latimes--2020-07-23--California was impatient. Now it tops New York for most coronavirus cases

California recorded some of the first COVID-19 cases in America and the country ’ s first known death , in what would become a worldwide pandemic .
It responded with the nation ’ s initial stay-at-home order .
Now , the Golden State claims another dubious distinction : more confirmed coronavirus cases than any other state .
California passed New York for that record Wednesday morning , reaching more than 409,000 cases and eclipsing New York ’ s 408,886 , according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University .
California is No .
1 in part because it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because millions of residents have been unwilling , or unable , to practice the social distancing and mask-wearing that public health experts say are the best measures to keep SARS-CoV-2 somewhat in check .
“ I think we started to exit shelter-in-place sometime around Memorial Day both emotionally and physically .
And we are paying the price for that , ” said Nicholas Jewell , a biostatistics authority at U.C .
Berkeley .
“ It ’ s like we should be tip-toeing out on the ice .
What we did , instead , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , some not too cautiously .
And a lot of people fell through the ice.
” It wasn ’ t so long ago that New York Gov .
Andrew Cuomo was being pummeled for his state ’ s slow response to the pandemic , while California seemed to have dodged disaster with its early action .
But the tables have turned and the disease ’ s onward march here showed no sign of slowing Wednesday , as Gov .
Gavin Newsom reported that 12,807 cases had been logged in the previous 24 hours @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for California and pushed the pandemic total to 413,576 .
“ It ’ s just another reminder , ” Newsom said , “ of the magnitude of impact that this virus continues to have.
” Though it passed New York in the total number afflicted , California ( at nearly 40 million residents , more than double the population of the Empire State ) has tallied just over 8,000 deaths from COVID-19 , less than a third the death toll in New York .
As in other states , some of California ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ care facilities , prisons and meatpacking plants .
But the disease has spread to places without such confined spaces , such as Mono County , where restaurant workers have been among the most commonly afflicted .
New York City saw intensive-care wards overwhelmed and morgues deluged with bodies , as fatalities spiked at about 800 a day .
Those scenes of suffering continue to epitomize the threat from the novel respiratory illness in America .
Even with recent increases , California has not seen its intensive care system overwhelmed .
The deadliest day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when 149 people died .
New York ’ s spring crisis should remain a cautionary tale for Californians , said Dr. Grant Colfax , director of public health for San Francisco .
He said the emergency in New York revealed “ how bad the pandemic can get and how rapidly it can get bad.
” It should also put the Golden State on notice that even a sophisticated , well-financed healthcare system can become overwhelmed .
If the cases in the Bay Area continue to rise , “ it is plausible we could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the late summer or fall , ” Colfax said .
But New York ’ s experience also confirms that upticks in COVID-19 can be reversed with a concerted public effort .
“ I just hope we can do that before a massive surge , ” Colfax said .
“ New York unfortunately had to do that after a massive surge.
” New York ’ s pandemic storm appeared to come with one silver lining , compelling New Yorkers to “ make a more dramatic and sustained change in behavior , ” said Dr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Riverside University Health System in the Inland Empire .
“ In New York , everyone knew someone who had COVID , ” Leung added , while many Californians still know of the disease only secondhand and thus lack “ the emotional driver they had in New York.
” Leung said the Riverside health system has had to expand its intensive care capacity from 36 to 54 beds because of the influx of patients .
Physical space is easier to provide than the emotional resilience of healthcare workers , several physicians said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t wear down .
But humans wear down , ” said Dr. Armand Dorian , chief medical officer at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital .
“ My most difficult commodity to maintain is my front-line workers .
How are we going to replenish these people or give them a break ?
That ’ s an issue we don ’ t discuss enough.
” Climbing hospitalization numbers represent one of the “ downstream ” impacts of increasing infections .
They reached a new high this week — with 7,170 hospitalized statewide as of Tuesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ occupied intensive care beds , according to the state Department of Public Health .
The death toll also continues to climb , with 674 fatalities for the week that ended Monday , the highest seven-day total to date .
That number broke the record set in the previous week , when 640 died .
The week before that , COVID-19 deaths numbered 474 .
State officials sought to put the statistics in perspective .
“ I don ’ t myself over-read into the significance of that number , ” California Health and Human @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , California becoming No .
1 in total coronavirus infections .
He pointed to the state ’ s population and geographical size and added : “ At the end , I really expect and hope that California is going to be the state that adapted the most , learned the most , prepared the best and that we are going to really reduce its impact.
” Newsom agreed that especially given the state ’ s size , even a slight increase in people having social contact would cause an uptick in the state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ called California ’ s case count “ a sober reminder of why we are taking things as seriously as we are.
” Hospitalization and death totals that are reaching new highs reflect exposure to the virus that occurred weeks ago , experts said .
That becomes one of the key challenges in the fight against COVID-19 : It can take weeks to see if steps taken to stem the spread of the disease are working .
Conversely , it can also take weeks to see the repercussions of not taking the contagion seriously @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t wear masks around others , mix with people they don ’ t live with and decline to regularly wash and sanitize their hands .
Hospital administrator Dorian worries that a secondary kind of epidemic — a lack of public trust— is making it harder to gain broad public compliance .
“ It should be a simple notion , ‘ Just wear a mask , ’ but so often now I am confronted with people who say that is a political statement .
It ’ s not.
” State health officials issued an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a mask on June 18 and reimposed restrictions on many other activities last week .
But Ghaly said it will take three to five weeks to determine whether those restrictions have cut infection rates .
Jewell , the UC Berkeley epidemiologist , said restrictions on some travel would also help to slow the “ mixing bowl ” effect of coronavirus carriers spreading the virus around California and between states .
“ We did well in March and April with some of the restrictions , ” Jewell said .
“ But we got impatient @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than there was back then , but it ’ s going to be much harder to get people back to following those rules.
” Times staff writers Maura Dolan , Iris Lee , Rong-Gong Lin II and Colleen Shalby contributed to this report .

Kaeli Burks, 3, left, and her cousin Bailey Watson, 5, look out of their car after their mothers helped them at a drive-up coronavirus testing site in Carson, Calif.
California recorded some of the first COVID-19 cases in America and the country’s first known death, in what would become a worldwide pandemic. It responded with the nation’s initial stay-at-home order. Now, the Golden State claims another dubious distinction: more confirmed coronavirus cases than any other state.
California passed New York for that record Wednesday morning, reaching more than 409,000 cases and eclipsing New York’s 408,886, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University.
California is No. 1 in part because it is the most populous state but also because millions of residents have been unwilling, or unable, to practice the social distancing and mask-wearing that public health experts say are the best measures to keep SARS-CoV-2 somewhat in check.
“I think we started to exit shelter-in-place sometime around Memorial Day both emotionally and physically. And we are paying the price for that,” said Nicholas Jewell, a biostatistics authority at U.C. Berkeley. “It’s like we should be tip-toeing out on the ice. What we did, instead, was all run out on the ice, some not too cautiously. And a lot of people fell through the ice.”
Advertisement
It wasn’t so long ago that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was being pummeled for his state’s slow response to the pandemic, while California seemed to have dodged disaster with its early action.
But the tables have turned and the disease’s onward march here showed no sign of slowing Wednesday, as Gov. Gavin Newsom reported that 12,807 cases had been logged in the previous 24 hours. That marked a new record high for California and pushed the pandemic total to 413,576.
“It’s just another reminder,” Newsom said, “of the magnitude of impact that this virus continues to have.”
Though it passed New York in the total number afflicted, California (at nearly 40 million residents, more than double the population of the Empire State) has tallied just over 8,000 deaths from COVID-19, less than a third the death toll in New York.
Tracking the coronavirus in California The latest maps and charts on the spread of COVID-19 in California.
As in other states, some of California’s biggest outbreaks have been in elder care facilities, prisons and meatpacking plants. But the disease has spread to places without such confined spaces, such as Mono County, where restaurant workers have been among the most commonly afflicted.
New York City saw intensive-care wards overwhelmed and morgues deluged with bodies, as fatalities spiked at about 800 a day. Those scenes of suffering continue to epitomize the threat from the novel respiratory illness in America. Even with recent increases, California has not seen its intensive care system overwhelmed. The deadliest day for COVID-19 came on July 8, when 149 people died.
New York’s spring crisis should remain a cautionary tale for Californians, said Dr. Grant Colfax, director of public health for San Francisco. He said the emergency in New York revealed “how bad the pandemic can get and how rapidly it can get bad.” It should also put the Golden State on notice that even a sophisticated, well-financed healthcare system can become overwhelmed.
Advertisement
If the cases in the Bay Area continue to rise, “it is plausible we could get in the New York situation in the late summer or fall,” Colfax said.
But New York’s experience also confirms that upticks in COVID-19 can be reversed with a concerted public effort. “I just hope we can do that before a massive surge,” Colfax said. “New York unfortunately had to do that after a massive surge.”
New York’s pandemic storm appeared to come with one silver lining, compelling New Yorkers to “make a more dramatic and sustained change in behavior,” said Dr. Geoffrey Leung, ambulatory medical director of Riverside University Health System in the Inland Empire.
“In New York, everyone knew someone who had COVID,” Leung added, while many Californians still know of the disease only secondhand and thus lack “the emotional driver they had in New York.”
Leung said the Riverside health system has had to expand its intensive care capacity from 36 to 54 beds because of the influx of patients. Physical space is easier to provide than the emotional resilience of healthcare workers, several physicians said.
“The concrete that makes a hospital won’t wear down. But humans wear down,” said Dr. Armand Dorian, chief medical officer at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital. “My most difficult commodity to maintain is my front-line workers. How are we going to replenish these people or give them a break? That’s an issue we don’t discuss enough.”
Climbing hospitalization numbers represent one of the “downstream” impacts of increasing infections. They reached a new high this week — with 7,170 hospitalized statewide as of Tuesday. More than 2,000 of those patients occupied intensive care beds, according to the state Department of Public Health.
The death toll also continues to climb, with 674 fatalities for the week that ended Monday, the highest seven-day total to date. That number broke the record set in the previous week, when 640 died. The week before that, COVID-19 deaths numbered 474.
State officials sought to put the statistics in perspective.
“I don’t myself over-read into the significance of that number,” California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said Tuesday, when asked about California becoming No. 1 in total coronavirus infections.
He pointed to the state’s population and geographical size and added: “At the end, I really expect and hope that California is going to be the state that adapted the most, learned the most, prepared the best and that we are going to really reduce its impact.”
Newsom agreed that especially given the state’s size, even a slight increase in people having social contact would cause an uptick in the state’s numbers. Nonetheless, he called California’s case count “a sober reminder of why we are taking things as seriously as we are.”
California Newsom reopened California without meeting his own coronavirus testing, tracing benchmarks California Gov. Gavin Newsom defended his reopening decisions and adopted the same argument made by many critics of his original order: The consequences of the COVID-19 shutdown for the economy and mental health were too great to ignore.
Hospitalization and death totals that are reaching new highs reflect exposure to the virus that occurred weeks ago, experts said. That becomes one of the key challenges in the fight against COVID-19: It can take weeks to see if steps taken to stem the spread of the disease are working.
Conversely, it can also take weeks to see the repercussions of not taking the contagion seriously, such as when people don’t wear masks around others, mix with people they don’t live with and decline to regularly wash and sanitize their hands.
Hospital administrator Dorian worries that a secondary kind of epidemic — a lack of public trust— is making it harder to gain broad public compliance. “It should be a simple notion, ‘Just wear a mask,’ but so often now I am confronted with people who say that is a political statement. It’s not.”
State health officials issued an order for those in public to wear a mask on June 18 and reimposed restrictions on many other activities last week. But Ghaly said it will take three to five weeks to determine whether those restrictions have cut infection rates. Jewell, the UC Berkeley epidemiologist, said restrictions on some travel would also help to slow the “mixing bowl” effect of coronavirus carriers spreading the virus around California and between states.
“We did well in March and April with some of the restrictions,” Jewell said. “But we got impatient. Now there is much more risk than there was back then, but it’s going to be much harder to get people back to following those rules.”
Times staff writers Maura Dolan, Iris Lee, Rong-Gong Lin II and Colleen Shalby contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-07-24--California failed to test some of the most regular nursing home visitors: inspectors

