latimes--2020-12-24--L.A. County records 140 COVID-19 deaths in one day, a new record

Los Angeles County on Thursday hit another daily record for COVID-19 deaths , underscoring the increasingly dangerous conditions as another holiday arrives and hospitals struggle to deal with an onslaught of patients .
Local health agencies in L.A. County reported 140 deaths Wednesday , according to an independent Times tally , the most number of fatalities counted in a single day that comes as officials fear Christmas gatherings will cause infections to spread even more .
More than 13,000 new coronavirus cases were also reported .
The worsening numbers come as hospitals to divert ambulances and leave patients in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prompting officials to warn healthcare providers to not send patients to the emergency room unless absolutely necessary .
County health officials sent a memo to doctors and nurses across the county Wednesday evening reiterating that hospitals were reaching a breaking point .
“ Hospitals have implemented their surge plans and are adjusting staffing and space to try to meet the needs of their community , ” wrote Dr. Sharon Balter , the county ’ s chief of communicable disease control and prevention , in the memo .
“ It is critical that as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ available opportunities to help decrease the surge on hospitals and our 911 system , where possible.
” Balter asked providers to talk to patients suffering from ongoing medical problems about when it was appropriate to visit the ER or call 911 , and to only do so when it is a true emergency .
She also encouraged the quick discharge of hospitalized patients to try to create as much space as possible on wards , citing a “ steep increase ” in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations .
In a grim recommendation , Balter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ patients who had serious illnesses or were medically frail to review their advanced-care directives and ensure forms detailing their end-of-life care were on file .
The memo drives home what officials have been warning about for weeks : The surge in COVID-19 patients also is affecting other ill people who need medical care .
“ There are very limited hospital and ICU beds available and emergency departments are strained to capacity , ” Balter wrote .
Dr. Brian Gantwerker , a neurosurgeon in Santa Monica , said he dreaded what the next several @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Already , the community hospital where he works is “ swamped by COVID cases , ” with physicians fearing they will soon have to ration care due to a shortage of beds and staff .
Each day that the number of COVID-19 patients grows also increases the likelihood that more neurosurgery patients may have to wait for care or find it elsewhere , he said .
This puts doctors in the uncomfortable position of determining who receives the limited resources remaining at the hospital .
A large brain tumor would likely be operated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ surgery for a smaller , less dangerous one might have to be delayed .
“ Then it becomes a question of , ‘ Where is the breaking point ?
When do we have to start sending patients out to other places ?
’ And the nightmare scenario is : ‘ What happens if there are no beds available in the county ?
’ ” he said .
“ Everything we ’ ve worried about and talked about and warned people about since February is coming to fruition — we ’ re at that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conditions in California ’ s most-populous county come as a giant wave of new coronavirus infections continues to wallop the region , leaving in its wake unprecedented numbers of Angelenos hospitalized or dead .
“ We ’ re in the middle of a horrific surge , and we all need to take the hard steps and the wise steps to reduce transmission and exposures now , during the holidays and as we begin 2021 , ” said L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer .
“ The sooner we all take these vitally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stop the rise in cases that is overwhelming our hospital care system.
” Right now , she added Wednesday , “ it ’ s time to double or triple all of our efforts to keep each other safe.
” Officials , however , say they fully expect the situation to get worse before it gets better .
Because of the lagging nature of the coronavirus , it typically takes two to three weeks from when someone is infected to when they may fall ill enough to require hospitalization .
The patients needing care @ @ @ @ @ @ @ largely exposed to the virus weeks ago — when case rates throughout the county and state , though high , were significantly lower than they are now .
Over the last week , L.A. County has reported an average of 13,789 new coronavirus cases per day , a figure 10 times higher than the comparable number from Nov. 1 , when officials were reporting 1,348 cases a day , according to data compiled by The Times .
That average includes 16,974 new infections that were reported Wednesday — the county ’ s second-highest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ concerned that the surge in cases and hospitalizations could bring a major spike in deaths .
Los Angeles County reported one of its deadliest days yet in the COVID-19 pandemic Wednesday , when 134 people died .
An average of 91 Angelenos a day have died from COVID-19 over the past week .
That figure was 10 on Nov. 3 .
Too many people have seen “ loved ones whose symptoms got worse , or loved ones who became hospitalized , loved ones who were moved to the ICU or , even worse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ loved ones won ’ t be coming home — not for these holidays and not ever , ” said L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti .
“ We know that this emergency is our darkest day , maybe the darkest day in our city ’ s history , ” he said .
“ But we must find the fortitude , we must summon the strength to make sure that we save lives.
” Dr. Christina Ghaly , the county ’ s health services director , forecast this week that nearly 7,000 more people might die @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if trends continued .
Already , the disease has killed 9,305 people countywide .
“ These people did not need to die , ” she said Wednesday .
“ We have never seen daily death rates this high throughout the course of the pandemic , and the model predicts that the worst is yet to come.
” At certain points of the day Tuesday , 96 % of all hospitals in L.A. County were so full that they were diverting some ambulances to hospitals farther away , a figure that is usually only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , according to Ghaly .
Ambulances had to wait hours to offload patients into crowded emergency rooms , and scheduled surgeries are being postponed to make way for those suffering from COVID-19 .
About half of all intensive-care beds in L.A. County are filled with COVID-19 patients at this point .
Two out of three of them are suffocating due to coronavirus-triggered inflammation of their lungs , Ghaly said .
“ They ’ re suffocating to the point that they can no longer breathe on their own , and they have to have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in order to oxygenate their organs , ” Ghaly said .
“ Many of these people will not live to see 2021.
” There were roughly 6,700 coronavirus-positive patients hospitalized countywide on Wednesday , according to the latest state data , with 1,329 of them in the ICU .
The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 is more than eight times higher than the comparable figure on Nov. 1 , when about 800 people were hospitalized .
“ If we continue to spread this virus , if we see a linear growth of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we will not have enough medical staff to treat everyone , ” Garcetti said .
“ And hospitals may soon be in the position of having to ration care .
That means that doctors will be forced to determine who lives and who dies , and more Angelenos will lose their lives , not just to COVID-19 , but to other medical emergencies.
” It ’ s amid this harrowing backdrop that officials have issued increasingly forceful calls for residents to avoid traveling and gathering to celebrate the winter holidays .
Too often @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fell on deaf ears , officials say , and wide rejection of that guidance has wrought the worst and deadliest wave of the pandemic yet .
“ Life , as we know , does not let us go back in time and redo or relive our mistakes , ” Ghaly said .
“ All we can do is change our behavior from this point forward.
” Should large numbers of people make the same choices for Christmas and New Year ’ s , officials and experts alike warn that will likely trigger a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” — meaning more people will become infected , fall ill and , eventually , die .
“ If what happens over the winter holiday break , ” Ferrer said .
“ is at all the same as what happened , or even half of what happened , over the Thanksgiving holiday , we ’ re in deep trouble.
” The county Department of Public Health issued a plea Thursday for people of faith to forego gathering indoors to worship any winter holidays , and instead attend remotely streamed or outdoor services .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ on indoor religious services last Saturday — following a series of court rulings involving houses of worship that argued pandemic-related restrictions violated religious freedoms — they said in their statement that attending services indoors is “ too risky ” right now .
“ Now , most unfortunately , is not the time to attend indoor religious services , ” officials said .
“ The county of Los Angeles is in the midst of its highest surge of COVID-19 cases .
The local emergency rooms and hospitals are over capacity .
And there are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the current surge .
”

