latimes--2020-12-28--Vandals smash Breonna Taylor sculpture in Oakland

In what officials are calling a vicious attack and an act of hatred , a bust honoring Breonna Taylor was smashed in Oakland over the weekend .
Emblazoned with the phrase “ Say Her Name , ” the ceramic bust was found vandalized the day after Christmas , two weeks after it was installed in the city ’ s downtown area .
The artwork commemorated Taylor , a 26-year-old Black woman shot to death by police inside her Louisville , Ky. , apartment during a botched drug raid in March .
The deaths of Taylor and other Black people killed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , have spurred America ’ s reckoning with generations of racial injustice and sparked massive protests across the country .
Oakland police are investigating but provided few details .
Leo Carson , the artist who created the bust , called the vandalism an “ attack on the Black Lives Matter movement , an attack on Breonna Taylor , and an attempt of intimidation.
” But rather than crush those voices , Carson , 30 , said , “ actually , we ’ ve proven exactly the opposite.
” News of the vandalism garnered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ independently conceived project .
That has now translated into support — including donations — to bring the bust back in a sturdier form .
A GoFundMe page launched Sunday to raise $ 5,000 to reconstruct the work in bronze exceeded its goal in less than 24 hours .
Now nearing $ 8,000 , Carson said any money not spent on rebuilding the sculpture will be given to Taylor ’ s family .
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit , Carson lost his job as a server at a burger restaurant in nearby Berkeley .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the sculpture over several months .
Once it was installed , he said , he was enthused to see members of the community taking photos of the work and enjoying it .
Carson , who lives in Oakland , was notified of the vandalism in an Instagram message Saturday evening and went to see his artwork .
When he saw the damage , he said , he felt “ really shook and overwhelmed.
” After surveying the damage , Carson thinks the vandal — or vandals — struck the work twice : once @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and once across the shoulder .
Photos circulating online show large chunks broken from the bust .
In a tweet Monday morning , Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf called the vandalism “ a vicious attack ” and said that Oakland would not tolerate “ acts of hatred.
” Oakland “ has a lot of work to do , ” Carson said , in terms of enacting antiracist policies .
He said he wants to see the city reduce funding for the police and increase spending on affordable housing , public schools and other institutions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ undertake the lengthy process of casting the work in bronze and building a stronger stand to hold the increased weight of the metal .
And he says he won ’ t be giving up his activism ; he ’ s been tapped to speak at a political rally in Seattle in early January .
“ I ’ m an activist even before I ’ m an artist , ” he said .

In what officials are calling a vicious attack and an act of hatred, a bust honoring Breonna Taylor was smashed in Oakland over the weekend.
Emblazoned with the phrase “Say Her Name,” the ceramic bust was found vandalized the day after Christmas, two weeks after it was installed in the city’s downtown area.
The artwork commemorated Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman shot to death by police inside her Louisville, Ky., apartment during a botched drug raid in March. The deaths of Taylor and other Black people killed by police, such as George Floyd, have spurred America’s reckoning with generations of racial injustice and sparked massive protests across the country.
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Oakland police are investigating but provided few details.
A sculpture of #BreonnaTaylor in Oakland was smashed to pieces Saturday just 2 weeks after being installed. This act of vandalism disrespects Breonna’s memory, what she represents and the work of this artist. Thankful @oaklandpoliceca are investigating.https://t.co/76FPBL08cH — Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) December 28, 2020
Leo Carson, the artist who created the bust, called the vandalism an “attack on the Black Lives Matter movement, an attack on Breonna Taylor, and an attempt of intimidation.”
But rather than crush those voices, Carson, 30, said, “actually, we’ve proven exactly the opposite.”
News of the vandalism garnered attention for what was a quiet, independently conceived project. That has now translated into support — including donations — to bring the bust back in a sturdier form.
A GoFundMe page launched Sunday to raise $5,000 to reconstruct the work in bronze exceeded its goal in less than 24 hours. Now nearing $8,000, Carson said any money not spent on rebuilding the sculpture will be given to Taylor’s family.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Carson lost his job as a server at a burger restaurant in nearby Berkeley. He used the extra time to design the sculpture over several months. Once it was installed, he said, he was enthused to see members of the community taking photos of the work and enjoying it.
Carson, who lives in Oakland, was notified of the vandalism in an Instagram message Saturday evening and went to see his artwork. When he saw the damage, he said, he felt “really shook and overwhelmed.”
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After surveying the damage, Carson thinks the vandal — or vandals — struck the work twice: once on the back of the sculpted head and once across the shoulder. Photos circulating online show large chunks broken from the bust.
It’s a vicious attack against the light + justice sought in Breonna Taylor’s name. We will keep moving forward; Oakland will not tolerate acts of hatred. If you can, please support https://t.co/uhuVZ2ubhq https://t.co/RLd6qapHTS — Libby Schaaf (@LibbySchaaf) December 28, 2020
In a tweet Monday morning, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf called the vandalism “a vicious attack” and said that Oakland would not tolerate “acts of hatred.”
Oakland “has a lot of work to do,” Carson said, in terms of enacting antiracist policies. He said he wants to see the city reduce funding for the police and increase spending on affordable housing, public schools and other institutions in need.
Soon, Carson will undertake the lengthy process of casting the work in bronze and building a stronger stand to hold the increased weight of the metal. And he says he won’t be giving up his activism; he’s been tapped to speak at a political rally in Seattle in early January.
“I’m an activist even before I’m an artist,” he said.


latimes--2020-12-28--L.A. County issues most dire coronavirus warnings yet: Hospitals in crisis as death toll surges towa

L.A. County issues most dire coronavirus warnings yet: Hospitals in crisis as death toll surges toward 10,000

