latimes--2020-03-05--Prop. 13 school bond measure appears headed for defeat. How did that happen?

A combination of confusing messages and an unfortunate name contributed to what appears to be the first failure of a state school bond measure in a quarter of a century , education and public policy experts said Wednesday .
Proposition 13 would have raised $ 15 billion from general obligation bonds for preschools , K-12 schools , community colleges and state universities .
Although ballots were still being counted in Los Angeles County and the statewide tally is not complete , the “ no ” vote led , 56 % to 44 % , with virtually all precincts reporting at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ California secretary of state .
“ It ’ s certainly one of the big surprises of last night that a state bond on a ballot in ... the Democratic presidential primary with Bernie Sanders leading all the other candidates failed to reach majority support , ” Mark Baldassare , president of the Public Policy Institute of California , said Wednesday .
Baldassare said that high Democratic turnout and a good economy were expected to help the measure , and that historically voters have supported funding for schools .
The last time a school @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The first question that I have ... is , is the fact that the bond measure failed some indication of nervousness that voters are having about the economy ?
” he said .
The measure — which had no relation to the landmark 1978 Proposition 13 that capped property tax increases — would have funded safety repairs , lead testing and remediation , and construction of new classrooms , among other school projects .
Nine billion dollars would have gone to preschool through K-12 schools , with priority given to districts that were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ high shares of low-income students , English-language learners , and foster youth .
The remaining $ 6 billion would have been split evenly among community colleges and the Cal State and University of California systems .
In the weeks leading up to the vote , a statewide survey by the Public Policy Institute of California showed that only a slim majority , 51 % , of likely voters supported Proposition 13 .
Of those , fewer than half said the outcome was “ very important ” to them , which Baldassare said may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the measure .
Others said that the name of the measure and confusion about its effect on property taxes led to its demise .
“ There ’ s no other proposition number in the history of California that resonates in voters ’ minds like 1978 ’ s Proposition 13 .
It ’ s notorious and infamous , ” said Jeff Vincent , a director at the Center for Cities and Schools at UC Berkeley .
Compounding the confusion is a measure that appears headed for the November ballot that would modify the original @ @ @ @ @ @ @ raise commercial property taxes to fund schools and other local services .
“ So you have various mailers and messaging talking about Prop .
13 ... but they ’ re different Prop .
13s , ” Vincent said .
“ Confusion is the friend of the ‘ no ’ vote.
” On Wednesday , Assemblymember Patrick O ’ Donnell ( D-Long Beach ) , who co-authored the bill that put the bond on the ballot , announced that he will introduce legislation to retire the use of the number 13 on future ballot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ misled.
” Opponents of the school bond measure attacked it by focusing on the possibility that it could pave the way for local property taxes to go up , capitalizing on California residents ’ worries over housing costs and property taxes in an already expensive state .
A provision in the measure would have increased the amount school districts could borrow through local bonds , which require voter approval and are repaid by property owners .
The $ 15 billion in general obligation bonds , however , would have been paid back , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s general fund over 35 years , without adding a new tax on voters .
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn.
, named for the man behind the original Proposition 13 , was the only registered opposition to the bond and seized on the possibility of increased local bonds in its messaging .
“ In social media this was blasted all over the place , ” said Jeff Freitas , president of the California Federation of Teachers , which endorsed the measure .
“ There ’ s a lot of misinformation out there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opponents wanted.
” The measure may also have suffered from a lack of key support , observers said .
Los Angeles Unified School District — the largest district in the state , located in the most populous county — did not campaign in favor of the measure , which may have offered only limited aid to the district while reducing some of the revenue it takes in from developer fees paid to the district when new multi-family housing is built .
“ Was there an effort to convince L.A. voters ?
” Baldassare @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voices .
”

A combination of confusing messages and an unfortunate name contributed to what appears to be the first failure of a state school bond measure in a quarter of a century, education and public policy experts said Wednesday.
Proposition 13 would have raised $15 billion from general obligation bonds for preschools, K-12 schools, community colleges and state universities. Although ballots were still being counted in Los Angeles County and the statewide tally is not complete, the “no” vote led, 56% to 44%, with virtually all precincts reporting at least partial numbers, according to the California secretary of state.
“It’s certainly one of the big surprises of last night that a state bond on a ballot in ... the Democratic presidential primary with Bernie Sanders leading all the other candidates failed to reach majority support,” Mark Baldassare, president of the Public Policy Institute of California, said Wednesday.
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Voters use the new voting machines at Wilshire Park Elementary School in the Mid-Wilshire neighborhood on March 3, 2020. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Baldassare said that high Democratic turnout and a good economy were expected to help the measure, and that historically voters have supported funding for schools. The last time a school bond failed was in 1994.
“The first question that I have ... is, is the fact that the bond measure failed some indication of nervousness that voters are having about the economy?” he said.
The measure — which had no relation to the landmark 1978 Proposition 13 that capped property tax increases — would have funded safety repairs, lead testing and remediation, and construction of new classrooms, among other school projects. Nine billion dollars would have gone to preschool through K-12 schools, with priority given to districts that were unable to raise money locally and served high shares of low-income students, English-language learners, and foster youth. The remaining $6 billion would have been split evenly among community colleges and the Cal State and University of California systems.
In the weeks leading up to the vote, a statewide survey by the Public Policy Institute of California showed that only a slim majority, 51%, of likely voters supported Proposition 13. Of those, fewer than half said the outcome was “very important” to them, which Baldassare said may have indicated a lack of urgency around the measure.
Others said that the name of the measure and confusion about its effect on property taxes led to its demise.
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“There’s no other proposition number in the history of California that resonates in voters’ minds like 1978’s Proposition 13. It’s notorious and infamous,” said Jeff Vincent, a director at the Center for Cities and Schools at UC Berkeley.
Compounding the confusion is a measure that appears headed for the November ballot that would modify the original Proposition 13 by making it easier to raise commercial property taxes to fund schools and other local services.
“So you have various mailers and messaging talking about Prop. 13 ... but they’re different Prop. 13s,” Vincent said. “Confusion is the friend of the ‘no’ vote.”
On Wednesday, Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell (D-Long Beach), who co-authored the bill that put the bond on the ballot, announced that he will introduce legislation to retire the use of the number 13 on future ballot measures “to ensure voters are not misled.”
Opponents of the school bond measure attacked it by focusing on the possibility that it could pave the way for local property taxes to go up, capitalizing on California residents’ worries over housing costs and property taxes in an already expensive state.
A provision in the measure would have increased the amount school districts could borrow through local bonds, which require voter approval and are repaid by property owners. The $15 billion in general obligation bonds, however, would have been paid back, with interest, out of the state’s general fund over 35 years, without adding a new tax on voters.
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., named for the man behind the original Proposition 13, was the only registered opposition to the bond and seized on the possibility of increased local bonds in its messaging.
“In social media this was blasted all over the place,” said Jeff Freitas, president of the California Federation of Teachers, which endorsed the measure. “There’s a lot of misinformation out there, and that’s what the opponents wanted.”
The measure may also have suffered from a lack of key support, observers said. Los Angeles Unified School District — the largest district in the state, located in the most populous county — did not campaign in favor of the measure, which may have offered only limited aid to the district while reducing some of the revenue it takes in from developer fees paid to the district when new multi-family housing is built.
“Was there an effort to convince L.A. voters?” Baldassare asked. “You need those trusted voices.”


latimes--2020-03-05--On Grand Princess, confusion, missteps reigned as coronavirus spread, passengers say

As authorities race to track down thousands of passengers who traveled last month on a cruise ship linked to a coronavirus outbreak , passengers on the vessel — both current and those exposed earlier — say the response by the company and health officials has been filled with missteps .
In particular , passengers interviewed by the Los Angeles Times said the company , Princess Cruises , was lax on health screening protocols prior to boarding and withheld information about the risks they faced , even as the ship ’ s condition became international news .
At least one California @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Grand Princess last month in San Francisco .
The ship was scheduled to return to San Francisco again Wednesday , but it ’ s been held offshore , where authorities plan to check on a reported 10 crew members and 11 passengers with symptoms of the virus .
“ I found out from CNN , ” said a person currently on the ship who asked not to be identified , speaking about the situation on board .
The latest contagion concerns stem from a Princess Cruise trip beginning Feb. 11 from San Francisco @ @ @ @ @ @ @ board the Grand Princess , according to Gov .
Gavin Newsom , who gave an update Wednesday on the search for those passengers .
Newsom said about half were from California .
On Wednesday , California reported its first death from the coronavirus , a 71-year-old Northern California man with underlying medical conditions who had been on the cruise , according to health officials .
Another passenger , a resident of Sonoma County , has been hospitalized with the virus .
In a statement , Princess Cruises said it had been informed the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investigating a cluster of cases involving the ship and was working with the federal agency .
The company said 62 guests on the Mexico voyage had stayed aboard for the passage to Hawaii .
They are currently quarantined in their cabins , according to a statement from the cruise line .
