than five students at a time on campus to take home their belongings. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 83 Shuttered storefront businesses in the garment district of Los Angeles. California’s unemployment rate has skyrocketed since the statewide coronavirus shutdown took effect. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 83 Healthcare workers celebrate as Claudia Martinez is discharged from the ICU after she recovered from COVID-19 at Scripps Mercy Hospital in Chula Vista. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 83 Carson residents Kaeli Burks, 3, left, and her cousin Bailey Watson, 5, look out the window of their car after their mothers helped them with self-testing at a new drive-up testing site for COVID-19 in Carson. Free COVID-19 testing is available to all city residents thanks to a partnership between the city and US Health Fairs. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 83 Norm and Tracy Kahn enjoy eating dinner outside on a small cafe table sitting in blue chairs on their side yard during the coronavirus pandemic on April 27 in Riverside. “During this pandemic, eating outside offers us an opportunity to change surrounding and appreciate the calmness of being outdoors among trees, scents from nature and the sounds of birds,” she said. Also adding, “Mixing up where we eat puts variety into our days and takes away the sameness of feeling trapped at home.” (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 83 Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center nurses carry supplies outside the hospital. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 83 Tom Sean Foley pauses on a walk with his kids, Cathelen Claire, “C.C.,” 3, and Timothy Joseph, 4, to take a photo in front of the “Love Wall,” mural by artist Curtis Kulig, outside of Smashbox Studios in Culver City. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 83 Protesters stand along Mission Blvd. in Pacific Beach during A Day of Liberty rally on April 26. The protesters were against the government shutdown due to the coronavirus. (K.C. Alfred / San Diego Union-Tribune) 22 / 83 People make orders at a food truck along Shoreline Avenue in Long Beach. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 83 Medical staff, wearing protective gear, work inside a COVID-19 isolation area inside the emergency department at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center in Los Angeles, where patients with the virus are being treated. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 83 Neighbors practice social distancing while enjoying the nice weather near The Strand in Hermosa Beach. (Gabriella Angotti-Jones / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 83 Counter-protesters attend a protest to call on state and local officials to reopen the economy in downtown Los Angeles. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 83 A group of protesters cheer on cars during a vehicle caravan protest to call on state and local officials to reopen the economy in downtown Los Angeles. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 83 Cedar Mountain Post Acute Rehabilitation staff member Navi Cavaltera waters a flower pot put up by the community to show their support for the nursing staff of the facility in Yucaipa. Eighteen of 20 coronavirus-related deaths in Yucaipa were residents of the skilled nursing facility. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 83 A pedestrian wearing a protective mask passes a mural on a store on Melrose Avenue in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 83 Jonte Florence, a freestyle dancer, does a handstand on a mostly empty Hollywood Walk of Fame. Florence said he normally performs for hundreds of tourists along the busy street. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 83 The Tyrannosaurus rex overlooking the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue wears a protective mask while practicing social distancing. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 31 / 83 Businesses are shuttered and pedestrians are few and far between on Hollywood Boulevard. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 32 / 83 Daniel Rogerson wears a vintage military gas mask while riding a bike along the beach path in Santa Monica, which is closed to enforce social distancing because of the coronavirus pandemic. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 83 A face mask seller in colorful dress appears to be part of a mural behind a bus stop on Soto Street in Los Angeles. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 83 Life around Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard and Soto Street has slowed down as California officials extended stay-at-home orders into May and residents entered Easter weekend with unprecedented limits on their movements. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 83 UC Irvine Medical Center health care workers return their gratitude as about 25 Orange County first responder vehicles participate in a drive-by parade of gratitude as they battle COVID-19 at the hospital. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 36 / 83 Billy Budd, 55, of Hollywood, walks along Hollywood Boulevard with a protective face covering. Budd is a scenic artist for movies and television who is currently out of work due to the coronavirus outbreak. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 37 / 83 Stuart Reyes and his sister, Stephanie, sell masks for $5 each on the 3000 block of West Century Boulevard in Inglewood. Stuart Reyes said he is selling masks to support his mother. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 83 A jogger runs on a closed trail past dozens of pieces of caution tape, torn off by hikers and mountain bikers at El Escorpion Canyon Park in West Hills. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 39 / 83 Alex Herron and nurse Mercy Pineda at a blood drive sponsored by USC athletics and the American Red Cross at USC’s Galen Center. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 40 / 83 Los Angeles City Hall displays blue lights to show support for healthcare workers and first responders. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 41 / 83 After being indoors for several days because of rainy weather and coronavirus stay-at-home orders, Olivia Jacobs, 4, and her mom, Cia Jacobs, enjoy a warm and sunny afternoon making chalk drawings on the sidewalk in front of their home in West Hills. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 42 / 83 An Oceanview Plaza security guard sports a whimsical mask while on patrol. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 43 / 83 Jacob De Wilde, left, and Lesli Lytle load a car with food during a food distribution organized to mark Good Friday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 44 / 83 As a late season storm continues to make its way across the Southland, a young basketball player dribbles along an alley through an Elysian Park neighborhood in Los Angeles. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 45 / 83 People are silhouetted in a window of an apartment building in Hollywood, where a stay-at-home order remains in effect to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 46 / 83 The Wilshire Grand Center display blue lights and a heart to show support for healthcare workers and first responders. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 47 / 83 Women wear masks as they stroll along Highland Avenue in Hollywood. Wearing masks while outdoors is mandatory in the city of Los Angeles. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 48 / 83 Patients are removed from Magnolia Rehabilitation and Nursing Center after 39 tested positive for the coronavirus and nursing staff was not showing up to work. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 49 / 83 A specimen is turned in at the new mobile testing site for people with symptoms of the coronavirus at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in South Los Angeles. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) 50 / 83 Hippie Kitchen in Los Angeles hands out food, water and toiletries to homeless people and residents of skid row. Additionally, masks were offered to help reduce the spread of the coronavirus. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) 51 / 83 Nurses pose for a fun photo during a break in drive-through public testing for the coronavirus at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 52 / 83 A woman shows a notice from her doctor that allows her to obtain a test for coronavirus at a new drive-up testing site in a parking lot at the South Bay Galleria in Redondo Beach. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 53 / 83 A person who wishes to remain anonymous strikes from her car to support McDonald’s employees who are demanding the company cover healthcare costs of any worker or immediate family member who gets sick from COVID-19 in Los Angeles. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times) 54 / 83 Cassidy Roosen, with Beach Cities Health District, holds up a sign that says, “We’re All in This Together,” while waiting to direct cars at a drive-through, appointment-only coronavirus testing location at the South Bay Galleria in Redondo Beach. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 55 / 83 Juliann Hartman, center, and her husband, Butch, wave signs they created to cheer up people on Calabasas Road in Calabasas during the pandemic. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 56 / 83 Grace Carter, 15, of Riverside, practices a dance routine at home after dance classes and school were canceled. She has to use the Zoom app on her iPhone to practice with her dance group. “It’s hard,” she said. “My bedroom is a smaller space. I miss all my friends at the studio.” (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 57 / 83 A man works from his home in Long Beach. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 58 / 83 A San Bernardino County healthcare worker takes a sample at a coronavirus drive-through testing site at the county fairgrounds in Victorville. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 59 / 83 A Metro general service employee disinfects a bench in Boyle Heights. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 60 / 83 A runner jogs past the Pottery Barn in Pasadena. Some businesses in the area have boarded up their stores. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 61 / 83 Raquel Lezama and daughter Monica Ramos collect meals for their family at Manual Arts High School. Lezama was laid off from her $17.76-an-hour job at a Beverly Hills hotel. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 62 / 83 The Iron City Tavern in San Pedro tries an incentive to lure takeout customers. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 63 / 83 Healthcare workers gather outside UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center to call for further action from the federal government in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 64 / 83 Kristen Edgerle, of Victorville, collects information from a blood donor before drawing blood at The Richard Nixon Presidential Library blood drive during the coronavirus pandemic in Yorba Linda. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times) 65 / 83 Shauna Jin, of Los Angeles, with her dog, Bodhi, practices social distancing with John Kiss, of Los Angeles, at the entrance of Runyon Canyon Park in Los Angeles. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 66 / 83 A lending library had some additional useful items, including a roll of toilet paper and cans of beans and corn, in a Hermosa Beach neighborhood. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 67 / 83 Protesters drive by the Getty House, the home of L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, in Hancock Park. Tenant advocates are demanding a total moratorium on evictions during the coronavirus crisis. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 68 / 83 Venice residents Emily Berry and Gavin Kelley take a break at Venice Beach. Berry, a cocktail waitress at Enterprise Fish Co., lost her job due to the coronavirus outbreak. Kelley, a manager at a performing arts school with a focus on music, said that he still has a job and that classes at the school will resume online this coming Monday. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 69 / 83 The JW Marriott at L.A. Live is sharing a message of hope with red lights in 34 windows, creating a 19-story display on the hotel’s north side. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 70 / 83 Juan Diaz Jr., a lifelong Dodgers fan, prays that the season will start by May in front of Dodger Stadium on what would have been opening day. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 71 / 83 Hayley, CEO and founder of Love My Neighbor Foundation, right, dances with Crystal Armster, 51, while she and her colleagues continue to feed the homeless on skid row amid the pandemic. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 72 / 83 A masked passenger on a Metro bus in downtown Los Angeles. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 73 / 83 Dede Oneal waits for a coronavirus test at the Crenshaw Christian Center in South Los Angeles. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 74 / 83 A man in a mask passes a closed restaurant along Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 75 / 83 Artist Corie Mattie paints a mural on the side of a pop-up store as a man takes a picture in West Hollywood. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 76 / 83 Medical assistant Zoila Villalta works with Rosie Boston, 32, of Glendale, who is donating blood for her first time at L.A. Care Health Plan downtown. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 77 / 83 A couple wait for a bus outside the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 78 / 83 With all Los Angeles schools closed until further notice, LAUSD buses sit idle in Gardena. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 79 / 83 A lone traveler makes his way to catch a flight in Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 80 / 83 Denise Young looks on as her daughter, Allison, 9, a fourth-grader at EARThS (Environmental Academy of Research Technology and Earth Sciences) Magnet School in Newbury Park, receives a Chromebook. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 81 / 83 Hollywood Boulevard is devoid of the usual crowds. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 82 / 83 Michael Ray, 11, plays before a movie at the Paramount Drive-In. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 83 / 83 Isabella Leader, 15, counts how many flags have been left for World War II veteran Lt. Col. Sam Sachs who was celebrating his 105th birthday at the Mom & Dad’s House, an assisted living facility, in Lakewood. Lt. Col. Sachs appealed to the public for birthday cards after the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of a big celebration and wound up receiving thousands, including a letter and photo from President Trump. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
“As the world’s largest public research university system, UC is confronting many of the worst impacts of the virus all at once,” she wrote. More funding, she added, would “help UC provide students the education they were promised, treat our employees with fairness and provide our communities with compassionate care.”
The 23-campus California State University system estimates its lost monthly revenue at about $100 million, according to spokesman Michael Uhlenkamp.
H.D. Palmer, a Department of Finance spokesman, said all requests for additional funding would be reviewed but that Newsom is preparing a May revision that is essentially flat and “could go further than that” — meaning budget cuts. The state could face a deficit of as much as $35 billion in the near future, legislative analyst Gabriel Petek said Thursday.
The impact on UC campuses could be particularly dire. Their unanticipated costs reached about $310 million in March — amounting to about 40% of $775 million monthly revenue in a system with an annual $9.3-billion core budget, according to Christopher Newfield, a UC Santa Barbara professor and systemwide budget expert.
Without additional funding, students may face larger class sizes, reduced course offerings, more difficulty getting into needed classes and potentially higher tuition, said Michael Meranze, a UCLA historian who has long studied UC finances. A generation of scholars could be sidelined if UC lacks the funds to recruit them, jeopardizing the system’s renowned innovation and intellectual leadership, he said.
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“If they are not reimbursed, the losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will be disastrous for the UC system,” Meranze said.
Caroline Siegel-Singh, a UC San Diego student leader, said hiring freezes, furloughs or layoffs in coming months would reduce staff for needed student services, such as financial aid assistance and mental health counseling.
“If campuses have to eat these cuts, the unfortunate reality is that it will lead to a serious degradation of the student experience at the university,” she said.
Varsha Sarveshwar, UC Student Assn. president, said that campuses “did the right thing” in allowing students to leave, reimbursing their housing and meal plan payments and purchasing laptops and Wi-Fi for those who needed them. She said UC should not be expected to pay the costs of that support alone.
Napolitano’s letter provided the first detailed look at the extraordinary financial impact of the pandemic on the 10-campus UC system, which educates 285,000 students and employs 227,000 faculty, researchers and staff. The recently enacted federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, known as CARES, will provide an estimated $437 million in aid to UC campuses and medical centers, Napolitano said, but that would not fully cover even a month of the extra costs.
The federal bill provides nearly $14 billion overall for higher education. But the American Council on Education, an association of more than 1,700 colleges and universities, has criticized that sum as “woefully inadequate” and called for $50 billion in aid.