Health officials in hard-hit Los Angeles County issued their most dire warning yet about the coronavirus , saying Monday that hospitals are at risk of running out of space , especially with the looming threat of a Christmas-fueled surge .
The county could top 10,000 total COVID-19 deaths in a matter of days .
Hospitals are so inundated that they ’ ve resorted to placing patients in conference rooms or gift shops .
Some are contending with aging and insufficient infrastructure that threatens to interrupt the flow of life-saving oxygen .
New daily case counts , though not climbing exponentially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , remain distressingly high .
On Christmas Eve , 140 people died from COVID-19 countywide — an average of one fatality every 10 minutes , according to data compiled by The Times .
“ These are figures that can ’ t be normalized , ” county Supervisor Hilda Solis said during a briefing Monday .
“ Just like the sound of ambulance sirens , we can ’ t tune this out.
” Overall , 9,564 L.A. County residents are reported to have died from COVID-19 .
Health officials said Monday they are sorting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ add 432 deaths to the toll .
“ As bad as it is , the worst is almost certainly yet to come , ” said Dr. Christina Ghaly , the county ’ s health services director .
According to the latest state data , there are 7,181 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in L.A. County ; 1,449 of them are in intensive care units .
Both figures are the highest seen at any point in the pandemic .
Ghaly said Monday that approximately 50 % of the county ’ s currently staffed beds , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , are filled by COVID-19 patients .
Among the four county-operated hospitals , a stunning 86 % of ICU patients have COVID-19 , Ghaly said .
The majority of nonessential surgeries and procedures in those facilities have been postponed , and officials are working to discharge patients to skilled nursing facilities , outpatient dialysis sites and other locations .
Virtually all hospitals in L.A. County are being forced to divert ambulances with certain types of patients elsewhere because they are too crowded .
On Sunday , 94 % of the county ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ calls were diverting some patients in ambulances .
There are situations in which 10 ambulances are waiting to offload patients at emergency rooms , forcing patients to be treated in the vehicles for as long as eight hours .
Hospitals are also having problems getting oxygen to critically ill COVID-19 patients who are struggling to breathe .
Such problems on Sunday caused at least five hospitals in L.A. County to declare an internal disaster , which closes them to all ambulance traffic .
The problem , Ghaly said , is a shortage of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ return home while receiving treatment , as well as the breakdown of aging hospital pipes that are buckling under huge demand .
In light of the deteriorating situation , Gov .
Gavin Newsom announced Monday that the state will embed a new support team in L.A. County to encourage load leveling and “ greater coordination between the hospitals.
” An overwhelmed and overtaxed healthcare system , he pointed out , imperils anyone who needs professional care — not just those infected with the coronavirus .
“ Routine emergency room care is being slowed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So if you think this doesn ’ t impact you , if you think somehow you ’ re immune from the impact of COVID , there ’ s the direct impact , and that is the transmission of this virus ; there ’ s the indirect impact , God forbid , you have a stroke or a heart attack , you have a car accident or you have other acute care needs .
The impact of this virus , this pandemic , is being felt on the entire hospital system.
” At Los @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reached “ massive crisis ” mode Sunday evening , according to chief medical officer Dr. Brad Spellberg .
There was not one available bed for at least 30 patients who needed intensive or intermediate levels of care , Spellberg said , and the hospital had to shut its doors to all ambulance traffic for 12 hours .
Patients , including some who were very sick and required intensive oxygen , experienced wait times as long as 18 hours .
“ We were just completely overwhelmed , ” Spellberg said , adding that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hourly , cobble together solutions to get us through this crisis.
” Conditions at the hospital — one of the largest trauma centers in the western U.S. — have been steadily worsening since Thanksgiving , with an average of 10 new COVID-19 patients arriving each day .
As of Monday , the hospital had about 240 COVID-19 patients in all areas of the hospital , according to Spellberg , nearly twice the amount as during the July surge .
And the expected “ Christmas bump ” hasn ’ t even begun .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and you see every bed occupied by a ventilated COVID patient , with tubes coming in all orifices of their body , you begin to understand that we are not dealing with what we were dealing with 10 months ago , ” Spellberg said .
Hospitals across the county and state have already been forced to take significant steps to contend with the deluge of COVID-19 patients — such as putting off some procedures , keeping patients on ambulances for hours until space is available and moving some patients who would typically be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the hospital .
However , those measures can go only so far , and healthcare officials warn that capacity is limited by not just physical space but by the scarcity of trained staff .
Should the medical system be stretched too far , officials warn , there may not be sufficient staffing or resources to provide critical care to all who need it , which would significantly increase the mortality rate .
“ The sad reality is that all indicators tell us that our situation may only get worse as we begin 2021 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Director Barbara Ferrer .
“ The rate of community transmission remains extraordinarily high , and this has taxed our hospital system , as more COVID-19 patients continue to stream in , on top of the thousands of patients already fighting for their lives.
” In extreme circumstances , hospitals could be forced to ration care — with doctors no longer pulling out all the stops to save a life and instead strategizing about where to most effectively use resources and equipment .
Huntington Hospital in Pasadena is warning of that grim possibility in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ families .
Should the situation “ reach a point where our hospital faces a shortage that will affect our ability to care for all patients , ” officials wrote , then a clinical committee consisting of doctors , a community member , a bioethicist , a spiritual care provider and other experts “ will review the cases of all patients who are critically ill ” and “ make necessary decisions about allocating limited medical resources based on the best medical information possible and will use the same decision criteria that is being used @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases.
” “ This unburdens bedside staff from making any decisions about triaging care when resources are scarce , and instead delegates those to a committee who will follow an ethical framework for decision-making , ” hospital officials added in a statement Monday .
“ Importantly , no one person will make a caregiving decision , and the committee will be given no information about patient race , ethnicity , religion , citizenship , insurance or any other information unrelated to the patient ’ s health .
“ We are committed , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all and wholeheartedly thank our frontline healthcare workers , physicians and staff members who help run our hospital , ” the statement continued .
Kaiser Permanente is also postponing non-urgent and elective surgeries and procedures at its facilities throughout California .
The pause will remain in effect through Jan. 10 in Kaiser ’ s Southern California region and through Jan. 4 in Northern California , according to statements from the healthcare consortium .
In Southern California , Kaiser is not scheduling any new elective surgeries through the end of January .
Cancer-related surgeries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ any situation in which postponing surgery would have a negative impact on the patient ’ s medical condition , including pain , ” officials added in a statement .
Delaying less-urgent procedures is necessary , officials said Monday , “ to respond to the current and forecasted increases in COVID-19 cases ” and free staff up “ to concentrate on supporting COVID-19 care.
” “ We are facing an unprecedented surge of patients with COVID-19 , and the number of available ICU beds continues to dwindle , ” Kaiser officials said in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 52 % of our hospitalized patients in Southern California were being treated for COVID-19 .
Today , that number has soared to 82 % .
” Given the sheer number of patients , Kaiser is “ converting and using every available space possible , including former conference rooms , waiting rooms , recovery areas and other nontraditional areas in the hospital.
” “ We are very proud of the expertise and compassion that our employees and physicians have demonstrated every moment over the past nine months , and are continuing to provide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our communities , ” the statement continued .
“ But the current surge means our nurses , physicians and all of our staff — who are already stretched and tired — must extend themselves even more , to care for more and more patients .
We are very concerned about what will happen in the coming days and weeks if we do not all take action to slow the spread of this virus.
” As of Sunday , the most recent day for which complete data are available , there were 19,766 COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and 45 % more than two weeks ago .
Of those patients , 4,228 were in intensive care , also a record .
Health officials fear those numbers will continue to balloon , should the state experience a surge of infections stemming from Christmas travel and gatherings .
The patients who are in the hospital now reflect coronavirus infections diagnosed two weeks earlier .
That means hospitals are still expected to see increasing demand into the new year because of infections that took place in early December .
Any fallout from Christmas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but officials have warned that the healthcare system can not contend with another surge like the one after Thanksgiving .
Nevertheless , state officials said Monday they think another holiday-fueled spike is on the horizon .
“ We certainly anticipate that the middle of January is going to be a pretty difficult time in our hospitals , where the cases from this week and next week really start to stack on top of one another — impacting the emergency rooms , our hospital wards and our ICU spaces , ” said Dr. Mark @ @ @ @ @ @ @ human services secretary .
There ’ s real fear that such a “ surge on top of a surge ” could be too much for overworked hospital staff .
“ It is a very , very different and infinitely more dangerous situation to have hospitals experiencing a surge when the staff are exhausted , they ’ re stretched thin , and they ’ re already caring for more patients than they can safely handle , ” Christina Ghaly said .
The state imposed strict limitations on businesses and activities earlier this month in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Though the wave of new coronavirus cases has continued to swell since then , officials noted that the rate of that rise , along with the number of new coronavirus-related hospitalizations , appears to be leveling off in many areas .
“ We ’ re seeing now a majority of the state experiencing a plateauing of new hospital admissions ... actually seeing that rate of growth beginning to subside , with one major exception — and that ’ s Southern California , ” Newsom said Monday , as Los Angeles , Riverside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ heavy infection numbers .