Soumya Karlamangla, Luke Money, Rong-Gong Lin II

Los Angeles County on Thursday hit another daily record for COVID-19 deaths, underscoring the increasingly dangerous conditions as another holiday arrives and hospitals struggle to deal with an onslaught of patients.
Local health agencies in L.A. County reported 140 deaths Wednesday, according to an independent Times tally, the most number of fatalities counted in a single day that comes as officials fear Christmas gatherings will cause infections to spread even more. More than 13,000 new coronavirus cases were also reported.
The worsening numbers come as hospitals to divert ambulances and leave patients in the lurch for hours. It is also prompting officials to warn healthcare providers to not send patients to the emergency room unless absolutely necessary.
Advertisement
County health officials sent a memo to doctors and nurses across the county Wednesday evening reiterating that hospitals were reaching a breaking point.
“Hospitals have implemented their surge plans and are adjusting staffing and space to try to meet the needs of their community,” wrote Dr. Sharon Balter, the county’s chief of communicable disease control and prevention, in the memo. “It is critical that as a healthcare community we look at all available opportunities to help decrease the surge on hospitals and our 911 system, where possible.”
Balter asked providers to talk to patients suffering from ongoing medical problems about when it was appropriate to visit the ER or call 911, and to only do so when it is a true emergency. She also encouraged the quick discharge of hospitalized patients to try to create as much space as possible on wards, citing a “steep increase” in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
In a grim recommendation, Balter also asked providers to reach out to patients who had serious illnesses or were medically frail to review their advanced-care directives and ensure forms detailing their end-of-life care were on file.
The memo drives home what officials have been warning about for weeks: The surge in COVID-19 patients also is affecting other ill people who need medical care.
Advertisement
“There are very limited hospital and ICU beds available and emergency departments are strained to capacity,” Balter wrote.
Dr. Brian Gantwerker, a neurosurgeon in Santa Monica, said he dreaded what the next several weeks would hold for Los Angeles. Already, the community hospital where he works is “swamped by COVID cases,” with physicians fearing they will soon have to ration care due to a shortage of beds and staff.
Each day that the number of COVID-19 patients grows also increases the likelihood that more neurosurgery patients may have to wait for care or find it elsewhere, he said.
This puts doctors in the uncomfortable position of determining who receives the limited resources remaining at the hospital. A large brain tumor would likely be operated on immediately, he said, but surgery for a smaller, less dangerous one might have to be delayed.
“Then it becomes a question of, ‘Where is the breaking point? When do we have to start sending patients out to other places?’ And the nightmare scenario is: ‘What happens if there are no beds available in the county?’” he said. “Everything we’ve worried about and talked about and warned people about since February is coming to fruition — we’re at that point now.”
Tracking the coronavirus in L.A. County The latest maps and charts on the spread of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County, including cases, deaths, closures and restrictions.
The dire and deteriorating conditions in California’s most-populous county come as a giant wave of new coronavirus infections continues to wallop the region, leaving in its wake unprecedented numbers of Angelenos hospitalized or dead.
“We’re in the middle of a horrific surge, and we all need to take the hard steps and the wise steps to reduce transmission and exposures now, during the holidays and as we begin 2021,” said L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. “The sooner we all take these vitally important steps, the sooner we can stop the rise in cases that is overwhelming our hospital care system.”
Right now, she added Wednesday, “it’s time to double or triple all of our efforts to keep each other safe.”
Officials, however, say they fully expect the situation to get worse before it gets better.
Because of the lagging nature of the coronavirus, it typically takes two to three weeks from when someone is infected to when they may fall ill enough to require hospitalization. The patients needing care today, in other words, were largely exposed to the virus weeks ago — when case rates throughout the county and state, though high, were significantly lower than they are now.
Over the last week, L.A. County has reported an average of 13,789 new coronavirus cases per day, a figure 10 times higher than the comparable number from Nov. 1, when officials were reporting 1,348 cases a day, according to data compiled by The Times.
That average includes 16,974 new infections that were reported Wednesday — the county’s second-highest daily total ever.
Officials are also concerned that the surge in cases and hospitalizations could bring a major spike in deaths. Los Angeles County reported one of its deadliest days yet in the COVID-19 pandemic Wednesday, when 134 people died.
An average of 91 Angelenos a day have died from COVID-19 over the past week. That figure was 10 on Nov. 3.
Too many people have seen “loved ones whose symptoms got worse, or loved ones who became hospitalized, loved ones who were moved to the ICU or, even worse, they received the news that their loved ones won’t be coming home — not for these holidays and not ever,” said L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti.
“We know that this emergency is our darkest day, maybe the darkest day in our city’s history,” he said. “But we must find the fortitude, we must summon the strength to make sure that we save lives.”
Dr. Christina Ghaly, the county’s health services director, forecast this week that nearly 7,000 more people might die from COVID-19 by the end of January if trends continued.
Already, the disease has killed 9,305 people countywide.
“These people did not need to die,” she said Wednesday. “We have never seen daily death rates this high throughout the course of the pandemic, and the model predicts that the worst is yet to come.”
At certain points of the day Tuesday, 96% of all hospitals in L.A. County were so full that they were diverting some ambulances to hospitals farther away, a figure that is usually only 33% at this time of year, according to Ghaly.
Ambulances had to wait hours to offload patients into crowded emergency rooms, and scheduled surgeries are being postponed to make way for those suffering from COVID-19.
About half of all intensive-care beds in L.A. County are filled with COVID-19 patients at this point. Two out of three of them are suffocating due to coronavirus-triggered inflammation of their lungs, Ghaly said.
“They’re suffocating to the point that they can no longer breathe on their own, and they have to have someone put a tube down their throat in order to oxygenate their organs,” Ghaly said. “Many of these people will not live to see 2021.”
There were roughly 6,700 coronavirus-positive patients hospitalized countywide on Wednesday, according to the latest state data, with 1,329 of them in the ICU.
The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 is more than eight times higher than the comparable figure on Nov. 1, when about 800 people were hospitalized.
“If we continue to spread this virus, if we see a linear growth of this for the next two weeks, we will not have enough medical staff to treat everyone,” Garcetti said. “And hospitals may soon be in the position of having to ration care. That means that doctors will be forced to determine who lives and who dies, and more Angelenos will lose their lives, not just to COVID-19, but to other medical emergencies.”
It’s amid this harrowing backdrop that officials have issued increasingly forceful calls for residents to avoid traveling and gathering to celebrate the winter holidays.
Too often, similar pleas made ahead of Thanksgiving fell on deaf ears, officials say, and wide rejection of that guidance has wrought the worst and deadliest wave of the pandemic yet.
“Life, as we know, does not let us go back in time and redo or relive our mistakes,” Ghaly said. “All we can do is change our behavior from this point forward.”
Should large numbers of people make the same choices for Christmas and New Year’s, officials and experts alike warn that will likely trigger a “surge on top of a surge” — meaning more people will become infected, fall ill and, eventually, die.
“If what happens over the winter holiday break,” Ferrer said. “is at all the same as what happened, or even half of what happened, over the Thanksgiving holiday, we’re in deep trouble.”
The county Department of Public Health issued a plea Thursday for people of faith to forego gathering indoors to worship any winter holidays, and instead attend remotely streamed or outdoor services.
Though county health officials lifted a ban on indoor religious services last Saturday — following a series of court rulings involving houses of worship that argued pandemic-related restrictions violated religious freedoms — they said in their statement that attending services indoors is “too risky” right now.
“Now, most unfortunately, is not the time to attend indoor religious services,” officials said. “The county of Los Angeles is in the midst of its highest surge of COVID-19 cases. The local emergency rooms and hospitals are over capacity. And there are no indications of an end in sight to the current surge.”
Times staff writer Jaclyn Cosgrove contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-12-25--L.A.'s children's hospitals welcome Santa, with a Zoom link to the North Pole and a mask under his b

L.A.'s children's hospitals welcome Santa, with a Zoom link to the North Pole and a mask under his beard

Michael Contreras had just laid his 8-month-old son , Ethan , down to sleep on the oncology ward of Children ’ s Hospital Los Angeles on Christmas Eve when a jolly red stranger appeared in the room .
“ I was like , ‘ Oh , Santa !
’ ” Contreras said .
“ I didn ’ t know they were going to do that due to COVID.
” Having a child in the hospital is agony for any family , but having one stuck there for Christmas can be especially hard .
In a typical year , L.A. 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Santa Clauses , carolers and other merry-making volunteers who brighten the season for sick kids .
But the coronavirus pandemic has made those visits all but impossible , especially for vulnerable children like Ethan , who is undergoing chemotherapy while he awaits a bone-marrow transplant to treat juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia .
“ This was the first time we got a visitor like that , ” said his mom , Michelle Contreras , who was home with the couple ’ s 2-year-old Noah at the time .
“ I was so happy.
” Although @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than adults , a small number get very sick , and those who are already hospitalized are among those most at risk for serious complications .
COVID safety protocols have tightened significantly amid the holiday-season surge , making St. Nick one of the few people who has been allowed to visit .
“ Those moments that were so familiar to our hospital community , we ’ ve had to limit those , ” said Lorenzo Benet , a Children ’ s Hospital spokesman .
“ Santa was very conscientious about hygiene and hand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ screening before he was able to come down the chimney.
” A clever bit of holiday magic helped Father Christmas fit a mask under his iconic white beard , where it would be more effective .
He kept his jolly tête-à-têtes brief and left his normal entourage of elves at home .
Still , Santa managed to deliver toys and gifts to 300 children in the hospital .
“ You could tell on his face he was pretty excited , ” Michael Contreras said of his son .
“ It was really nice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bit different at UCLA ’ s Mattel Children ’ s Hospital across town , which usually hosts a massive party for Christmas , bringing Santa to visit with kids too sick to see him at the mall .
“ We don ’ t have the general pediatric population that CHLA does ; ours is a medically fragile , chronically ill population , ” said Kelli Carroll , who heads the hospital ’ s Child Life Program .
“ This year we didn ’ t even want to bring Santa into the hospital behind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a video call from the North Pole on Christmas Eve .
The volunteer Santa , who normally works for Disney , read “ The Night Before Christmas ” to a rapt audience before guessing what each child had put on their wishlist .
“ The kids were just blown away , ” Carroll said .
“ It was almost cooler because we could feed him that information .
It was the Wizard of Oz who was sitting behind the curtain making all of this stuff happen for our kids.
” The extra effort @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2-year-old daughter , Jenna Dzharoyan , was being treated for complications of rhabdomyosarcoma over Christmas .
“ They gave us a pre-lit tree to decorate , and they had a virtual visit with Santa , which was adorable , and they handed out a really well-printed photo of Santa with his signature , ” she said .
“ They told us Santa was going to come at night and deliver gifts.
” Indeed , Jenna woke up the next morning to find a stack of brightly wrapped presents that Santa had left .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ whole Christmas experience , ” Pitts said .
“ UCLA was really cool about making Christmas special even though we had to be here .
”

