latimes--2020-03-30--As she lay dying of the coronavirus, her family said goodbye through a window

Hector Juarez said goodbye to his mother through the window as he stood outside Delano Regional Medical Center on Thursday .
Susana Garcia , 52 , was hooked up to a ventilator and heavily sedated as COVID-19 ravaged her body .
Fears over the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus meant that she was in isolation and the hospital was not allowing visitors .
But staffers opened the blinds so Juarez and his sister could peer inside Garcia ’ s ground-floor ICU room .
“ We got to see her one last time , ” said Juarez , 27 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ becoming the first Kern County resident whose death was attributed to the virus .
Weeks earlier , she had been celebrating with family .
They gathered in San Jose for her mother ’ s 68th birthday on March 7 .
It felt especially important to come together , Juarez said , because his grandfather had died about a month before .
Though Santa Clara County was emerging as an early hotbed of the virus , at the time it had reported just 32 cases .
It was days before the county began prohibiting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a week before it issued an order directing residents to stay at home .
When Garcia returned to her Delano home March 13 , she had a cough and runny nose that she shook off as allergies .
Over the next five days , her symptoms grew to include a fever , cold sweats and crushing fatigue .
By March 18 , she felt she could no longer breathe , Juarez said .
A family member took her to the emergency room , and she was admitted into the ICU that night .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ for COVID-19 .
Her results came back positive six days later .
In the meantime , her decline was steady and unsparing .
Medication to keep her fever down didn ’ t seem to work , nor did the cooling blankets she was wrapped in .
Her temperature soared past 105 degrees .
Chest X-rays showed that her lungs were declining .
She was given an oxygen mask .
On Tuesday , she called Juarez ’ s sister to say that she was afraid , Juarez said .
“ She was very scared @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a lot of trouble breathing , ” he said .
“ She knew at that point that something was completely wrong.
” Then the hospital held a conference call with Garcia and her family during which doctors said her body wasn ’ t getting enough oxygen and that she needed to be put on a ventilator .
“ We let her know , ‘ Mom , it ’ s going to be OK. We ’ re going to be waiting for you here once you get your lungs healthy again and we ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at home soon , ’ ” Juarez said .
“ That was the last time we spoke to my mom.
” The family made the difficult decision to have Garcia intubated .
Juarez and his sister , who live about 30 minutes away in Bakersfield , rushed to the hospital to see their mother before she was placed on the machine .
But by the time they arrived , Garcia had already been sedated , Juarez said .
That was the first time they saw her through the window .
Two days later @ @ @ @ @ @ @ later she was gone .
The oldest of seven siblings , Garcia is also survived by her mother , her daughter , two sons and five granddaughters .
She had a history of medical conditions , including diabetes and cardiac problems that prompted a triple-bypass surgery 12 years ago , Juarez said .
About 2½ years ago , she was bitten by a brown recluse spider and nearly lost her leg , he said .
It took about a year for her to regain sensation and learn to walk again .
The spider @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a small-business owner , forcing her to step away from the sporting goods store she ’ d acquired in Delano after selling a furniture store she ’ d owned before that , Juarez said .
But her health had been good since she recovered , Juarez said , and she maintained an active social life .
“ She was well known in the community for her kindness and how bubbly her personality was , ” he said .
“ That ’ s why she had so many friendships.
” Since Garcia ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an outpouring of support from the community .
An online fundraising page Juarez set up to help with her funeral expenses reached its goal of $ 10,000 within 12 hours .
But the funeral itself is on hold indefinitely , as gatherings are prohibited .
For now , the family members grieve alone .
After Garcia became ill , other family members who attended the gathering in San Jose were tested for the virus , and a few of them are positive , Juarez said .
He declined to disclose many details , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he says have led some to refer to him and his relatives as “ an infected family ” on social media .
But one of his aunts is now in anintensive-care unit in San Francisco because of COVID-19 , and she is battling for her life , he said .
“ We had my grandfather ’ s loss , now my mom ’ s loss , ” he said .
“ God knows we can ’ t bear another loss in the family at this point.
” Juarez said he ’ s concerned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to the beach , and he hopes that hearing his story might move them to heed warnings from public health officials .
“ It ’ s important that people stay home and stay safe and they take all the precautions that the health departments are giving us to stop spreading this virus , ” he said .
“ Because , unfortunately , it hit home for us but it can hit anybody , and it ’ s devastating .
”