Newsom said the boat would not be allowed to dock in San Francisco until passengers deemed at risk had been tested for the virus .
The outbreak of coronavirus is the second for Princess Cruises .
Nearly 700 passengers on the Diamond @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus weeks ago , forcing a massive quarantine , including about 300 Americans who were recently released from military bases after completing a 14-day isolation period .
In the more recent incident , two people currently on the Grand Princess , which is in international waters about a day out from the Bay Area , said the cruise line failed to inform them in a timely manner that the ship could be held offshore until testing is completed .
That news reached them Wednesday around 9 p.m. via an announcement from the ship @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Newsom said it at a news conference .
One female passenger , who asked to remain anonymous to avoid alarming family and friends , told The Times it was “ sad and scary ” to learn the information from a reporter before an official announcement had been made on the ship .
She said earlier events aboard had been canceled with little explanation .
“ Anything [ with ] a large group gathering is being canceled , ” she said Wednesday afternoon .
“ You have never heard a cruise ship go silent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ announcements come on over the PA system.
” Princess Cruises spokeswoman Negin Kamali confirmed Wednesday evening that the company was “ developing communication right now to inform the guests , ” but had not done so before the news conference .
Guests on the ship said they were told late Wednesday night that about 100 people would be tested for the virus , with kits expected to arrive by Thursday morning via helicopter .
“ No one will be allowed to leave the ship until results are back , ” said the female @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
” Newsom said Wednesday it ’ s possible the ship could be diverted to another port , depending on the results of the testing .
Despite the large numbers of passengers who disembarked after the Mexico voyage , the spread of the virus on land could be contained , he added .
“ I ’ m not naive about the scope of literally hundreds and hundreds of people , but we have the capacity to do this , ” Newsom said .
“ By this evening , we will have contacted every @ @ @ @ @ @ @ came off this cruise .
They will have their contact information and begin a process to contact those individuals.
” But that process will likely take days , if not longer , given the number of passengers .
And assigning county health departments the duty could present challenges as many already are stretched responding to the crisis .
California now has the largest outbreak of coronavirus cases in the United States : The virus has been reported in 12 counties and has sickened more than 50 people .
In this most recent incident @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Mexico to San Francisco on Feb. 21 .
They said they began receiving emails from Princess Cruises on Wednesday informing them of the potential exposure and including a link to information from the CDC .
Frank Tallarico received the email Wednesday at about 4:30 a.m. in his home in Pittsburgh .
He said he told his husband , Kyle Cunningham , “ You are not going to believe this.
” The couple called their county health department because both had symptoms of the virus .
They were immediately tested and are under @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But they have little idea when that will be , or if the quarantine will remain in place even if they do not test positive for the virus .
“ We were told we need two negative tests , ” Tallarico said , taking a break from watching Netflix .
Tallarico said he worried he might have already passed the virus onto others .
He and Cunningham flew back to Pennsylvania after the cruise , stopping over in Detroit .
He is frustrated that he has not heard more from the cruise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and tweeting to the company .
“ Princess has not called us back today with any information , ” Tallarico said .
“ We haven ’ t heard anything.
” Mark Cadiz and his wife Judy were on the Grand Princess to Mexico celebrating her 50th birthday .
He found out from the news that he had been exposed , he said .
“ No one has contacted [ us ] , ” he said .
“ I expect somebody might.
” On Wednesday , the Cadizes were in a hotel in Oakland @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Both of them are ill , he said .
Cadiz said he had been sick since Thursday with chest congestion and sinus problems bad enough that he had stayed home from work for four days .
“ I am wheezing in my sleep , ” Cadiz said .
“ It wakes me up.
” Cadiz said they passed the illness to their daughter , who runs a restaurant .
After hearing about the possible exposure , Cadiz said he planned to seek medical attention Thursday .
“ It hit me full force @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
“ Now that I know there is a connection I am going to take care of it.
” At least one person who should have been on official lists was not .
Sacramento resident Jeff Casalengo was on the cruise with his wife , Lizbeth Galdamez .
On Friday , he came down with a cough in his lungs , he said .
He ’ s been taking Nyquil to sleep and allergy medicine in the day , and working his job installing fire sprinklers .
“ I assumed it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Thursday , after receiving the email from Princess Cruises , he called his county health department .
They told Casalengo he was not on the list of ship passengers they had received , and didn ’ t know if he met the criteria to be tested .
“ They said they will call me if I need to be tested , ” said Casalengo .
“ I probably don ’ t have it , but it would be nice to know for sure.
” Casalengo said he ’ s also worried about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the cruise , one of the first things he did was take his elderly father to see the movie “ 1917.
” A few days later , he visited a relative that has a lung condition .
Now , with uncertainty looming , he doesn ’ t know whether he should self-quarantine .
“ I want to do the right thing , but I really don ’ t know , ” he said .
“ It would suck to stay home and not be paid because they don ’ t want to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tallarico , the Pittsburgh passenger , also raised concerns about the ship ’ s boarding protocols .
The Grand Princess arrived in San Francisco late , passengers said .
Multiple people said they were told a passenger on the ship , which was coming from Hawaii , suffered a heart attack , causing the ship to return to that port .
When it finally arrived in the Bay Area , passengers for the Mexico cruise were anxious and waiting .
“ It was so chaotic , like they were really in a bad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ship remained in port less than 11 hours , according to data from MarineTraffic .
Both Casalengo and Tallarico said they received emails prior to boarding outlining precautions related to coronavirus .
The Diamond Princess infection , said Tallarico , was on everybody ’ s mind .
Casalengo said based on the cruise company ’ s communication , he expected to go through a preboarding screening that could include having his temperature taken .
But Casalengo and Tallarico , the passenger from Pittsburgh , said boarding was rushed and screening was limited to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or had traveled to an area of concern .
“ They didn ’ t take the precautions we thought they were going to take , ” said Casalengo .
Kamalil , the spokesperson for Princess Cruises , said the protocol for more stringent health screenings , such as taking temperatures , is only used in places with known outbreaks or with passengers with risk factors , and that all normal protocols were followed in boarding the Grand Princess .
She said she was not immediately familiar with what the boarding email to passengers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s an unsettling ending to a cruise he enjoyed .
He doesn ’ t know what to expect next for himself , but he thinks containment will be hard .
“ It ’ s on the West Coast now , ” he said .
“ It ’ s here.
” Times reporters Taryn Luna , Mary Gorgione and Thomas Suh Lauder contributed to this report

A cruise line tied to California’s latest coronavirus outbreak is coming under criticism from its own passengers for health-screening lapses, and some also fault medical authorities for not taking their reported symptoms seriously after they left the ship.
Passengers interviewed by The Times said the company, Princess Cruises, didn’t follow adequate health screening protocols and withheld information about the risks they faced, even as the ship’s condition became international news.
A 75-year-old California man died Wednesday, becoming the state’s first COVID-19 fatality. On Thursday, police in Santa Clara County announced the death of a second Californian who had been on the same cruise as the first victim and probably died from the coronavirus.
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“What annoys me is their press release says they do all these procedures for the safety of their customers, right?” asked Ter Soloman, a passenger on a recent voyage of the Grand Princess from San Francisco to Mexico. “There is no health screening other than signing a little piece of paper.”
The ship was off the coast of California on Thursday, and passengers were asked to remain in their cabins with all public activities canceled, according to people aboard on the ship and Princess Cruises. Fewer than 100 test kits to check passengers and crew for the virus had been delivered hours earlier via helicopter.
Route of the Grand Princess (Thomas Suh Lauder / Los Angeles Times)
Company spokeswoman Negin Kamali said they had no information on when results might be available or when the vessel would be allowed to dock, but a passenger said results were anticipated the next day at the earliest.
Roughly 3,500 are currently on the ship. Of those, 21 passengers and crew have symptoms of the virus, and 62 passengers traveled on the Mexican leg of the cruise and may have been exposed.
Authorities suspect the outbreak on the Grand Princess started before it docked in San Francisco on Feb. 21, with some passengers disembarking before the ship moved on to Mexico. About half of the 2,500 passengers onboard were from California, said Gov. Gavin Newsom. In a briefing Wednesday, he said authorities were working to quickly locate all those who disembarked.
The investigation of the ship’s passengers Thursday came as San Francisco reported its first cases of the new coronavirus. Four more cases were reported in Los Angeles County, bringing the county’s total to 11, with six more in Santa Clara County, making 20 cases there. Several of the new cases suggest the virus is spreading in the community, according to Bay Area health authorities.
Multiple passengers who spoke with The Times said the cruise was troubled from the outset.. The ship was delayed more than half a day by a medical emergency that forced it to return to a Hawaiian port. By the time it arrived in San Francisco Bay, “it was hectic, people were tired,” said Frank Tallarico, who was traveling with his husband, Kyle Cunningham.
Soloman said that despite being asked to self-certify they were healthy, he and his wife, Ella, noticed people “coughing and hacking in line,” and were concerned by a lack of action on the part of the crew.