Luke Money, Rong-Gong Lin II, Hayley Smith

Nurse Joan Pung dons her isolation gowns on Christmas Day inside the intensive care unit at Providence St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton.
Health officials in hard-hit Los Angeles County issued their most dire warning yet about the coronavirus, saying Monday that hospitals are at risk of running out of space, especially with the looming threat of a Christmas-fueled surge.
The county could top 10,000 total COVID-19 deaths in a matter of days.
Hospitals are so inundated that they’ve resorted to placing patients in conference rooms or gift shops. Some are contending with aging and insufficient infrastructure that threatens to interrupt the flow of life-saving oxygen.
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New daily case counts, though not climbing exponentially as they were earlier in the surge, remain distressingly high.
On Christmas Eve, 140 people died from COVID-19 countywide — an average of one fatality every 10 minutes, according to data compiled by The Times.
“These are figures that can’t be normalized,” county Supervisor Hilda Solis said during a briefing Monday. “Just like the sound of ambulance sirens, we can’t tune this out.”
Overall, 9,564 L.A. County residents are reported to have died from COVID-19. Health officials said Monday they are sorting through a reporting backlog they expect will add 432 deaths to the toll.
“As bad as it is, the worst is almost certainly yet to come,” said Dr. Christina Ghaly, the county’s health services director.
“The situation,” she added, “is truly dire.”
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According to the latest state data, there are 7,181 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in L.A. County; 1,449 of them are in intensive care units. Both figures are the highest seen at any point in the pandemic.
Ghaly said Monday that approximately 50% of the county’s currently staffed beds, and just over two-thirds of staffed ICU beds, are filled by COVID-19 patients.
Among the four county-operated hospitals, a stunning 86% of ICU patients have COVID-19, Ghaly said. The majority of nonessential surgeries and procedures in those facilities have been postponed, and officials are working to discharge patients to skilled nursing facilities, outpatient dialysis sites and other locations.
Virtually all hospitals in L.A. County are being forced to divert ambulances with certain types of patients elsewhere because they are too crowded. On Sunday, 94% of the county’s hospitals that take in patients from 911 calls were diverting some patients in ambulances.
There are situations in which 10 ambulances are waiting to offload patients at emergency rooms, forcing patients to be treated in the vehicles for as long as eight hours.
Hospitals are also having problems getting oxygen to critically ill COVID-19 patients who are struggling to breathe. Such problems on Sunday caused at least five hospitals in L.A. County to declare an internal disaster, which closes them to all ambulance traffic.
The problem, Ghaly said, is a shortage of the oxygen canisters needed so patients can return home while receiving treatment, as well as the breakdown of aging hospital pipes that are buckling under huge demand.
In light of the deteriorating situation, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that the state will embed a new support team in L.A. County to encourage load leveling and “greater coordination between the hospitals.”
An overwhelmed and overtaxed healthcare system, he pointed out, imperils anyone who needs professional care — not just those infected with the coronavirus.
“Routine emergency room care is being slowed down,” he said. “So if you think this doesn’t impact you, if you think somehow you’re immune from the impact of COVID, there’s the direct impact, and that is the transmission of this virus; there’s the indirect impact, God forbid, you have a stroke or a heart attack, you have a car accident or you have other acute care needs. The impact of this virus, this pandemic, is being felt on the entire hospital system.”
Tracking the coronavirus in L.A. County The latest maps and charts on the spread of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County, including cases, deaths, closures and restrictions.
At Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, the situation reached “massive crisis” mode Sunday evening, according to chief medical officer Dr. Brad Spellberg.
There was not one available bed for at least 30 patients who needed intensive or intermediate levels of care, Spellberg said, and the hospital had to shut its doors to all ambulance traffic for 12 hours.
Patients, including some who were very sick and required intensive oxygen, experienced wait times as long as 18 hours.
“We were just completely overwhelmed,” Spellberg said, adding that the hospital is trying to “daily, hourly, cobble together solutions to get us through this crisis.”
Conditions at the hospital — one of the largest trauma centers in the western U.S. — have been steadily worsening since Thanksgiving, with an average of 10 new COVID-19 patients arriving each day.
As of Monday, the hospital had about 240 COVID-19 patients in all areas of the hospital, according to Spellberg, nearly twice the amount as during the July surge.
And the expected “Christmas bump” hasn’t even begun.
“When you walk into the ICU, and you see every bed occupied by a ventilated COVID patient, with tubes coming in all orifices of their body, you begin to understand that we are not dealing with what we were dealing with 10 months ago,” Spellberg said.
Hospitals across the county and state have already been forced to take significant steps to contend with the deluge of COVID-19 patients — such as putting off some procedures, keeping patients on ambulances for hours until space is available and moving some patients who would typically be in the ICU to other areas of the hospital.
However, those measures can go only so far, and healthcare officials warn that capacity is limited by not just physical space but by the scarcity of trained staff.
Should the medical system be stretched too far, officials warn, there may not be sufficient staffing or resources to provide critical care to all who need it, which would significantly increase the mortality rate.
“The sad reality is that all indicators tell us that our situation may only get worse as we begin 2021,” said L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. “The rate of community transmission remains extraordinarily high, and this has taxed our hospital system, as more COVID-19 patients continue to stream in, on top of the thousands of patients already fighting for their lives.”
In extreme circumstances, hospitals could be forced to ration care — with doctors no longer pulling out all the stops to save a life and instead strategizing about where to most effectively use resources and equipment.
Huntington Hospital in Pasadena is warning of that grim possibility in an information sheet for patients and their families.
Should the situation “reach a point where our hospital faces a shortage that will affect our ability to care for all patients,” officials wrote, then a clinical committee consisting of doctors, a community member, a bioethicist, a spiritual care provider and other experts “will review the cases of all patients who are critically ill” and “make necessary decisions about allocating limited medical resources based on the best medical information possible and will use the same decision criteria that is being used nationally and throughout California on all patient cases.”
“This unburdens bedside staff from making any decisions about triaging care when resources are scarce, and instead delegates those to a committee who will follow an ethical framework for decision-making,” hospital officials added in a statement Monday. “Importantly, no one person will make a caregiving decision, and the committee will be given no information about patient race, ethnicity, religion, citizenship, insurance or any other information unrelated to the patient’s health.
“We are committed, as always, to providing compassionate care to all and wholeheartedly thank our frontline healthcare workers, physicians and staff members who help run our hospital,” the statement continued.
Kaiser Permanente is also postponing non-urgent and elective surgeries and procedures at its facilities throughout California.
The pause will remain in effect through Jan. 10 in Kaiser’s Southern California region and through Jan. 4 in Northern California, according to statements from the healthcare consortium.
In Southern California, Kaiser is not scheduling any new elective surgeries through the end of January.
Cancer-related surgeries will continue, as will procedures in “any situation in which postponing surgery would have a negative impact on the patient’s medical condition, including pain,” officials added in a statement.
Delaying less-urgent procedures is necessary, officials said Monday, “to respond to the current and forecasted increases in COVID-19 cases” and free staff up “to concentrate on supporting COVID-19 care.”
“We are facing an unprecedented surge of patients with COVID-19, and the number of available ICU beds continues to dwindle,” Kaiser officials said in a statement Monday. “Last week, 52% of our hospitalized patients in Southern California were being treated for COVID-19. Today, that number has soared to 82%.”
Given the sheer number of patients, Kaiser is “converting and using every available space possible, including former conference rooms, waiting rooms, recovery areas and other nontraditional areas in the hospital.”
“We are very proud of the expertise and compassion that our employees and physicians have demonstrated every moment over the past nine months, and are continuing to provide amid the current surge in COVID-19 in our communities,” the statement continued. “But the current surge means our nurses, physicians and all of our staff — who are already stretched and tired — must extend themselves even more, to care for more and more patients. We are very concerned about what will happen in the coming days and weeks if we do not all take action to slow the spread of this virus.”
As of Sunday, the most recent day for which complete data are available, there were 19,766 COVID-19 patients hospitalized statewide — an all-time high, and 45% more than two weeks ago. Of those patients, 4,228 were in intensive care, also a record.
Health officials fear those numbers will continue to balloon, should the state experience a surge of infections stemming from Christmas travel and gatherings.
The patients who are in the hospital now reflect coronavirus infections diagnosed two weeks earlier. That means hospitals are still expected to see increasing demand into the new year because of infections that took place in early December.
Any fallout from Christmas will take weeks to fully assess, but officials have warned that the healthcare system cannot contend with another surge like the one after Thanksgiving. Nevertheless, state officials said Monday they think another holiday-fueled spike is on the horizon.
“We certainly anticipate that the middle of January is going to be a pretty difficult time in our hospitals, where the cases from this week and next week really start to stack on top of one another — impacting the emergency rooms, our hospital wards and our ICU spaces,” said Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s health and human services secretary.
There’s real fear that such a “surge on top of a surge” could be too much for overworked hospital staff.
“It is a very, very different and infinitely more dangerous situation to have hospitals experiencing a surge when the staff are exhausted, they’re stretched thin, and they’re already caring for more patients than they can safely handle,” Christina Ghaly said.
The state imposed strict limitations on businesses and activities earlier this month in hopes of slowing the spread of infection.
Though the wave of new coronavirus cases has continued to swell since then, officials noted that the rate of that rise, along with the number of new coronavirus-related hospitalizations, appears to be leveling off in many areas.
“We’re seeing now a majority of the state experiencing a plateauing of new hospital admissions ... actually seeing that rate of growth beginning to subside, with one major exception — and that’s Southern California,” Newsom said Monday, as Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties continue to report heavy infection numbers.