Susie Garcia, 52, with her three children and three of her grandchildren.
Hector Juarez said goodbye to his mother through the window as he stood outside Delano Regional Medical Center on Thursday.
Susana Garcia, 52, was hooked up to a ventilator and heavily sedated as COVID-19 ravaged her body. Fears over the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus meant that she was in isolation and the hospital was not allowing visitors.
But staffers opened the blinds so Juarez and his sister could peer inside Garcia’s ground-floor ICU room.
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“We got to see her one last time,” said Juarez, 27.
Garcia died at 2:10 a.m. Friday, becoming the first Kern County resident whose death was attributed to the virus.
Weeks earlier, she had been celebrating with family.
They gathered in San Jose for her mother’s 68th birthday on March 7. It felt especially important to come together, Juarez said, because his grandfather had died about a month before.
Though Santa Clara County was emerging as an early hotbed of the virus, at the time it had reported just 32 cases. It was days before the county began prohibiting even public gatherings, and more than a week before it issued an order directing residents to stay at home.
When Garcia returned to her Delano home March 13, she had a cough and runny nose that she shook off as allergies. Over the next five days, her symptoms grew to include a fever, cold sweats and crushing fatigue.
By March 18, she felt she could no longer breathe, Juarez said. A family member took her to the emergency room, and she was admitted into the ICU that night. The following day, she was tested for COVID-19. Her results came back positive six days later.
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In the meantime, her decline was steady and unsparing. Medication to keep her fever down didn’t seem to work, nor did the cooling blankets she was wrapped in. Her temperature soared past 105 degrees. Chest X-rays showed that her lungs were declining. She was given an oxygen mask.
On Tuesday, she called Juarez’s sister to say that she was afraid, Juarez said.
“She was very scared for her life because she was having a lot of trouble breathing,” he said. “She knew at that point that something was completely wrong.”
Then the hospital held a conference call with Garcia and her family during which doctors said her body wasn’t getting enough oxygen and that she needed to be put on a ventilator.
“We let her know, ‘Mom, it’s going to be OK. We’re going to be waiting for you here once you get your lungs healthy again and we’ll all be able to be together at home soon,’” Juarez said. “That was the last time we spoke to my mom.”
The family made the difficult decision to have Garcia intubated.
Juarez and his sister, who live about 30 minutes away in Bakersfield, rushed to the hospital to see their mother before she was placed on the machine. But by the time they arrived, Garcia had already been sedated, Juarez said.
That was the first time they saw her through the window. Two days later was the last time. Three days later she was gone.
The oldest of seven siblings, Garcia is also survived by her mother, her daughter, two sons and five granddaughters.
She had a history of medical conditions, including diabetes and cardiac problems that prompted a triple-bypass surgery 12 years ago, Juarez said. About 2½ years ago, she was bitten by a brown recluse spider and nearly lost her leg, he said. It took about a year for her to regain sensation and learn to walk again.
The spider bite also sidelined her from her career as a small-business owner, forcing her to step away from the sporting goods store she’d acquired in Delano after selling a furniture store she’d owned before that, Juarez said.
But her health had been good since she recovered, Juarez said, and she maintained an active social life.
“She was well known in the community for her kindness and how bubbly her personality was,” he said. “That’s why she had so many friendships.”
Since Garcia’s death, the family has received an outpouring of support from the community. An online fundraising page Juarez set up to help with her funeral expenses reached its goal of $10,000 within 12 hours.
But the funeral itself is on hold indefinitely, as gatherings are prohibited. For now, the family members grieve alone.
They also worry.
After Garcia became ill, other family members who attended the gathering in San Jose were tested for the virus, and a few of them are positive, Juarez said.
He declined to disclose many details, fearing he’d fan rumors that he says have led some to refer to him and his relatives as “an infected family” on social media.
But one of his aunts is now in an intensive-care unit in San Francisco because of COVID-19, and she is battling for her life, he said.
“We had my grandfather’s loss, now my mom’s loss,” he said. “God knows we can’t bear another loss in the family at this point.”
Juarez said he’s concerned by reports of people crowding parks and going to the beach, and he hopes that hearing his story might move them to heed warnings from public health officials.
“It’s important that people stay home and stay safe and they take all the precautions that the health departments are giving us to stop spreading this virus,” he said. “Because, unfortunately, it hit home for us but it can hit anybody, and it’s devastating.”


latimes--2020-03-30--San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies, firefighters test positive for coronavirus