“We are looking at each other thinking, ‘ Wouldn’t you think a staff would come up and say we’d like to interview you before you check in?’ ”
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Jeff Casalengo, traveling with his wife, Judy, said he received an email prior to boarding outlining precautions related to coronavirus.
Casalengo said that based on the cruise company’s communication, he expected to go through a preboarding screening that could include having his temperature taken.
But “they didn’t take the precautions we thought they were going to take,” Casalengo said.
Kamali, the Princess Cruises spokeswoman, said the protocol for more stringent health screenings, such as taking temperatures, is used only in places with known outbreaks or with passengers with risk factors, and that all normal protocols were followed in boarding the Grand Princess. She said she was not immediately familiar with what the boarding email to passengers said.
“I found out from CNN,” said a person currently on the ship who asked not to be identified, speaking about the situation onboard.
Newsom said the boat would not be allowed to dock in San Francisco until passengers deemed at risk had been tested for the virus.
The outbreak of coronavirus is the second for Princess Cruises. Nearly 700 passengers on the Diamond Princess in Japan were potentially exposed to coronavirus weeks ago, forcing a massive quarantine, including about 300 Americans who were recently released from military bases after completing a 14-day isolation period.
In the more recent incident, two people currently on the Grand Princess, which is in international waters about a day out from the Bay Area, said the cruise line failed to inform them in a timely manner that the ship could be held offshore until testing is completed. That news reached them Wednesday around 9 p.m. via an announcement from the ship’s captain, five hours after Newsom said it at a news conference.
One female passenger, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid alarming family and friends, told The Times it was “sad and scary” to learn the information from a reporter before an official announcement had been made on the ship. She said earlier events aboard had been canceled with little explanation.
“Anything [with] a large group gathering is being canceled,” she said Wednesday afternoon. “You have never heard a cruise ship go silent when [the captain’s] announcements come on over the PA system.”
Kamali confirmed Wednesday evening that Princess Cruises was “developing communication right now to inform the guests,” but had not done so before the news conference.
Guests on the ship said they were told late Wednesday night that about 100 people would be tested for the virus, with kits expected to arrive by Thursday morning via helicopter.
“No one will be allowed to leave the ship until results are back,” said the female passenger. “How long is that?”
On Wednesday, Newsom said that, “By this evening, we will have contacted every county health official that has someone who came off this cruise.”
But that process will probably take days, if not longer, given the number of passengers. And assigning county health departments the duty could present challenges as many already are stretched responding to the crisis. California now has the largest outbreak of coronavirus cases in the United States: The virus has been reported in at least 13 counties and has sickened more than 60 people statewide, according to the state Department of Public Health.
Thursday evening, multiple people who had been on the cruise said they had not heard from any health officials, and three said they had attempted to self-report themselves to county health departments and been turned away from testing.
Passengers who exited the Grand Princess on Feb. 21 said they began receiving emails from Princess Cruises on Wednesday informing them of the potential exposure and including a link to information from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Tallarico received the email about 4:30 a.m. in his home in Pittsburgh. He said he told his husband, Cunningham, “You are not going to believe this.”
The couple called their county health department because both had symptoms of the virus. They were immediately tested and are under house quarantine while the results come back. But they have little idea when that will be, or if the quarantine will remain in place even if they do not test positive for the virus.
“We were told we need two negative tests,” Tallarico said, taking a break from watching Netflix.
Tallarico said he worried he might have already passed the virus on to others. He and Cunningham flew back to Pennsylvania after the cruise, stopping over in Detroit. He is frustrated that he has not heard more from the cruise line about the exposure, despite calling and tweeting to the company.
“Princess has not called us back today with any information,” Tallarico said. “We haven’t heard anything.”
Mark Cadiz and his wife, Judy, were on the Grand Princess to Mexico celebrating her 50th birthday. He found out from the news that he had been exposed, he said.
“No one has contacted [us],” he said. “I expect somebody might.”
On Wednesday, the Cadizes were in a hotel in Oakland, where they had traveled for business.
Both of them are ill, he said. Cadiz said he had been sick since Thursday with chest congestion and sinus problems bad enough that he had stayed home from work for four days.
“I am wheezing in my sleep,” Cadiz said. “It wakes me up.”
Cadiz said they passed the illness to their daughter, who runs a restaurant. After hearing about the possible exposure, Cadiz said he planned to seek medical attention Thursday.
“It hit me full force about an hour ago,” he said. “Now that I know there is a connection, I am going to take care of it.”
At least one person who should have been on official lists was not.
Sacramento resident Jeff Casalengo was on the cruise with his wife.. On Friday, he came down with a cough in his lungs, he said.
He’s been taking NyQuil to sleep and allergy medicine in the day, and working his job installing fire sprinklers.
“I assumed it was allergies,” he said.
On Thursday, after receiving the email from Princess Cruises, he called his county health department. They told Casalengo he was not on the list of ship passengers they had received, and didn’t know if he met the criteria to be tested.
“They said they will call me if I need to be tested,” said Casalengo. “I probably don’t have it, but it would be nice to know for sure.”
Casalengo said he’s also worried about spreading the virus. When he returned from the cruise, one of the first things he did was take his elderly father to see the movie “1917.” A few days later, he visited a relative that has a lung condition. Now, with uncertainty looming, he doesn’t know whether he should self-quarantine.
“I want to do the right thing, but I really don’t know,” he said. “It would suck to stay home and not be paid because they don’t want to test people for it.”
For Casalengo, it’s an unsettling ending to a cruise he enjoyed. He doesn’t know what to expect next for himself, but he thinks containment will be hard.
“It’s on the West Coast now,” he said. “It’s here.”
Times staff writers Taryn Luna, Mary Forgione and Thomas Suh Lauder contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-03-05--Gunman opens fire at Tulare funeral, killing 1 and wounding 5, including a child

A gunman opened fire on a group of people who had gathered to honor a dead loved one in Tulare on Wednesday night , killing one person and wounding five others , including a 7-year-old girl , police said .
Witnesses told police that a man walked up and fired multiple rounds at the group of about 50 to 60 people at an apartment complex shortly before 10:30 p.m .
The celebration-of-life gathering was being held for a man who was killed in a car crash several days earlier .
Tulare Police Sgt .
Edward Hinojosa described the scene as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were running in every direction , some trying to attend to family members who had been struck , ” he told the Fresno Bee .
A 23-year-old man was shot and killed .
A 7-year-old girl suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to a children ’ s hospital .
A woman who suffered a wound from a bullet grazing her leg was treated at the scene .
Two men and a woman were wounded and taken to hospitals for treatment .
They are expected to survive their injuries , Hinojosa said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Officers were still searching for the gunman early Thursday and provided no description .
Investigators suspect the shooting may have been gang-related .

Tulare Police investigate a shooting Wednesday night near the intersection of Tulare Avenue and I Street that left one man dead at the scene and five others with gunshot-related injuries, including a 7-year-old girl.
A gunman opened fire on a group of people who had gathered to honor a dead loved one in Tulare on Wednesday night, killing one person and wounding five others, including a 7-year-old girl, police said.
Witnesses told police that a man walked up and fired multiple rounds at the group of about 50 to 60 people at an apartment complex shortly before 10:30 p.m. The celebration-of-life gathering was being held for a man who was killed in a car crash several days earlier.
Tulare Police Sgt. Edward Hinojosa described the scene as chaotic when officers arrived.
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“People were running in every direction, some trying to attend to family members who had been struck,” he told the Fresno Bee.
A 23-year-old man was shot and killed. A 7-year-old girl suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to a children’s hospital. A woman who suffered a wound from a bullet grazing her leg was treated at the scene. Two men and a woman were wounded and taken to hospitals for treatment. They are expected to survive their injuries, Hinojosa said. None of the victims was identified.
Officers were still searching for the gunman early Thursday and provided no description. Investigators suspect the shooting may have been gang-related.


latimes--2020-03-05--Grand Princess cruise ship at center of coronavirus fight amid concerns about spread

Gov .
Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency over the novel coronavirus after a California man died after falling ill with the virus while on a cruise ship .
Officials are trying to locate hundreds of other Californians who disembarked from the Grand Princess ship in San Francisco last month after a trip to Mexico .
Officials want to determine whether they also might have contracted the virus .
That same ship , after a subsequent trip to Hawaii , canceled its stop in Baja California and was scheduled to return early to San Francisco on Wednesday , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so public health officials could screen everyone onboard , the governor said .
Some passengers on the vessel — both current and those exposed earlier — told The Times the response by the company and health officials has been filled with missteps .
In particular , passengers interviewed by the Times said the company , Princess Cruises , was lax on health screening protocols prior to boarding and withheld information about the risks they faced , even as the ship ’ s condition became international news .
The virus has now been reported @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has sickened more than 50 people .
Newsom said he felt confident that the state could prevent the virus from being spread by passengers of the cruise who already had returned to California .
“ We have the resources , ” Newsom said .
“ We have the capacity .
By this evening , we will have contacted every county health official that has someone who came off this cruise .