Since early in the COVID-19 pandemic , California health officials have required nursing homes to bar entry to outsiders who might bring the coronavirus in with them and trigger a deadly outbreak among the elderly , vulnerable residents .
As a result , aging parents haven ’ t seen their families in months .
Many have died without a final embrace from the people they loved .
But despite requiring routine testing of residents and employees , there ’ s one group California health officials have knowingly sent from nursing home to nursing home without first testing them for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with eight registered nurses working as inspectors for the California Department of Public Health — all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation — revealed that the department has not provided coronavirus testing for the very people it is sending to make sure facilities comply with rules on infection control .
The inspectors said they are exposed to the virus on an almost daily basis and could easily be spreading the disease .
One said she came down with a bad cough and tested positive for COVID-19 soon after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in two days .
Public health officials said they had sent about 500 inspectors to the state ’ s roughly 1,200 skilled nursing facilities .
Some with the worst outbreaks were visited multiple times .
California was inspecting homes at triple the rate of other states , officials said .
“ For them to send us in without testing or screening is unconscionable , ” said an inspector in Southern California .
“ I think nursing homes shouldn ’ t let us in.
” Most of the inspectors interviewed also said they have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protective equipment .
One inspector said she refuses to spend more than a few minutes in a nursing home ’ s “ red zone , ” the quarantine wing reserved for COVID-positive residents , because every time she exhales wearing her ill-fitting masks , her glasses fog up .
In a brief email response to questions from The Times , California Department of Public Health Deputy Director Heidi Steinecker wrote , “ We do supply our staff with proper PPE , and testing ; our staff ’ s safety is important to us.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ questions .
Tony Owens , vice president of the union that represents nursing inspectors , said he was outraged at the claim that the department was providing his members with tests and adequate protective equipment .
“ It doesn ’ t square with what we hear from the field , from the nurses themselves , ” he said .
Later , health department spokeswoman Kate Folmar acknowledged that the department has not provided systematic testing but has encouraged inspectors to use their personal health insurance to seek testing on their own .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for inspectors is “ crazy , just really alarming , ” said David Grabowski , a professor of healthcare policy at Harvard Medical School .
“ It makes basically no sense that we ’ ve locked these facilities down since March , keeping families out , only to learn inspectors have been moving from facility to facility without being tested.
” Inspectors told The Times they have faced serious obstacles when they tried to get tested on their own — just like the general public .
In some cases , their primary care @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meet the criteria for testing .
In others , their doctors said there weren ’ t enough tests available .
“ Why is the testing not coming to us ?
” one inspector asked .
“ We ’ re government employees .
We ’ re doing this infection control ... for the government.
” Nursing homes have been ground zero for the pandemic in the United States , suffering a staggering proportion of the deaths from COVID-19 .
As of Monday , nearly 3,000 nursing home residents and more than 100 staff had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for nearly 40 % of the deaths statewide .
Many nursing home outbreaks are believed to have been sparked by “ asymptomatic spread , ” in which people who do not know they have the virus unwittingly infect others .
Some nursing home officials said they were shocked by the state ’ s lack of a comprehensive testing regime and worry that inspectors could be dangerously efficient spreaders of the disease .
“ I ’ m blown away , ” said Dr. Michael Wasserman , medical director of the Eisenberg Village nursing home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Assn .
of Long Term Care Medicine , which represents doctors , nurses and others working in nursing homes .
“ So you have inspectors going around to different facilities who haven ’ t been tested ?
It just makes no sense.
” Wasserman is not alone .
When nursing home administrators find out the inspectors haven ’ t been tested , “ they are absolutely , visibly shocked , ” an inspector from Southern California told The Times .
“ They only let us in because we ’ re the state ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” An inspector working in Central California added : “ We ’ re missing the whole point of public health 101 , and we ’ re the public health department.
” The lack of testing for nursing home inspectors marks the latest failure by California health officials to take the necessary measures to prevent the coronavirus from spreading to some of the state ’ s most vulnerable institutions .
Last month , a Times review of inspection records found that state health inspectors had carried out more than 1,700 “ COVID Focused Surveys @ @ @ @ @ @ @ issued just 14 infection-control citations as a result of those visits .
Time and again , inspectors sent to assess nursing homes ’ ability to contain the virus found no deficiencies at facilities that were in the midst of deadly outbreaks or about to endure one .
In early April , for example , state inspectors completed a survey of Magnolia Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Riverside and found nothing wrong .
The next day , a fleet of ambulances lined up outside the home to evacuate all 83 residents after the staff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ terrified of the deadly infection already spreading within the facility .
In addition to nursing homes , the untested state inspectors are regularly visiting a wide range of healthcare facilities , including hospitals , surgery centers , dialysis clinics and home health centers .
State health officials said they are not aware of any outbreaks that have been caused by an inspector introducing the virus .
Folmar said the department knows of six inspectors who have tested positive since the beginning of the pandemic .
“ Through contact tracing questions , we learned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and were working off-site at home , ” she said .
But contact tracing has been spotty .
Despite coming and going from buildings with outbreaks on an almost daily basis , none of the inspectors who talked to The Times said they had been interviewed by a contact tracer since the beginning of the pandemic .
Internal emails reviewed by The Times indicate that officials at the Department of Public Health have been aware for months of complaints from inspectors about unsafe working conditions .
In early July , department officials took @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Local 1000 , the union that represents inspectors .
Among the questions presented by the union was whether inspectors would finally get tested , noting , “ This is a big concern for nurses.
” In response , a public health management representative acknowledged that everyone else working in the health facilities visited by the inspectors is required to be tested , so failing to test the inspectors creates “ an inconsistency.
” The representative said there was no final plan to begin testing the inspectors .
The documents also discuss a myriad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ including distribution issues and the lack of fit-testing of medical-grade masks , known as N95s , which are recommended for people working indoors surrounded by COVID-19 patients .
Several of the inspectors interviewed by The Times said they have attended staff meetings in which their colleagues openly discussed the possibility that they are spreading the disease to nursing homes .
“ We ’ re the public health department ; we should be testing our people , ” one of them told The Times .
“ If it was my family in that nursing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to come in , and she ’ s not tested ?
I don ’ t think so .
”