Two San Bernardino County Sheriff ’ s Department deputies and two firefighters have tested positive for COVID-19 , the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus , county officials said .
All four began self-isolating after they started to experience flu-like symptoms .
They later tested positive for the virus and appear to be doing well , authorities said Sunday .
Sheriff ’ s officials said in a statement that they are investigating how their deputies , who were assigned to the department ’ s Detentions and Corrections Bureau , became infected .
“ Although we do not know when and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus , we continue to encourage all members to heed the warnings of health officials while on and off duty , ” officials wrote in a statement .
San Bernardino County fire officials also say it is not clear how their personnel were exposed to the virus .
One of the firefighters works for the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District .
The other works for the Montclair Fire Department , officials said .
Despite the infections , county fire officials say fire and ambulance services “ remain robust and are fully staffed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” The news comes a day after county officials announced that facility tested positive for the virus after a resident of the facility died of COVID-19 last week .
At least one of the people who tested positive worked at the facility , which officials did not name .
A resident of a second Yucaipa nursing facility also has symptoms of the illness , officials said .
County public health staffers are working with both facilities to expedite testing of all residents and employees , they said .
San Bernardino County had recorded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deaths as of Monday morning .

Two San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department deputies and two firefighters have tested positive for COVID-19, officials said.
Two San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department deputies and two firefighters have tested positive for COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus, county officials said.
All four began self-isolating after they started to experience flu-like symptoms. They later tested positive for the virus and appear to be doing well, authorities said Sunday.
Sheriff’s officials said in a statement that they are investigating how their deputies, who were assigned to the department’s Detentions and Corrections Bureau, became infected.
“Although we do not know when and where the deputies were exposed to the virus, we continue to encourage all members to heed the warnings of health officials while on and off duty,” officials wrote in a statement.
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San Bernardino County fire officials also say it is not clear how their personnel were exposed to the virus. One of the firefighters works for the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District. The other works for the Montclair Fire Department, officials said.
Despite the infections, county fire officials say fire and ambulance services “remain robust and are fully staffed and equipped to respond to all emergencies.”
California L.A. suspends all farmers markets to slow coronavirus spread Experts say California will likely continue to see a surge in new cases and deaths in the coming weeks but hope that social distancing makes a difference.
The news comes a day after county officials announced that 12 people at a Yucaipa nursing facility tested positive for the virus after a resident of the facility died of COVID-19 last week. At least one of the people who tested positive worked at the facility, which officials did not name.
A resident of a second Yucaipa nursing facility also has symptoms of the illness, officials said. County public health staffers are working with both facilities to expedite testing of all residents and employees, they said.
San Bernardino County had recorded 111 cases of the virus and three deaths as of Monday morning.


latimes--2020-03-30--Still riding the Metro? You may be the only one: 10 scenes from L.A.'s transit system

Ridership on California ’ s largest transit system has fallen by more than half during the coronavirus outbreak as life @ @ @ @ @ all but ground to a halt , officials say .
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan @ @ @ @ @ to shut down the system .
The Metro is a “ lifeline ” for people @ @ @ @ @ to essential jobs , take care of relatives , go to medical appointments and run @ @ @ @ @ Washington says .
Los Angeles Times photographer Brian van der Brug gives us a look @ @ @ @ @ during the coronavirus pandemic .

Ridership on California’s largest transit system has fallen by more than half during the coronavirus outbreak as life in Los Angeles County has all but ground to a halt, officials say.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority does not plan to shut down the system. The Metro is a “lifeline” for people who still need to commute to essential jobs, take care of relatives, go to medical appointments and run errands, Chief Executive Phil Washington says.
Los Angeles Times photographer Brian van der Brug gives us a look inside the L.A. Metro system during the coronavirus pandemic.
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A lone man rides the escalator up to Hollywood Boulevard at the Metro Red Line Hollywood/Vine station in Hollywood. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
LAPD officers patrol inside the 7th Street/Metro Center subway station in Los Angeles. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Metro B Line train operator walks toward the cab through a nearly empty North Hollywood station. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)
A couple nap during their commute on a Metro B Line train. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
An L.A. Metro custodian cleans a transit map inside the North Hollywood station. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
A man waits for a train on a nearly deserted platform at the Wilshire/Vermont station in Los Angeles. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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Metro A Line riders exit a train at Pico Station, donning masks in an effort to guard against the coronavirus. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
A woman rides an early-morning Orange Line bus in Canoga Park. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Danny Armada is accompanied by his own reflection on an Orange Line bus in Woodland Hills. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
California These 13 photos show Southern California’s strangely empty airports Airline service in the United States is teetering on the brink of collapse, with near-empty planes and coronavirus outbreaks that have left some air traffic control towers empty.


latimes--2020-03-30--A 25-year-old pharmacy tech dies from coronavirus. It's an urgent warning for young people