latimes--2020-12-28--Sewage spill in Long Beach closes 7 miles of shoreline

Beaches in Long Beach are temporarily closed after a sewage spill over the weekend muddied the waters .
A power @ @ @ @ @ station to fail , spilling approximately 50,000 gallons of sewage into the Los Cerritos Channel @ @ @ @ @ eastern border , according to a city news release .
Long Beach city health officer @ @ @ @ @ temporary closure of the city ’ s roughly seven miles of shoreline .
The beaches @ @ @ @ @ next week , according to a representative from the Long Beach Water Quality program .
@ @ @ @ @ rise during Monday ’ s rainstorm and may take several days to return to a @ @ @ @ @ ’ s health department is monitoring water quality and will continue to test samples until @ @ @ @ @ standards , officials said .
A team tests water samples weekly to monitor bacteria levels @ @ @ @ @ status of the closures , call the city ’ s water hotline at ( 562 @ @ @

A man sitting at Bayshore Beach in Long Beach enjoys the view of the marina and the mountains in this April file photo. The city has temporarily closed its beaches because of a sewage spill.
Beaches in Long Beach are temporarily closed after a sewage spill over the weekend tainted the waters.
A power outage Saturday caused a pump station to fail, spilling approximately 50,000 gallons of sewage into the Los Cerritos Channel on Long Beach’s eastern border, according to a city news release. Long Beach city health officer Dr. Anissa Davis ordered a temporary closure of the city’s roughly seven miles of shoreline.
The beaches may not reopen until early next week, according to a representative from the Long Beach Water Quality program. Bacteria levels are expected to rise during Monday’s rainstorm and may take several days to return to a healthy status.
The city’s health department is monitoring water quality and will continue to test samples until the water returns to state standards, officials said. A team tests water samples weekly to monitor bacteria levels.
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For updates on the status of the closures, call the city’s water hotline at (562) 570-4199.


latimes--2020-12-28--December is a COVID-19 disaster in California. January is shaping up to be bleak too for deluged hos

December is a COVID-19 disaster in California. January is shaping up to be bleak too for deluged hospitals

December has been the worst month of the COVID-19 pandemic in California .
But January is expected to be grim as well .
Officials are bracing for more COVID-19 hospitalizations as people who participated in holiday gatherings or travel and became infected with the coronavirus begin falling ill. Dr. Robert Kim-Farley , a medical epidemiologist and infectious disease expert at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health , said a person who was exposed to the virus at a Christmas gathering could be infectious by New Year ’ s Eve .
But that individual may be asymptomatic , go to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and unknowingly spread the disease , he said .
Coupled with a high infection rate — about 1 in 95 in Los Angeles County are contagious with the virus , according to county estimates — the holidays are creating a “ viral wildfire , ” Kim-Farley said .
Health officials urged those who traveled over the holidays to quarantine for 10 days to determine whether they develop signs of the illness .
“ It ’ s a really big disaster if people come back and then just go straight back to work , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ferrer said Thursday .
What will January look like ?
Officials are not sure how bad the post-Christmas surge will be .
Dr. Scott Gottlieb , who served as head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the Trump administration until 2019 , said on CBS News on Sunday that January would largely be a “ grim month.
” “ Even if we start to see a plateau in cases and a decline in the first week in January , it ’ s really not going to be [ until ] toward @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to see the burden on hospitals begin to lessen and we start to see deaths plateau , ” Gottlieb said on “ Face the Nation.
” “ Right now , the cases are being led by the coasts : California , Massachusetts , New York , New Jersey to some extent .
When you look at the Midwest , when you look at the Great Lakes region , Illinois , Michigan , you ’ re starting to see cases come down quite discernibly , ” Gottlieb said .
Dr. Anthony Fauci , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expert , said Sunday on CNN that the worst is yet to come , believing that a surge related to Christmas and New Year ’ s gatherings will , in fact , materialize .
“ When you ’ re dealing with a baseline of 200,000 new cases a day and about 2,000 deaths per day — with the hospitalizations are over 120,000 — we ’ re really at a very critical point , ” Fauci said .
Are there any promising signs ?
Of course , the vaccine should dramatically improve conditions — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ California recorded what may be the start of a flattening of new cases just before Christmas ; the average number of daily coronavirus cases over the prior seven days peaked Tuesday at about 45,000 a day before falling to 42,000 a day on Thursday , the day before many counties stopped reporting daily tallies in part because of the holiday weekend .
L.A. County averaged nearly 15,000 new coronavirus cases a day over the weekly period that ended Tuesday ; as of Sunday night , the average was about 14,000 cases a day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this is a flattening of new cases or the result of reporting delays amid the holiday .
But even if L.A. County is leveling off , health officials warn that the high number of cases is placing hospitals at a greater risk for overcrowding and a higher chance for poorer quality of care .
“ If we ’ ve leveled off , we ’ re leveling off between 14,000 and 15,000 cases a day , which is way too high for us to take any solace in those numbers , ” Ferrer said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to level off at a much lower rate for us to protect our hospitals.
” The COVID-19 patients who are in the hospital now reflect coronavirus cases diagnosed two weeks earlier — a time at which L.A. County was averaging 11,000 new cases a day .
That means hospitals are still expected to see increasing demand into the new year because of infections that took place in early December .
And the current infections don ’ t take into account the expected surge in virus transmission over Christmas as a result of travel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much virus transmission as occurred over Thanksgiving , “ we ’ re in deep trouble , ” Ferrer said .
A Christmas surge would be the third since the beginning of November , which would lead L.A. County to an “ exponential growth in cases.
” A surge linked to Christmas and New Year ’ s celebrations could further strain and overwhelm hospitals , L.A. County Health Services Director Dr. Christina Ghaly said last week .
“ Given the very , very high rate of hospitalization that we ’ re already at — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — it is a situation that could easily become catastrophic in January if we have this surge upon a surge , ” Ghaly said .
That ’ s why it ’ s so important that people stay home for the holidays and not physically interact with people outside their household , she said .
What are the conditions in hospitals ?
The daily net increase in the number of people with COVID-19 in California ’ s intensive care units continues to rise , although the pace has slowed modestly .
For the seven-day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ average of 73 new ICU patients was added to ICUs statewide daily ; the comparable number a week earlier was 113 .
In L.A. County , the number of COVID-19 patients in the ICU increased by about 19 % in the last week ; the comparable figure the week before was 33 % .
Orange County also saw similar trends .
The moderating pace of net increases in ICU patients is welcome and likely a sign that the three-week-old stay-at-home order in effect across most of California is starting to work .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than ever , at a time when many across California are over capacity , with critically ill patients stuck in emergency rooms when they should be placed elsewhere in the hospital .
ICU availability across Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley remains at 0 % , and hospital systems have begun to circulate plans to ration patient care if demand far outstrips supplies or equipment .
The risk of dying will go up dramatically if there are too many critically ill people in the hospital who can not safely be accommodated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nurses and other medical staff .
Cumulatively , California has reported 2.13 million coronavirus cases and 24,288 deaths , according to an independent county-by-county tally conducted by The Times .
The Golden State has been hit hard in the last two weeks , with more than half a million cases reported .
On a per capita basis , over the most recent two-week period , California ranks second for the most number of coronavirus cases reported per 100,000 residents , just below Tennessee .
Cumulatively , however , California ranks 34th among the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases per capita — likely a result of a relatively more successful implementation of the spring stay-at-home order and the closure of certain types of businesses in the summer that kept the first two waves of the pandemic far more under control .
But growing fatigue and widespread rejections of pleas to stay home have now resulted in California ’ s worst wave of the pandemic .
Already , in L.A. County , some ambulance patients are having to wait as long as eight hours before being allowed into the emergency room , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ oxygen .
Emergency rooms are so crowded that most hospitals have been forced to divert ambulances elsewhere for certain parts of the day .
State officials said Sunday that Southern California and several other areas would likely have to continue following the regional stay-at-home restrictions for several more weeks as the recent surge is pushing hospitals to the breaking point .
President Trump on Saturday took aim at California on Twitter , writing that “ the lockdowns in Democrat run states are absolutely ruining the lives of so many people , ” adding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ despite the lockdown , yet Florida & others are open & doing well.
” Cumulatively , however , Florida has tallied a higher death toll on a per-capita basis than California , with 103 deaths per 100,000 Florida residents , while California has reported 62 deaths per 100,000 California residents .
If California had the same death rate as Florida , its cumulative death toll would be about 40,000 , instead of the 24,000 it is today .
Times staff writers Brittny Mejia and Dakota Smith contributed to this report .