California health officials have required COVID-19 testing of residents and employees at nursing homes, such as this one in Reseda, but have not provided comprehensive testing to their own inspectors who regularly visit the facilities.
Since early in the COVID-19 pandemic, California health officials have required nursing homes to bar entry to outsiders who might bring the coronavirus in with them and trigger a deadly outbreak among the elderly, vulnerable residents.
As a result, aging parents haven’t seen their families in months. Many have died without a final embrace from the people they loved.
But despite requiring routine testing of residents and employees, there’s one group California health officials have knowingly sent from nursing home to nursing home without first testing them for the lethal virus: state inspectors.
Advertisement
Interviews with eight registered nurses working as inspectors for the California Department of Public Health — all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation — have revealed that the department has not provided coronavirus testing for the very people it is sending to make sure facilities comply with rules on infection control.
The inspectors said they were exposed to the virus on an almost daily basis and could easily be spreading the disease. One said she came down with a bad cough and tested positive for COVID-19 soon after visiting more than a dozen nursing homes in two days.
Public health officials said they had sent about 500 inspectors to the state’s roughly 1,200 skilled nursing facilities. Some with the worst outbreaks were visited multiple times. California was inspecting homes at triple the rate of other states, officials said.
“For them to send us in without testing or screening is unconscionable,” said an inspector in Southern California. “I think nursing homes shouldn’t let us in.”
Most of the inspectors interviewed also said they had not been provided with properly fitting personal protective equipment. One inspector said she refused to spend more than a few minutes in a nursing home’s “red zone,” the quarantine wing reserved for COVID-positive residents, because every time she exhaled wearing her ill-fitting masks, her glasses fogged up.
In a brief email response to questions from The Times, California Department of Public Health Deputy Director Heidi Steinecker wrote, “We do supply our staff with proper PPE, and testing; our staff’s safety is important to us.” She did not respond to further questions.
Tony Owens, vice president of the union that represents nursing inspectors, said he was outraged at the claim that the department was providing his members with tests and adequate protective equipment.
Advertisement
“It doesn’t square with what we hear from the field, from the nurses themselves,” he said.
Later, Health Department spokeswoman Kate Folmar acknowledged that the department had not provided systematic testing but had encouraged inspectors to use their personal health insurance to seek testing on their own.
On Friday, hours after this story was published online, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the state would launch an aggressive testing regime for nursing home inspectors.
“We’re raising our standards,” Newsom said at a news conference, adding that nursing home inspectors will be held to the same testing standards the state requires of nursing home employees. Homes are required to test 25% of their staff every week and ensure that all employees are tested at least once a month.
The failure to provide reliable, systematic testing for inspectors is “crazy, just really alarming,” said David Grabowski, a professor of healthcare policy at Harvard Medical School. “It makes basically no sense that we’ve locked these facilities down since March, keeping families out, only to learn inspectors have been moving from facility to facility without being tested.”
Inspectors told The Times they had faced serious obstacles when they tried to get tested on their own — just like the general public. In some cases, their primary care physicians told them they didn’t meet the criteria for testing. In others, their doctors said there weren’t enough tests available.
“Why is the testing not coming to us?” one inspector asked. “We’re government employees. We’re doing this infection control ... for the government.”
Nursing homes have been ground zero for the pandemic in the United States, suffering a staggering proportion of the deaths from COVID-19. As of Monday, nearly 3,000 nursing home residents and more than 100 staff had died of COVID-19 in California, accounting for nearly 40% of the deaths statewide.
Many nursing home outbreaks are believed to have been sparked by “asymptomatic spread,” in which people who do not know they have the virus unwittingly infect others.
Some nursing home officials said they were shocked by the state’s lack of a comprehensive testing regime and worried that inspectors could be dangerously efficient spreaders of the disease.
Dr. Michael R. Wasserman, medical director of the Eisenberg Village nursing home in Reseda and president of the California Assn. of Long Term Care Medicine, is in favor of testing inspectors. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times)
“I’m blown away,” said Dr. Michael Wasserman, medical director of the Eisenberg Village nursing home in Reseda and president of the California Assn. of Long Term Care Medicine, which represents doctors, nurses and others working in nursing homes. “So you have inspectors going around to different facilities who haven’t been tested? It just makes no sense.”
Wasserman is not alone.
When nursing home administrators find out the inspectors haven’t been tested, “they are absolutely, visibly shocked,” an inspector from Southern California told The Times. “They only let us in because we’re the state; they’re scared to say no.”
An inspector working in Central California added: “We’re missing the whole point of public health 101, and we’re the public health department.”
The lack of testing for nursing home inspectors marks the latest failure by California health officials to take the necessary measures to prevent the coronavirus from spreading to some of the state’s most vulnerable institutions.
Last month, a Times review of inspection records found that state health inspectors had carried out more than 1,700 “COVID Focused Surveys” at skilled nursing facilities but had issued just 14 infection-control citations as a result of those visits. Time and again, inspectors sent to assess nursing homes’ ability to contain the virus found no deficiencies at facilities that were in the midst of deadly outbreaks or about to endure one.
In early April, for example, state inspectors completed a survey of Magnolia Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Riverside and found nothing wrong. The next day, a fleet of ambulances lined up outside the home to evacuate all 83 residents after the staff refused to show up for work, terrified of the deadly infection already spreading within the facility.
In addition to nursing homes, the untested state inspectors are regularly visiting a wide range of healthcare facilities, including hospitals, surgery centers, dialysis clinics and home health centers.
State health officials said they were not aware of any outbreaks that had been caused by an inspector introducing the virus.
Folmar said the department knew of six inspectors who had tested positive since the beginning of the pandemic. “Through contact tracing questions, we learned none had recently been in a facility and were working off-site at home,” she said.
But contact tracing has been spotty.
Despite coming and going from buildings with outbreaks on an almost daily basis, none of the inspectors who talked to The Times said they had been interviewed by a contact tracer since the beginning of the pandemic.
Internal emails reviewed by The Times indicate that officials at the Department of Public Health have been aware for months of complaints from inspectors about unsafe working conditions.
In early July, department officials took part in a formal exchange with SEIU Local 1000, the union that represents inspectors. Among the questions presented by the union was whether inspectors would finally get tested, noting, “This is a big concern for nurses.”
In response, a public health management representative acknowledged that everyone else working in the health facilities visited by the inspectors is required to be tested, so failing to test the inspectors creates “an inconsistency.” The representative said there was no final plan to begin testing the inspectors.
The documents also discuss a myriad of problems with personal protective equipment, including distribution issues and the lack of fit-testing of medical-grade masks, known as N95s, which are recommended for people working indoors surrounded by COVID-19 patients.
Several of the inspectors interviewed by The Times said they had attended staff meetings in which their colleagues openly discussed the possibility that they were spreading the disease to nursing homes.
“We’re the public health department; we should be testing our people,” one of them told The Times. “If it was my family in that nursing home, would I want a nurse to come in, and she’s not tested? I don’t think so.”
Times staff writer Phil Willon contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-07-24--Column One: The apartment was ready in February. Four months later, the homeless man moved in.