The death of a 25-year-old California man from the coronavirus infection underscores what medical experts say is a key point : Even young adults can be vulnerable to the virus .
While the older population and frail people are at great risk , officials said the young also need to know they can become sick and even die .
The man who died was discovered Wednesday in a La Quinta residence in the Coachella Valley , said Brooke Federico , Riverside County ’ s public information officer .
He was a San Diego resident but had not been publicly identified @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had no known underlying health conditions , officials said .
Few other details were provided , including how he contracted the coronavirus .
“ This is a deeply saddening reminder that COVID-19 kills the young and healthy too , ” said Dr. Cameron Kaiser , Riverside County ’ s public health officer .
“ Stay safe .
Keep travel and errands to essentials and observe social distance no matter how young or well you are .
Our condolences and thoughts are with everyone this pandemic has touched.
” Dr. Shawn Evans , an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ La Jolla , said last week that he recently saw a 23-year-old stricken with severe complications from the virus .
Seeing these situations up close , he said , underlines the notion that being in one ’ s 20s does not come with immunological superpowers .
At least not where COVID-19 is concerned .
For some , he said , it just seems like the virus has the keys to a patient ’ s entire immune response and age doesn ’ t seem to matter .
“ You do not know what your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from one month to the next , ” Evans said .
“ Do not chance it .
Do not assume that because you ’ re young , and you feel bulletproof , that you ’ re not the person that ’ s going to wind up in the ICU.
” Dr. Hai Shao , an infectious disease specialist at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center , said it ’ s clear there is additional risk for young people who are carrying extra weight when they are infected .
“ We have seen people in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for their lives simply because they are morbidly obese , ” Shao said .
Like Evans , he cautioned against the narrative that this disease isn ’ t so bad for young people .
“ The notion that , ‘ Oh , younger people can be excluded and they ’ re usually asymptomatic or mild , ’ we know from the experience in China and now from the United States , younger generations , they can get very sick as well.
” These are the latest California cases with age ranges among coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Los Angeles County : Last week , there was some confusion about the death of a Lancaster teenager and whether he was a victim of COVID-19 .
Initially , officials believed he died from the coronavirus infection .
But they soon pulled back , saying more tests were needed to determine the teen ’ s cause of death .
“ Though early tests indicated a positive result for COVID-19 , the case is complex , and there may be an alternate explanation for this fatality .
Patient privacy prevents our offering further details @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Public Health said in a statement .
The family told Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris the teen was complaining of respiratory distress when he first went to an HMO facility , but officials there declined to treat him .
The family does not have health insurance .
A few days later , the boy was taken to Antelope Valley Regional Medical Center , Parris said .
Brown and Winton write for The Times .
Warth writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune .
Paul Sisson contributed to this report .

Kailyn Brown, Richard Winton, Gary Warth

Riverside County medical personnel help each other with personal protection equipment at a drive-though coronavirus testing facility for Coachella Valley residents in Indian Wells.
The death of a 25-year-old California man from the coronavirus infection underscores what medical experts say is a key point: Even young adults can be vulnerable to the virus.
While the older population and frail people are at great risk, officials said the young also need to know they can become sick and even die.
For the record: An earlier version of this article said a 25-year-old pharmacy technician who died from the coronavirus in Riverside County was found in a La Quinta hotel. The man was found in a residence in the city of La Quinta.
The victim
The man who died was discovered Wednesday in a La Quinta residence in the Coachella Valley, said Brooke Federico, Riverside County’s public information officer. He was a San Diego resident but had not been publicly identified as of Monday.
The pharmacy technician had no known underlying health conditions, officials said. Few other details were provided, including how he contracted the coronavirus.
“This is a deeply saddening reminder that COVID-19 kills the young and healthy too,” said Dr. Cameron Kaiser, Riverside County’s public health officer. “Stay safe. Keep travel and errands to essentials and observe social distance no matter how young or well you are. Our condolences and thoughts are with everyone this pandemic has touched.”
Big picture
Dr. Shawn Evans, an emergency medical physician at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, said last week that he recently saw a 23-year-old stricken with severe complications from the virus. Seeing these situations up close, he said, underlines the notion that being in one’s 20s does not come with immunological superpowers. At least not where COVID-19 is concerned.
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For some, he said, it just seems like the virus has the keys to a patient’s entire immune response and age doesn’t seem to matter.
“You do not know what your own immune system is going to do from one month to the next,” Evans said. “Do not chance it. Do not assume that because you’re young, and you feel bulletproof, that you’re not the person that’s going to wind up in the ICU.”
Dr. Hai Shao, an infectious disease specialist at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center, said it’s clear there is additional risk for young people who are carrying extra weight when they are infected.
“We have seen people in their 30s, even 20s, struggling for their lives simply because they are morbidly obese,” Shao said.
Like Evans, he cautioned against the narrative that this disease isn’t so bad for young people.
“The notion that, ‘Oh, younger people can be excluded and they’re usually asymptomatic or mild,’ we know from the experience in China and now from the United States, younger generations, they can get very sick as well.”
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The stats
These are the latest California cases with age ranges among coronavirus patients.
Age 0-17: 54
Age 18-49: 2,368
Age 50-64: 1,184
Age 65 and older: 1,016
Unknown: 21
This is the breakdown for Los Angeles County:
0-17: 27
18-40: 674
41-65: 676
Over 65: 343
A boy’s death
Last week, there was some confusion about the death of a Lancaster teenager and whether he was a victim of COVID-19.
Initially, officials believed he died from the coronavirus infection. But they soon pulled back, saying more tests were needed to determine the teen’s cause of death.
“Though early tests indicated a positive result for COVID-19, the case is complex, and there may be an alternate explanation for this fatality. Patient privacy prevents our offering further details at this time,” L.A. County Public Health said in a statement.
The family told Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris the teen was complaining of respiratory distress when he first went to an HMO facility, but officials there declined to treat him. The family does not have health insurance. A few days later, the boy was taken to Antelope Valley Regional Medical Center, Parris said.
Brown and Winton write for The Times. Warth writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune. Paul Sisson contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-03-30--Coronavirus deaths surpass 130 as California faces a critical few weeks