They will have their contact information and begin a process to contact those individuals.
” Newsom said his emergency declaration is intended @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the spread of the coronavirus by allowing state agencies to more easily procure equipment and services , share information on patients and alleviate restrictions on the use of state-owned properties and facilities .
“ This proclamation , I want to point out , is not about money , ” Newsom said of the emergency declaration .
“ It ’ s about resourcefulness .
It ’ s about our ability to add tools to the tool kit.
” Placer County public health officials announced that patient who had tested positive for COVID-19 after returning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ died .
The individual , later identified as a 71-year-old Rocklin resident , had underlying health conditions and was the county ’ s second confirmed case of COVID-19 , reported Tuesday night .
Officials said close contacts of the patient were being quarantined and monitored for the illness .
The person ’ s likely exposure occurred during travel on a Princess Cruises ship that departed Feb. 10 from San Francisco and sailed to Mexico , returning Feb. 21 , officials said .
The patient tested positive Tuesday and had been placed in isolation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The person probably had minimal community exposure between returning from the cruise and arriving at the hospital by ambulance Thursday , health officials said .
Ten Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers and five emergency responders , who were exposed before the patient was put in isolation , are now in quarantine .
None of those 15 workers is exhibiting symptoms , officials said .
It ’ s possible that other cruise passengers may have been exposed , officials said .
Placer County Public Health is working closely with Sacramento County Public Health and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to identify and contact other cruise passengers .
By one estimate , more than 50 % of the roughly 2,500 passengers who traveled from San Francisco to Mexico and back on the cruise ship with the Placer County victim are Californians , Newsom said .
“ We extend our deepest condolences to the loved ones of this patient , ” Placer County health officer Dr. Aimee Sisson said .
“ While we have expected more cases , this death is an unfortunate milestone in our efforts to fight this disease , and one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ While most cases of COVID-19 exhibit mild or moderate symptoms , this tragic death underscores the urgent need for us to take extra steps to protect residents who are particularly vulnerable to developing more serious illness , including elderly persons and those with underlying health conditions.
” Sisson said the resident first developed symptoms while on the cruise and continued to show symptoms while traveling through the Port of San Francisco .
The individual called 911 and was taken to the hospital Thursday , then tested for COVID-19 on Sunday .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ patient died Wednesday morning , Sisson said .
Placer County has six pending tests for COVID-19 , and Sisson said she expects to see cases of community transmission soon .
“ I urge Placer County residents to be vigilant and to take steps to protect themselves , ” Sisson said .
“ Wash your hands .
Wash your hands .
Wash your hands… .
We are not at the point where I would consider canceling events , closing schools or requiring widespread distancing measures , but we do want the public to prepare @ @ @ @ @ @ @ residents have two weeks of supplies on hand in case they are asked to quarantine .
Rocklin Fire Chief Bill Hack said emergency responders are wearing protective masks and goggles when responding to 911 calls until it is clear whether a person has respiratory symptoms that could indicate COVID-19 .
Three of the five emergency responders who have been quarantined related to the Placer County death are Rocklin city firefighters .
“ They ’ re obviously being hyper-vigilant that if they start to become symptomatic they know what to look for and they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hack said .
“ They ’ re in good spirits at this point.
” Placer County is requesting that any other individuals who were on the Grand Princess cruise to Mexico self-quarantine .
Princess Cruises said it was notified by the CDC that it is investigating a small cluster of cases in Northern California among guests who sailed on the Grand Princess Mexican voyage .
The next voyage on the boat was canceled .
The company said 62 guests on that voyage remain onboard for the trip to Hawaii that was returning to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ensenada , Mexico .
Eleven passengers and 10 crew members on the boat were showing symptoms Wednesday , the governor said .
“ That number may significantly understate ” the scope of infection , he said , or “ it may indeed be abundance of caution.
” The state will contact every county health official with passengers in their area by Wednesday night , he said .
Newsom addressed the death shortly after the announcement .
“ Jennifer and I extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones affected by this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said in a statement .
“ The state is working with federal officials to follow up on contact tracing of individuals that may have been exposed to provide treatment and protect public health .
“ This case demonstrates the need for continued local , state and federal partnership to identify and slow the spread of this virus .
California is working around the clock to keep our communities safe , healthy and informed.
” Newsom previously requested that the Legislature make $ 20 million available for the state to respond to the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Health is dipping into its reserves of millions of N95 masks to distribute to healthcare workers on the front lines of the coronavirus fights .
Newsom said Wednesday that a coronavirus lab test is now considered an essential benefit covered by government-sponsored health plans and private insurers .
The governor added he is also extending price gouging protections in response to Amazon vendors ’ taking advantage of people seeking hand sanitizer and other in-demand goods .
Los Angeles County , meanwhile , declared a health emergency Wednesday as the number of coronavirus cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ including six new patients .
None of the new cases are believed to be “ community spread , '' officials said .
All individuals were exposed to COVID-19 through close contacts with others who were infected .
The additional cases were confirmed Tuesday night .
Officials said three of the new cases were travelers who had visited northern Italy , two were family members who had close contact with a person outside of the county who was infected , and one had a job that put them in contact with travelers .
One @ @ @ @ @ @ @ others are isolated at home .
Additionally , the cities of Pasadena and Long Beach are declaring public health emergencies related to the novel coronavirus .
There are currently no confirmed cases of the virus in either city .
The county ’ s move comes as the government has increased testing , which officials have warned will result in the identification of a significant number of new cases .
L.A. joins a growing number of California jurisdictions to take health-emergency action , which is designed to better marshal resources from across government agencies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more focus .
“ I want to reiterate this is not a response rooted in panic , ” L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said at a news briefing .
“ We need every tool at our disposal.
” Supervisor Hilda Solis acknowledged the ongoing spread of misinformation about the virus and xenophobia toward Asian communities .
“ There ’ s been too much misinformation spreading around , ” Solis said .
“ As we expected , it ’ s cultivating fears and leading to racial profiling.
” Los Angeles County will increase its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its public health laboratory .
Officials will begin daily radio briefings for the public , post new guidelines for schools and colleges , and over the next week will send “ technical assistance teams ” to make site visits to temporary housing facilities including homeless shelters .
Officials urged the public to frequently wash their hands , opt for verbal salutations in place of hugs and handshakes and try to maintain a distance of six feet from strangers .
“ We have to be prepared .
We have to protect the well-being of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said .
Officials said they had tested more than two dozen people for COVID-19 before these recent test results came back positive and reiterated that there had been no sign of community spread in the county .
“ I want to reassure everyone — we are not there today , ” L.A. County Department of Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said .
A screener of incoming flights from China and surrounding countries at Los Angeles International Airport is among the new cases that have tested positive for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two sources familiar with the report .
The screener , who is attached to the CDC , last worked Feb. 21 at LAX and , after developing potential symptoms , alerted medical professionals and authorities .
The person was formally identified Tuesday as having the COVID-19 virus and so far has a mild case and is isolated at home .
Family members of the person have also been tested , according to one of the sources .
So far , nothing has been done to change intake at the airport .
Sources say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the screening process .
Marin County health officials Tuesday declared a local health emergency despite there being no cases of coronavirus reported among county residents .
San Francisco , which has no reported cases , and Orange County , which has three cases , declared health emergencies last week .
The move comes amid more sobering news about the spread of the virus in the United States , including nine deaths in Washington state , a new quarantine in the suburbs of New York City and a warning that more cases are on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be prepared for the reality that they , there are going to be more cases in the community , ” said Dr. Robert Redfield , director of the CDC .
“ But I want them to continue their daily lives .
I want them to be mindful of the opportunity again to prepare themselves and their families.
” The World Health Organization announced Tuesday that the global mortality rate from coronavirus had risen to 3.4 % , with more than 3,000 fatalities .
The death rate so far is many times higher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ flu , which is 0.1 % .
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that is at least partly because COVID-19 is a new disease , and no one has built up an immunity to it .
Still , he and other health officials said there was still time to slow the spread of the virus .
Officials say they have learned the coronavirus is less transmissible than the flu , which is often spread by people who are infected yet don ’ t have symptoms .
That doesn ’ t seem to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ There are not yet any vaccines or therapeutics … which is why we must do everything we can to contain it , ” Tedros said .
Earlier reports had pointed to a mortality rate of about 2 % for COVID-19 .
Experts say they suspect all analyses so far have overestimated the disease ’ s fatality rate because milder cases are largely not being diagnosed .
In 80 % of people , the disease causes only mild illness , experts say .
More than 50 people in California have the virus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Santa Clara , Placer and Orange counties .
Kaiser Permanente announced late Tuesday it was treating a patient in Los Angeles .
The city of Berkeley said its case involved an individual who visited a country with an outbreak .
That person has remained at home in a self-imposed quarantine since returning .
“ While the risk of infection remains low , the expanded presence of the virus in our community is a reality we should all prepare for , ” said Berkeley ’ s public health officer , Dr. Lisa Hernandez @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of us in the community can take now to improve basic hygiene and also prepare for a wider spread in the future.