Patient Armonte Johnson visits with Santa via Zoom at UCLA’s Mattel Children’s Hospital on Christmas Eve in Los Angeles. Young patients got a Zoom call “from the North Pole” so they could visit remotely with Santa.
Michael Contreras had just laid his 8-month-old son, Ethan, down to sleep on the oncology ward of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles on Christmas Eve when a jolly red stranger appeared in the room.
“I was like, ‘Oh, Santa!’” Contreras said. “I didn’t know they were going to do that due to COVID.”
Having a child in the hospital is agony for any family, but having one stuck there for Christmas can be especially hard. In a typical year, L.A.’s children’s hospitals are flooded with Santa Clauses, carolers and other merry-making volunteers who brighten the season for sick kids. But the coronavirus pandemic has made those visits all but impossible, especially for vulnerable children like Ethan, who is undergoing chemotherapy while he awaits a bone-marrow transplant to treat juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia.
“This was the first time we got a visitor like that,” said his mom, Michelle Contreras, who was home with the couple’s 2-year-old Noah at the time. “I was so happy.”
Although children often fare better with the coronavirus than adults, a small number get very sick, and those who are already hospitalized are among those most at risk for serious complications. COVID safety protocols have tightened significantly amid the holiday-season surge, making St. Nick one of the few people who has been allowed to visit.
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“Those moments that were so familiar to our hospital community, we’ve had to limit those,” said Lorenzo Benet, a Children’s Hospital spokesman. “Santa was very conscientious about hygiene and hand washing, and we did a health screening before he was able to come down the chimney.”
A clever bit of holiday magic helped Father Christmas fit a mask under his iconic white beard, where it would be more effective. He kept his jolly tête-à-têtes brief and left his normal entourage of elves at home. Still, Santa managed to deliver toys and gifts to 300 children in the hospital.
“You could tell on his face he was pretty excited,” Michael Contreras said of his son. “It was really nice of them.”
Things were a little bit different at UCLA’s Mattel Children’s Hospital across town, which usually hosts a massive party for Christmas, bringing Santa to visit with kids too sick to see him at the mall.
“We don’t have the general pediatric population that CHLA does; ours is a medically fragile, chronically ill population,” said Kelli Carroll, who heads the hospital’s Child Life Program. “This year we didn’t even want to bring Santa into the hospital behind the plexiglass.”
Instead, patients got a video call from the North Pole on Christmas Eve. The volunteer Santa, who normally works for Disney, read “The Night Before Christmas” to a rapt audience before guessing what each child had put on their wishlist.
“The kids were just blown away,” Carroll said. “It was almost cooler because we could feed him that information. It was the Wizard of Oz who was sitting behind the curtain making all of this stuff happen for our kids.”
The extra effort paid off for Rachel Pitts, whose 2-year-old daughter, Jenna Dzharoyan, was being treated for complications of rhabdomyosarcoma over Christmas.
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“They gave us a pre-lit tree to decorate, and they had a virtual visit with Santa, which was adorable, and they handed out a really well-printed photo of Santa with his signature,” she said. “They told us Santa was going to come at night and deliver gifts.”
Indeed, Jenna woke up the next morning to find a stack of brightly wrapped presents that Santa had left.
“She was very excited for the whole Christmas experience,” Pitts said. “UCLA was really cool about making Christmas special even though we had to be here.”


latimes--2020-12-25--3.6 earthquake hits near Coachella, Calif.

A magnitude 3.6 earthquake was reported Friday at 12:25 p.m. Pacific time nine miles from Coachella , Calif. , according to the U.S. Geological Survey .
The earthquake occurred 14 miles from Indio , Calif. , 18 miles from La Quinta , Calif. , 21 miles from Palm Desert , Calif. , and 23 miles from Twentynine Palms , Calif..
In the last 10 days , there have been no earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby .
An average of 234 earthquakes with magnitudes between 3.0 and 4.0 occur per year in California and Nevada , according to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earthquake occurred at a depth of 3.0 miles .
Did you feel this earthquake ?
Consider reporting what you felt to the USGS .
Even if you didn ’ t feel this small earthquake , you never know when the Big One is going to strike .
Ready yourself by following our five-step earthquake preparedness guide and building your own emergency kit .
This story was automatically generated by Quakebot , a computer application that monitors the latest earthquakes detected by the USGS .
A Times editor reviewed the post before it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in learning more about the system , visit our list of frequently asked questions .

A magnitude 3.6 earthquake was reported Friday at 12:25 p.m. Pacific time nine miles from Coachella, Calif.
A magnitude 3.6 earthquake was reported Friday at 12:25 p.m. Pacific time nine miles from Coachella, Calif., according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The earthquake occurred 14 miles from Indio, Calif., 18 miles from La Quinta, Calif., 21 miles from Palm Desert, Calif., and 23 miles from Twentynine Palms, Calif..
In the last 10 days, there have been no earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby.
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An average of 234 earthquakes with magnitudes between 3.0 and 4.0 occur per year in California and Nevada, according to a recent three-year data sample.
The earthquake occurred at a depth of 3.0 miles.
Did you feel this earthquake? Consider reporting what you felt to the USGS.
Even if you didn’t feel this small earthquake, you never know when the Big One is going to strike. Ready yourself by following our five-step earthquake preparedness guide and building your own emergency kit.
This story was automatically generated by Quakebot, a computer application that monitors the latest earthquakes detected by the USGS. A Times editor reviewed the post before it was published. If you’re interested in learning more about the system, visit our list of frequently asked questions.


latimes--2020-12-25--L.A. County is probing whether a new, more contagious COVID strain is spreading locally

Los Angeles County scientists have begun to test samples of the coronavirus from local patients to determine if a new , potentially more contagious strain that is circulating in Britain has arrived , as some officials believe is likely amid a major surge of infections .
The variant is a concern because it may make the virus easier to be transmitted from one person to another , officials said .
But once a person has the virus , the variant doesn ’ t appear to make the person more likely to die .
L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to do gene sequencing to test virus samples collected in L.A. County , but it will take about a week to finish the process .
COVID-19 has been surging out of control in Los Angeles County and other parts of California , overwhelming hospitals and killing more people each day .
On Thursday , L.A. County saw its highest number of COVID-19 deaths in a single day : 140 .
The spread has been so rapid since Thanksgiving , when many families defied public health guidelines and gathered in large groups , that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus has changed .
Officials believe the surge has been worsened by holiday gatherings but are also concerned about other factors , including people going out to shop .
“ When I spoke with the state Department of Public Health , they indicated that they ’ ve been looking and didn ’ t think they had seen ” the new strain , Ferrer told The Times in an interview .
“ But you know , you have to know what you ’ re looking for .
So I think everyone at this point @ @ @ @ @ @ @ surges is obviously looking to see , ‘ Do we have that particular variant ?
’ ” L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti said a new variant of the coronavirus could be a factor in the recent explosion in coronavirus cases , as well as other factors , including pandemic fatigue , holiday gatherings and winter weather , which may be more conducive to transmission .
“ This happened devastatingly quickly .
Everybody I talked to said this acceleration was beyond any model and any expectation , so then people say ‘ What broke down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to think it ’ s partly the strain that was out there , ” Garcetti said in an interview with The Times on Wednesday .
A memo issued by the L.A. County Department of Public Health on Christmas Eve asked labs to review recent data from positive coronavirus tests to be on the lookout for a specific genetic pattern , as well as any unusual molecular patterns .
“ Scientists are working to learn more about this variant to better understand how easily it might be transmitted and whether currently authorized vaccines will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time , there is no evidence that this variant causes more severe illness or increased risk of death or that available vaccines will not be as effective , ” the memo said .
Scientists have detected this new coronavirus strain in Europe and South Africa , a discovery that caused a number of countries around the world to announce bans on incoming flights from Britain .
The United States stopped short of a ban , but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said airline passengers from Britain will need to get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The discovery of the new strain also caused the British government to institute lockdown measures , including travel restrictions and the shuttering of pubs , gyms , theaters and hair salons , in response to findings that the genetic changes in the new strain could make the virus “ up to 70 % more transmissible.
” Gov .
Gavin Newsom on Monday said that California is testing thousands of virus samples regularly to identify any changes in the virus ’ genome .
“ We haven ’ t seen anything related to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Dr. Mark Ghaly , California ’ s health and human services secretary , said Monday that the newly identified strain circulating in Britain is essentially “ a little bit more sticky than the COVID virus that we ’ ve been seeing to date.
” “ For COVID to enter a human cell , it needs to bind to a receptor , a sort of front door on a human cell , ” Ghaly said .
“ And the new , mutated COVID virus seems to bind a little tighter , a little @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the human body easier than our current COVID virus that we have here primarily in California and the United States.
” Both Ghaly and officials in England said the changes make the virus more likely to infect people who are exposed to it .
But many other scientists have said there is not yet enough evidence to support this conclusion and that other factors could just as easily explain the strain ’ s rapid spread .
The new strain has not shown itself to be more virulent than the conventional version , meaning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people sicker .
“ But the fact that it infects more easily , it seems , is what we are worried about , ” Ghaly said .
If the new strain of the virus does get a foothold in California , it ’ s unclear how it might affect the state ’ s efforts to contain the outbreak .
“ The last thing we want to do is let a new strain of COVID come and spread more rapidly or easily across the state , ” Ghaly said .
A big concern is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ theory , reduce the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna — both of which are being rolled out in the U.S. — as well as three others close behind them .
However , a report last week by British researchers found “ no evidence that this variant ... will render vaccines less effective.
” Dr. Anthony Fauci , the U.S. government ’ s top infectious diseases expert , told ABC News on Tuesday he would not be surprised if the strain sparking so much worry in the U.K. has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you have this amount of spread within a place like the U.K. … you really need to assume that it ’ s here already , and certainly is not the dominant strain , but I would not be surprised at all if it is already here , ” Fauci said .