The California death toll from the coronavirus has risen to 133 , with officials warning of tough weeks ahead as the number of confirmed cases of the virus continues to surge .
The latest death was reported Monday morning by San Francisco ’ s Department of Public Health .
Details about the individual who died were not immediately available .
In order to assist with the growing number of cases , Gov .
Gavin Newsom announced Monday that his administration is launching the California Health Corps initiative , asking recent retirees and healthcare students nearing their degrees to join the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus .
Over the past four days , the number of intensive care patients in the state has tripled from 200 to 597 , and the number of hospitalizations has doubled from 746 to 1,432 .
Newsom also announced that 32.6 million N95 masks have been distributed throughout California , and that the state is working to obtain 10,000 additional ventilators .
The Army Corps of Engineers is also looking at several sites to house an additional 50,000 more hospital beds .
“ Still , more needs to be done , ” he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 6,400 confirmed cases of the virus in the state .
Experts say California will likely continue to see a rise in new cases and deaths for the next few weeks as testing capacity increases but hope that the social distancing measures imposed can slow the spread .
On Monday , Los Angeles Unified School District Supt .
Austin Beutner announced the first confirmed case of the virus in a district employee .
The infection was reported to officials last week .
“ Unfortunately as the virus spreads throughout the communities we serve , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only employee or member of our school community our school employee who is diagnosed with the virus , ” Beutner said .
Also on Monday , an inmate and four people who work in the Los Angeles County jails have tested positive for the coronavirus infection , heightening fears that the disease could spread quickly in the overcrowded jail system .
Health officers in six counties of the the San Francisco Bay Area will soon extend the shelter-in-place order until at least May 1 as more individuals test positive .
At a press @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said more people in the city seemed to be adhering to the shelter-in-place order over the weekend .
There are 374 confirmed cases of infected people in San Francisco , and six people have died .
The mayor said that at Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center – a skilled nursing and rehabilitation center with space for about 780 residents that is operated by the San Francisco Department of Public Health – nine employees and two patients of the facility have tested positive for COVID-19 .
Infection control nurses from the state and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been sent to San Francisco to help deal with the outbreak , officials said .
“ I am saddened to report Laguna Honda hospital has a growing outbreak of coronavirus , ” said Dr. Grant Colfax , director of public health for San Francisco .
Because long-term care facilities around the world have been among at great risk for coronavirus outbreaks , “ we expect the situation to unfortunately get worse , ” Colfax said .
“ The situation will escalate in Laguna Honda .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” said San Francisco Mayor London Breed .
The biggest immediate concern is for hospitals , which risk being overwhelmed by a growing number of sick patients .
To prepare for a surge in coronavirus patients , medical cots and equipment are being delivered to the San Mateo Event Center in the San Francisco Bay Area .
Deliveries began Sunday , and the National Guard is expected be at the center through Tuesday to set up the equipment .
The federal treatment site can house 250 patients with mild symptoms .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ surge could push the hospitals in our county to capacity and we ’ ll need another location to house patients requiring particular levels of care , ” County Manager Mike Callagy said .