” In Orange County , two cases are pending confirmation from the CDC .
The cases involve a man in his 60s and a woman in her 30s who had both recently traveled to countries with widespread transmission , according to the Orange County Health Care Agency .
Santa Clara County announced three more cases of coronavirus Wednesday , bringing the total count there to 14 — the highest number of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a man who ’ s currently hospitalized .
The source of his exposure to the virus is currently under investigation .
Two other men are close contacts of an existing case .
California is also speeding up testing of possible coronavirus patients .
This more aggressive testing , Newsom said , “ may lead to a more rapid increase in the number of confirmed cases reported .
That is not necessarily a sign that the rate of infection is increasing , but that our ability to test more people more rapidly is leading @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who runs WHO ‘ s emergencies program , pushed back against officials who wanted to “ wave the white flag ” and surrender to the disease ’ s hold .
China took drastic steps to fight the virus , he said , and case numbers are now on the decline there .
Countries such as China and South Korea “ implemented very , very strong measures that have affected their own economies and their own societies , ” Ryan said .
“ It ’ s really a duty of others to use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dr. Anthony Fauci , director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases , said there remained many unknowns about the virus , including the degree to which people who do not express symptoms can transmit it to others .
He said doctors know that it happens but have not yet gauged the extent , a key piece of data that will help determine decisions on how to contain it .
Fauci said that Chinese data are believed to be accurate and that the spread of the virus there is slowing thanks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ never occur in the United States , including stringent travel and public gathering restrictions .
“ They have taken social distancing to its furthest extreme , ” he said .
Times staff writers Noah Bierman , Rong-Gong Lin II , Hannah Fry , Taryn Luna , Phil Willon , Richard Winton and Melody Gutierrez contributed to this report .

Soumya Karlamangla, Colleen Shalby, Taryn Luna, Melody Gutierrez

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency over the novel coronavirus after a California man died after falling ill with the virus while on a cruise ship.
Officials are trying to locate hundreds of other Californians who disembarked from the Grand Princess ship in San Francisco last month after a trip to Mexico. Officials want to determine whether they also might have contracted the virus.
That same ship, after a subsequent trip to Hawaii, canceled its stop in Baja California and was scheduled to return early to San Francisco on Wednesday, but it was being held off the coast so public health officials could screen everyone onboard, the governor said.
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Some passengers on the vessel — both current and those exposed earlier — told The Times the response by the company and health officials has been filled with missteps. In particular, passengers interviewed by the Times said the company, Princess Cruises, was lax on health screening protocols prior to boarding and withheld information about the risks they faced, even as the ship’s condition became international news.
The virus has now been reported in 12 counties in the state and has sickened more than 50 people.
Newsom said he felt confident that the state could prevent the virus from being spread by passengers of the cruise who already had returned to California.
“We have the resources,” Newsom said. “We have the capacity. By this evening, we will have contacted every county health official that has someone who came off this cruise. They will have their contact information and begin a process to contact those individuals.”
Newsom said his emergency declaration is intended to help California prepare for and contain the spread of the coronavirus by allowing state agencies to more easily procure equipment and services, share information on patients and alleviate restrictions on the use of state-owned properties and facilities.
“This proclamation, I want to point out, is not about money,” Newsom said of the emergency declaration. “It’s about resourcefulness. It’s about our ability to add tools to the tool kit.”
Placer County public health officials announced that patient who had tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from a cruise to Mexico last month died. The individual, later identified as a 71-year-old Rocklin resident, had underlying health conditions and was the county’s second confirmed case of COVID-19, reported Tuesday night. Officials said close contacts of the patient were being quarantined and monitored for the illness.
The person’s likely exposure occurred during travel on a Princess Cruises ship that departed Feb. 10 from San Francisco and sailed to Mexico, returning Feb. 21, officials said.
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The patient tested positive Tuesday and had been placed in isolation at Kaiser Permanente Roseville Medical Center.
The person probably had minimal community exposure between returning from the cruise and arriving at the hospital by ambulance Thursday, health officials said. Ten Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers and five emergency responders, who were exposed before the patient was put in isolation, are now in quarantine.
None of those 15 workers is exhibiting symptoms, officials said.
It’s possible that other cruise passengers may have been exposed, officials said. Placer County Public Health is working closely with Sacramento County Public Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to identify and contact other cruise passengers.
By one estimate, more than 50% of the roughly 2,500 passengers who traveled from San Francisco to Mexico and back on the cruise ship with the Placer County victim are Californians, Newsom said.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the loved ones of this patient,” Placer County health officer Dr. Aimee Sisson said. “While we have expected more cases, this death is an unfortunate milestone in our efforts to fight this disease, and one that we never wanted to see.
“While most cases of COVID-19 exhibit mild or moderate symptoms, this tragic death underscores the urgent need for us to take extra steps to protect residents who are particularly vulnerable to developing more serious illness, including elderly persons and those with underlying health conditions.”
Sisson said the resident first developed symptoms while on the cruise and continued to show symptoms while traveling through the Port of San Francisco.
The individual called 911 and was taken to the hospital Thursday, then tested for COVID-19 on Sunday. The results returned positive Tuesday, and the patient died Wednesday morning, Sisson said.
Placer County has six pending tests for COVID-19, and Sisson said she expects to see cases of community transmission soon.
“I urge Placer County residents to be vigilant and to take steps to protect themselves,” Sisson said. “Wash your hands. Wash your hands. Wash your hands…. We are not at the point where I would consider canceling events, closing schools or requiring widespread distancing measures, but we do want the public to prepare for that possibility.”
Sisson recommended that residents have two weeks of supplies on hand in case they are asked to quarantine.
Rocklin Fire Chief Bill Hack said emergency responders are wearing protective masks and goggles when responding to 911 calls until it is clear whether a person has respiratory symptoms that could indicate COVID-19. Three of the five emergency responders who have been quarantined related to the Placer County death are Rocklin city firefighters.
“They’re obviously being hyper-vigilant that if they start to become symptomatic they know what to look for and they know what steps to take,” Hack said. “They’re in good spirits at this point.”
Placer County is requesting that any other individuals who were on the Grand Princess cruise to Mexico self-quarantine.
Princess Cruises said it was notified by the CDC that it is investigating a small cluster of cases in Northern California among guests who sailed on the Grand Princess Mexican voyage.
The next voyage on the boat was canceled.
The company said 62 guests on that voyage remain onboard for the trip to Hawaii that was returning to San Francisco after canceling its stop in Ensenada, Mexico.
Eleven passengers and 10 crew members on the boat were showing symptoms Wednesday, the governor said. “That number may significantly understate” the scope of infection, he said, or “it may indeed be abundance of caution.”
The state will contact every county health official with passengers in their area by Wednesday night, he said.
Newsom addressed the death shortly after the announcement.
“Jennifer and I extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones affected by this death in Placer County,” he said in a statement. “The state is working with federal officials to follow up on contact tracing of individuals that may have been exposed to provide treatment and protect public health.
“This case demonstrates the need for continued local, state and federal partnership to identify and slow the spread of this virus. California is working around the clock to keep our communities safe, healthy and informed.”
Newsom previously requested that the Legislature make $20 million available for the state to respond to the coronavirus and announced the California Department of Public Health is dipping into its reserves of millions of N95 masks to distribute to healthcare workers on the front lines of the coronavirus fights.
Newsom said Wednesday that a coronavirus lab test is now considered an essential benefit covered by government-sponsored health plans and private insurers. The governor added he is also extending price gouging protections in response to Amazon vendors’ taking advantage of people seeking hand sanitizer and other in-demand goods.
Los Angeles County, meanwhile, declared a health emergency Wednesday as the number of coronavirus cases in the county increased to seven, including six new patients.
None of the new cases are believed to be “community spread,”officials said. All individuals were exposed to COVID-19 through close contacts with others who were infected.
The additional cases were confirmed Tuesday night. Officials said three of the new cases were travelers who had visited northern Italy, two were family members who had close contact with a person outside of the county who was infected, and one had a job that put them in contact with travelers.
One patient has been hospitalized, and the others are isolated at home.
Additionally, the cities of Pasadena and Long Beach are declaring public health emergencies related to the novel coronavirus. There are currently no confirmed cases of the virus in either city.
The county’s move comes as the government has increased testing, which officials have warned will result in the identification of a significant number of new cases.
L.A. joins a growing number of California jurisdictions to take health-emergency action, which is designed to better marshal resources from across government agencies and give the fight against the virus more focus.
“I want to reiterate this is not a response rooted in panic,” L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said at a news briefing. “We need every tool at our disposal.”
Supervisor Hilda Solis acknowledged the ongoing spread of misinformation about the virus and xenophobia toward Asian communities.
“There’s been too much misinformation spreading around,” Solis said. “As we expected, it’s cultivating fears and leading to racial profiling.”