Los Angeles County scientists have begun to test samples of the coronavirus from local patients to determine if a new, potentially more contagious strain that is circulating in Britain has arrived, as some officials believe is likely amid a major surge of infections.
The variant is a concern because it may make the virus easier to be transmitted from one person to another, officials said. But once a person has the virus, the variant doesn’t appear to make the person more likely to die.
L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said a public health laboratory has begun to do gene sequencing to test virus samples collected in L.A. County, but it will take about a week to finish the process.
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COVID-19 has been surging out of control in Los Angeles County and other parts of California, overwhelming hospitals and killing more people each day. On Thursday, L.A. County saw its highest number of COVID-19 deaths in a single day: 140.
The spread has been so rapid since Thanksgiving, when many families defied public health guidelines and gathered in large groups, that some have wondered if something about the virus has changed. Officials believe the surge has been worsened by holiday gatherings but are also concerned about other factors, including people going out to shop.
“When I spoke with the state Department of Public Health, they indicated that they’ve been looking and didn’t think they had seen” the new strain, Ferrer told The Times in an interview. “But you know, you have to know what you’re looking for. So I think everyone at this point that’s seeing these kinds of surges is obviously looking to see, ‘Do we have that particular variant?’”
L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti said a new variant of the coronavirus could be a factor in the recent explosion in coronavirus cases, as well as other factors, including pandemic fatigue, holiday gatherings and winter weather, which may be more conducive to transmission.
“This happened devastatingly quickly. Everybody I talked to said this acceleration was beyond any model and any expectation, so then people say ‘What broke down?’ and I’ve got to think it’s partly the strain that was out there,” Garcetti said in an interview with The Times on Wednesday.
A memo issued by the L.A. County Department of Public Health on Christmas Eve asked labs to review recent data from positive coronavirus tests to be on the lookout for a specific genetic pattern, as well as any unusual molecular patterns.
“Scientists are working to learn more about this variant to better understand how easily it might be transmitted and whether currently authorized vaccines will protect people against it. At this time, there is no evidence that this variant causes more severe illness or increased risk of death or that available vaccines will not be as effective,” the memo said.
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Scientists have detected this new coronavirus strain in Europe and South Africa, a discovery that caused a number of countries around the world to announce bans on incoming flights from Britain.
The United States stopped short of a ban, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said airline passengers from Britain will need to get a negative coronavirus test before their flight.
The discovery of the new strain also caused the British government to institute lockdown measures, including travel restrictions and the shuttering of pubs, gyms, theaters and hair salons, in response to findings that the genetic changes in the new strain could make the virus “up to 70% more transmissible.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday said that California is testing thousands of virus samples regularly to identify any changes in the virus’ genome. “We haven’t seen anything related to a new strain yet,” Newsom said.
Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s health and human services secretary, said Monday that the newly identified strain circulating in Britain is essentially “a little bit more sticky than the COVID virus that we’ve been seeing to date.”
“For COVID to enter a human cell, it needs to bind to a receptor, a sort of front door on a human cell,” Ghaly said. “And the new, mutated COVID virus seems to bind a little tighter, a little more easily and enter the cell of the human body easier than our current COVID virus that we have here primarily in California and the United States.”
Both Ghaly and officials in England said the changes make the virus more likely to infect people who are exposed to it. But many other scientists have said there is not yet enough evidence to support this conclusion and that other factors could just as easily explain the strain’s rapid spread.
The new strain has not shown itself to be more virulent than the conventional version, meaning that it doesn’t necessarily make people sicker. “But the fact that it infects more easily, it seems, is what we are worried about,” Ghaly said.
If the new strain of the virus does get a foothold in California, it’s unclear how it might affect the state’s efforts to contain the outbreak. “The last thing we want to do is let a new strain of COVID come and spread more rapidly or easily across the state,” Ghaly said.
A big concern is that its genetic changes could, in theory, reduce the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna — both of which are being rolled out in the U.S. — as well as three others close behind them.
However, a report last week by British researchers found “no evidence that this variant ... will render vaccines less effective.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious diseases expert, told ABC News on Tuesday he would not be surprised if the strain sparking so much worry in the U.K. has already arrived in the U.S.
“When you have this amount of spread within a place like the U.K. … you really need to assume that it’s here already, and certainly is not the dominant strain, but I would not be surprised at all if it is already here,” Fauci said.
Times staff writer Melissa Healy contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-12-25--2.7 earthquake strikes in Anaheim

2.7 earthquake strikes in Anaheim

A magnitude 2.7 earthquake was reported Friday morning at 8:42 a.m. Pacific time in Anaheim , according to the U.S. Geological Survey .
The earthquake occurred less than a mile from Orange , less than a mile from Placentia , one mile from Fullerton and two miles from Yorba Linda .
In the last 10 days , there have been no earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby .
An average of 59 earthquakes with magnitudes between 2.0 and 3.0 occur per year in the Greater Los Angeles area , according to a recent three-year data sample .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ miles .
Did you feel this earthquake ?
Consider reporting what you felt to the USGS .
Even if you didn ’ t feel this small earthquake , you never know when the Big One is going to strike .
Ready yourself by following our five-step earthquake preparedness guide and building your own emergency kit .
This story was automatically generated by Quakebot , a computer application that monitors the latest earthquakes detected by the USGS .
A Times editor reviewed the post before it was published .
If you ’ re interested @ @ @ @ @ @ @ visit our list of frequently asked questions .

A magnitude 2.7 earthquake was reported Friday morning at 8:42 a.m. in Anaheim, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
A magnitude 2.7 earthquake was reported Friday morning at 8:42 a.m. Pacific time in Anaheim, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The earthquake occurred less than a mile from Orange, less than a mile from Placentia, one mile from Fullerton and two miles from Yorba Linda.
In the last 10 days, there have been no earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby.
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An average of 59 earthquakes with magnitudes between 2.0 and 3.0 occur per year in the Greater Los Angeles area, according to a recent three-year data sample.
The earthquake occurred at a depth of 2.7 miles. Did you feel this earthquake? Consider reporting what you felt to the USGS.
Even if you didn’t feel this small earthquake, you never know when the Big One is going to strike. Ready yourself by following our five-step earthquake preparedness guide and building your own emergency kit.
This story was automatically generated by Quakebot, a computer application that monitors the latest earthquakes detected by the USGS. A Times editor reviewed the post before it was published. If you’re interested in learning more about the system, visit our list of frequently asked questions.


latimes--2020-12-26--Some Asian Americans and immigrants wore masks readily. In a brutal election year, it made them hero

Some Asian Americans and immigrants wore masks readily. In a brutal election year, it made them heroes, targets, prophets