Colleges and universities throughout the state and nation already are beginning to take austerity measures as pandemic-related costs mount. UC Berkeley alone announced this month that the pandemic would cost the campus “$100 million and growing” with lost revenue from canceled housing and dining contracts, public performances and sports events, along with higher costs for technology.
UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla said the campus losses for about 10,000 canceled housing and dining contracts could total nearly $40 million. The medical center had to cancel all elective surgeries and keep 40% of hospital beds open in case of a surge of COVID-19 cases, which could cost more than $40 million in lost revenue. Technology costs sharply increased as well, he said, as the campus purchased more than 500 laptops for students for the shift to remote learning.
“We are in for some really challenging times,” Khosla said in an interview.
The costs could continue to soar if campuses stay shuttered with remote learning through the fall — as Khosla said was a possibility. If they do, some students have said they will take a gap year or enroll at community colleges instead.
To reduce costs, UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco have instituted a hiring freeze, as have dozens of other campuses including USC, Stanford and Harvard. Those private institutions also have announced salary cuts for senior leaders.
As UC reels, it also will probably suffer the loss of new state revenue. Napolitano said that Newsom’s proposed 5% increase for UC, amounting to $217.7 million, was off the table for now, although additional funding would be considered after July tax returns are in.
In addition, UC regents have postponed a planned vote on a five-year proposal to raise tuition for incoming classes beginning this fall.
According to Napolitano, unanticipated new costs and revenue losses include:


latimes--2020-04-16--Coronavirus poses added challenges for deaf and hard of hearing hospital patients

A nurse at Health Central Hospital in Ocoee , Fla. , activated a video screen with an internet link to connect Jennylee Bruno to an American sign language interpreter .
Minutes later , Bruno ’ s worst fear was confirmed : The shortness of breath , sense of fire in her lungs , and dry cough were a case of the coronavirus .
The doctor told Bruno , a deaf author and mother of five , that they could only help ease the pain .
Then the video feed froze , unfroze , and froze again .
Bruno sobbed from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they were giving me a death sentence , ” she said of that day in March .
“ I wanted to ask , am I going to die , what can we do , is there a cure , what about medications , what ’ s the plan ?
” As some hospitals are overwhelmed with coronavirus cases , deaf and hard of hearing patients in California and across the country face greater barriers accessing accommodations that allow them to understand what doctors and nurses are saying .
The increased use of masks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reading and facial expressions to communicate .
Many hospitals have restricted interpreters and visitors , and are instead offering patients video conferencing with remote interpreters , an aid that may run into technical issues .
“ The calls and emails that we have received reflect deaf and hard of hearing people being alone in hospitals without ways to communicate with the hospital doctors or staff or even to make calls to family outside of the hospital , ” wrote Howard A. Rosenblum , the CEO of the National Assn .
of the Deaf @ @ @ @ @ @ @ percent of the U.S. population identifies as either deaf or having difficulty hearing .
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act , hospitals must facilitate effective communication with services like in-person or video remote interpreting , captioning , written notes or speech-to-text apps .
Prior to the pandemic , many deaf patients complained about the use of video interpreting in emergency rooms .
The feed can be blurry or freeze , and patients may be unable to focus on a small screen in a crowded room .
Nurses may also not know how to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have a new staff member who hasn ’ t been able to be trained to use the system , they ’ ll be overlooked , ” said Kavita Pipalia , the president of the California Assn .
for the Deaf .
“ The one who ends up suffering is the patient.
” Bruno spent almost two weeks isolated in a coronavirus ward .
The 51-year-old can read lips , but everyone around her wore a mask .
Nurses during the day wrote short notes to her on a white board .
The video @ @ @ @ @ @ @ staff gradually stopped using it , she said .
“ There ’ s a lot of people there and they have no time to wait for an interpreter , ” said Bruno .
Orlando Health — Health Central Hospital noted that all patients who require communication assistance are provided access to qualified interpreters .
“ When infection prevention protocols prohibit person to person contact , interpreters are made available to patients via phone or video remote , ” it said in a statement .
The National Assn .
of the Deaf and other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in hospitals during the pandemic , advising patients to bring their own tools , like a printed page that says they are deaf , hard of hearing or deaf-blind , or to download video interpreting or speech-to-text smartphone apps .
Hospitals , the guidance said , should at least have white boards or yellow pads on hand .
For some deaf-blind patients , tracing alphabetic letters on palms with a finger may be an option .
In Austin , Texas , Lore Kinast , 51 , has a plan should she , her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of whom are deaf — go to a hospital with coronavirus symptoms .