A COVID-19 patient who had a stroke is prepped to be flown from Providence St. Mary Medical Center to another hospital on Tuesday.
December has been the worst month of the COVID-19 pandemic in California.
But January is expected to be grim as well.
Officials are bracing for more COVID-19 hospitalizations as people who participated in holiday gatherings or travel and became infected with the coronavirus begin falling ill.
Dr. Robert Kim-Farley, a medical epidemiologist and infectious disease expert at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, said a person who was exposed to the virus at a Christmas gathering could be infectious by New Year’s Eve. But that individual may be asymptomatic, go to a New Year’s Eve party and unknowingly spread the disease, he said.
Coupled with a high infection rate — about 1 in 95 in Los Angeles County are contagious with the virus, according to county estimates — the holidays are creating a “viral wildfire,” Kim-Farley said.
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Health officials urged those who traveled over the holidays to quarantine for 10 days to determine whether they develop signs of the illness.
“It’s a really big disaster if people come back and then just go straight back to work,” L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Thursday.
What will January look like?
Officials are not sure how bad the post-Christmas surge will be.
Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who served as head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the Trump administration until 2019, said on CBS News on Sunday that January would largely be a “grim month.”
“Even if we start to see a plateau in cases and a decline in the first week in January, it’s really not going to be [until] toward the end of January that we start to see the burden on hospitals begin to lessen and we start to see deaths plateau,” Gottlieb said on “Face the Nation.”
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“Right now, the cases are being led by the coasts: California, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey to some extent. When you look at the Midwest, when you look at the Great Lakes region, Illinois, Michigan, you’re starting to see cases come down quite discernibly,” Gottlieb said.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious diseases expert, said Sunday on CNN that the worst is yet to come, believing that a surge related to Christmas and New Year’s gatherings will, in fact, materialize.
“When you’re dealing with a baseline of 200,000 new cases a day and about 2,000 deaths per day — with the hospitalizations are over 120,000 — we’re really at a very critical point,” Fauci said.
Are there any promising signs?
Of course, the vaccine should dramatically improve conditions — but not in the short term.
California recorded what may be the start of a flattening of new cases just before Christmas; the average number of daily coronavirus cases over the prior seven days peaked Tuesday at about 45,000 a day before falling to 42,000 a day on Thursday, the day before many counties stopped reporting daily tallies in part because of the holiday weekend.
L.A. County averaged nearly 15,000 new coronavirus cases a day over the weekly period that ended Tuesday; as of Sunday night, the average was about 14,000 cases a day. It remains to be seen whether this is a flattening of new cases or the result of reporting delays amid the holiday.
But even if L.A. County is leveling off, health officials warn that the high number of cases is placing hospitals at a greater risk for overcrowding and a higher chance for poorer quality of care.
“If we’ve leveled off, we’re leveling off between 14,000 and 15,000 cases a day, which is way too high for us to take any solace in those numbers,” Ferrer said Wednesday. “We’d have to level off at a much lower rate for us to protect our hospitals.”
The COVID-19 patients who are in the hospital now reflect coronavirus cases diagnosed two weeks earlier — a time at which L.A. County was averaging 11,000 new cases a day. That means hospitals are still expected to see increasing demand into the new year because of infections that took place in early December.
And the current infections don’t take into account the expected surge in virus transmission over Christmas as a result of travel. If there was even half as much virus transmission as occurred over Thanksgiving, “we’re in deep trouble,” Ferrer said. A Christmas surge would be the third since the beginning of November, which would lead L.A. County to an “exponential growth in cases.”
A surge linked to Christmas and New Year’s celebrations could further strain and overwhelm hospitals, L.A. County Health Services Director Dr. Christina Ghaly said last week.
“Given the very, very high rate of hospitalization that we’re already at — where hospitals are already strained and overwhelmed — it is a situation that could easily become catastrophic in January if we have this surge upon a surge,” Ghaly said. That’s why it’s so important that people stay home for the holidays and not physically interact with people outside their household, she said.
What are the conditions in hospitals?
The daily net increase in the number of people with COVID-19 in California’s intensive care units continues to rise, although the pace has slowed modestly. For the seven-day period that ended Saturday, a net average of 73 new ICU patients was added to ICUs statewide daily; the comparable number a week earlier was 113.
In L.A. County, the number of COVID-19 patients in the ICU increased by about 19% in the last week; the comparable figure the week before was 33%. Orange County also saw similar trends.
The moderating pace of net increases in ICU patients is welcome and likely a sign that the three-week-old stay-at-home order in effect across most of California is starting to work.
But it means ICUs are still being filled more than ever, at a time when many across California are over capacity, with critically ill patients stuck in emergency rooms when they should be placed elsewhere in the hospital.
ICU availability across Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley remains at 0%, and hospital systems have begun to circulate plans to ration patient care if demand far outstrips supplies or equipment. The risk of dying will go up dramatically if there are too many critically ill people in the hospital who cannot safely be accommodated by the limited supply of doctors, nurses and other medical staff.
Cumulatively, California has reported 2.13 million coronavirus cases and 24,288 deaths, according to an independent county-by-county tally conducted by The Times. The Golden State has been hit hard in the last two weeks, with more than half a million cases reported.
On a per capita basis, over the most recent two-week period, California ranks second for the most number of coronavirus cases reported per 100,000 residents, just below Tennessee.
Cumulatively, however, California ranks 34th among the 50 states for highest number of coronavirus cases per capita — likely a result of a relatively more successful implementation of the spring stay-at-home order and the closure of certain types of businesses in the summer that kept the first two waves of the pandemic far more under control.
But growing fatigue and widespread rejections of pleas to stay home have now resulted in California’s worst wave of the pandemic.
Already, in L.A. County, some ambulance patients are having to wait as long as eight hours before being allowed into the emergency room, and hospitals are running dangerously low on oxygen. Emergency rooms are so crowded that most hospitals have been forced to divert ambulances elsewhere for certain parts of the day.
State officials said Sunday that Southern California and several other areas would likely have to continue following the regional stay-at-home restrictions for several more weeks as the recent surge is pushing hospitals to the breaking point.
President Trump on Saturday took aim at California on Twitter, writing that “the lockdowns in Democrat run states are absolutely ruining the lives of so many people,” adding that “cases in California have risen despite the lockdown, yet Florida & others are open & doing well.”
Cumulatively, however, Florida has tallied a higher death toll on a per-capita basis than California, with 103 deaths per 100,000 Florida residents, while California has reported 62 deaths per 100,000 California residents. If California had the same death rate as Florida, its cumulative death toll would be about 40,000, instead of the 24,000 it is today.
Times staff writers Brittny Mejia and Dakota Smith contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-12-28--Rain, hail, snow batter Southern California as powerful storm hits