James Wang was among the Asian immigrants who donned a mask when the coronavirus still seemed a distant problem .
As the pandemic worsened in the U.S. , he watched his native Taiwan beat back the virus without shutting down its economy .
While many Americans eventually grew accustomed to covering their faces , others refused to mask up , playing down the threat of the virus and even calling it a hoax .
On massive billboards advertising his law practice , Wang updated his photo to include a mask over his face — and received emails critical of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him of fear-mongering .
“ It ’ s just a mask , ” said Wang , 43 , who lives in Diamond Bar and came to the U.S. when he was 10 .
“ I can ’ t believe how polarized it became.
” For Asian immigrants in the San Gabriel Valley and elsewhere , the pandemic has become a moment of reckoning , exposing the weaknesses of their adopted country .
Raised on an ethic that elevates family and community above the individual , as well as a strong belief in science @ @ @ @ @ @ @ why anyone would view masks as an infringement on personal freedom — let alone why President Trump would encourage that attitude .
In January and February , Asian immigrants attracted puzzled glances for covering their faces .
Later , they became targets of racism , as Trump and others played up the virus ’ s Chinese origins .
Immigrants come to this country hoping life will be better .
This year , the U.S. is unquestionably worse off than Asia , as illnesses , deaths and shutdowns pile up .
Asian Americans in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at disproportionately high rates , as Black and Latino residents have .
But they are suffering like everyone else from school closures and social isolation .
Small businesses , always a toehold to success for immigrants , have been devastated , with Asian-owned restaurants , dry cleaners and nail salons shuttered or barely staying afloat .
In Taiwan , people are enjoying rock concerts in crowded arenas , and kids are attending school .
In South Korea , despite a recent uptick , coronavirus rates remain far lower than in the U.S. “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ denial , because our healthcare workers are at great risk helping COVID patients , ” said Soo Kim Choi , 49 , a South Korean immigrant who lives in La Cañada Flintridge .
“ I talk to healthcare workers frequently , and if people would listen to them , listen to the science and wear masks , we ’ d be in a much better place.
” Masks have long been customary in South Korea and other parts of Asia — to protect others when the wearer is sick , or as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the practice .
But even before the pandemic , it was common to see masked people on the subway or in the streets .
Growing up in Seoul , Choi and her family were not among those who masked up when they had a cold or flu .
But she was raised to respect science and to consider the good of the community , she said .
In February , Choi noticed that shoppers and employees at her favorite grocery store , Seoul Market in La Cañada Flintridge , were wearing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In the face of a dangerous new contagion , it was second nature for Asian immigrants to put up with a little inconvenience to protect themselves and others .
“ When you live in a small country where outbreaks happen quickly , you ’ re more sensitive , at least first-generation folks are , about taking precautions and trying to stay safe , ” said Choi , a former banker and small business owner .
Not only did Choi don her own mask early on , but she and her youngest son embarked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of old N-95 masks donated to Glendale ’ s USC Verdugo Hospital .
Gavin Choi , a senior at La Cañada High School , created a GoFundMe account in June to replace the elastic bands on the masks .
He raised more than $ 2,000 and replaced 11,000 bands with the aid of volunteers .
Though he was born in the U.S. , Gavin Choi is familiar enough with Korean culture to see contrasts .
“ This has always been about following the science , listening to the experts and doing what ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but the people around you , ” said Choi , 17 , an Eagle Scout who hopes to join the military .
“ I ’ m proud of my Korean culture , that we believe in being considerate and thoughtful.
” When Asian Americans like Wang and the Chois began sporting masks in supermarkets and stores throughout the San Gabriel Valley , other residents were mystified .
Some said Asian Americans were in “ a panic.
” By mid-March , with public health recommendations piling up and most retail stores requiring masks , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ L.A. County , masks are now ubiquitous .
But the same has not been true in some other places , including parts of Orange County .
“ For a while people looked at Asians and wondered , ‘ What ’ s this weird thing they ’ re doing ?
’ ” said Emma Teng , a professor of Asian Civilizations at MIT .
“ Slowly , it went from being something strange and foreign to being gradually accepted , although still quite controversial.
” In Huntington Beach , hundreds of maskless demonstrators excoriated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ socially distance as anti-American , fascist and an infringement on their rights .
In Washington , Trump and others in his circle came down with COVID-19 yet continued to gather indoors without masks .
Elsewhere , Asian Americans no longer stood out for their masks .
But they became targets for another reason — the perception , fanned by Trump , that China , and by extension anyone who looked Asian , was responsible for a pandemic that was killing Americans and crippling the economy .
Stop AAPI Hate , a tracking site @ @ @ @ @ @ @ incidents against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in L.A. County between March and October , with 76 % being verbal assaults .
Some of the vitriol involved the coronavirus .
In one incident described on the site , a woman yelled at a mother and son in a Los Angeles park : “ Get off these steps !
Do you know about the Chinese disease ?
” In another , a woman said to an Asian American person at an Eagle Rock shopping plaza : “ Oh my God !
China brought the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Oh my God !
Please don ’ t give me the virus !
For Asian immigrants , COVID-19 was not the first public health scare involving a deadly coronavirus .
San Gabriel City Councilman Jason Pu points to the SARS outbreak of the early 2000s in Asia as a wakeup call , with immigrants in the U.S. closely following the news back home .
“ When you talk about COVID-19 and safety precautions like wearing a mask , the conversation often turns back to SARS and what families learned then , ” said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and has roots in China and Taiwan .
The SARS experience also helped prepare Asian countries like Taiwan and South Korea for the next viral outbreak .
When COVID-19 hit , they quickly closed their borders and implemented strict contact tracing and quarantining .
Few people complained about wearing masks .
Taiwan , with a population of nearly 24 million , has had fewer than 800 coronavirus cases and seven deaths .
By comparison , Los Angeles County , with about 10 million residents , has had more than 670,000 cases and more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Asia and the U.S. has been stunning and disappointing to immigrants who uprooted themselves and moved an ocean away with high expectations for the richest country in the world .
While the U.S. has offered some economic assistance , the aid has not been as robust as in South Korea and Japan , which Pu said has left many of his city ’ s small businesses , including some owned by Asian immigrants , “ just hanging on ” as they await more government help .
Perhaps most incomprehensible to many Asian immigrants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wear masks and follow coronavirus safety guidelines .
“ What has surprised a lot of the Asian immigrant community has been the selfishness of people who won ’ t take safety precautions because it ’ s an ‘ infringement ’ of their rights , ” Pu said .
“ Wearing a mask is the bare minimum you can do.
” Rosemead resident Chong Taing , who is of Chinese-Cambodian heritage , wonders what would have happened if Trump had set an example by wearing a mask early on , instead of disparaging the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t be leading the world in infections and deaths , and the president would be preparing to transition into a second term , not contesting the election results .
“ A lot of this was avoidable , ” said Taing , 40 , who works in sales .
“ I don ’ t want to sound mean , but a lot of people lost their lives , their jobs , their social lives , missed family gatherings , church services and more because they refused to put on a mask .
”

Soo Kim Choi, left, and her son Gavin Choi, here photographed at La Cañada High School on Dec. 3, adopted mask usage well before a government request in April.
James Wang was among the Asian immigrants who donned a mask when the coronavirus still seemed a distant problem.
As the pandemic worsened in the U.S., he watched his native Taiwan beat back the virus without shutting down its economy.
While many Americans eventually grew accustomed to covering their faces, others refused to mask up, playing down the threat of the virus and even calling it a hoax.
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On massive billboards advertising his law practice, Wang updated his photo to include a mask over his face — and received emails critical of the move from a few people who accused him of fear-mongering.
“It’s just a mask,” said Wang, 43, who lives in Diamond Bar and came to the U.S. when he was 10. “I can’t believe how polarized it became.”
For Asian immigrants in the San Gabriel Valley and elsewhere, the pandemic has become a moment of reckoning, exposing the weaknesses of their adopted country.
Raised on an ethic that elevates family and community above the individual, as well as a strong belief in science, many find it difficult to fathom why anyone would view masks as an infringement on personal freedom — let alone why President Trump would encourage that attitude.
In January and February, Asian immigrants attracted puzzled glances for covering their faces. Later, they became targets of racism, as Trump and others played up the virus’s Chinese origins.
Immigrants come to this country hoping life will be better. This year, the U.S. is unquestionably worse off than Asia, as illnesses, deaths and shutdowns pile up.
Asian Americans in California have not died from the virus at disproportionately high rates, as Black and Latino residents have.
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But they are suffering like everyone else from school closures and social isolation. Small businesses, always a toehold to success for immigrants, have been devastated, with Asian-owned restaurants, dry cleaners and nail salons shuttered or barely staying afloat.
A large billboard featuring personal injury attorney James Wang is seen along the Pomona Freeway on Wednesday in the City of Industry. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
In Taiwan, people are enjoying rock concerts in crowded arenas, and kids are attending school. In South Korea, despite a recent uptick, coronavirus rates remain far lower than in the U.S.
“It makes me sad to see the denial, because our healthcare workers are at great risk helping COVID patients,” said Soo Kim Choi, 49, a South Korean immigrant who lives in La Cañada Flintridge. “I talk to healthcare workers frequently, and if people would listen to them, listen to the science and wear masks, we’d be in a much better place.”
Masks have long been customary in South Korea and other parts of Asia — to protect others when the wearer is sick, or as a shield against pollution. Not everyone engages in the practice. But even before the pandemic, it was common to see masked people on the subway or in the streets.
Growing up in Seoul, Choi and her family were not among those who masked up when they had a cold or flu. But she was raised to respect science and to consider the good of the community, she said.
In February, Choi noticed that shoppers and employees at her favorite grocery store, Seoul Market in La Cañada Flintridge, were wearing the Korean equivalent of an N-95 mask. In the face of a dangerous new contagion, it was second nature for Asian immigrants to put up with a little inconvenience to protect themselves and others.
“When you live in a small country where outbreaks happen quickly, you’re more sensitive, at least first-generation folks are, about taking precautions and trying to stay safe,” said Choi, a former banker and small business owner.
Not only did Choi don her own mask early on, but she and her youngest son embarked on a project to fix a batch of old N-95 masks donated to Glendale’s USC Verdugo Hospital.
Gavin Choi, a senior at La Cañada High School, created a GoFundMe account in June to replace the elastic bands on the masks.
He raised more than $2,000 and replaced 11,000 bands with the aid of volunteers.
Though he was born in the U.S., Gavin Choi is familiar enough with Korean culture to see contrasts.
Soo Kim Choi, right, and her son Gavin Choi at La Cañada High School on Dec. 3, 2020. Soo Kim first used a mask in February, well ahead of CDC guidelines, while she and her son raised funds to repair N-95 masks for hospital workers. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
“This has always been about following the science, listening to the experts and doing what’s best not just for you, but the people around you,” said Choi, 17, an Eagle Scout who hopes to join the military. “I’m proud of my Korean culture, that we believe in being considerate and thoughtful.”
When Asian Americans like Wang and the Chois began sporting masks in supermarkets and stores throughout the San Gabriel Valley, other residents were mystified. Some said Asian Americans were in “a panic.”
By mid-March, with public health recommendations piling up and most retail stores requiring masks, the early adopters seemed prophetic. In L.A. County, masks are now ubiquitous.
But the same has not been true in some other places, including parts of Orange County.
“For a while people looked at Asians and wondered, ‘What’s this weird thing they’re doing?’” said Emma Teng, a professor of Asian Civilizations at MIT. “Slowly, it went from being something strange and foreign to being gradually accepted, although still quite controversial.”
In Huntington Beach, hundreds of maskless demonstrators excoriated government orders to wear face coverings and socially distance as anti-American, fascist and an infringement on their rights. In Washington, Trump and others in his circle came down with COVID-19 yet continued to gather indoors without masks.
Elsewhere, Asian Americans no longer stood out for their masks. But they became targets for another reason — the perception, fanned by Trump, that China, and by extension anyone who looked Asian, was responsible for a pandemic that was killing Americans and crippling the economy.
Stop AAPI Hate, a tracking site created in March, documented 245 racist incidents against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in L.A. County between March and October, with 76% being verbal assaults.
Some of the vitriol involved the coronavirus.
In one incident described on the site, a woman yelled at a mother and son in a Los Angeles park: “Get off these steps! Do you know about the Chinese disease?”
In another, a woman said to an Asian American person at an Eagle Rock shopping plaza: “Oh my God! China brought the virus here!” followed by “Oh my God! Please don’t give me the virus!
For Asian immigrants, COVID-19 was not the first public health scare involving a deadly coronavirus. San Gabriel City Councilman Jason Pu points to the SARS outbreak of the early 2000s in Asia as a wakeup call, with immigrants in the U.S. closely following the news back home.
“When you talk about COVID-19 and safety precautions like wearing a mask, the conversation often turns back to SARS and what families learned then,” said Pu, who was born in Arcadia and has roots in China and Taiwan.
Chong Taing believed in wearing a mask well before public officials said to. Taing takes pride in the San Gabriel Valley and how Asian Americans took the lead in respecting COVID-19. Above, Taing at Arcadia County Park on Nov. 6. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
The SARS experience also helped prepare Asian countries like Taiwan and South Korea for the next viral outbreak. When COVID-19 hit, they quickly closed their borders and implemented strict contact tracing and quarantining. Few people complained about wearing masks.
Taiwan, with a population of nearly 24 million, has had fewer than 800 coronavirus cases and seven deaths. By comparison, Los Angeles County, with about 10 million residents, has had more than 670,000 cases and more than 9,000 deaths.
The contrast between Asia and the U.S. has been stunning and disappointing to immigrants who uprooted themselves and moved an ocean away with high expectations for the richest country in the world.
While the U.S. has offered some economic assistance, the aid has not been as robust as in South Korea and Japan, which Pu said has left many of his city’s small businesses, including some owned by Asian immigrants, “just hanging on” as they await more government help.
Perhaps most incomprehensible to many Asian immigrants is the refusal by some Americans to wear masks and follow coronavirus safety guidelines.
“What has surprised a lot of the Asian immigrant community has been the selfishness of people who won’t take safety precautions because it’s an ‘infringement’ of their rights,” Pu said. “Wearing a mask is the bare minimum you can do.”
Rosemead resident Chong Taing, who is of Chinese-Cambodian heritage, wonders what would have happened if Trump had set an example by wearing a mask early on, instead of disparaging the practice.
Perhaps the United States wouldn’t be leading the world in infections and deaths, and the president would be preparing to transition into a second term, not contesting the election results.
“A lot of this was avoidable,” said Taing, 40, who works in sales. “I don’t want to sound mean, but a lot of people lost their lives, their jobs, their social lives, missed family gatherings, church services and more because they refused to put on a mask.”