Life wasn ’ t easy on the streets .
But , for a time , it was at least predictable .
Terrance Whitten would hang out all day at Farmers Market , the Beverly Center or the Fairfax Library .
Then he ’ d catch the bus to his secret sleeping place : the storage unit where he kept his belongings .
His future brightened when his case manager told him he ’ d been matched to an apartment in Glassell Park .
He filled out the paperwork and previewed the unit .
His written record of what came next @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CLOSE !
” ; “ ALL CITY AGENCIES CLOSE !
!
!
!
” ; “ NOWHERE TO GO.
” ; “ ANGRY DAY.
” ; “ RAIN.
” Those exclamations are mixed with plaintive lowercase : “ Gay Center in Hollywood closes.
” ; “ Should have had appointment @ HACLA for Section 8 certification !
” ; “ Should have moved into Teague Terrace.
” ; “ speak w/ Denise & Patrick w LAHSA re : hotel room w Project Roomkey.
” ; “ Awful days.
” Whitten ’ s awful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ June when he moved into his new home , Unit 108 of the Teague Terrace supportive apartments , 127 days after it was reserved for him .
His four-month wait , while the apartment lay vacant , reflects a persistent failing of the countywide system to get homeless people into housing .
Even before the novel coronavirus made every step of the process more difficult , apartments routinely remained vacant for 90 days or more , officials with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority acknowledge .
With an inventory of more than 10,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which typically becomes vacant every seven years , the delay means that up to hundreds of units are vacant at any time waiting to be occupied by someone living on the street .
LAHSA , the homeless authority , made fixing that problem a priority late last year and set up a task force to find and eliminate the bottlenecks .
The goal is to leave no unit vacant more than 20 days , said Sarah Dusseault , chairwoman of LAHSA ’ s governing board .
The task force , called the Housing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when the coronavirus brought it to a halt and put new obstacles in the way .
Mandatory in-person interviews at the authority were suspended .
Paperwork now must be routed to workers stuck at home .
But that does not justify Whitten ’ s protracted wait , Dusseualt said .
“ Fundamentally , this is not acceptable , ” she said .
“ We have to do better .
What we ’ ve seen in context of COVID is we have to do more to clear regulatory hurdles.
” Whitten , who is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cane , is articulate , organized , proficient in the bus system and quick to respond to his case manager ’ s requests .
In short , he couldn ’ t have been an easier client to serve .
An artist who makes vibrant color pencil drawings on symbolic themes , the Detroit native arrived in Los Angeles in 1999 by way of New York and Seattle hoping to get traction on another artistic pursuit , his un-optioned screenplay for Ayn Rand ’ s novel “ The Fountainhead.
” To get by , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after becoming disabled from a slipped disc , taught English as a Second Language for a Korean school .
He lived in low-income housing at the Rosslyn Hotel downtown .
His slide began in 2011 when the U.S. government required all teachers who taught English to foreign students to have Teacher of Foreign Language certificates .
Without one , he was laid off and unable to find a new job .
“ People can ’ t hire me because of insurance , ” he said .
“ They just don ’ t want @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ran out in June of 2014 , he surrendered his lease at the Rosslyn and moved his belongings into storage .
His next situation ended when a friend who had put him up ran out of money and jumped off the Colorado Street Bridge in Pasadena .
“ I proceeded to have a nervous breakdown and tried to kill myself , ” Whitten said .
That led to the first of two commitments , the second precipitated by his eviction from his storage unit .
“ The manager at Farmers Market Self Storage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and people they didn ’ t want on the premises anymore , ” he said .
“ I was one of them.
” He moved his things to storage in Venice and found that local gangs made camping on the nearby streets impossible .
“ Once I had everything set up I realized I had space to lay down in , ” he said .
“ I said , ‘ Do it.
’ It ’ s so profoundly quiet at night in those spaces .
You can hear your blood going through your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used Metro to spend pleasant days at USC ’ s Doheny Library until a security guard handed him a letter from the chief librarian asking him not to return .
A spokesman for USC said he could not comment on an individual but provided a statement saying the university will issue a stay-away order “ if a person has repeated complaints or instances of harassment of students and staff.
” Last September , he saw an opening to a better life and went for it .
He approached an outreach worker at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , coupled with his disability and suicidal episodes , gave him high priority for housing .
The outreach worker , Cindy Ramirez , called him on Feb. 18 with the good news that he was matched to a vacant apartment .
On Feb. 25 , Whitten took the bus to the downtown office of the People Concern homeless services organization to fill out paperwork certifying his disability and verifying his homelessness .
The forms would require signatures of the medical and homeless services providers who could vouch for his status , a tedious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 5 , he previewed the one-bedroom unit and was delighted with its good feng shui .
He filled out his rental application and returned a week later to meet his caseworker from Housing Works , the service provider for Teague Terrace , and fill out a lengthy application to the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles for a Section 8 rental subsidy .
But the application couldn ’ t be completed without all the signatures on the homeless certification .
The next step would have been an in-person interview at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coronavirus forced the agency to send its workers home .
With all his haunts closing , Whitten began an eight-week stay in and around Pan Pacific Park , where he sat under a tree for much of the day until it was time to take the bus back to his storage unit in Venice .
The conversion of the recreation center there into a pop-up shelter — which he declined to use — shut him out temporarily from one of his amenities , the shower .
His complaints were finally heard , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ March 31 .
Then it rained .
April 9 and 10 were low points : “ RAIN , stood all day .
Awful days.
” By then Whitten was on the waiting list to be moved into one of the hotels leased by the county for vulnerable homeless people like him .
But as leasing for Project Roomkey lagged , he waited for weeks .
Ramirez , the People Concern outreach worker , joined him at Teague Terrace on April 16 to fill out a new form certifying that he alone would live @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some missing details on his application to the Housing Authority .
Then another three weeks passed waiting for the Housing Authority to conduct a mandatory inspection of the unit and review the application .
When the application came back with corrections , Whitten went to Teague Terrace for the fourth time on May 8 to re-submit it .
The wait was typical of the bureaucratic checkpoints that slow the housing process , leaving hundreds of units empty for weeks or months .
Multiple outreach workers and case managers from different agencies fill out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ case managers and others who knew the client .
IDs and Social Security cards have to be gathered , background checks to be done .
The Housing Central Command was created to apply disaster management procedures to the problem .
It assembled officials from nearly a dozen agencies that manage housing supply or work with people who need the housing .
The group met daily to identify and open up bottlenecks .
It achieved some quick fixes , such as persuading all 18 housing authorities in L.A. County to accept digitized identification so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ produce paper ID at every step .
Some bottlenecks are out of local control .
LAHSA is seeking permission from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to let clients move in first and track down their Social Security cards later .
Meanwhile , HUD has allowed case managers to present copies of Social Security cards , but there is still no solution for those who don ’ t have cards to copy .
“ In this moment where getting to a Social Security office is incredibly difficult , we ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people quickly without hurdles , ” said Dusseault , LAHSA ’ s chairwoman .
The effort came to a standstill when LAHSA shifted its focus to getting the most vulnerable population into shelters during the COVID-19 pandemic .
It has recently regrouped , holding Friday digital conferences with housing officials .
They have been working on streamlining forms and background checks , Housing Central Command Director Amy Perkins said .
But to reduce vacancies from months to days , she said , a deeper change is needed .
The process needs to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ needed for a complete application are in hand before a client can be matched to an apartment .
Whitten ’ s case shows what happens when they aren ’ t .
On May 8 , Whitten went to Teague Terrace for the fourth time to fill in missing pieces in his application to the Housing Authority .
With his move-in date still not in sight , he got a call from Ramirez on May 11 with some good news .
She had arranged temporary housing through Project Roomkey in one of the trailers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Friendship Hall in Los Feliz .
The next day he took the bus there .
Ramirez dropped by his trailer two times , on May 26 and June 4 , to update the certification forms that had expired , she said .
On June 5 , Whitten received bad news from Ramirez : there was a delay at the Housing Authority and she had accepted a new job with L.A. County ’ s Housing for Health program .
On June 17 , he met with Ramirez for the last time to fill @ @ @ @ @ @ @ form .
“ Cindy Ramirez gone .
Can ’ t communicate w/her .
BUMMED , ” he wrote two days later .
But she didn ’ t just drop him .
On June 23 , Ramirez called to say he had cleared all the hurdles and could move in .
He signed the lease six years to the day after he became homeless , fulfilling for him a sense of a loop being closed .
In his first week in his apartment , he set up his drafting table to resume his artwork @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hopes will get his screenplay optioned .
He ’ s happy but not entirely at peace at times , when his Catholic guilt kicks in .
“ There are painful stories that are out there , ” he said , “ People out there in far worse shape to use these resources on than me .
I had the wits to be able to survive to some degree.
” But then he backtracks .
“ You got this .
Enjoy it .
Get back to work .
“ I don ’ t know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had to come to the realization that all that pain out there is not my responsibility .
Whose responsibility is it ?
”