Los Angeles ’ first significant storm of the season arrived overnight , bringing with it intense lightning , rolling thunder , hail and the increased potential for road hazards and debris flows .
The storm pummeled Southern California , dropping as much as 12 inches of snow in high-elevation mountain areas and half an inch of rain in downtown L.A. before dawn , according to the National Weather Service .
It is expected to continue throughout Monday , with showers and isolated thunderstorms dousing the region off and on until the late afternoon , forecasters said .
Rainfall could peak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an inch per hour , and small hail and isolated water spouts are possible .
By noon , parts of La Mirada looked as if they were covered in a light dusting of snow after the storm dumped pea-size hail on the area .
The storm carried in a cold front from the Northwest , said David Sweet , a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard .
High temperatures Monday will barely touch 60 degrees .
“ Everybody saw that , or they were awakened in the middle of the night @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the thunderstorms , a little bit of hail , gusty winds and some locally heavy rain , ” Sweet said .
“ This is a rather vigorous system.
” Angelenos took to social media to document the storm — the first significant rainfall the area has had since April .
“ LA Rain ” trended on Twitter for several hours .
The storm also brought hazards , particularly in burn zones such as the Bobcat fire scar .
Shallow debris flows are possible across burn areas , Sweet said , with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The L.A. County Fire Department said residents in recent burn areas could get sandbags at their local county fire station and advised people to avoid flooded areas , flood channels , catch basins , canyons and waterways vulnerable to floods .
At least one water rescue has already occurred , with the Los Angeles Fire Department deploying 75 air and ground responders — including a swift water rescue team — to assist a man and woman stranded in the L.A. River near Atwater Village around 3:30 a.m .
The man and woman , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were surrounded by 4-foot-deep storm water flowing at up to 8 mph , said LAFD spokesman Brian Humphrey .
“ Moving water more than ankle-deep can knock you off your feet , ” Humphrey said , noting that the river bottom can also get mossy and slippery .
“ It ’ s dangerous , and it could have been deadly.
” The man and the woman , who live near the area , were rescued by a tethered inflatable boat , Humphrey said .
They declined a hospital transport after they were pulled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ posed by storm water and said people often forgot that debris flows were common with significant rains .
Even animal carcasses and large appliances can move through flood control channels , arroyos and creeks , he said , and he urged parents to keep children from playing in or near those areas .
“ It ’ s been a long time since we had rain , ” he said .
“ You can easily be pushed a mile or two down the stream and potentially lose your life.
” The National Weather Service @ @ @ @ @ @ @ closure of roadways and increase the risk of traffic delays and accidents .
A portion of the 2 Freeway near San Fernando Road was closed because of flooding , according to CalTrans .
Half an inch of snow dumped on the Grapevine portion of the 5 Freeway , and an inch or two more was expected Monday morning .
A winter storm warning is in effect for portions of the Grapevine and the mountains of Los Angeles , Ventura and Santa Barbara counties through at least 9 p.m. , with the potential for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Driving conditions should clear by Tuesday , when it will be sunny with a high of 64 degrees , forecasters said .
“ Expect continuous showers and isolated thunderstorms through the day , ” Sweet said Monday .
“ By about sunset , things should die off and dry out .
”

Clouds drift over the L.A. Basin as rain falls during the first major storm of the season.
Los Angeles’ first significant storm of the season arrived Sunday night bringing with it intense lightning, rolling thunder, hail and road hazards, but no significant mudslides or debris flows in recent burn areas.
The storm pummeled Southern California, dropping as much as 12 inches of snow in high-elevation mountain areas and half an inch of rain in downtown L.A. before dawn, according to the National Weather Service.
The drenching continued throughout the day Monday, with showers and rumbles of thunder. Rainfall totals peaked at more than 3 inches in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, weather forecasters said. Whittier, Norwalk and parts of the eastern San Gabriel Valley saw hail. Total snowfall in L.A. County’s mountains was expected to range from 6 to 12 inches at elevations of about 5,000 feet by the evening.
By noon, parts of La Mirada looked as if they were covered in a light dusting of snow after the storm dumped pea-size hail.
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Hail storm in La Mirada. pic.twitter.com/ZI9CcyRKdk — eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) December 28, 2020
The storm carried in a cold front from the Northwest, said David Sweet, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
“Everybody saw that, or they were awakened in the middle of the night, when the cold front went through with the thunderstorms, a little bit of hail, gusty winds and some locally heavy rain,” Sweet said. “This is a rather vigorous system.”
The storm resulted in slow commutes across freeways and dangerous driving conditions in mountain ranges with snowfall.
Angelenos took to social media to document the storm — the first significant rainfall the area has had since April.
“LA Rain” trended on Twitter for several hours.
First major rain in L.A. since April brought quite an amazing thunderstorm with it. #LARain pic.twitter.com/TubXnqqOgs — JGad (@batltite) December 28, 2020
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So when did So Cal have Thunder and Lighting??!! Feel like I’m back home! Ok ok, I like it! Gone be knocked tonight! Hope it’s goes for a few hrs. 🤞🏾 — LeBron James (@KingJames) December 28, 2020
Showers continue across #SoCal this morning. Another area of showers is expanding along the #CentralCoast, while one area exits the #SanGabrielValley. Small hail is possible. #CAwx #LARain #SGV pic.twitter.com/lufaxAKbEa — NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) December 28, 2020
The L.A. County Fire Department had said residents in recent burn areas could get sandbags at their county fire station and advised people to avoid flooded areas, flood channels, catch basins, canyons and waterways vulnerable to floods.
But the storm did not produce significant debris flows in burn zones, said Lisa Phillips, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Water rescues did occur, however, with the Los Angeles Fire Department deploying 75 air and ground responders — including a swift-water rescue team — to assist a man and woman stranded in the L.A. River near Atwater Village about 3:30 a.m.
Cervando Lopez Garcia makes his way to a nearby dumpster after collecting trash near the Malibu Pier. (Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)
The man and woman, estimated to be in their 40s, were surrounded by 4-foot-deep storm water flowing at up to 8 mph, said LAFD spokesman Brian Humphrey.
“Moving water more than ankle-deep can knock you off your feet,” Humphrey said, noting that the river bottom can also get mossy and slippery. “It’s dangerous, and it could have been deadly.”
The man and the woman, who live near the area, were rescued by a tethered inflatable boat, Humphrey said. They declined to be taken to a hospital after they were pulled to safety.
Humphrey emphasized the danger posed by storm water and said people often forgot that debris flows were common with significant rains. Even animal carcasses and large appliances can move through flood control channels, arroyos and creeks, he said, and he urged parents to keep children from playing in or near those areas.
“It’s been a long time since we had rain,” he said. “You can easily be pushed a mile or two down the stream and potentially lose your life.”
In Santa Ana, officials with the Orange County Fire Authority rescued two individuals Monday evening who were trapped inside a flood control channel.
Thanh Nguyen, a fire captain with the agency, said a rescue team used a boat to reach the man and woman, who were found hanging on to the tunnel to avoid being swept by away rainwater. He didn’t know how the pair had ended up there.
“In moments, you can have a really fast-moving body of water,” Nguyen said.
Antonio Sanchez, 33, of Torrance fishes in the rain at Redondo Beach Pier on Monday. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
Some additional showers were expected Monday evening throughout Southern California, but “everything is winding down,” said Phillips, the meteorologist.
“It looks like we have just a few showers left in the area — and I would expect those to decrease in the night,” she said.
The next week should see dry weather in the L.A. area., but gusty winds are expected over the next couple days in canyons and mountain passes.