latimes--2020-12-26--His wife died while both were in a care facility. Lonely, he dreams of post-pandemic love

At 85 and in an assisted living facility , Len Maisch has been thinking about his childhood holidays , when his alcoholic mom went drinking , leaving him and his brother alone at Christmas .
After 10 months in coronavirus lockdown at his Redondo Beach complex , he ’ s feeling the same sense of isolation and irrelevance that overwhelmed him as a kid .
“ I feel abandoned .
I am feeling desperately sorry for myself , ” he said recently .
“ Doesn ’ t anyone have any empathy for us ?
” Like thousands of people weathering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ living facilities , Maisch is grappling with the social costs of his safety as the pandemic continues to decimate congregate care settings , killing older people at alarming rates .
A recent survey unsurprisingly found that 3 out of 4 nursing home residents felt lonely under the restrictions .
Clear-eyed about the risks of COVID-19 , Maisch is also emotionally drained by watching his human contact dwindle to a handful of healthcare workers and administrators .
As the first doses of the vaccine are administered , with promises they will arrive soon at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fighting to stay positive as the year winds to a close , sharing his story to connect with others in similar circumstances , and with those in a world he fears has forgotten them .
“ I only hope that this might help someone else who is lonely and forlorn in the midst of this , ” he said .
“ You have to have faith and we can get through this , but you have to have a lot of endurance.
” Across the United States , about 1.2 million people are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and another 800,000 reside in assisted living situations .
Some of those facilities haven ’ t allowed visits in months .
Some began them only to cut them off once again as community case numbers rose and outbreaks occurred .
But increasingly , families of those in lockdown have been pushing to ease restrictions on visitations despite the continuing spread of the virus as the emotional , physical and mental price of confinement becomes apparent .
“ I think it went too far , ” said Dee Ann Pope , whose father @ @ @ @ @ @ @ San Clemente .
Though she sits outside his window and they play bingo using cellphones , she believes she has seen him decline without close contact and outings .
She has joined with others in a national effort to find a compromise with nursing homes that would allow entrance to designated essential caregivers , who follow strict safety protocols like staff .
“ It just doesn ’ t make sense that we can ’ t give them that emotional support without them feeling they are in a zoo , ” she said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of many of his counterparts because he doesn ’ t need to be in a nursing home .
A former high school sprinter , he ’ s kept his body trim and his wits sharp , the only sign of his age a slight hitch in his gait from a back surgery that damaged a nerve .
But he made the decision to move into this facility in February to be with his wife JoAnn , then 71 , who was diagnosed with a fatal and degenerative brain disease that had already robbed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and down the stairs of their Palos Verdes home , a place they had purchased only three months prior because it was big enough for his grandkids to visit .
They sold it , both knowing her condition was growing worse .
“ When you have someone you truly love , you try not to leave them in a facility alone , ” Maisch said in April , when he first spoke with The Times .
“ She ’ s a beautiful flower , and she ’ s wilting , and so all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ... .
I can ’ t love her enough .
I can ’ t kiss her enough.
” A month after the couple arrived , the pandemic escalated and the facility went into a lockdown .
At first , Maisch wasn ’ t too bothered , believing it would end soon .
But the days turned to weeks with no improvement .
“ Then it started coming down on me because I was looking at the world through blinds at a parking lot , ” he said .
“ It was pretty tough @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it didn ’ t mean anything doing it.
” By April , the coronavirus had made it inside the facility , as it had in hundreds of other care homes across the state and nation .
Residents died , and strict measures were put in place on where Maisch could be and when .
His May birthday came and went with no visitors and little to celebrate .
“ It was just another day , ” he said .
When Maisch speaks of his past , before JoAnn fell ill and before the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nostalgia than slight outrage that he ’ s been sidelined from a life he was having fun living .
Though he grew up poor on the Westside , living for a while on Venice ’ s streets before they became chic , in “ flop hotels ” as he describes them and in an Inglewood house where he spent those forlorn Christmases , he ran his own business selling machining tools to the aerospace industry in its heyday , traveling the world to meet with clients who became friends .
With that success @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 1970 , with members including Ronald Reagan .
New Year ’ s celebrations were spent in its formal dining room with an orchestra and 10-course meals .
Summer days , he ’ d hang out at its beachfront outpost in Santa Monica , just behind Lifeguard Tower 8 , where he used to work as a teenager .
His membership number was 123 , easy to remember .
But the club knocked him to emeritus status , and now it ’ s 00 .
“ I don ’ t like the sound @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you , ” he said , some kind of sign that the past is just that .
But he was also a hustler , driven by his childhood poverty , “ always in a dead-ass rush all the time , ” he said , “ about better ways to improve myself and improve what I was doing.
” He met JoAnn in the lobby of Hughes Aircraft in 1986 and a few weeks later took her to a somewhat unsuccessful lunch .
But he persisted , and after a few more promising encounters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Biltmore in Santa Barbara .
“ From that moment on , our relationship changed , ” he said .
“ That was it , from then on.
” When JoAnn died on Sept. 21 , Maisch was holding her hand , quietly sitting by her side .
By then , she was bedridden and drifting away , and a new kind of loneliness was already taking hold of him .
Eleven days before , she had been well enough to shower and put on makeup with the help of aides .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a light blue nightdress , “ and I looked at her and said , ‘ Do you know something ?
Right now you are as beautiful as you have ever been in our life.
’ ” She smiled , with “ that tint in her eyes ” that he cherished .
It held the spark of her humor , intelligence and kindness .
And love .
“ That was the last time , ” he said .
“ She kind of went back into relief , so to speak , just in her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ later , he left the facility for the first time for her funeral .
Donning a suit he hadn ’ t worn in two years , he struggled with the Windsor knot on his gold and blue tie , but he made it perfect , because details like that matter .
In the courtyard of their Episcopal church , with a few close friends and family , he said goodbye .
Back in his solitary rooms , in a two-week quarantine to make sure he hadn ’ t brought COVID-19 back with him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ silence .
The emptiness .
The inexplicable unfairness of loss .
He grew up in an era when men held their emotions in , but this grief was too much .
“ I ’ ve never shown myself crying my whole life .
But I was shuddering on the bed , ” he said .
“ And I didn ’ t want to talk to anybody.
” But he also couldn ’ t bear to be alone .
He hired a caretaker for three days , six hours a day , just to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The tears stopped , but the burden of the past months won ’ t relent .
Feeling trapped inside the facility , though all his needs have been met , has “ changed me an awful lot , ” he said .
His stagnant life has aged him .
His saving grace is Sophie , his springer spaniel .
“ Thank God I ’ ve got her because I can talk to her , ” he said .
“ She is sensitive to all my feelings .
If I cry or something @ @ @ @ @ @ @ head on my lap.
” Every morning , she wakes him up at 6 a.m. to go out on their little patio .
Then they sit together until someone brings his coffee and newspapers at 7 a.m. Then they sit together some more .
Now , as Maisch begins to see beyond his grief , he ’ s trying to figure out how to get out of his facility and on with his life .
He and JoAnn spoke often about wanting the other to move on .
He ’ d made three @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to “ a very successful gentleman that wants a nice lady in his life , ” if he were to pass first .
“ We joked about it , but I was serious , ” he said .
“ I must learn to put her in another place or I will be beating myself up for five years.
” That won ’ t happen until he ’ s out of this place , he knows .
“ Sometimes , I would like to pole-vault that back gate and escape , ” he said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ simple .
Though he has family , he doesn ’ t think living with them would work .
He called hotels up and down the beach , but none are offering room service anymore , and he doesn ’ t want to take the risk of going out for meals .
Renting an apartment during a pandemic seems daunting and a bit foolish , he said .
He has a friend who is a real estate broker , and he ’ s toying with the idea of finding something to buy , where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one JoAnn used to tend .
But for now , he sits in his rooms , with their white walls and photos of JoAnn — as a little girl , in a silver oval frame ; in a low-cut evening gown at one of those Jonathan Club events — and dreams about what may come next , hoping that “ maybe there is a chance for me.
” This New Year ’ s , he knows there will be little to lift his spirits other than the end to a devastating year .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ No midnight kiss to ring in better times .
His plans are further in the future — some firm , others spontaneous .
He is known to ask his female aides and callers if they would like to run off with him , Majorca maybe , all expenses paid .
Or at least join him for lunch .
For his 90th birthday , a few years away , he has a deal with a friend to be in Santorini , drinking Johnnie Walker Black Label scotch , smoking cigars and wearing Panama suits @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And somewhere , not here and not too long from now , he hopes to find connection again .
Conversations .
Travel .
The comfort of someone who wants him near enough to hold .
“ I am craving for someone to show some love and affection to me , ” he said .