Los Angeles County will increase its capacity for testing of the virus at its public health laboratory. Officials will begin daily radio briefings for the public, post new guidelines for schools and colleges, and over the next week will send “technical assistance teams” to make site visits to temporary housing facilities including homeless shelters.
Officials urged the public to frequently wash their hands, opt for verbal salutations in place of hugs and handshakes and try to maintain a distance of six feet from strangers.
“We have to be prepared. We have to protect the well-being of our loved ones and our neighbors,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said.
Officials said they had tested more than two dozen people for COVID-19 before these recent test results came back positive and reiterated that there had been no sign of community spread in the county.
“I want to reassure everyone — we are not there today,” L.A. County Department of Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said.
A screener of incoming flights from China and surrounding countries at Los Angeles International Airport is among the new cases that have tested positive for coronavirus in L.A. County, according to two sources familiar with the report.
The screener, who is attached to the CDC, last worked Feb. 21 at LAX and, after developing potential symptoms, alerted medical professionals and authorities. The person was formally identified Tuesday as having the COVID-19 virus and so far has a mild case and is isolated at home.
Family members of the person have also been tested, according to one of the sources. So far, nothing has been done to change intake at the airport. Sources say the person was wearing protective clothing during the screening process.
Marin County health officials Tuesday declared a local health emergency despite there being no cases of coronavirus reported among county residents. San Francisco, which has no reported cases, and Orange County, which has three cases, declared health emergencies last week.
The move comes amid more sobering news about the spread of the virus in the United States, including nine deaths in Washington state, a new quarantine in the suburbs of New York City and a warning that more cases are on the horizon.
“I want them to be prepared for the reality that they, there are going to be more cases in the community,” said Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC. “But I want them to continue their daily lives. I want them to be mindful of the opportunity again to prepare themselves and their families.”
The World Health Organization announced Tuesday that the global mortality rate from coronavirus had risen to 3.4%, with more than 3,000 fatalities. The death rate so far is many times higher than the mortality rate of the seasonal flu, which is 0.1%. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that is at least partly because COVID-19 is a new disease, and no one has built up an immunity to it.
Still, he and other health officials said there was still time to slow the spread of the virus.
Officials say they have learned the coronavirus is less transmissible than the flu, which is often spread by people who are infected yet don’t have symptoms. That doesn’t seem to be the case for COVID-19, he said.
“There are not yet any vaccines or therapeutics … which is why we must do everything we can to contain it,” Tedros said.
Earlier reports had pointed to a mortality rate of about 2% for COVID-19. Experts say they suspect all analyses so far have overestimated the disease’s fatality rate because milder cases are largely not being diagnosed. In 80% of people, the disease causes only mild illness, experts say.
More than 50 people in California have the virus, with new cases reported in Berkeley and Santa Clara, Placer and Orange counties. Kaiser Permanente announced late Tuesday it was treating a patient in Los Angeles.
The city of Berkeley said its case involved an individual who visited a country with an outbreak. That person has remained at home in a self-imposed quarantine since returning.
“While the risk of infection remains low, the expanded presence of the virus in our community is a reality we should all prepare for,” said Berkeley’s public health officer, Dr. Lisa Hernandez. “There are steps that all of us in the community can take now to improve basic hygiene and also prepare for a wider spread in the future.”
In Orange County, two cases are pending confirmation from the CDC. The cases involve a man in his 60s and a woman in her 30s who had both recently traveled to countries with widespread transmission, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.
Santa Clara County announced three more cases of coronavirus Wednesday, bringing the total count there to 14 — the highest number of cases in the sate.
One is a man who’s currently hospitalized. The source of his exposure to the virus is currently under investigation. Two other men are close contacts of an existing case.
California is also speeding up testing of possible coronavirus patients. This more aggressive testing, Newsom said, “may lead to a more rapid increase in the number of confirmed cases reported. That is not necessarily a sign that the rate of infection is increasing, but that our ability to test more people more rapidly is leading to better detection.”
Dr. Mike Ryan, who runs WHO‘s emergencies program, pushed back against officials who wanted to “wave the white flag” and surrender to the disease’s hold. China took drastic steps to fight the virus, he said, and case numbers are now on the decline there.
Countries such as China and South Korea “implemented very, very strong measures that have affected their own economies and their own societies,” Ryan said. “It’s really a duty of others to use the time that has been bought.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said there remained many unknowns about the virus, including the degree to which people who do not express symptoms can transmit it to others. He said doctors know that it happens but have not yet gauged the extent, a key piece of data that will help determine decisions on how to contain it.
Fauci said that Chinese data are believed to be accurate and that the spread of the virus there is slowing thanks to “draconian” methods that would never occur in the United States, including stringent travel and public gathering restrictions.
“They have taken social distancing to its furthest extreme,” he said.
Times staff writers Noah Bierman, Rong-Gong Lin II , Hannah Fry, Taryn Luna, Phil Willon, Richard Winton and Melody Gutierrez contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-03-06--Coronavirus cases in California top 60, officials warn of greater spread

The number of coronavirus cases in California grew to at least 60 on Thursday as authorities announced what may be the state ’ s second virus-related death in Santa Clara County , where residents are being urged to postpone or cancel large gatherings and events , and minimize work in big groups .
Two of the new cases were the first reported in San Francisco and indicate that the virus is spreading in the community , officials said .
The two , a man in his 90s and a woman in her 40s who are not related , have no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus and had no known contact with a person who has tested positive .
“ We do not know at this point how they were exposed to the virus , ” Dr. Grant Colfax , San Francisco ’ s director of health , said in a statement .
Also on Thursday , Nevada announced its first confirmed case of COVID-19 , in Las Vegas , a man in his 50s who had recently traveled to Washington state .
He is hospitalized in isolation , officials said .
Authorities in Santa Clara County reported @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had been on a cruise with two passengers suspected of having the coronavirus — but cautioned they have not yet confirmed whether he had contracted the virus .
Officers performed CPR on the unresponsive man , who later died , then learned from his family about his cruise travels , said Phan Ngo , chief of the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety .
Five officers who responded to the incident were quarantined “ out of an abundance of caution , ” then allowed to return home later in the day , Ngo said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the number of cases there had grown to 20 from 14 .
Of the county ’ s 20 cases , four are related to travel , nine had contacts with other confirmed COVID-19 patients and seven were believed to have caught it in the community .
“ Our cases to date indicate to us that the risk of exposure to the virus in our community is increasing , ” Dr. Sara Cody , health officer for Santa Clara County and director of the Santa Clara County Public Health Department , said Thursday .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ more stringent recommendations meant to slow the spread of the virus , calling on residents to postpone large gatherings and cancel large events .
Employers should take steps to minimize large group meetings , consider allowing employees to telecommute and stagger work start and end times .
Health officials aren ’ t recommending that schools be closed but said they ’ ll consider such closures on a case-by-case basis if a school employee or student is confirmed to have the coronavirus .
Lowell High School , in San Francisco , announced Thursday it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gatherings for the rest of the week after learning that a relative of one of its students is being treated for COVID-19 .
San Mateo County ’ s health officer , Dr. Scott Morrow , said in a statement Thursday that COVID-19 “ has likely been spreading for weeks , perhaps months.
” “ We now all need to take assertive actions to inhibit the spread of this new virus , ” Morrow said .
Among other steps , Morrow recommends that people stop shaking hands , use a barrier such as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ handles , elevator buttons and other commonly touched surfaces and “ under all circumstances , stop touching your face , eyes , nose , or mouth with your unwashed hands.
” Echoing Santa Clara officials , he said residents should cancel or postpone nonessential gatherings .
In the future , other steps may be needed , Morrow said , including school closures that “ may be extensive and extended , ” rationing of critical supplies and social distancing — that is , staying at least 6 feet away from other people .
Los @ @ @ @ @ @ @ four more cases of the coronavirus among patients who had recently returned from a group trip to northern Italy , bringing the number of cases in the county to 11 .
Three travelers in that group had previously tested positive for the virus .
The San Diego area reported its third case when an employee of an AT & T retail store in Chula Vista tested positive for the virus , the company said Thursday in a statement .
Six stores were closed and deep-cleaned “ out of an abundance of caution , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bay Area , the was being kept offshore amid concerns that more people on board might be sick after it was announced that a 71-year-old male passenger on an earlier voyage had fallen ill and died this week of the virus .
Sonoma County health officials confirmed that a second passenger on the cruise tested positive .
Both patients were in isolation rooms at a hospital .
Health officials said they had a list of Sonoma County residents who were on the cruise , as well as the shuttle to and from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them .
Meanwhile , Gov .
Gavin Newsom and state Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced they were ordering all public and commercial insurance plans to cover the cost of testing for the coronavirus and medically necessary screening .
The orders will ensure that Californians will not have any out-of-pocket expenses for co-pays and deductibles , even if they receive testing and screening at hospital emergency rooms and urgent care facilities , they said .
“ This action means that Californians who fit the testing requirements can receive the test at no cost .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and I ’ m grateful to those health providers who have already stepped up and heeded our call , ” Newsom said in a statement released Thursday afternoon .