latimes--2020-12-28--COVID-19 holiday surge may extend Southern California stay-at-home order into the new year

The unabated surge in coronavirus cases will likely result in extended stay-at-home orders for Southern California and other areas , as intensive care beds remain in dangerously short supply .
The earliest date that Southern California could have become eligible to exit the existing order was Monday , but state officials said Sunday that the region and several other areas would likely have to continue following the restrictions for several more weeks as the recent surge was pushing hospitals to the breaking point .
An official determination will be announced Tuesday , according to Gov .
Gavin Newsom , though @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and understandable that it ’ s likely those stay-at-home orders will be extended.
” The restrictions include reduced capacity at retail stores ; the closure of some businesses including hair salons , nail salons , card rooms , museums , zoos and aquariums ; and a prohibition on most gatherings , hotel stays for tourism and outdoor restaurant dining .
Stay-at-home orders will remain in effect until the region ’ s projected ICU capacity is equal to or greater than 15 % , according to state guidance .
In the Southern California and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ combined , cover 23 of California ’ s 58 counties — the current available ICU capacity stands at 0 % .
That doesn ’ t mean there are no unoccupied ICU beds , as the state ensures that some remain open for patients who don ’ t have COVID-19 .
But officials and experts warn that an overcrowded ICU can overburden doctors and nurses , imperiling the quality of care for everyone , including COVID-19 patients , heart attack victims and those who have been seriously injured in a car accident .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at Home Order will extend for many regions in California , ” the California Department of Public Health said in a statement Sunday .
Once a county reaches the threshold of 15 % ICU bed availability or greater , it must maintain that status for four weeks .
The California Department of Public Health reported that the state had 2,122,806 confirmed cases to date , with over 24,000 deaths .
There were more than 50,000 newly recorded confirmed cases on Saturday .
On Sunday , Los Angeles County health officials reported over 42,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Saturday combined .
Friday ’ s numbers — 15,538 cases — were delayed because of an interruption with Spectrum internet service in the L.A. area .
The county averaged about 13,800 new coronavirus cases a day and 88 COVID-19 deaths daily over the past week .
Orange County officials reported 3,200 cases on Sunday and one death .
Hospitals throughout the region are overwhelmed .
Some are running dangerously low on supplies of oxygen , critical to treating severely ill COVID-19 patients who have begun to suffocate on account of virus-inflamed lungs .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ have to wait as long as eight hours to drop off patients or are sometimes sent to hospitals farther away .
“ Our hospitals are already over capacity , and the high-quality medical care we ’ re accustomed to in L.A. County is beginning to be compromised as our frontline healthcare workers are beyond stretched to the limit , ” county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said during a briefing last week .
Under one scenario , experts predict there could be a jump in new coronavirus cases by mid-January , a surge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ February , and another spike in deaths by early to mid-February .
The quick succession of holidays in the fall and winter months typically allows people to gather with loved ones .
But the brief time between celebrations means little time for coronavirus cases to start falling before they spike again .
Dr. Robert Kim-Farley , a medical epidemiologist and infectious disease expert at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health , says a person who is exposed to COVID-19 at a Christmas gathering could be infectious by New Year ’ s Eve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be asymptomatic , go to a New Year ’ s Eve party and unknowingly spread the disease , he said .
Given the high infection rate — about 1 in 95 people in Los Angeles County are contagious with the virus , according to county estimates — the holidays are creating a “ viral wildfire , ” he said .

The unabated surge in coronavirus cases will likely result in extended stay-at-home orders for Southern California and other areas, as intensive care beds remain in dangerously short supply.
The earliest date that Southern California could have become eligible to exit the existing order was Monday, but state officials said Sunday that the region and several other areas would likely have to continue following the restrictions for several more weeks as the recent surge was pushing hospitals to the breaking point.
An official determination will be announced Tuesday, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom, though he acknowledges that “it is clear and understandable that it’s likely those stay-at-home orders will be extended.”
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The restrictions include reduced capacity at retail stores; the closure of some businesses including hair salons, nail salons, card rooms, museums, zoos and aquariums; and a prohibition on most gatherings, hotel stays for tourism and outdoor restaurant dining.
Stay-at-home orders will remain in effect until the region’s projected ICU capacity is equal to or greater than 15%, according to state guidance. In the Southern California and San Joaquin Valley regions — which, combined, cover 23 of California’s 58 counties — the current available ICU capacity stands at 0%.
That doesn’t mean there are no unoccupied ICU beds, as the state ensures that some remain open for patients who don’t have COVID-19. But officials and experts warn that an overcrowded ICU can overburden doctors and nurses, imperiling the quality of care for everyone, including COVID-19 patients, heart attack victims and those who have been seriously injured in a car accident.
“It is likely that the Regional Stay at Home Order will extend for many regions in California,” the California Department of Public Health said in a statement Sunday. Once a county reaches the threshold of 15% ICU bed availability or greater, it must maintain that status for four weeks.
Tracking the coronavirus in California The latest maps and charts on the spread of COVID-19 in California.
The California Department of Public Health reported that the state had 2,122,806 confirmed cases to date, with over 24,000 deaths. There were more than 50,000 newly recorded confirmed cases on Saturday.
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On Sunday, Los Angeles County health officials reported over 42,000 new coronavirus cases over Christmas Day and Saturday combined. Friday’s numbers — 15,538 cases — were delayed because of an interruption with Spectrum internet service in the L.A. area. The county averaged about 13,800 new coronavirus cases a day and 88 COVID-19 deaths daily over the past week.
Orange County officials reported 3,200 cases on Sunday and one death.
Hospitals throughout the region are overwhelmed. Some are running dangerously low on supplies of oxygen, critical to treating severely ill COVID-19 patients who have begun to suffocate on account of virus-inflamed lungs. Emergency rooms are so overcrowded that ambulances have to wait as long as eight hours to drop off patients or are sometimes sent to hospitals farther away.
“Our hospitals are already over capacity, and the high-quality medical care we’re accustomed to in L.A. County is beginning to be compromised as our frontline healthcare workers are beyond stretched to the limit,” county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said during a briefing last week.
Under one scenario, experts predict there could be a jump in new coronavirus cases by mid-January, a surge in hospitalizations by late January and early February, and another spike in deaths by early to mid-February.
The quick succession of holidays in the fall and winter months typically allows people to gather with loved ones. But the brief time between celebrations
means little time for coronavirus cases to start falling before they spike again.
Dr. Robert Kim-Farley, a medical epidemiologist and infectious disease expert at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, says a person who is exposed to COVID-19 at a Christmas gathering could be infectious by New Year’s Eve.
The individual, however, may be asymptomatic, go to a New Year’s Eve party and unknowingly spread the disease, he said. Given the high infection rate — about 1 in 95 people in Los Angeles County are contagious with the virus, according to county estimates — the holidays are creating a “viral wildfire,” he said.
Times staff writer Joe Mozingo contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-12-28--Column: The surreality of a 'Prohibition'-style dinner as ICU availability hits zero