Life wasn’t easy on the streets. But, for a time, it was at least predictable.
Terrance Whitten would hang out all day at Farmers Market, the Beverly Center or the Fairfax Library. Then he’d catch the bus to his secret sleeping place: the storage unit where he kept his belongings.
His future brightened when his case manager told him he’d been matched to an apartment in Glassell Park. He filled out the paperwork and previewed the unit.
His written record of what came next screams with all-caps pain: “LIBRARIES CLOSE!”; “ALL CITY AGENCIES CLOSE!!!!”; “NOWHERE TO GO.”; “ANGRY DAY.”; “RAIN.”
Those exclamations are mixed with plaintive lowercase: “Gay Center in Hollywood closes.”; “Should have had appointment @HACLA for Section 8 certification!”; “Should have moved into Teague Terrace.”; “speak w/ Denise & Patrick w LAHSA re: hotel room w Project Roomkey.”; “Awful days.”
Advertisement
Whitten’s awful days ended in the last week of June when he moved into his new home, Unit 108 of the Teague Terrace supportive apartments, 127 days after it was reserved for him.
Terrance Whitten unpacks his belongings inside his new apartment in L.A.’s Glassell Park neighborhood. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
His four-month wait, while the apartment lay vacant, reflects a persistent failing of the countywide system to get homeless people into housing. Even before the novel coronavirus made every step of the process more difficult, apartments routinely remained vacant for 90 days or more, officials with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority acknowledge.
With an inventory of more than 10,000 units of supportive housing, each of which typically becomes vacant every seven years, the delay means that up to hundreds of units are vacant at any time waiting to be occupied by someone living on the street.
LAHSA, the homeless authority, made fixing that problem a priority late last year and set up a task force to find and eliminate the bottlenecks.
The goal is to leave no unit vacant more than 20 days, said Sarah Dusseault, chairwoman of LAHSA’s governing board.
The task force, called the Housing Central Command, was just making progress when the coronavirus brought it to a halt and put new obstacles in the way. Mandatory in-person interviews at the authority were suspended. Paperwork now must be routed to workers stuck at home.
But that does not justify Whitten’s protracted wait, Dusseualt said.
Advertisement
“Fundamentally, this is not acceptable,” she said. “We have to do better. What we’ve seen in context of COVID is we have to do more to clear regulatory hurdles.”
I proceeded to have a nervous breakdown and tried to kill myself. — Terrance Whitten
Whitten, who is slight of build and walks with a cane, is articulate, organized, proficient in the bus system and quick to respond to his case manager’s requests. In short, he couldn’t have been an easier client to serve.
A 2020 colored pencil on paper drawing titled “Home, 2015” by artist Terrance Whitten. (Terrance Whitten)
An artist who makes vibrant color pencil drawings on symbolic themes, the Detroit native arrived in Los Angeles in 1999 by way of New York and Seattle hoping to get traction on another artistic pursuit, his un-optioned screenplay for Ayn Rand’s novel “The Fountainhead.”
To get by, he worked at Borders, then, after becoming disabled from a slipped disc, taught English as a Second Language for a Korean school. He lived in low-income housing at the Rosslyn Hotel downtown.
His slide began in 2011 when the U.S. government required all teachers who taught English to foreign students to have Teacher of Foreign Language certificates. Without one, he was laid off and unable to find a new job.
“People can’t hire me because of insurance,” he said. “They just don’t want an injured worker.”
When his unemployment ran out in June of 2014, he surrendered his lease at the Rosslyn and moved his belongings into storage.
His next situation ended when a friend who had put him up ran out of money and jumped off the Colorado Street Bridge in Pasadena.
Advertisement
Detroit native Terrance Whitten, an artist who makes vibrant color pencil drawings on symbolic themes, arrived in Los Angeles in 1999 by way of New York and Seattle. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
A 1981 colored pencil-on-paper drawing titled “An Alternative Future for an Indifferent Past,” by artist Terrance Whitten. (Terrance Whitten)
“I proceeded to have a nervous breakdown and tried to kill myself,” Whitten said. That led to the first of two commitments, the second precipitated by his eviction from his storage unit.
“The manager at Farmers Market Self Storage started finding reasons to evict homeless people and people they didn’t want on the premises anymore,” he said. “I was one of them.”
He moved his things to storage in Venice and found that local gangs made camping on the nearby streets impossible.
That’s when he improvised a lifestyle.
“Once I had everything set up I realized I had space to lay down in,” he said. “I said, ‘Do it.’ It’s so profoundly quiet at night in those spaces. You can hear your blood going through your veins.”
For about a year he used Metro to spend pleasant days at USC’s Doheny Library until a security guard handed him a letter from the chief librarian asking him not to return.
A spokesman for USC said he could not comment on an individual but provided a statement saying the university will issue a stay-away order “if a person has repeated complaints or instances of harassment of students and staff.”
Advertisement
“They thought I was a vagrant,” Whitten said.
Last September, he saw an opening to a better life and went for it. He approached an outreach worker at the Fairfax Library. His age, 67, coupled with his disability and suicidal episodes, gave him high priority for housing. The outreach worker, Cindy Ramirez, called him on Feb. 18 with the good news that he was matched to a vacant apartment.
On Feb. 25, Whitten took the bus to the downtown office of the People Concern homeless services organization to fill out paperwork certifying his disability and verifying his homelessness. The forms would require signatures of the medical and homeless services providers who could vouch for his status, a tedious job for his caseworker.
On March 5, he previewed the one-bedroom unit and was delighted with its good feng shui. He filled out his rental application and returned a week later to meet his caseworker from Housing Works, the service provider for Teague Terrace, and fill out a lengthy application to the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles for a Section 8 rental subsidy. But the application couldn’t be completed without all the signatures on the homeless certification.
Terrance Whitten takes a phone call while resting in the shade of a tree at Pan Pacific Park in May. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
The next step would have been an in-person interview at the Housing Authority. It never happened because the coronavirus forced the agency to send its workers home.
With all his haunts closing, Whitten began an eight-week stay in and around Pan Pacific Park, where he sat under a tree for much of the day until it was time to take the bus back to his storage unit in Venice. The conversion of the recreation center there into a pop-up shelter — which he declined to use — shut him out temporarily from one of his amenities, the shower. His complaints were finally heard, and he was allowed to shower on March 31.
Advertisement
Then it rained. April 9 and 10 were low points: “RAIN, stood all day. Awful days.”
By then Whitten was on the waiting list to be moved into one of the hotels leased by the county for vulnerable homeless people like him. But as leasing for Project Roomkey lagged, he waited for weeks.
Terrance Whitten dries his face after washing it and his hands in the public restroom at Pan Pacific Park. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Ramirez, the People Concern outreach worker, joined him at Teague Terrace on April 16 to fill out a new form certifying that he alone would live in the apartment and to fill in some missing details on his application to the Housing Authority.
Then another three weeks passed waiting for the Housing Authority to conduct a mandatory inspection of the unit and review the application. When the application came back with corrections, Whitten went to Teague Terrace for the fourth time on May 8 to re-submit it.
The wait was typical of the bureaucratic checkpoints that slow the housing process, leaving hundreds of units empty for weeks or months. Multiple outreach workers and case managers from different agencies fill out documents with signatures from the client, case managers and others who knew the client. IDs and Social Security cards have to be gathered, background checks to be done.
The Housing Central Command was created to apply disaster management procedures to the problem. It assembled officials from nearly a dozen agencies that manage housing supply or work with people who need the housing. The group met daily to identify and open up bottlenecks.
Column One A showcase for compelling storytelling from the Los Angeles Times. More stories
It achieved some quick fixes, such as persuading all 18 housing authorities in L.A. County to accept digitized identification so that clients don’t have to produce paper ID at every step.
Some bottlenecks are out of local control. LAHSA is seeking permission from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to let clients move in first and track down their Social Security cards later. Meanwhile, HUD has allowed case managers to present copies of Social Security cards, but there is still no solution for those who don’t have cards to copy.
“In this moment where getting to a Social Security office is incredibly difficult, we’ve got to think of ways to place people quickly without hurdles,” said Dusseault, LAHSA’s chairwoman.
The effort came to a standstill when LAHSA shifted its focus to getting the most vulnerable population into shelters during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It has recently regrouped, holding Friday digital conferences with housing officials. They have been working on streamlining forms and background checks, Housing Central Command Director Amy Perkins said. But to reduce vacancies from months to days, she said, a deeper change is needed. The process needs to be turned around so that all the documents needed for a complete application are in hand before a client can be matched to an apartment.
Whitten’s case shows what happens when they aren’t.
On May 8, Whitten went to Teague Terrace for the fourth time to fill in missing pieces in his application to the Housing Authority.
Terrance Whitten stands in the doorway of his RV on May 13. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
With his move-in date still not in sight, he got a call from Ramirez on May 11 with some good news. She had arranged temporary housing through Project Roomkey in one of the trailers the city placed in the parking lot of Friendship Hall in Los Feliz. The next day he took the bus there.
“BY THE RIVER!” he wrote.
Ramirez dropped by his trailer two times, on May 26 and June 4, to update the certification forms that had expired, she said.
On June 5, Whitten received bad news from Ramirez: there was a delay at the Housing Authority and she had accepted a new job with L.A. County’s Housing for Health program.
On June 17, he met with Ramirez for the last time to fill in a missing signature to his income form.
Advertisement
“Cindy Ramirez gone. Can’t communicate w/her. BUMMED,” he wrote two days later.
But she didn’t just drop him. On June 23, Ramirez called to say he had cleared all the hurdles and could move in.
He signed the lease six years to the day after he became homeless, fulfilling for him a sense of a loop being closed.
Terrance Whitten at the drafting table in his studio at his new apartment in Los Angeles. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
In his first week in his apartment, he set up his drafting table to resume his artwork while he waits for the break he hopes will get his screenplay optioned.
He’s happy but not entirely at peace at times, when his Catholic guilt kicks in.
Advertisement
“There are painful stories that are out there,” he said, “People out there in far worse shape to use these resources on than me. I had the wits to be able to survive to some degree.”
But then he backtracks. “You got this. Enjoy it. Get back to work.
“I don’t know if this sounds heartless, but I had to come to the realization that all that pain out there is not my responsibility. Whose responsibility is it?”


latimes--2020-07-24--With coronavirus surging, California workplaces come under greater scrutiny

With coronavirus cases , hospitalizations and deaths hitting new records this week in California , officials are pushing for greater enforcement of workplace safety rules as a key step in slowing the spread .
Cases exploded beginning in June as the state rapidly reopened the economy and people went back to summer routines such as parties and other social gatherings .
Community spread is occurring in many areas , but officials have been particularly concerned about workers getting sick at their jobs and then infecting others at home .
Latinos in L.A. County are now more than twice as likely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus , and officials believe many of them get sick while doing essential work .
The county has seen outbreaks at food processing plants as well as manufacturing facilities such as garment factories .
Los Angeles Apparel has had the worst coronavirus outbreak of any business in the county , with more than 300 of the factory ’ s roughly 1,800 employees testing positive .
Four have died .
Health officials continue to emphasize that personal decisions are just as important as policies .
Residents and business owners need to continue taking the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wearing face coverings and practicing good hand hygiene — to protect themselves , their customers and those around them .
“ We ’ ll get to the other side of this soon enough , but it will , again , take all of us and all of our businesses to do it , ” L.A. County Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis said Thursday .
County officials unveiled a tiered enforcement plan to potentially cite and fine businesses that violate coronavirus health orders .
Starting at the end of August , noncompliant businesses will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a first offense to $ 500 and a 30-day permit suspension for multiple offenses .
Last weekend , county inspectors visited 507 restaurants , 69 hotels and 174 residential pools and found that the vast majority were complying with relevant rules , Davis said .
“ We want to be reasonable and work with businesses , but we also know that time is of the essence to slow the spread of this virus and protect our residents ’ health , ” he said .
San Diego County announced this week a Safe Reopening @ @ @ @ @ @ @ departments working together to pursue public complaints of health order violations and , more generally , to educate businesses .
“ This is going to be the carrot approach , not the stick approach , but we still have the stick and other tools available to us , and we will use them if necessary , ” San Diego County Supervisor Greg Cox said .
Fellow Supervisor Nathan Fletcher zeroed in on a particular type of target for the team .
“ For those egregious violators , we recognize the need to step @ @ @ @ @ @ @ code-compliance-type individuals focused on public health orders that can go out to egregious violations and investigate those and ensure compliance with what we ’ re doing , ” he said .
But Dr. Wilma Wooten , San Diego County ’ s public health officer , said the egregious violations are not necessarily the new part of the plan for this compliance team .
The most severe violations , such as a church that remained open last week after orders to hold only outdoor services took effect , have already been getting attention .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the egregious cases , ” Wooten said .
“ The more moderate cases , this will allow us to be more aggressive by working with the local jurisdictions throughout the county.
” Los Angeles County continues to bear the brunt of the statewide coronavirus surge , with more than 166,000 total cases and 4,262 deaths confirmed after county health officials announced 2,014 new cases and 49 additional deaths Thursday .
So severe is the outbreak that health officials said COVID-19 is on track to be the second-leading cause of death in the county @ @ @ @ @ @ @ killed about 3,400 people , according to the county Department of Public Health .
Over the same period last year , only coronary heart disease was attributed as the cause of more deaths , with nearly 5,800 .
During the first six months of this year , COVID-19 also killed more than twice as many people in L.A. County as pneumonia and influenza did during the last flu season , which ran from October to May , health officials said .
“ One of the reasons that we ’ re working so hard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spread of COVID-19 is to limit the strain on our healthcare system so that , when flu season arrives in a few short months , we ’ ll be able to contain and slow the spread of COVID-19 while we know that our hospitals will also need to care for people with influenza , ” Ferrer said Wednesday .
Los Angeles is far from the only county that ’ s seeing high levels of coronavirus activity .
Kern County reported 1,135 new COVID-19 cases Thursday — its second consecutive day in quadruple digits @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The last two days alone account for roughly 18 % of the county ’ s total confirmed cases .
Throughout the pandemic , officials have preached the importance of flattening the curve — holding the rate of new infections in check — so that the healthcare system isn ’ t overwhelmed .
But experts say hospitalization and death totals reflect exposure to the virus that occurred weeks ago , so it takes time to see how behavioral changes are affecting transmission and whether measures implemented to stem the spread of the virus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said it could take three to five weeks to see the full effects of measures the state has taken recently — including last week ’ s renewal of business restrictions .
Some , though , contend that the situation calls for swifter , more far-reaching action .
Among those is state Sen. Steve Glazer ( D-Orinda ) , who has called for Newsom to reimpose stay-at-home policies in most of the state until the outbreak is under control .
Specifically , the Bay Area lawmaker has proposed that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ above 2 % return to orders requiring residents to stay home except for essential work or trips .
The statewide positivity rate over the last 14 days is 7.6 % .
L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti — who also has raised the possibility of reimposing some type of stay-at-home order if conditions continue to deteriorate — said Wednesday that although the COVID-19 threat level remains at orange , or high risk , the city is “ not moving to red and we are not closing any additional businesses or activities.
” He added that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the first time in several weeks , from a seven-day average of 13.6 % last week to 10 % this week .