When Newsom announced a state of emergency on Wednesday , the governor said the coronavirus lab test is now classified as an essential benefit and public and private healthcare plans , including Medi-Cal , would cover the costs for testing .
Californians without insurance should contact their county public health departments for information about their options for testing and screening , state officials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Vice President Mike Pence acknowledged that the federal government still has not been able to get enough coronavirus tests to hospitals , clinics and health departments around the country .
“ We still have a ways to go , ” Pence said .
But he again promised millions would be on the way soon , predicting that 4 million tests would be distributed by the end of next week .
Pence and other Trump administration officials had promised that 1 million would be distributed by the end of this week , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ occurred .
Washington remains the hardest-hit state , with 70 confirmed cases , including 11 people who have died .
World Health Organization officials said Thursday that it is not too late to beat back the spread of the virus .
Worldwide , there have been 98,382 cases reported globally and 3,383 deaths .
Parts of China — where the outbreak originated — have brought their daily new infection numbers down to the single digits , health officials said .
Eight provinces have not reported any new cases in the last 14 days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ measures , like testing and isolation , are working to control the virus .
Countries need to take proactive steps , said Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove , the WHO ’ s acting head of emerging diseases .
“ You need to look for all of your cases aggressively.
” Times staff writers Anita Chabria , Noam Levey , Rong-Gong Lin II and Phil Willon contributed to this story .

Alex Wigglesworth, Soumya Karlamangla, Tony Barboza

In a growing sign of how coronavirus is disrupting California, Stanford University said Friday night that it will move classes online for the final two weeks of the winter quarter.
Stanford also said large events would be “canceled or adjusted.”
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“The university is actively monitoring the local and global health situation and is taking precautionary measures in an effort to help limit the spread of infection,” officials said in a statement.
The move comes after a faculty member tested positive for the virus.
USC said Friday that it would conduct lectures and seminars online rather than in classrooms for three days next week to test the ability to operate remotely should the coronavirus spread and force the campus to suspend in-person contact. The University of Washington announced Friday it was moving all instruction online for the next two weeks, keeping more than 50,000 students out of classrooms as the death toll from COVID-19 in that region continued to rise.
Meanwhile, coronavirus continued its spread across California and the nation on Friday, with new cases reported from Los Angeles to Placer County, while cruise passengers stuck off the coast of San Francisco were tested amid what appears to be an outbreak on board.
At least seven of California’s cases have been tied to the cruise, including one confirmed death in Placer County.
Speaking at the White House on Friday afternoon, Vice President Mike Pence said a total of 21 people on the Grand Princess have tested positive for coronavirus, including 19 crew members.
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He said the federal government is working with the state of California to bring the cruise ship in to a non-commercial port over the weekend and to quarantine passengers as necessary.
“All passengers will be tested,” the vice president said. “Those that need to be quarantined will be quarantined.”
Pence said 24 people on the cruise ship had tested negative, and one test has been inconclusive.
Meanwhile, L.A. County confirmed two additional cases of the new coronavirus Friday, bringing the total to 13.
That comes as more cases of the virus continue to be reported elsewhere in California and in other states, including Texas, prompting the city of Austin to cancel the massively popular South by Southwest festival.
Of the most recent cases announced in L.A. County, one person is part of a group of travelers who went to northern Italy. Seven other members of that same group had already have tested positive for COVID-19.
The second is a second screener at Los Angeles International Airport. A screener at LAX also was diagnosed with the virus earlier in the week, sources familiar with the matter said. The L.A. County Department of Public Health has asked the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for help investigating those two cases.
The individuals’ close contacts are being self-quarantined in case they also develop symptoms.
The new cases still don’t point to community spread in Los Angeles County, L.A. County Department of Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said.
She estimated that 50 people in the county have been tested for COVID-19 and emphasized that more tests are coming back negative than positive.
The low numbers of tests run in L.A. County so far have been due to limited testing capacity at the lab, not a shortage of test kits, she said. Lab workers had been putting in at least 18-hour days, she said.
On Thursday night, commercial lab LabCorp came online, and on Monday, Quest Diagnostics is expected to begin offering testing as well, she said.
“This is all good news,” Ferrer said. “The limitation of our lab was not the lab kits, but we’re only one lab and we could only process a certain number of tests in one day.”
She said these changes does not mean that everyone will be tested for the virus. Providers will determine which patients with symptoms require testing.
As of Friday, L.A. County expanded its criteria to follow guidelines to test for anyone a doctor recommends, not just people with a travel history to countries with major outbreaks, Ferrer said.
“Now it’s up the individual provider to make that determination,” she said, adding that providers are encouraged to consult CDC criteria.
Yolo County reported its first case of the new virus Friday — a woman who officials think contracted the virus in the community.
The woman has underlying health conditions and has been hospitalized, officials said. She appears to have acquired the virus “through community transmission,” the Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency said in a news release. The agency will monitor the woman’s close personal contacts for symptoms of the illness and said staff is working with healthcare providers to identify potential additional cases.
“Given the rapid spread of COVID-19 around the world, I am not surprised that the virus is in our county,” Dr. Ron Chapman, the county’s public health officer, said in a statement.
The county plans to declare local and health emergencies, the agency said.
Solano and Santa Clara counties also have reported coronavirus cases that are believed to have been contracted through community contact — that is, by people who have not traveled to areas where COVID-19 is widespread or by those who have come in direct contact with another confirmed case of the virus.
New coronavirus cases were also reported Friday in Placer, Ventura, Contra Costa, Santa Clara and Alameda counties.
In Placer County, three cases were announced, all of them among people who had traveled on the Grand Princess cruise ship from San Francisco to Mexico on Feb. 11-21. The ship docked in San Francisco on Feb. 21, with some passengers disembarking before the ship moved on to Hawaii. The ship is now being held off the coast of San Francisco amid an outbreak of COVID-19.
Two of the people had mild symptoms that have already resolved, while the third continues to experience mild symptoms, the Placer County Public Health Department said in a news release. None of them required hospitalization, and all three are isolated at home, officials said.
The public health department is working on tracing the people’s contacts to identify more possible cases, officials said.
“We are moving as quickly as possible to limit the spread of disease,” Dr. Aimee Sisson, the county’s health officer, said in a statement. “To be frank, we would not be surprised to see a second wave of cases connected to these cruise passengers given the amount of time that’s passed since they disembarked.”
Placer County had previously reported two cases of the coronavirus, including one death.
Ventura County’s public health lab also confirmed a positive result for a passenger on the Grand Princess cruise ship. The person had only mild symptoms and was being quarantined at home, officials said. It was the county’s first case of the new virus.
“There is no evidence of community transmission in Ventura County,” Dr. Robert Levin, the county health officer, said in a statement. “This is a travel-related case.”
The state Department of Health on Wednesday night notified the Ventura County Public Health Department that six county residents had traveled on the cruise, and public health officials contacted all of them, the Ventura County Public Health Department said in a news release.
One of the travelers had been in contact with their primary care doctor, who had requested that the person be tested for COVID-19, officials said. The doctor had the patient stay in their vehicle while dropping off the sample curbside to limit possible exposure, officials said.
The person diagnosed with the virus had remained home resting since returning from the cruise, and only left to seek medical attention, officials said. Public health officials said they were working with the state Department of Public Health to notify anyone else who may have come into contact with the person while they were seeking medical attention or in transit to Ventura County from San Francisco, where they disembarked the cruise.
The person’s spouse, who was also on the cruise but did not have symptoms of the virus, was also being quarantined at home, officials said.
Of the four remaining Ventura County residents who were on the cruise, one was symptomatic and being tested, officials said. The other three had reported no symptoms.
In Contra Costa County, two of the three cases announced Friday were also passengers on the Grand Princess cruise ship. The third person had close contact with a person who was diagnosed with the coronavirus in another jurisdiction, county health officials said. All three people were being isolated at their homes.
The county is now recommending that adults over 50 and people with underlying medical conditions that could put them at risk of contracting COVID-19 avoid mass gatherings like parades, sporting events or concerts.
Public health officials in Santa Clara County reported four new cases Friday, bringing the total there to 24.
One was a man whom officials described as a household contact of a previously confirmed COVID-19 case in Santa Clara County, and another was a male who had recently returned from a trip to India, officials said. Both people were isolated at home.
Officials weren’t sure how the other two people contracted the virus. One was a male who was isolated at home; the other was a woman who was hospitalized, officials said. Both cases were under investigation.
In Alameda County, the health department confirmed a third case of COVID-19 — an older adult with underlying health conditions who was a passenger on the Grand Princess cruise ship from Feb. 11 to 21.
At the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, 25 lab employees were sent home Thursday for a 14-day period of self-monitoring after an employee informed the lab of having been exposed to coronavirus, said Lynda Seaver, spokesperson for the facility. The employee in question had shown symptoms of the virus, Seaver said, and “we are presuming it’s coronavirus, but we don’t have verification.” The Alameda County lab has 7,500 employees.