The other day , I saw two headlines right next to each other on the L.A. Times website that made my head hurt .
The first was an up-close look at overwhelmed hospitals around Southern California bracing for a post-Christmas wave of COVID cases , describing hospitals running out of oxygen they need to keep people alive , patients waiting up to eight hours in ambulances before entering the emergency rooms and doctors making impossible decisions about which terminally ill patients will receive care .
The second was a story about an indoor , “ speakeasy ” -style New Year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Beverly Hills restaurant La Scala .
The restaurant slipped invitations into takeout bags that encouraged diners to “ keep this discreet , but tell all your friends.
” The articles seemed to describe worlds in direct contradiction .
One story described a group of incredibly brave people facing down the terrifying , lethal reality of the pandemic .
The other was an unapologetic , even playful , attempt to escape from that reality .
To the organizers of the dinner , the pandemic is occasion dining , so distant a threat that its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the source of a fun “ prohibition ” vibe .
“ Surreal ” doesn ’ t even begin to describe the feeling .
It ’ s painful , enraging and deeply troubling to see all these realities , all interacting with each other in contradictory and cruel ways .
At the end of the year I find myself with two questions : How did we get here , and where do we go from here ?
I could argue that a schizophrenic public response is the natural result of terribly constructed policies that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ responsibility and blame rather than keeping people safe .
It ’ s also true that the miscommunication of the virus ’ danger during the pandemic ’ s early stages was a fatal mistake that can ’ t be unmade .
A chaotic political discourse made scientific reality a matter of ideology , and many of the ruinous policies that emerged catered to industries and corporations , showing us just how little value a human life is worth .
But in truth , I don ’ t believe that the behavior of institutions and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of this growing feeling of surreality I ’ m struggling to describe .
La Scala ’ s dinner organizers aren ’ t the only ones trying to escape the pandemic ’ s reality .
Regional ICU availabilities are at zero , yet the malls were full of Christmas shoppers last week .
Coronavirus kills someone every 10 minutes in Los Angeles County , but at least there are NFL and NBA games on TV , and families are getting together for the holidays .
Social media and its distorting algorithms have always allowed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ social realities .
But in a pandemic , when these realities contradict , people die .
This is happening as the isolation and psychic toll of quarantine also forces us to turn away and cultivate private happiness , to even ignore the pandemic , for a moment , if we are privileged enough to do so .
What ’ s unprecedented about this crisis is the fact that our ability and desire to dissociate from our painful reality may have hurt our response to it .
Things aren ’ t normal , yet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We have tried to live life , even knowing that life creates disease vectors .
And it ’ s not just a contradictory factual reality we try to escape from — it ’ s also a contradictory moral reality .
A few days ago , as ICU availabilities hit zero , I ordered from a local Jamaican restaurant on Uber Eats , and an older woman brought a plate of curry goat and red beans and rice to my doorstep .
I tipped well , but it did not ease the guilt that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with my laziness .
There are multiple pandemics , and I live in the one where people are made comfortable by paying others to take risks for them .
In one moral reality , what La Scala did is detestable and I can comfortably condemn them .
But I also can ’ t help but think of the desperation of people running restaurants right now , how no help is coming , and how I can not judge what that desperation would make me do because I ’ ve never experienced it .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ I might be forcing some employees to continue working in unsafe conditions with this order , but I may also be helping to keep the restaurants afloat and generating essential income for a delivery driver .
Where do we go from here ?
As I ’ ve said before and will continue to say in this column , I don ’ t have all the answers .
But in a world of multiple factual and moral realities , I think we have to learn to see each other with compound vision , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the borders of our awareness beyond what ’ s comfortable .
We need to form and maintain our own connections to reality outside social media .
Our information ecosystem today hardly resembles an “ information superhighway ” or “ World Wide Web ” — it ’ s more like an open world video game , where the player embodies a character that interacts with a vast , continuous environment .
The player believes they are experiencing a complete world , but in reality , the game renders the images , environments and textures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ field of view .
What you see is decided by lines of code , and no matter where you turn , the only part of the world that exists is what ’ s directly in front of your face .

The other day, I saw two headlines right next to each other on the L.A. Times website that made my head hurt.
The first was an up-close look at overwhelmed hospitals around Southern California bracing for a post-Christmas wave of COVID cases, describing hospitals running out of oxygen they need to keep people alive, patients waiting up to eight hours in ambulances before entering the emergency rooms and doctors making impossible decisions about which terminally ill patients will receive care.
The second was a story about an indoor, “speakeasy”-style New Year’s dinner being organized by the Beverly Hills restaurant La Scala. The restaurant slipped invitations into takeout bags that encouraged diners to “keep this discreet, but tell all your friends.”
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The articles seemed to describe worlds in direct contradiction. One story described a group of incredibly brave people facing down the terrifying, lethal reality of the pandemic.
The other was an unapologetic, even playful, attempt to escape from that reality. To the organizers of the dinner, the pandemic is occasion dining, so distant a threat that its terrors were simply an edgy backdrop, the source of a fun “prohibition” vibe.
“Surreal” doesn’t even begin to describe the feeling. It’s painful, enraging and deeply troubling to see all these realities, all interacting with each other in contradictory and cruel ways. At the end of the year I find myself with two questions: How did we get here, and where do we go from here?
I could argue that a schizophrenic public response is the natural result of terribly constructed policies that seem designed primarily to protect politicians from responsibility and blame rather than keeping people safe. It’s also true that the miscommunication of the virus’ danger during the pandemic’s early stages was a fatal mistake that can’t be unmade. A chaotic political discourse made scientific reality a matter of ideology, and many of the ruinous policies that emerged catered to industries and corporations, showing us just how little value a human life is worth.
But in truth, I don’t believe that the behavior of institutions and leaders and corporations are the only source of this growing feeling of surreality I’m struggling to describe. La Scala’s dinner organizers aren’t the only ones trying to escape the pandemic’s reality. Regional ICU availabilities are at zero, yet the malls were full of Christmas shoppers last week. Coronavirus kills someone every 10 minutes in Los Angeles County, but at least there are NFL and NBA games on TV, and families are getting together for the holidays.
Social media and its distorting algorithms have always allowed us to construct our own factual and social realities. But in a pandemic, when these realities contradict, people die. This is happening as the isolation and psychic toll of quarantine also forces us to turn away and cultivate private happiness, to even ignore the pandemic, for a moment, if we are privileged enough to do so.
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What’s unprecedented about this crisis is the fact that our ability and desire to dissociate from our painful reality may have hurt our response to it. Things aren’t normal, yet we have all desperately sought normality. We have tried to live life, even knowing that life creates disease vectors.
And it’s not just a contradictory factual reality we try to escape from — it’s also a contradictory moral reality.
A few days ago, as ICU availabilities hit zero, I ordered from a local Jamaican restaurant on Uber Eats, and an older woman brought a plate of curry goat and red beans and rice to my doorstep. I tipped well, but it did not ease the guilt that I might have created multiple disease vectors with my laziness. There are multiple pandemics, and I live in the one where people are made comfortable by paying others to take risks for them.
In one moral reality, what La Scala did is detestable and I can comfortably condemn them. But I also can’t help but think of the desperation of people running restaurants right now, how no help is coming, and how I cannot judge what that desperation would make me do because I’ve never experienced it.
Take my patronage of takeout places: I might be forcing some employees to continue working in unsafe conditions with this order, but I may also be helping to keep the restaurants afloat and generating essential income for a delivery driver.
Where do we go from here? As I’ve said before and will continue to say in this column, I don’t have all the answers. But in a world of multiple factual and moral realities, I think we have to learn to see each other with compound vision, and in every way we can, push the borders of our awareness beyond what’s comfortable. We need to form and maintain our own connections to reality outside social media.
Our information ecosystem today hardly resembles an “information superhighway” or “World Wide Web” — it’s more like an open world video game, where the player embodies a character that interacts with a vast, continuous environment. The player believes they are experiencing a complete world, but in reality, the game renders the images, environments and textures only in the player’s limited field of view.
What you see is decided by lines of code, and no matter where you turn, the only part of the world that exists is what’s directly in front of your face.