Luke Money, Alejandra Reyes-Velarde, Paul Sisson

With coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths hitting new records this week in California, officials are pushing for greater enforcement of workplace safety rules as a key step in slowing the spread.
Cases exploded beginning in June as the state rapidly reopened the economy and people went back to summer routines such as parties and other social gatherings. Community spread is occurring in many areas, but officials have been particularly concerned about workers getting sick at their jobs and then infecting others at home.
Latinos in L.A. County are now more than twice as likely as white residents to contract the novel coronavirus, and officials believe many of them get sick while doing essential work.
Advertisement
The county has seen outbreaks at food processing plants as well as manufacturing facilities such as garment factories. Los Angeles Apparel has had the worst coronavirus outbreak of any business in the county, with more than 300 of the factory’s roughly 1,800 employees testing positive. Four have died.
Health officials continue to emphasize that personal decisions are just as important as policies. Residents and business owners need to continue taking the steps necessary — including physical distancing, wearing face coverings and practicing good hand hygiene — to protect themselves, their customers and those around them.
“We’ll get to the other side of this soon enough, but it will, again, take all of us and all of our businesses to do it,” L.A. County Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis said Thursday.
County officials unveiled a tiered enforcement plan to potentially cite and fine businesses that violate coronavirus health orders.
Starting at the end of August, noncompliant businesses will face fines ranging from $100 for a first offense to $500 and a 30-day permit suspension for multiple offenses.
Last weekend, county inspectors visited 507 restaurants, 69 hotels and 174 residential pools and found that the vast majority were complying with relevant rules, Davis said.
“We want to be reasonable and work with businesses, but we also know that time is of the essence to slow the spread of this virus and protect our residents’ health,” he said.
Advertisement
San Diego County announced this week a Safe Reopening Compliance Team designed to get code enforcement departments working together to pursue public complaints of health order violations and, more generally, to educate businesses.
“This is going to be the carrot approach, not the stick approach, but we still have the stick and other tools available to us, and we will use them if necessary,” San Diego County Supervisor Greg Cox said.
Fellow Supervisor Nathan Fletcher zeroed in on a particular type of target for the team.
“For those egregious violators, we recognize the need to step up and have a dedicated staffing of code-compliance-type individuals focused on public health orders that can go out to egregious violations and investigate those and ensure compliance with what we’re doing,” he said.
But Dr. Wilma Wooten, San Diego County’s public health officer, said the egregious violations are not necessarily the new part of the plan for this compliance team. The most severe violations, such as a church that remained open last week after orders to hold only outdoor services took effect, have already been getting attention.
“We’ve been dealing with the egregious cases,” Wooten said. “The more moderate cases, this will allow us to be more aggressive by working with the local jurisdictions throughout the county.”
Los Angeles County continues to bear the brunt of the statewide coronavirus surge, with more than 166,000 total cases and 4,262 deaths confirmed after county health officials announced 2,014 new cases and 49 additional deaths Thursday.
So severe is the outbreak that health officials said COVID-19 is on track to be the second-leading cause of death in the county.
From January to June, COVID-19 killed about 3,400 people, according to the county Department of Public Health. Over the same period last year, only coronary heart disease was attributed as the cause of more deaths, with nearly 5,800.
During the first six months of this year, COVID-19 also killed more than twice as many people in L.A. County as pneumonia and influenza did during the last flu season, which ran from October to May, health officials said.
“One of the reasons that we’re working so hard to flatten the curve and slow the spread of COVID-19 is to limit the strain on our healthcare system so that, when flu season arrives in a few short months, we’ll be able to contain and slow the spread of COVID-19 while we know that our hospitals will also need to care for people with influenza,” Ferrer said Wednesday.
Los Angeles is far from the only county that’s seeing high levels of coronavirus activity.
Kern County reported 1,135 new COVID-19 cases Thursday — its second consecutive day in quadruple digits following Wednesday’s tally of 1,120 The Times’ tracker . The last two days alone account for roughly 18% of the county’s total confirmed cases.
Throughout the pandemic, officials have preached the importance of flattening the curve — holding the rate of new infections in check — so that the healthcare system isn’t overwhelmed.
But experts say hospitalization and death totals reflect exposure to the virus that occurred weeks ago, so it takes time to see how behavioral changes are affecting transmission and whether measures implemented to stem the spread of the virus are working.
California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said it could take three to five weeks to see the full effects of measures the state has taken recently — including last week’s renewal of business restrictions.
Some, though, contend that the situation calls for swifter, more far-reaching action. Among those is state Sen. Steve Glazer (D-Orinda), who has called for Newsom to reimpose stay-at-home policies in most of the state until the outbreak is under control.
Specifically, the Bay Area lawmaker has proposed that counties with a 14-day positive test rate above 2% return to orders requiring residents to stay home except for essential work or trips.
The statewide positivity rate over the last 14 days is 7.6%.
L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti — who also has raised the possibility of reimposing specter of potentially reimposing some type of stay-at-home order if conditions continue to deteriorate — said Wednesday that although the COVID-19 threat level remains at orange, or high risk, the city is “not moving to red and we are not closing any additional businesses or activities.”
He added that the positivity rate had declined slightly for the first time in several weeks, from a seven-day average of 13.6% last week to 10% this week.
Sisson writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.


latimes--2020-07-23--Raccoon escapes unscathed from Riverside County jail

A masked bandit made a clean escape from a Riverside County jail Thursday afternoon after getting caught in barbed wire .
And it had help from law enforcement .
Officers with the Riverside County Department of Animal Services responded to the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning about 9:15 a.m. after receiving a call about a raccoon stuck on the barbed wire .
Video shows the raccoon carefully attempting to walk on top of the fence , at one point falling and getting caught in the barbed wire by its leg .
But the brave little critter was quick @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attempts were made to snare the critter , it tried to elude the officer and , in some tense moments , fell into the razor wire , ” animal services spokesman John Welsh said in an emailed statement .
“ Remarkably , the raccoon was not injured.
” Animal services Officer Kellsey Hoesman , standing on a ladder , used a snare to catch the struggling raccoon as it attempted to fight her off .
Onlookers gasped in suspense as they watched the trapped animal .
Once captured in a cage , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wildlife area near Charles Street in Banning .