“ We can ’ t just wait to see if this will happen.
” A Los Angeles Times found that California had 7,200 intensive-care beds across more than 365 hospitals .
In total , the state has more than 70,000 beds .
There is roughly one intensive-care bed for every 5,500 people in California , Times data show .
About @ @ @ @ @ @ @ beds — 3,700 — are in the five-county area around Los Angeles , according to data from 2018 , the most recent available .
In the nine-county Bay Area , there are roughly 1,400 ICU beds for a population of 7.6 million people .
Intensive-care beds allow for a higher level of treatment than regular beds , a level of care some COVID-19 patients require .
Those unable to breathe properly may need a breathing tube and to be hooked up to a ventilator , which physically pushes oxygen into the lungs .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , one projection from University of Washington epidemiologists suggested that California ’ s 9-day-old stay-at-home order might keep the hospital strain below catastrophic levels .
And Dr. Robert Kim-Farley , a UCLA epidemiologist , said Friday that after a considerable uptick in cases , “ I think we should be able to see some leveling off of those numbers in a couple of weeks because of the physical distancing measures.
” UC Berkeley biostatistics professor Nicholas Jewell says California will soon learn whether its limits on work and public movement have paid dividends @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as much as two weeks between transmission of the illness and the onset of symptoms , gauging the benefits of physical distancing takes time .
With California ’ s stay-at-home order less than 2 weeks old , people reporting the illness may have been infected prior to the limitations .
“ We need another week or two to really tell if California ’ s fairly quick shelter in place did make a difference , ” Jewell said .
“ It has the potential to make a huge difference .
I know that mathematically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that with any degree of certainty.
” Authorities were out in force over the weekend to make sure people were staying away from beaches , parks and hiking trails that were recently closed as part of unprecedented restrictions on public movements to slow the spread of the coronavirus .
Many people obeyed the closures .
One man , however , received a $ 1,000 citation on Saturday after he ignored numerous warnings by police and lifeguards cautioning him not to go in the water .
A Ventura County Sheriff ’ s Department cruiser @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a popular trail in Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks , where hundreds of hikers and families descended Saturday .
In Venice , a Los Angeles Police Department helicopter was seen circling a skate park , announcing that people who did not leave the area would be “ arrested for trespassing.
” Los Angeles County recorded five more coronavirus deaths on Sunday , bringing the total to 37 .
The county now has at least 2,100 confirmed cases , including more than 300 reported Sunday .
On Sunday , officials confirmed that two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deputies and two firefighters had tested positive for COVID-19 .
San Bernardino County had recorded 111 cases of the virus and three deaths as of Monday morning .
In Orange County , 431 cases of the virus have been reported , including four who died .
More cases and deaths were reported elsewhere across California , with officials warning that numbers will spike in the coming weeks .
The Navy hospital ship Mercy , which docked at the Port of Los Angeles on Friday , began receiving patients Sunday .
The boat is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from 22 commands , along with 70 civil mariners , who will treat patients who don ’ t have COVID-19 in order to help reduce the strain on the hospital system .
There were three patients aboard the ship as of Sunday afternoon .
“ The men and women embarked on board Mercy are energized , eager and ready to provide relief to those in need , ” said Capt .
John Rotruck , Mercy ’ s Military Treatment Facility commanding officer , in a news release .