Lip reading would be impossible with masks .
Passing a paper back and forth requires close proximity .
So they would bring an iPad and type in extra-large font to communicate with staff from a safe distance .
Kinast , who works at the National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes in Austin , hopes there would be a white board for nurses to respond back but recognizes resources might be stretched .
“ Most people don ’ t know how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ good day , ” said Kinast .
“ With so much turnover with staff at facilities , it may be that they don ’ t know what to do if a deaf person arrives on scene.
” Ellen King , a severely hard of hearing 66-year-old resident of Northern California , has also given a potential hospital visit some thought .
King lip reads and uses a hearing dog at her job at a psychiatric hospital .
She might not bring her hearing aids if she were to be admitted to a hospital @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would plan to show nurses a handout with small health-related graphics , including a pain scale , that she could point to .
“ I may be considered not credible , ” she said .
“ If I am less than fully conscious and have no hearing aids , I ’ m at a very big disadvantage because I might not be able to follow instructions.
” Some patients , like Jennifer Dotson of Puyallup , Wash. , have commended efforts to find accommodations .
Dotson , 44 , spent several nights at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Seattle in March after experiencing shortness of breath .
Dotson has severe hearing loss , so the hospital initially allowed her husband to stay with her so that he could speak in a loud voice and help her understand what was happening .
Once she was diagnosed with the virus , she said , staff limited their time in her room due to a shortage of masks .
Doctors communicated with her over FaceTime , positioning themselves close to the camera so she could watch their lips .
“ They still had to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for me to figure out what they were saying , but this solution was the best situation to get their point across to me , ” Dotson wrote in an email .
Interpreters allowed on site face challenges too because masks hide their expressions .
Demand for masks with a transparent window has increased , according to Anne McIntosh , the president of Safe ’ N ’ Clear , a company that in recent years partnered with the manufacturer Prestige Ameritech to develop a mask of this kind .
Some interpreting agencies say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gear .
Patricia Hughes , the CEO of Lifesigns , an interpreting agency that operates in Southern California , said that hospitals are not making protective equipment available .
Acquiring equipment for interpreters has been challenging , said Joshua Pennise , who oversees on-site and video remote sign languages interpreting for Sorenson Communications , an agency that employs more than 4,000 interpreters .
The company has told interpreters they will be reimbursed for equipment they purchase .
“ They are able to opt out no penalty on any specific assignment , ” said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sense of responsibility outweighs worry .
When she receives an assignment , Lynne Martirano , a freelance interpreter in her early 60s in Putnam County , N.Y. , evaluates what she knows about the facility and her own health .
She recently interpreted for a pregnant deaf woman who was worried about giving birth while communicating with a remote interpreter .
“ I consider not working because of this virus every day , ” said Martirano .
“ I consider it all the time but am aware this young woman … is going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
What if I were her going into that ?
” The same stands true for Keimi Malave , a freelance interpreter for a hospital in Manhattan .
Malave accepts assignments for patients who don ’ t have the technology for remote interpreting and can access masks , visors and gloves that are kept locked up at the hospital .
“ They ’ ve called me quite a few times to come to the hospital because other interpreters have refused to go in , ” she said .
“ Even though I don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that position , who does ?
Somebody has to do it , and if it ’ s not me , who is it going to be ?
”

Jennylee Bruno, a deaf author and mother of five, documented her time isolated in a coronavirus ward in at Health Central Hospital in Ocoee, Florida.
A nurse at Health Central Hospital in Ocoee, Fla., activated a video screen with an internet link to connect Jennylee Bruno to an American sign language interpreter. Minutes later, Bruno’s worst fear was confirmed: The shortness of breath, sense of fire in her lungs, and dry cough were a case of the coronavirus.
The doctor told Bruno, a deaf author and mother of five, that they could only help ease the pain. Then the video feed froze, unfroze, and froze again. Bruno sobbed from her bed.
“I felt like they were giving me a death sentence,” she said of that day in March. “I wanted to ask, am I going to die, what can we do, is there a cure, what about medications, what’s the plan?”
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As some hospitals are overwhelmed with coronavirus cases, deaf and hard of hearing patients in California and across the country face greater barriers accessing accommodations that allow them to understand what doctors and nurses are saying.
The increased use of masks has hindered those who rely on lip reading and facial expressions to communicate. Many hospitals have restricted interpreters and visitors, and are instead offering patients video conferencing with remote interpreters, an aid that may run into technical issues.