Kellsey Hoesman, an officer with the Riverside County Department of Animal Services, helps rescue a raccoon trapped in barbed wire at a jail in Riverside County.
A masked bandit made a clean escape from a Riverside County jail Thursday afternoon after getting caught in barbed wire. And it had help from law enforcement.
Officers with the Riverside County Department of Animal Services responded to the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning about 9:15 a.m. after receiving a call about a raccoon stuck on the barbed wire.
Video shows the raccoon carefully attempting to walk on top of the fence, at one point falling and getting caught in the barbed wire by its leg. But the brave little critter was quick on its toes.
Advertisement
“Although several attempts were made to snare the critter, it tried to elude the officer and, in some tense moments, fell into the razor wire,” animal services spokesman John Welsh said in an emailed statement. “Remarkably, the raccoon was not injured.”
Animal services Officer Kellsey Hoesman, standing on a ladder, used a snare to catch the struggling raccoon as it attempted to fight her off. Onlookers gasped in suspense as they watched the trapped animal.
Once captured in a cage, the raccoon was returned to freedom in a wildlife area near Charles Street in Banning.


latimes--2020-07-23--NOAA's La Niña watch could signal a dry winter for Los Angeles

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a La Niña watch earlier this month , meaning that conditions are favorable for development of a La Niña in the next six months .
La Niña is part of a climate phenomenon called the El Niño-Southern Oscillation , often referred to as “ ENSO.
” It has nothing to do with the Ensos or their icy planet Ensolica in Star Wars , but La Niña is the cool phase of this climate phenomenon , and the opposite of its warm sibling , El Niño .
Between the two phases there is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Niño nor La Niña — what climatologist Bill Patzert calls “ La Nada.
” That ’ s where we find ourselves at the moment — and where we expect to stay through the summer .
But NOAA predicts that there ’ s a 50 % to 55 % chance of our current neutral phase shifting into a La Niña this fall and winter .
Hence the watch .
But there ’ s also a 40 % to 45 % chance , according to NOAA , that we will remain stuck in neutral for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , there ’ s about a 5 % to 10 % chance of an El Niño developing .
While El Niño is usually associated with unrelentingly drenching winters in Southern California , La Niña is associated with drought .
Patzert calls La Niña the “ diva of drought , ” and La Niña winters can be parched and fire-prone .
The National Interagency Fire Center ’ s outlook for Southern California sees an expected transition to a La Niña episode adding drier-than-average conditions just as October arrives , bringing the start of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ favor the development of the warm , dry , down-sloping winds in the region — Santa Anas — may be more frequent , the NIFC outlook said , raising concern because of “ the heavy loading of fine fuels ” such as grasses and brush .
In California , rainfall can be enhanced by an El Niño and suppressed by a La Niña .
While a wet El Niño season tends to reduce wildfires , it promotes the explosive growth of vegetation .
Those weeds , grass and brush dry out in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The potential for fire increases in subsequent dry or La Niña years .
Some studies have suggested that this wet-dry cycle will be amplified in the future with climate change .
Even with ENSO neutral so far this summer , the most recent U.S. Drought Monitor data released Thursday show drought continuing to expand in the West .
Most of California remained status quo , but the portion of the state considered to be in extreme drought expanded from about 2.5 % to just over 3 % .
In the Four Corners region @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , so the region has remained dry .
Drought conditions expanded in parts of New Mexico , Arizona , Nevada , Utah and Oregon .
Incipient La Niña conditions would suggest that hopes of relief may be evaporating .
Since the Pacific Ocean is the 800-pound gorilla of global climate , development of a La Niña can affect the weather for the whole world .
“ When the Pacific speaks , people all across the planet tune in , ” says Patzert .
“ The impacts are felt globally : Drought in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Southeast Asia , and dramatic shifts in rainfall patterns over Africa.
” The pattern can cause the polar jet stream to shift to the north in the winter , not only causing the southern U.S. to be drier and warmer , but the Pacific Northwest , the Ohio Valley and southern Great Lakes regions can be wetter , and the northern Rockies and northern Plains can be stormier .
In the eastern Pacific , La Niña is associated with stronger vertical wind shear , which results in fewer hurricanes .
But in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shear are weaker and there ’ s less atmospheric stability , leading to a more active hurricane season .
NOAA has predicted an active Atlantic hurricane season this year .
The NOAA Climate Prediction Center in May predicted a 60 % chance of an above-normal season , a 30 % chance of a near-normal season and just a 10 % chance of a below-normal season .
The Atlantic hurricane season is from June 1 through Nov. 30 , peaking in August and September .
The Atlantic has been in the warm or positive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( AMO ) since 1995 .
So continued ENSO-neutral conditions in the Pacific or a La Niña would mean either no suppression of , or reinforcement of , that high-activity inclination .
NOAA ’ s outlooks for the Central Pacific and Eastern Pacific call for near- or below-normal seasons for tropical cyclones and hurricanes .
Meanwhile , in the western Pacific , La Niña can cause heavy , flooding rains in places such as Indonesia and northern Australia .
What causes La Niña ?
During a La Niña , the tropical trade winds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and they promote more upwelling of cold water from the deep off the west coast of South America and along the equator .
The strong winds also push warm equatorial ocean surface water to the west .
The warm ocean water causes more rain to fall in the western Pacific .
The ocean surface water in the eastern Pacific is only a few degrees colder than normal , but it can affect the weather around the planet .
Because of this cooler water , less moisture evaporates and forms rain clouds , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ places such as the U.S. Southwest .
The changes in the atmosphere can lead to more lightning in the Gulf of Mexico and along the Gulf Coast .
Meanwhile , in Australia , the Bureau of Meteorology has also issued a La Niña watch , citing it as strengthening evidence that Australia may be headed out of drought .
Australia ’ s last really wet winter was 2016 , said Dr. Andrew King , a climatologist from the University of Melbourne .
La Niña also increases the chances of flooding and cyclones in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t officially called this La Niña , climatologists around the world are anticipating its potential impacts , ” Patzert notes .

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a La Niña watch earlier this month, meaning that conditions are favorable for development of a La Niña in the next six months.
A La Niña typically means a dry winter across the southern United States, including Southern California.
A La Niña usually means a drier winter across the southern United States. (Paul Duginski / Los Angeles Times)
Advertisement
La Niña is part of a climate phenomenon called the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, often referred to as “ENSO.” It has nothing to do with the Ensos or their icy planet Ensolica in Star Wars, but La Niña is the cool phase of this climate phenomenon, and the opposite of its warm sibling, El Niño.
Between the two phases there is a neutral phase that’s neither El Niño nor La Niña — what climatologist Bill Patzert calls “La Nada.” That’s where we find ourselves at the moment — and where we expect to stay through the summer. But NOAA predicts that there’s a 50% to 55% chance of our current neutral phase shifting into a La Niña this fall and winter. Hence the watch. But there’s also a 40% to 45% chance, according to NOAA, that we will remain stuck in neutral for the fall and winter. In addition, there’s about a 5% to 10% chance of an El Niño developing.
While El Niño is usually associated with unrelentingly drenching winters in Southern California, La Niña is associated with drought. Patzert calls La Niña the “diva of drought,” and La Niña winters can be parched and fire-prone.
But California’s rainfall can be variable, as Jan Null of Golden Gate Weather Services points out. As an example, he cites the back-to-back winters of 2016-17 and 2017-18. “One was very wet, and one dry. Both weak La Niñas.”
The National Interagency Fire Center’s outlook for Southern California sees an expected transition to a La Niña episode adding drier-than-average conditions just as October arrives, bringing the start of the fall wind season.
The factors that favor the development of the warm, dry, down-sloping winds in the region — Santa Anas — may be more frequent, the NIFC outlook said, raising concern because of “the heavy loading of fine fuels” such as grasses and brush.
Advertisement
In California, rainfall can be enhanced by an El Niño and suppressed by a La Niña. While a wet El Niño season tends to reduce wildfires, it promotes the explosive growth of vegetation. Those weeds, grass and brush dry out in the summer, increasing fuel for wildfires. The potential for fire increases in subsequent dry or La Niña years. Some studies have suggested that this wet-dry cycle will be amplified in the future with climate change.
U.S. Drought Monitor data released Thursday. (Paul Duginski / Los Angeles Times)
Even with ENSO neutral so far this summer, the most recent U.S. Drought Monitor data released Thursday show drought continuing to expand in the West. Most of California remained status quo, but the portion of the state considered to be in extreme drought expanded from about 2.5% to just over 3%.
In the Four Corners region, the Southwest Monsoon has been weak, so the region has remained dry. Drought conditions expanded in parts of New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Oregon. Incipient La Niña conditions would suggest that hopes of relief may be evaporating.
Since the Pacific Ocean is the 800-pound gorilla of global climate, development of a La Niña can affect the weather for the whole world. “When the Pacific speaks, people all across the planet tune in,” says Patzert. “The impacts are felt globally: Drought in the American Southwest, deluges in Australia and Southeast Asia, and dramatic shifts in rainfall patterns over Africa.”
The pattern can cause the polar jet stream to shift to the north in the winter, not only causing the southern U.S. to be drier and warmer, but the Pacific Northwest, the Ohio Valley and southern Great Lakes regions can be wetter, and the northern Rockies and northern Plains can be stormier.
La Niña formation typically affects the hurricane seasons, not only in the Pacific, but in the tropical Atlantic as well. (Paul Duginski / Los Angeles Times)
In the eastern Pacific, La Niña is associated with stronger vertical wind shear, which results in fewer hurricanes. But in the Caribbean, trade winds and vertical wind shear are weaker and there’s less atmospheric stability, leading to a more active hurricane season.
NOAA has predicted an active Atlantic hurricane season this year. The NOAA Climate Prediction Center in May predicted a 60% chance of an above-normal season, a 30% chance of a near-normal season and just a 10% chance of a below-normal season. The Atlantic hurricane season is from June 1 through Nov. 30, peaking in August and September.
The Atlantic has been in the warm or positive high-activity phase of the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) since 1995. So continued ENSO-neutral conditions in the Pacific or a La Niña would mean either no suppression of, or reinforcement of, that high-activity inclination.
NOAA’s outlooks for the Central Pacific and Eastern Pacific call for near- or below-normal seasons for tropical cyclones and hurricanes.
Meanwhile, in the western Pacific, La Niña can cause heavy, flooding rains in places such as Indonesia and northern Australia.
Stronger trade winds push warm surface water into the western Pacific. (Paul Duginski / Los Angeles Times)
What causes La Niña? During a La Niña, the tropical trade winds are much stronger than under normal conditions, and they promote more upwelling of cold water from the deep off the west coast of South America and along the equator. The strong winds also push warm equatorial ocean surface water to the west. The warm ocean water causes more rain to fall in the western Pacific.
Cooler-than-average sea surface temperatures have been detected in the equatorial Pacific off South America. (Paul Duginski / Los Angeles Times)
The ocean surface water in the eastern Pacific is only a few degrees colder than normal, but it can affect the weather around the planet. Because of this cooler water, less moisture evaporates and forms rain clouds, resulting in a much drier winter in places such as the U.S. Southwest. The changes in the atmosphere can lead to more lightning in the Gulf of Mexico and along the Gulf Coast.
Meanwhile, in Australia, the Bureau of Meteorology has also issued a La Niña watch, citing it as strengthening evidence that Australia may be headed out of drought. Australia’s last really wet winter was 2016, said Dr. Andrew King, a climatologist from the University of Melbourne. La Niña also increases the chances of flooding and cyclones in Australia.
“Even though NOAA hasn’t officially called this La Niña, climatologists around the world are anticipating its potential impacts,” Patzert notes.