Len Maisch, 85, with 7-year-old springer spaniel Sophie, lives in a Redondo Beach facility that was in lockdown for 10 months due to the coronavirus.
At 85 and in an assisted living facility, Len Maisch has been thinking about his childhood holidays, when his alcoholic mom went drinking, leaving him and his brother alone at Christmas.
After 10 months in coronavirus lockdown at his Redondo Beach complex, he’s feeling the same sense of isolation and irrelevance that overwhelmed him as a kid.
“I feel abandoned. I am feeling desperately sorry for myself,” he said recently. “Doesn’t anyone have any empathy for us?”
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Like thousands of people weathering strict rules inside nursing homes and assisted living facilities, Maisch is grappling with the social costs of his safety as the pandemic continues to decimate congregate care settings, killing older people at alarming rates. A recent survey unsurprisingly found that 3 out of 4 nursing home residents felt lonely under the restrictions.
Clear-eyed about the risks of COVID-19, Maisch is also emotionally drained by watching his human contact dwindle to a handful of healthcare workers and administrators. As the first doses of the vaccine are administered, with promises they will arrive soon at facilities like his own, Maisch is fighting to stay positive as the year winds to a close, sharing his story to connect with others in similar circumstances, and with those in a world he fears has forgotten them.
“I only hope that this might help someone else who is lonely and forlorn in the midst of this,” he said. “You have to have faith and we can get through this, but you have to have a lot of endurance.”
Across the United States, about 1.2 million people are being cared for inside skilled nursing facilities, and another 800,000 reside in assisted living situations. Some of those facilities haven’t allowed visits in months. Some began them only to cut them off once again as community case numbers rose and outbreaks occurred.
But increasingly, families of those in lockdown have been pushing to ease restrictions on visitations despite the continuing spread of the virus as the emotional, physical and mental price of confinement becomes apparent.
“I think it went too far,” said Dee Ann Pope, whose father resides in a skilled nursing facility in San Clemente. Though she sits outside his window and they play bingo using cellphones, she believes she has seen him decline without close contact and outings. She has joined with others in a national effort to find a compromise with nursing homes that would allow entrance to designated essential caregivers, who follow strict safety protocols like staff.
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“It just doesn’t make sense that we can’t give them that emotional support without them feeling they are in a zoo,” she said.
Maisch’s story differs from that of many of his counterparts because he doesn’t need to be in a nursing home. A former high school sprinter, he’s kept his body trim and his wits sharp, the only sign of his age a slight hitch in his gait from a back surgery that damaged a nerve.
But he made the decision to move into this facility in February to be with his wife JoAnn, then 71, who was diagnosed with a fatal and degenerative brain disease that had already robbed her of the ability to walk up and down the stairs of their Palos Verdes home, a place they had purchased only three months prior because it was big enough for his grandkids to visit. They sold it, both knowing her condition was growing worse.
“When you have someone you truly love, you try not to leave them in a facility alone,” Maisch said in April, when he first spoke with The Times. “She’s a beautiful flower, and she’s wilting, and so all you can do is give her love.... I can’t love her enough. I can’t kiss her enough.”
A month after the couple arrived, the pandemic escalated and the facility went into a lockdown. At first, Maisch wasn’t too bothered, believing it would end soon. But the days turned to weeks with no improvement.
“Then it started coming down on me because I was looking at the world through blinds at a parking lot,” he said. “It was pretty tough, but I loved her so much it didn’t mean anything doing it.”
By April, the coronavirus had made it inside the facility, as it had in hundreds of other care homes across the state and nation. Residents died, and strict measures were put in place on where Maisch could be and when. His May birthday came and went with no visitors and little to celebrate.
“It was just another day,” he said.
When Maisch speaks of his past, before JoAnn fell ill and before the virus, it’s less with nostalgia than slight outrage that he’s been sidelined from a life he was having fun living. Though he grew up poor on the Westside, living for a while on Venice’s streets before they became chic, in “flop hotels” as he describes them and in an Inglewood house where he spent those forlorn Christmases, he ran his own business selling machining tools to the aerospace industry in its heyday, traveling the world to meet with clients who became friends.
With that success, he joined the swank Jonathan Club in 1970, with members including Ronald Reagan. New Year’s celebrations were spent in its formal dining room with an orchestra and 10-course meals. Summer days, he’d hang out at its beachfront outpost in Santa Monica, just behind Lifeguard Tower 8, where he used to work as a teenager.
His membership number was 123, easy to remember. But the club knocked him to emeritus status, and now it’s 00. “I don’t like the sound of it, to be honest with you,” he said, some kind of sign that the past is just that.
But he was also a hustler, driven by his childhood poverty, “always in a dead-ass rush all the time,” he said, “about better ways to improve myself and improve what I was doing.”
He met JoAnn in the lobby of Hughes Aircraft in 1986 and a few weeks later took her to a somewhat unsuccessful lunch. But he persisted, and after a few more promising encounters he invited her to a weekend at the Biltmore in Santa Barbara.
“From that moment on, our relationship changed,” he said. “That was it, from then on.”
When JoAnn died on Sept. 21, Maisch was holding her hand, quietly sitting by her side.
By then, she was bedridden and drifting away, and a new kind of loneliness was already taking hold of him.
Eleven days before, she had been well enough to shower and put on makeup with the help of aides. He remembers her lying on the bed in a light blue nightdress, “and I looked at her and said, ‘Do you know something? Right now you are as beautiful as you have ever been in our life.’”
She smiled, with “that tint in her eyes” that he cherished. It held the spark of her humor, intelligence and kindness. And love.
“That was the last time,” he said. “She kind of went back into relief, so to speak, just in her own little world.”
A few weeks later, he left the facility for the first time for her funeral. Donning a suit he hadn’t worn in two years, he struggled with the Windsor knot on his gold and blue tie, but he made it perfect, because details like that matter. In the courtyard of their Episcopal church, with a few close friends and family, he said goodbye.
A memorial card for JoAnn Maisch, who passed away on Sept. 21. (Courtesy of Len Maisch)
Back in his solitary rooms, in a two-week quarantine to make sure he hadn’t brought COVID-19 back with him, the real parting began. The silence. The emptiness. The inexplicable unfairness of loss. He grew up in an era when men held their emotions in, but this grief was too much.
“I’ve never shown myself crying my whole life. But I was shuddering on the bed,” he said. “And I didn’t want to talk to anybody.”
But he also couldn’t bear to be alone. He hired a caretaker for three days, six hours a day, just to sit in a chair and be there. The tears stopped, but the burden of the past months won’t relent.
Feeling trapped inside the facility, though all his needs have been met, has “changed me an awful lot,” he said. His stagnant life has aged him.
His saving grace is Sophie, his springer spaniel.
“Thank God I’ve got her because I can talk to her,” he said. “She is sensitive to all my feelings. If I cry or something ... she runs up and puts her head on my lap.”
Every morning, she wakes him up at 6 a.m. to go out on their little patio. Then they sit together until someone brings his coffee and newspapers at 7 a.m. Then they sit together some more.
Now, as Maisch begins to see beyond his grief, he’s trying to figure out how to get out of his facility and on with his life. He and JoAnn spoke often about wanting the other to move on. He’d made three of his friends promise to introduce her to “a very successful gentleman that wants a nice lady in his life,” if he were to pass first.
“We joked about it, but I was serious,” he said. “I must learn to put her in another place or I will be beating myself up for five years.”
That won’t happen until he’s out of this place, he knows.
“Sometimes, I would like to pole-vault that back gate and escape,” he said. But it’s not that simple.
Though he has family, he doesn’t think living with them would work. He called hotels up and down the beach, but none are offering room service anymore, and he doesn’t want to take the risk of going out for meals. Renting an apartment during a pandemic seems daunting and a bit foolish, he said. He has a friend who is a real estate broker, and he’s toying with the idea of finding something to buy, where he could have a garden like the one JoAnn used to tend.
But for now, he sits in his rooms, with their white walls and photos of JoAnn — as a little girl, in a silver oval frame; in a low-cut evening gown at one of those Jonathan Club events — and dreams about what may come next, hoping that “maybe there is a chance for me.”
This New Year’s, he knows there will be little to lift his spirits other than the end to a devastating year. No black tie. No party. No midnight kiss to ring in better times.
His plans are further in the future — some firm, others spontaneous. He is known to ask his female aides and callers if they would like to run off with him, Majorca maybe, all expenses paid. Or at least join him for lunch. For his 90th birthday, a few years away, he has a deal with a friend to be in Santorini, drinking Johnnie Walker Black Label scotch, smoking cigars and wearing Panama suits while they “dance until dawn.”
And somewhere, not here and not too long from now, he hopes to find connection again. Conversations. Travel. The comfort of someone who wants him near enough to hold.
“I am craving for someone to show some love and affection to me,” he said.