“The calls and emails that we have received reflect deaf and hard of hearing people being alone in hospitals without ways to communicate with the hospital doctors or staff or even to make calls to family outside of the hospital,” wrote Howard A. Rosenblum, the CEO of the National Assn. of the Deaf, in an email.
Nearly 4 percent of the U.S. population identifies as either deaf or having difficulty hearing. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, hospitals must facilitate effective communication with services like in-person or video remote interpreting, captioning, written notes or speech-to-text apps.
Prior to the pandemic, many deaf patients complained about the use of video interpreting in emergency rooms. The feed can be blurry or freeze, and patients may be unable to focus on a small screen in a crowded room. Nurses may also not know how to operate the equipment.
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“When you have a new staff member who hasn’t been able to be trained to use the system, they’ll be overlooked,” said Kavita Pipalia, the president of the California Assn. for the Deaf. “The one who ends up suffering is the patient.”
Bruno spent almost two weeks isolated in a coronavirus ward. The 51-year-old can read lips, but everyone around her wore a mask.
Nurses during the day wrote short notes to her on a white board. The video interpreting feed would freeze constantly, so staff gradually stopped using it, she said.
“There’s a lot of people there and they have no time to wait for an interpreter,” said Bruno.
Orlando Health — Health Central Hospital noted that all patients who require communication assistance are provided access to qualified interpreters. “When infection prevention protocols prohibit person to person contact, interpreters are made available to patients via phone or video remote,” it said in a statement.
The National Assn. of the Deaf and other advocates have published guidelines on communication access in hospitals during the pandemic, advising patients to bring their own tools, like a printed page that says they are deaf, hard of hearing or deaf-blind, or to download video interpreting or speech-to-text smartphone apps.
Hospitals, the guidance said, should at least have white boards or yellow pads on hand. For some deaf-blind patients, tracing alphabetic letters on palms with a finger may be an option.
Lore Kinast, 51, with her husband, Patrick, 49, and daughter, Kameron, 21, all of whom are deaf. Lore plans to bring an iPad with her to try to communicate with nurses should she have to go to the hospital. (Lore Kinast)
In Austin, Texas, Lore Kinast, 51, has a plan should she, her husband or their 21-year-old daughter — all of whom are deaf — go to a hospital with coronavirus symptoms.
Lip reading would be impossible with masks. Passing a paper back and forth requires close proximity. So they would bring an iPad and type in extra-large font to communicate with staff from a safe distance.
Kinast, who works at the National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes in Austin, hopes there would be a white board for nurses to respond back but recognizes resources might be stretched.
“Most people don’t know how to deal with deaf people on a good day,” said Kinast. “With so much turnover with staff at facilities, it may be that they don’t know what to do if a deaf person arrives on scene.”
Ellen King, a severely hard of hearing 66-year-old resident of Northern California, has also given a potential hospital visit some thought. King lip reads and uses a hearing dog at her job at a psychiatric hospital. She might not bring her hearing aids if she were to be admitted to a hospital for fear of losing them.
King would plan to show nurses a handout with small health-related graphics, including a pain scale, that she could point to.
“I may be considered not credible,” she said. “If I am less than fully conscious and have no hearing aids, I’m at a very big disadvantage because I might not be able to follow instructions.”
Some patients, like Jennifer Dotson of Puyallup, Wash., have commended efforts to find accommodations. Dotson, 44, spent several nights at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle in March after experiencing shortness of breath.
Dotson has severe hearing loss, so the hospital initially allowed her husband to stay with her so that he could speak in a loud voice and help her understand what was happening.
Once she was diagnosed with the virus, she said, staff limited their time in her room due to a shortage of masks. Doctors communicated with her over FaceTime, positioning themselves close to the camera so she could watch their lips.
“They still had to really simplify their words/information they were sharing for me to figure out what they were saying, but this solution was the best situation to get their point across to me,” Dotson wrote in an email.
Anne McIntosh, president of Safe’N’Clear, wears the Communicator, an FDA-approved mask with a transparent window. (Anne McIntosh)
Interpreters allowed on site face challenges too because masks hide their expressions. Demand for masks with a transparent window has increased, according to Anne McIntosh, the president of Safe’N’Clear, a company that in recent years partnered with the manufacturer Prestige Ameritech to develop a mask of this kind.
Some interpreting agencies say that interpreters must supply their own protective gear. Patricia Hughes, the CEO of Lifesigns, an interpreting agency that operates in Southern California, said that hospitals are not making protective equipment available.