And in Riverside County, the Murrieta Valley Unified School District announced Friday night that it would close Murrieta Valley High School after an employee who recently traveled to a country affected by the coronavirus outbreak became ill and will be tested. The school district said the school would be closed until testing was completed.
The number of coronavirus cases worldwide has surpassed 100,000 — with California recording at least 69 — as officials work to contain the virus despite its rapid spread.
World Health Organization officials pressed countries Friday to aggressively pursue containment and expand testing for COVID-19 as the outbreak swells.
WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that trying to contain the epidemic and slow it buys time for more research and preparedness to handle cases when they do arrive. “Every day we can slow the epidemic is another day, governments can prepare their workers to detect, test, treat and care for patients,” he said.
In California, officials announced what may be the state’s second virus-related death in Santa Clara County, where residents are being urged to postpone or cancel large gatherings and events, and minimize work in big groups.
The number of positive COVID-19 test results in the state reached 60 Thursday as authorities announced what may be the state’s second virus-related death in Santa Clara County. That number is expected to grow.
UCLA Chancellor Gene Block announced early Friday that three students were being tested for the virus. By that night, Block reported that the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health informed the university that each of the three students had tested negative for the virus.
In Sacramento County, officials declared a public health emergency Thursday. The action follows Gov. Gavin Newsom’s state of emergency declaration related to the virus. Several other counties and cities across California have made similar proactive decrees, which will allow them to ask for help if their own resources become exhausted.
At least 15 counties in the state have reported cases, with the highest counts in Santa Clara and Los Angeles counties.
San Francicso, where Mayor London Breed declared a public health emergency last week, reported its first two cases Thursday. Officials think the cases indicate the virus is spreading in the community because the two new patients — a man in his 90s and a woman in her 40s who are not related — have no travel history to places with COVID-19 and had no contact with anyone who’s tested positive for the illness.
“We do not know at this point how they were exposed to the virus,” Dr. Grant Colfax, San Francisco’s director of health, said in a statement.
On Friday, San Francisco’s public health department issued new guidance to reduce the spread of the disease, including recommendations that people over 60, or with underlying health conditions, “stay home as much as possible,” avoid gatherings of 50 or more people unless necessary and telecommute if possible. The city’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade was also postponed “until further notice” on Friday in an effort to contain the disease, and events at the Davies Symphony Hall, home to the San Francisco Symphony, and War Memorial Performing Arts Center venues were canceled for two weeks.
And on Thursday, Nevada announced its first confirmed case of COVID-19, in Las Vegas, a man in his 50s who had recently traveled to Washington state, where dozens of cases have been reported. He is hospitalized in isolation, officials said.
President Trump on Friday signed an $8.3-billion emergency spending package intended to help with prevention and response efforts to the virus, including the extension of telemedicine services to seniors, one of the groups most vulnerable to the virus.
The day before, authorities in Santa Clara County reported the death of a 72-year-old man who had been on a cruise with two passengers suspected of having the coronavirus — but cautioned they have not yet confirmed whether he had contracted the virus.
Officers performed CPR on the unresponsive man, who later died, then learned from his family about his cruise travels, said Phan Ngo, chief of the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety. On Friday night, Santa Clara County officials announced that the man tested negative for COVID-19.
Santa Clara County announced Thursday that the number of cases there had grown from 14 to 20. Four are related to travel, nine had contacts with other confirmed COVID-19 patients and seven were believed to have caught it in the community, officials said.
“Our cases to date indicate to us that the risk of exposure to the virus in our community is increasing,” Dr. Sara Cody, the county’s health officer, said Thursday.
In response, county health officials issued more stringent recommendations meant to slow the spread of the virus, calling on residents to postpone large gatherings and cancel large events. Employers should take steps to minimize large group meetings, consider allowing employees to telecommute and stagger work start and end times, they said.
In San Jose, Mayor Sam Liccardo said he would propose a temporary moratorium on evictions in the city for renters contending with lost wages due to the coronavirus outbreak. San Jose State President Mary A. Papazian said she would move the university’s State of the State address online and anticipated that other spring campus events would be affected by the outbreak. There are no reported cases of COVID-19 at the campus.
Lockheed Martin reported that one of its employees in Sunnyvale tested positive for the virus, and like other businesses, the company is taking extra precautions to safeguard workplace areas.
“We have taken actions to ensure a safe workplace for employees and visitors, including deep cleaning of work areas and common spaces. The health and well-being of our employees is our top priority,” Lockheed Martin said in a statement.
Health officials aren’t recommending that schools or businesses be closed but said they’ll consider such closures on a case-by-case basis if a school employee or student is confirmed to have the coronavirus. At this point, officials have recommended that schools consider online learning possibilities in the event that a school is closed and that businesses have a work-from-home contingency plan.
Lowell High School in San Francisco announced Thursday it would close and cancel all events and gatherings for the rest of the week after learning that a relative of one of its students is being treated for COVID-19.
San Mateo County’s health officer, Dr. Scott Morrow, said in a statement Thursday that COVID-19 “has likely been spreading for weeks, perhaps months.”
“We now all need to take assertive actions to inhibit the spread of this new virus,” Morrow said.
Among other steps, Morrow recommends that people stop shaking hands, use a barrier such as a paper towel or tissue to touch door handles, elevator buttons and other commonly touched surfaces and “under all circumstances, stop touching your face, eyes, nose, or mouth with your unwashed hands.” Echoing Santa Clara officials, he said residents should cancel or postpone nonessential gatherings.
In the future, other steps may be needed, Morrow said, including school closures that are “extensive and extended,” rationing of critical supplies and social distancing — that is, staying at least six feet away from other people.
Ferrer said there is no evidence of community spread in L.A. County at this point, but there are mild cases that have gone undiagnosed.
“At some point and at one point soon we will have a case of a person who was symptomatic, who we can’t trace back to a known exposure and that will allow us to confirm that in fact there’s community spread,” she said. “Do we have more novel coronavirus here than we have cases? I would say the answer to that is probably yes.”
She said that for now the county has the capacity to do contact tracing for known cases and keep up with demand, but that could change.
“We have capacity right now; should there be hundreds of cases, we will just flip to mitigation, and with a concentration on working with institutions where there might be small outbreaks,” she said.
She said that more extreme measures, such as closing schools, canceling mass gatherings and shutting down public transit, will be considered as the outbreak grows. She said at this point, county health officials feel confident in their ability to find people who are symptomatic and identify and quarantine their contacts.
“If we have a lot more cases … we would move toward more widespread social distancing measures, and if we have exposures in places like schools where lots of people got exposure and needed to be quarantined you would see possible closures,” she said.
Los Angeles County health officials on Thursday confirmed four more cases of the coronavirus among patients who had recently returned from a group trip to northern Italy. Three travelers in that group had previously tested positive for the virus.
The San Diego area reported its third case, an employee of an AT&T store in Chula Vista. Six stores were closed and deep-cleaned, the company said in a statement.
In the Bay Area, the Grand Princess cruise ship was being kept offshore amid concerns that more people on board might be sick after a 71-year-old passenger on an earlier voyage died this week of the virus.
Sonoma County health officials confirmed that a second passenger on the cruise tested positive and was in isolation.
Health officials said they were contacting Sonoma County residents who were on the cruise or on the shuttle that carried passengers to and from the ship.
Meanwhile, Newsom and state Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced they were ordering all public and commercial insurance plans to fully cover the cost of testing for the coronavirus as an essential benefit.
The order will ensure that Californians will not incur any out-of-pocket expenses, including co-pays and deductibles, even if they are tested at hospital emergency rooms or urgent care facilities, they said.
“This action means that Californians who fit the testing requirements can receive the test at no cost. We’re all in this together, and I’m grateful to those health providers who have already stepped up and heeded our call,” Newsom said in a statement released Thursday afternoon.
Californians without insurance should contact their county public health departments for information about their options for testing and screening, state officials said.
Visiting Washington state Thursday afternoon, Vice President Mike Pence acknowledged that the federal government still has not been able to get enough coronavirus test kits to hospitals, clinics and health departments around the country.
“We still have a ways to go,” Pence said. But he again promised millions would be on the way soon, predicting that 4 million tests would be distributed by the end of next week. Pence and other Trump administration officials had promised that 1 million would be distributed by the end of this week, but there has been no verification that has occurred.
Washington remains the hardest-hit state, with 70 confirmed cases, including 11 people who have died.
World Health Organization officials said Thursday that it is not too late to curb the spread of the virus, which as of Friday morning had infected 100,685 people wordwide and killed approximately 3,460.
In parts of China, where the outbreak originated, the daily new infection rate has been brought down to the single digits, health officials said. Eight provinces have not reported any new cases in the last 14 days.
Officials emphasized that tried-and-true public health measures, like testing and isolation, are working to control the virus.
Countries need to take proactive steps, said Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s acting head of emerging diseases. “You need to look for all of your cases aggressively.”
Times staff writers Ruben Vives, Anita Chabria, Noam Levey, Rong-Gong Lin II and Phil Willon contributed to this report.