latimes--2020-12-26--More than 100 residents have the coronavirus at Escondido nursing home, state reports

On Christmas Eve morning , a woman stood outside Escondido Post Acute Rehab , talking through a window with her 100-year-old mother , a resident of the facility who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 .
The two women spoke over the phone for about 15 minutes , waving at one another as two healthcare workers wearing personal protective equipment worked in the room .
The daughter said she was checking on her mom and trying to find out how she was doing after testing positive for the virus while recovering from a dislocated shoulder .
Last week , the nursing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ largest active outbreak in a skilled nursing facility in San Diego County .
As of Wednesday , Escondido Post Acute had 111 residents and 70 healthcare workers who had the novel coronavirus out of a total of 139 residents and 81 staff who had tested positive there since the beginning of the pandemic .
The facility has a maximum bed count of 180 , according to data from the California Department of Public Health .
Facilities experiencing staffing shortages due to COVID-19 infections , other illnesses or hiring issues can borrow staff members @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from HealthCorp — a medical team established by the state in April 2020 to meet additional healthcare needs during the pandemic — the National Guard and emergency medical technician units , as needed .
The to two San Diego county facilities — Stanford Court Nursing Center in Santee in October and Villa Las Palmas Healthcare Center in El Cajon in November — but there are no current or upcoming missions in the county , Public Affairs and Media Relations Director Lt. Col. Jonathan M. Shiroma said via email .
A county spokesperson was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or any other facility has received additional support staff in December .
The women conversing through the window at Escondido Post Acute represent one of many families who remain apart this holiday season as case rates of COVID-19 continue to climb and the regional stay-at-home order stays in place .
Most have not been allowed for more than a month , since San Diego County was placed in the state ’ s most restrictive tier in mid-November .
Skilled nursing facilities in San Diego County are now facing the greatest number of active @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , though relief may be in sight as , through a partnership with CVS and Walgreens pharmacies , are set to begin Monday .
Public health officer Wilma Wooten announced last Wednesday that there were 48 active outbreaks in skilled nursing facilities , including 16 new ones since , bringing the total of novel coronavirus outbreaks to 133 .
Unlike outbreaks in community settings , which are defined as three or more related cases from separate households , outbreaks at skilled nursing facilities are deemed active when one resident or healthcare worker from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus .
An outbreak is deemed inactive once no one has tested positive for at least two weeks .
Among the facilities with active outbreaks , the largest is at Escondido Post Acute Rehab , a facility that offers both short-term recovery stays and longer-term resident care and has been open since 1967 , according to its website .
The newest outbreak makes Escondido Post Acute the top skilled nursing facility for cumulative novel coronavirus cases among residents since the beginning of the pandemic , and ties it with La Fuente post Acute @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Center in the state ’ s database — for the most cumulative cases among healthcare workers .
Escondido Post Acute facility administrator Rob Zitsman declined to answer questions about the outbreak .
In an email to the San Diego Union-Tribune , he wrote “ Thank you for your interest in our facility .
I will not be participating in any interviews .
My attention is focused on the well-being of our residents and staff.
” As of last Wednesday , fewer than 11 residents and no healthcare workers at Escondido Post Acute had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the California Department of Public Health database .
The state does not report exact COVID-19 statistics for categories with 10 or fewer cases at skilled nursing facilities .
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reported last week 441,473 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among nursing home residents and 377,228 cases among staff across the country as of Dec. 13 .
That ’ s up from the Dec. 6 report of 409,997 resident cases and 350,711 staff cases .
Novel coronavirus infections have caused more than 86,000 nursing home resident deaths and more than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ California , CMS reports that 32,123 nursing home residents have contracted the virus , up from the previous week ’ s total of 29,603 .
There have been 5,014 nursing home residents who have died from the virus throughout the state .
In the county ’ s weekly press briefing on Wednesday , Wooten reported that 2,044 skilled nursing residents and 1,301 staff members in San Diego County have tested positive for the virus , up from last week ’ s report of 1,744 and 1,105 , respectively .
Thus far , 239 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ died from the novel coronavirus in San Diego County , including nine new deaths reported by county officials Wednesday .
Deaths related to skilled nursing facility outbreaks account for just over 18 % of the total number of novel coronavirus deaths in the county .
Monte Vista Lodge in Lemon Grove is the only facility that has still not reported a single case of the virus among either a resident or a healthcare worker , according to California Department of Public Health data .

A woman outside Escondido Post Acute Rehab waves to the staff caring for her 100-year-old mother with COVID-19 on Thursday.
On Christmas Eve morning, a woman stood outside Escondido Post Acute Rehab, talking through a window with her 100-year-old mother, a resident of the facility who has been diagnosed with COVID-19.
The two women spoke over the phone for about 15 minutes, waving at one another as two healthcare workers wearing personal protective equipment worked in the room. The daughter said she was checking on her mom and trying to find out how she was doing after testing positive for the virus while recovering from a dislocated shoulder.
Last week, the nursing home earned the distinction of having the largest active outbreak in a skilled nursing facility in San Diego County.
As of Wednesday, Escondido Post Acute had 111 residents and 70 healthcare workers who had the novel coronavirus out of a total of 139 residents and 81 staff who had tested positive there since the beginning of the pandemic. The facility has a maximum bed count of 180, according to data from the California Department of Public Health.
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Facilities experiencing staffing shortages due to COVID-19 infections, other illnesses or hiring issues can borrow staff members from other nursing homes or request support from HealthCorp — a medical team established by the state in April 2020 to meet additional healthcare needs during the pandemic — the National Guard and emergency medical technician units, as needed.
The National Guard deployed to two San Diego county facilities — Stanford Court Nursing Center in Santee in October and Villa Las Palmas Healthcare Center in El Cajon in November — but there are no current or upcoming missions in the county, Public Affairs and Media Relations Director Lt. Col. Jonathan M. Shiroma said via email.
A county spokesperson was unable to confirm whether Escondido Post Acute or any other facility had received additional support staff in December.
The women conversing through the window at Escondido Post Acute represent one of many families who remain apart this holiday season as case rates of the coronavirus continue to climb and the regional stay-at-home order remains in place. Most nursing home visitations have not been allowed for more than a month, since San Diego County was placed in the state’s most restrictive tier in mid-November.
Skilled nursing facilities in San Diego County are now facing the greatest number of active outbreaks since the beginning of the pandemic, though relief may be in sight as nursing home vaccinations , through a partnership with CVS and Walgreens pharmacies, are set to begin Monday.
Public health officer Wilma Wooten announced last Wednesday that there were 48 active outbreaks in skilled nursing facilities, including 16 new ones since last week’s report , bringing the total of novel coronavirus outbreaks to 133.
Unlike outbreaks in community settings, which are defined as three or more related cases from separate households, outbreaks at skilled nursing facilities are deemed active when one resident or healthcare worker from the facility tests positive for the novel coronavirus. An outbreak is deemed inactive once no one has tested positive for at least two weeks.
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Among the facilities with active outbreaks, the largest is at Escondido Post Acute Rehab, a facility that offers both short-term-recovery stays and longer-term resident care and has been open since 1967, according to its website.
The newest outbreak makes Escondido Post Acute the top skilled nursing facility for cumulative novel coronavirus cases among residents since the beginning of the pandemic, and ties it with La Fuente Post Acute in Vista — known as Astor Healthcare Center in the state’s database — for the most cumulative cases among healthcare workers.
Escondido Post Acute facility administrator Rob Zitsman declined to answer questions about the outbreak. In an email to the San Diego Union-Tribune, he wrote, “Thank you for your interest in our facility. I will not be participating in any interviews. My attention is focused on the well-being of our residents and staff.”
As of last Wednesday, fewer than 11 residents and no healthcare workers at Escondido Post Acute had died from the virus, according to the California Department of Public Health database. The state does not report exact COVID-19 statistics for categories with 10 or fewer cases at skilled nursing facilities.
The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reported last week 441,473 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among nursing home residents and 377,228 cases among staff across the country as of Dec. 13.
That’s up from the Dec. 6 report of 409,997 resident cases and 350,711 staff cases.
Novel coronavirus infections have caused more than 86,000 nursing home resident deaths and over 1,200 healthcare worker deaths nationwide.
In California, CMS reports that 32,123 nursing home residents have contracted the virus, up from the previous week’s total of 29,603. There have been 5,014 nursing home residents who have died from the virus throughout the state.
In the county’s weekly news briefing on Wednesday, Wooten reported that 2,044 skilled nursing residents and 1,301 staff members in San Diego County had tested positive for the virus, up from last week’s report of 1,744 and 1,105, respectively.
Thus far, 239 skilled nursing facility residents and staff have died from the novel coronavirus in San Diego County, including nine new deaths reported by county officials Wednesday. Deaths related to skilled nursing facility outbreaks account for just over 18% of the total number of novel coronavirus deaths in the county.
Mapp writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.