Acquiring equipment for interpreters has been challenging, said Joshua Pennise, who oversees on-site and video remote sign languages interpreting for Sorenson Communications, an agency that employs more than 4,000 interpreters. The company has told interpreters they will be reimbursed for equipment they purchase.
“They are able to opt out no penalty on any specific assignment,” said Pennise.
But for some, a sense of responsibility outweighs worry.
When she receives an assignment, Lynne Martirano, a freelance interpreter in her early 60s in Putnam County, N.Y., evaluates what she knows about the facility and her own health.
‘I may be considered not credible. If I am less than fully conscious and have no hearing aids, I’m at a very big disadvantage because I might not be able to follow instructions.’ — Ellen King, Northern California resident
She recently interpreted for a pregnant deaf woman who was worried about giving birth while communicating with a remote interpreter.
“I consider not working because of this virus every day,” said Martirano. “I consider it all the time but am aware this young woman … is going to go into labor at some point. What if I were her going into that?”
The same stands true for Keimi Malave, a freelance interpreter for a hospital in Manhattan. Malave accepts assignments for patients who don’t have the technology for remote interpreting and can access masks, visors and gloves that are kept locked up at the hospital.
“They’ve called me quite a few times to come to the hospital because other interpreters have refused to go in,” she said. “Even though I don’t want to put myself in that position, who does? Somebody has to do it, and if it’s not me, who is it going to be?”


latimes--2020-04-16--Riverside County reports four new deaths and 144 new cases, including a postal worker

Four additional people died in Riverside County on Wednesday from complications of COVID-19 , bringing the county ’ s total to 54 fatalities , according to health officials .
Brooke Federico , the county ’ s public information officer , said Thursday that the deceased were from Eastvale , Murrieta , Moreno Valley and Riverside .
There are currently 2,105 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the county , including 144 news ones confirmed Wednesday .
One of those cases is a U.S .
Postal Service employee , who worked at the service ’ s La Quinta office , spokesman John Hyatt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hyatt said the postal service believes that the “ risk is low for employees ” who work at the La Quinta post office , but it will be keeping employees updated as new information and guidance becomes available .
Out of caution , the postal service has enhanced the cleaning protocols at its facilities , he said , providing no further details on the postal worker .
As of Wednesday evening , 235 coronavirus patients were hospitalized in Riverside County , 64 of them in intensive care units , records show .
Of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 416 people had recovered from the novel virus , which is 40 more than reported on Wednesday .
Due to improved testing efforts , cases have continued to rise in the county , but Dr. Michael Mesisca , of the Riverside University Health System said that the number of infections is far below initial predictions .
Earlier this month , officials said that they anticipated about 65,000 cases by early May .
With that time frame about two weeks away , cases in the county are significantly lower than expected .
“ Reflecting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be a week ago , I wouldn ’ t have thought that I ’ d be standing right here delivering this message , ” Mesisca said during a press conference Wednesday .
The county experienced its highest number of cases on Tuesday , he added , “ But it ’ s not at this astronomical pace , and so we are seeing some slowing .
It ’ s going to take more time , more data points to know exactly where we ’ re going to be at.
” Hospitals are at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also lower than earlier predictions by health officials .
Mesisca said that he is “ quite comfortable and confident ” that the county has built the necessary infrastructure into the healthcare systems to treat incoming COVID-19 patients if a surge does occur .
The doubling rate for cases has lengthened from about 4.6 days to more than seven days , Dr. Geoffrey Leung of the Riverside University Health System said .
“ This is very encouraging because it means that we may be entering a period of slowing and that we may have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Leung said .
“ We believe that we are now on a different curve.
” Leung credited the results to county residents following stay-at-home orders .
But he asked that they continue to “ stay the course.
” By doing so , health officials say , the county will reduce potential future infections by early May from 65,000 to 13,000 cases .

A public health care worker collects a nasal swab for novel coronavirus testing at a drive-through sample collection event held by San Bernardino County Department of Public Health at Montclair Plaza in Montclair, CA.
Four additional people died in Riverside County on Wednesday from complications of COVID-19, bringing the county’s total to 54 fatalities, according to health officials.
Brooke Federico, the county’s public information officer, said Thursday that the deceased were from Eastvale, Murrieta, Moreno Valley and Riverside.
There are currently 2,105 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the county, including 144 news ones confirmed Wednesday.
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One of those cases is a U.S. Postal Service employee, who worked at the service’s La Quinta office, spokesman John Hyatt confirmed in a written statement Thursday.