latimes--2020-07-23--Schools may soon apply for waivers to reopen — but only with union support

School districts , charters and private schools in L.A. County may begin applying within days for waivers that would allow them to reopen elementary schools in person — but public schools will have to show they have union support , county public health officials said Thursday .
The requirement to show union support will likely give some charters and private schools — most of whose teachers are not unionized — an advantage in qualifying for a waiver , potentially exacerbating the divide between well-off students and their more disadvantaged peers , which has only grown during the COVID-19 pandemic .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the process .
“ If the L.A. [ County Department of Public Health ] wants to use science and data to determine the merit of a waiver , then I can support that , ” Supt .
Alex Cherniss of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District said in an emailed statement .
“ But to require a letter of support from parent organizations and labor unions seems outside of the scope of their responsibility and veers off from science to politics .
It would not only pit parents , teachers and school @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would also create an unfair ability for private schools.
” In an emailed response to questions , the Public Health department said it is “ working on designing the application process to be in compliance with state requirements.
” It did not specify whether private schools and charters would have to show some form of parent or teacher support as well .
Gov .
Gavin Newsom announced last week that schools in counties that are on the state ’ s monitoring list — 32 counties as of the announcement — may not physically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has come off the list for 14 consecutive days .
He said the only exception would be for elementary schools that apply for waivers through their health officers , who must consider local data and consult with the California Department of Public Health when reviewing the request .
Districts may apply for a waiver to reopen only for in-classroom instruction for students in transitional kindergarten through 6th grade .
The waiver application must include letters of support from all labor partners , parent organizations and community-based organizations that provide educational services for children @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In addition , districts must complete a “ reopening protocol checklist ” documenting steps that will be in place to ensure that public health directives are followed , including a plan for managing outbreaks , testing strategy for employees , and requirement that everyone over 2 years of age wear face coverings while on school campuses .
The county public health department would then review and provide superintendents with trend data for their area , including number of cases , number of deaths and changes in case and death rates over the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ capacity at regional hospitals and , together with the state department of public health , assess each district ’ s risk and preparedness for reopening safely in determining whether to grant the waiver .
“ We ’ re going to do our best to use the available data and the science to ensure that the health and well-being , both physical and emotional , of all children , teachers , school staff and all of their families remains the top priority , ” county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said at a news @ @ @ @ @ @ @ waivers .
Joshua Sharfstein , a professor of health policy at Johns Hopkins University , said it is prudent to reopen schools slowly .
“ California is going through this in a very thoughtful way because they ’ re making those first set of schools go through an extra set of hoops — so hopefully you can learn from them before you open more widely , ” he said .
Beginning with younger students makes sense , too , he said .
“ They appear to benefit the most from in-person schooling , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ less risk for transmitting the virus , ” Sharfstein said .
“ Both the value and the risk point in the direction of younger kids being able to go to school.
” He said that health officials should grant waivers based on a combination of the local circumstances and the protections that can be put into place — and then track what happens .
“ There ’ s a lot we still don ’ t know , ” Sharfstein said .
“ You still want to see how it ’ s going.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ superintendent of schools , said districts “ are really eager ” to bring students back if they can do so safely .
She said many have talked about wanting to serve students that have been the most disconnected and had the most challenges with distance learning , such as those with disabilities , foster youth and homeless students .
She said the union requirement is “ definitely a challenge.
” “ I ’ m hoping that maybe when the Department of Public Health looks at the specific data closest to that school , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comfortable , ” she said .
“ It is going to be a challenge for districts if their teachers feel their own health is going to be at risk.
” Some districts , including those that serve low-income and wealthier families , said they would not apply for a waiver despite being given the option .
One superintendent whose district serves primarily low-income families said its teachers association is concerned about members ’ safety and the county ’ s current status as a COVID-19 hot spot .
Another , Palmdale School District Supt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was placing all its efforts into distance learning for the time being but might consider a waiver as the situation improves .
“ Reopening school is not like opening a gym or a restaurant , ” he said .
“ There is a lot of planning that needs to be done.
” Melissa Moore , superintendent of El Segundo Unified School District , also said meeting the criteria for a waiver “ is not as simple as filling out a form.
” “ With the current metrics on COVID-19 in L.A. County , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to remain nonnegotiable before moving forward with submitting a waiver , ” she said .

Student items are left as they were on March 13 in the second-grade classroom of teacher Mrs. Miranda at Cerritos Elementary School in Glendale.
School districts, charters and private schools in L.A. County may begin applying within days for waivers that would allow them to reopen elementary schools in person — but public schools will have to show they have union support, county public health officials said Thursday.
The requirement to show union support will likely give some charters and private schools — most of whose teachers are not unionized — an advantage in qualifying for a waiver, potentially exacerbating the divide between well-off students and their more disadvantaged peers, which has only grown during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some also said it would needlessly politicize the process.
“If the L.A. [County Department of Public Health] wants to use science and data to determine the merit of a waiver, then I can support that,” Supt. Alex Cherniss of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District said in an emailed statement.
“But to require a letter of support from parent organizations and labor unions seems outside of the scope of their responsibility and veers off from science to politics. It would not only pit parents, teachers and school districts against each other, but it would also create an unfair ability for private schools.”
Advertisement
In an emailed response to questions, the Public Health department said it is “working on designing the application process to be in compliance with state requirements.” It did not specify whether private schools and charters would have to show some form of parent or teacher support as well.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced last week that schools in counties that are on the state’s monitoring list — 32 counties as of the announcement — may not physically open for in-person instruction until their county has come off the list for 14 consecutive days.
He said the only exception would be for elementary schools that apply for waivers through their health officers, who must consider local data and consult with the California Department of Public Health when reviewing the request.
Districts may apply for a waiver to reopen only for in-classroom instruction for students in transitional kindergarten through 6th grade.
The waiver application must include letters of support from all labor partners, parent organizations and community-based organizations that provide educational services for children in the district, the department said.
Advertisement
In addition, districts must complete a “reopening protocol checklist” documenting steps that will be in place to ensure that public health directives are followed, including a plan for managing outbreaks, testing strategy for employees, and requirement that everyone over 2 years of age wear face coverings while on school campuses.
The county public health department would then review and provide superintendents with trend data for their area, including number of cases, number of deaths and changes in case and death rates over the past month. It would also evaluate capacity at regional hospitals and, together with the state department of public health, assess each district’s risk and preparedness for reopening safely in determining whether to grant the waiver.
“We’re going to do our best to use the available data and the science to ensure that the health and well-being, both physical and emotional, of all children, teachers, school staff and all of their families remains the top priority,” county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said at a news conference Wednesday during which she discussed the waivers.
Joshua Sharfstein, a professor of health policy at Johns Hopkins University, said it is prudent to reopen schools slowly.
“California is going through this in a very thoughtful way because they’re making those first set of schools go through an extra set of hoops — so hopefully you can learn from them before you open more widely,” he said.
Beginning with younger students makes sense, too, he said.
“They appear to benefit the most from in-person schooling, and they appear to be at somewhat less risk for transmitting the virus,” Sharfstein said. “Both the value and the risk point in the direction of younger kids being able to go to school.”
He said that health officials should grant waivers based on a combination of the local circumstances and the protections that can be put into place — and then track what happens.
“There’s a lot we still don’t know,” Sharfstein said. “You still want to see how it’s going.”
Debra Duardo, L.A. County’s superintendent of schools, said districts “are really eager” to bring students back if they can do so safely. She said many have talked about wanting to serve students that have been the most disconnected and had the most challenges with distance learning, such as those with disabilities, foster youth and homeless students.
She said the union requirement is “definitely a challenge.”
“I’m hoping that maybe when the Department of Public Health looks at the specific data closest to that school, maybe some union members will feel more comfortable,” she said. “It is going to be a challenge for districts if their teachers feel their own health is going to be at risk.”
Some districts, including those that serve low-income and wealthier families, said they would not apply for a waiver despite being given the option. One superintendent whose district serves primarily low-income families said its teachers association is concerned about members’ safety and the county’s current status as a COVID-19 hot spot.
Another, Palmdale School District Supt. Raul Maldonado, said his district was placing all its efforts into distance learning for the time being but might consider a waiver as the situation improves.
“Reopening school is not like opening a gym or a restaurant,” he said. “There is a lot of planning that needs to be done.”
Melissa Moore, superintendent of El Segundo Unified School District, also said meeting the criteria for a waiver “is not as simple as filling out a form.”
“With the current metrics on COVID-19 in L.A. County, the safety of students and staff need to remain nonnegotiable before moving forward with submitting a waiver,” she said.