Hyatt said the postal service believes that the “risk is low for employees” who work at the La Quinta post office, but it will be keeping employees updated as new information and guidance becomes available. Out of caution, the postal service has enhanced the cleaning protocols at its facilities, he said, providing no further details on the postal worker.
As of Wednesday evening, 235 coronavirus patients were hospitalized in Riverside County, 64 of them in intensive care units, records show.
Tracking the coronavirus in California The latest maps and charts on the spread of COVID-19 in California.
Of the positive cases, a total of 416 people had recovered from the novel virus, which is 40 more than reported on Wednesday.
Due to improved testing efforts, cases have continued to rise in the county, but Dr. Michael Mesisca, of the Riverside University Health System said that the number of infections is far below initial predictions.
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Earlier this month, officials said that they anticipated about 65,000 cases by early May. With that time frame about two weeks away, cases in the county are significantly lower than expected.
“Reflecting on where I thought I was going to be a week ago, I wouldn’t have thought that I’d be standing right here delivering this message,” Mesisca said during a press conference Wednesday.
The county experienced its highest number of cases on Tuesday, he added, “But it’s not at this astronomical pace, and so we are seeing some slowing. It’s going to take more time, more data points to know exactly where we’re going to be at.”
Hospitals are at about 50% capacity, which is also lower than earlier predictions by health officials. Mesisca said that he is “quite comfortable and confident” that the county has built the necessary infrastructure into the healthcare systems to treat incoming COVID-19 patients if a surge does occur.
The doubling rate for cases has lengthened from about 4.6 days to more than seven days, Dr. Geoffrey Leung of the Riverside University Health System said.
“This is very encouraging because it means that we may be entering a period of slowing and that we may have actually averted a major hospital surge,” Leung said. “We believe that we are now on a different curve.”
Leung credited the results to county residents following stay-at-home orders. But he asked that they continue to “stay the course.” By doing so, health officials say, the county will reduce potential future infections by early May from 65,000 to 13,000 cases.


latimes--2020-04-16--Here is the latest list of Orange County communities with coronavirus cases

The coronavirus continues to spread throughout Orange County with 51 additional cases Thursday , pushing the overall case count to @ @ @ @ @ counts .
Health officials also announced three additional COVID-19 deaths , bringing the county ’ @ @ @ @ @ According to the Orange County Health Care Agency , 15,942 people have been tested by @ @ @ @ @ as of Thursday .
The agency also reported 138 people hospitalized , 68 of whom @ @ @ @ @ Note : The “ other ” category includes unincorporated areas .
Daily updates are preliminary @ @ @ @ @ the county receives new information .

There’s plenty of seating but restaurants in downtown Huntington Beach are closed on March 18.
The coronavirus continues to spread throughout Orange County with 51 additional cases Thursday, pushing the overall case count to 1,425, according to official counts.
Health officials also announced three additional COVID-19 deaths, bringing the county’s toll to 25.
According to the Orange County Health Care Agency, 15,942 people have been tested by the county and commercial labs as of Thursday. The agency also reported 138 people hospitalized, 68 of whom were in intensive care.
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Age breakdown of cases:
0-17 — 2%
18-24 — 8%
25-34 — 16%
35-44 — 14%
45-64 — 40%
65+ — 19%
Age breakdown of deaths:
25-34 — 8%
35-44 — 4%
45-64 — 40%
65+ — 48%
Cases by community:
Aliso Viejo — 15
Anaheim — 162
Brea — 15
Buena Park — 50
Costa Mesa — 28
Coto de Caza — 5
Cypress — 34
Dana Point — 13
Fountain Valley — 20
Fullerton — 45
Garden Grove — 45
Huntington Beach — 97
Irvine — 106
La Habra — 31
La Palma — 12
Ladera Ranch — 9
Laguna Beach — 36
Laguna Hills — 13
Laguna Niguel — 30
Laguna Woods — 7
Lake Forest — 25
Los Alamitos — 6
Mission Viejo — 37
Newport Beach — 90
Orange — 53
Placentia — 31
Rancho Mission Viejo — 5
Rancho Santa Margarita — 12
San Clemente — 43
San Juan Capistrano — 22
Santa Ana — 142
Seal Beach — 9
Stanton — 7
Trabuco Canyon — 9
Tustin — 29
Villa Park — 6
Westminster — 24
Yorba Linda — 42
Other — 5
Unknown — 55
Note: The “other” category includes unincorporated areas. Daily updates are preliminary and subject to change as the county receives new information.