Hannah Fry, Alex Wigglesworth, Taryn Luna, Colleen Shalby

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Monday a temporary suspension of all farmers’ markets, many of which have stayed open without restrictions during the coronavirus shutdowns.
Markets that wish to continue operating are required to submit a plan to ensure social distancing between customers.
“We want people to get access to food, but we can’t risk the spread of this disease,” Garcetti said.
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The mayor also said landlords would not be allowed to increase the rent for hundreds of thousands of apartments in the city, in his latest effort to ease the financial hardship on Angelenos from the coronavirus outbreak.
The announcement covers about 624,000 apartments that fall under the city’s rent stabilization program, according to city statistics.
Garcetti’s action on Monday increases protections for tenants, many of whom have rent due on April 1.
Garcetti said the Los Angeles Police Department on Monday visited 46 non-essential businesses that have resisted closing down. If those businesses continue to operate, they could face penalties, he said.
1 / 83 Socially distanced bikers and walkers, against a backdrop of the Queen Mary, make their way along pedestrian and beach bike path on the first day that Long Beach reopened the path on Monday May 11, 2020. The city of Long Beach eased a few of its public health restrictions, allowing under certain guidelines the reopening of pedestrian and beach bike paths, tennis centers and courts. Beach bathrooms are also reopening, but the parking lots and beaches still remain closed. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times) 2 / 83 Traffic remains light on the southbound 110 Freeway headed toward downtown Los Angeles on April 28. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 83 Dominique Barrett, center, known as “King Vader” to his 2.4 million TikTok followers, prepares to shoot a video on April 30 in Glendora. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 83 Cody Purcell of Redondo Beach rides a wave, glowing from the bioluminescence, in Hermosa Beach, CA, after midnight Friday morning, May 8. (Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times) 5 / 83 Friends play spikeball, a game perfect for social distancing on an open but restricted San Buenaventura State Beach. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 83 The majority of golfers are wearing masks while hitting balls on the driving range at Van Buren Executive Golf Course in Riverside. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 83 Beaches including Harbor Cove Beach were open but beachgoers were not supposed to be sitting on the sand. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 83 Tango instructor Yelizaveta Nersesova leads a Zoom tango event from her Los Angeles home April 27 that brought together hundreds of dancers from around the world. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 83 Grocery store workers, joined by United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 770 representatives and community members, hold a rally in support of strict social distancing on May 1 at a Ralphs store in Hollywood where 19 employees have tested positive for COVID-19. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 83 Mostly masked commuters keep their distance from one another on a Metro bus in downtown Los Angeles on April 29. (Gabriella Angotti-Jones / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 83 Gregory Kuhl, 69, heads home after a shopping trip in Hollywood on April 28. Big cracks in the street, cars parked in driveways blocking sidewalks and uneven pavement levels make navigating his route difficult. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 83 Tenants and their supporters from across Los Angeles gather at city hall to call on L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, the L.A. City Council and California Gov. Gavin Newsom to cancel rent and mortgage payments during the COVID-19 crisis. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 83 Aerial view of over 100 vehicles lined up at the West Valley COVID-19 testing center at Warner Center in Woodland Hills. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 83 Senior Mason Wise, left, helps his sister, Mackenzie, a sophomore, clean out her PE locker at El Camino Real Charter High School in Woodland Hills. School officials were allowing no more than five students at a time on campus to take home their belongings. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 83 Shuttered storefront businesses in the garment district of Los Angeles. California’s unemployment rate has skyrocketed since the statewide coronavirus shutdown took effect. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 83 Healthcare workers celebrate as Claudia Martinez is discharged from the ICU after she recovered from COVID-19 at Scripps Mercy Hospital in Chula Vista. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 83 Carson residents Kaeli Burks, 3, left, and her cousin Bailey Watson, 5, look out the window of their car after their mothers helped them with self-testing at a new drive-up testing site for COVID-19 in Carson. Free COVID-19 testing is available to all city residents thanks to a partnership between the city and US Health Fairs. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 83 Norm and Tracy Kahn enjoy eating dinner outside on a small cafe table sitting in blue chairs on their side yard during the coronavirus pandemic on April 27 in Riverside. “During this pandemic, eating outside offers us an opportunity to change surrounding and appreciate the calmness of being outdoors among trees, scents from nature and the sounds of birds,” she said. Also adding, “Mixing up where we eat puts variety into our days and takes away the sameness of feeling trapped at home.” (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 83 Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center nurses carry supplies outside the hospital. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 83 Tom Sean Foley pauses on a walk with his kids, Cathelen Claire, “C.C.,” 3, and Timothy Joseph, 4, to take a photo in front of the “Love Wall,” mural by artist Curtis Kulig, outside of Smashbox Studios in Culver City. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 83 Protesters stand along Mission Blvd. in Pacific Beach during A Day of Liberty rally on April 26. The protesters were against the government shutdown due to the coronavirus. (K.C. Alfred / San Diego Union-Tribune) 22 / 83 People make orders at a food truck along Shoreline Avenue in Long Beach. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 83 Medical staff, wearing protective gear, work inside a COVID-19 isolation area inside the emergency department at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center in Los Angeles, where patients with the virus are being treated. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 83 Neighbors practice social distancing while enjoying the nice weather near The Strand in Hermosa Beach. (Gabriella Angotti-Jones / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 83 Counter-protesters attend a protest to call on state and local officials to reopen the economy in downtown Los Angeles. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 83 A group of protesters cheer on cars during a vehicle caravan protest to call on state and local officials to reopen the economy in downtown Los Angeles. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 83 Cedar Mountain Post Acute Rehabilitation staff member Navi Cavaltera waters a flower pot put up by the community to show their support for the nursing staff of the facility in Yucaipa. Eighteen of 20 coronavirus-related deaths in Yucaipa were residents of the skilled nursing facility. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 83 A pedestrian wearing a protective mask passes a mural on a store on Melrose Avenue in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 83 Jonte Florence, a freestyle dancer, does a handstand on a mostly empty Hollywood Walk of Fame. Florence said he normally performs for hundreds of tourists along the busy street. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 83 The Tyrannosaurus rex overlooking the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue wears a protective mask while practicing social distancing. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 31 / 83 Businesses are shuttered and pedestrians are few and far between on Hollywood Boulevard. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 32 / 83 Daniel Rogerson wears a vintage military gas mask while riding a bike along the beach path in Santa Monica, which is closed to enforce social distancing because of the coronavirus pandemic. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 83 A face mask seller in colorful dress appears to be part of a mural behind a bus stop on Soto Street in Los Angeles. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 83 Life around Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard and Soto Street has slowed down as California officials extended stay-at-home orders into May and residents entered Easter weekend with unprecedented limits on their movements. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 83 UC Irvine Medical Center health care workers return their gratitude as about 25 Orange County first responder vehicles participate in a drive-by parade of gratitude as they battle COVID-19 at the hospital. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 36 / 83 Billy Budd, 55, of Hollywood, walks along Hollywood Boulevard with a protective face covering. Budd is a scenic artist for movies and television who is currently out of work due to the coronavirus outbreak. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 37 / 83 Stuart Reyes and his sister, Stephanie, sell masks for $5 each on the 3000 block of West Century Boulevard in Inglewood. Stuart Reyes said he is selling masks to support his mother. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 83 A jogger runs on a closed trail past dozens of pieces of caution tape, torn off by hikers and mountain bikers at El Escorpion Canyon Park in West Hills. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 39 / 83 Alex Herron and nurse Mercy Pineda at a blood drive sponsored by USC athletics and the American Red Cross at USC’s Galen Center. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 40 / 83 Los Angeles City Hall displays blue lights to show support for healthcare workers and first responders. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 41 / 83 After being indoors for several days because of rainy weather and coronavirus stay-at-home orders, Olivia Jacobs, 4, and her mom, Cia Jacobs, enjoy a warm and sunny afternoon making chalk drawings on the sidewalk in front of their home in West Hills. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 42 / 83 An Oceanview Plaza security guard sports a whimsical mask while on patrol. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 43 / 83 Jacob De Wilde, left, and Lesli Lytle load a car with food during a food distribution organized to mark Good Friday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 44 / 83 As a late season storm continues to make its way across the Southland, a young basketball player dribbles along an alley through an Elysian Park neighborhood in Los Angeles. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 45 / 83 People are silhouetted in a window of an apartment building in Hollywood, where a stay-at-home order remains in effect to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 46 / 83 The Wilshire Grand Center display blue lights and a heart to show support for healthcare workers and first responders. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 47 / 83 Women wear masks as they stroll along Highland Avenue in Hollywood. Wearing masks while outdoors is mandatory in the city of Los Angeles. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 48 / 83 Patients are removed from Magnolia Rehabilitation and Nursing Center after 39 tested positive for the coronavirus and nursing staff was not showing up to work. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 49 / 83 A specimen is turned in at the new mobile testing site for people with symptoms of the coronavirus at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in South Los Angeles. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) 50 / 83 Hippie Kitchen in Los Angeles hands out food, water and toiletries to homeless people and residents of skid row. Additionally, masks were offered to help reduce the spread of the coronavirus. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) 51 / 83 Nurses pose for a fun photo during a break in drive-through public testing for the coronavirus at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 52 / 83 A woman shows a notice from her doctor that allows her to obtain a test for coronavirus at a new drive-up testing site in a parking lot at the South Bay Galleria in Redondo Beach. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 53 / 83 A person who wishes to remain anonymous strikes from her car to support McDonald’s employees who are demanding the company cover healthcare costs of any worker or immediate family member who gets sick from COVID-19 in Los Angeles. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times) 54 / 83 Cassidy Roosen, with Beach Cities Health District, holds up a sign that says, “We’re All in This Together,” while waiting to direct cars at a drive-through, appointment-only coronavirus testing location at the South Bay Galleria in Redondo Beach. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 55 / 83 Juliann Hartman, center, and her husband, Butch, wave signs they created to cheer up people on Calabasas Road in Calabasas during the pandemic. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 56 / 83 Grace Carter, 15, of Riverside, practices a dance routine at home after dance classes and school were canceled. She has to use the Zoom app on her iPhone to practice with her dance group. “It’s hard,” she said. “My bedroom is a smaller space. I miss all my friends at the studio.” (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 57 / 83 A man works from his home in Long Beach. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 58 / 83 A San Bernardino County healthcare worker takes a sample at a coronavirus drive-through testing site at the county fairgrounds in Victorville. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 59 / 83 A Metro general service employee disinfects a bench in Boyle Heights. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 60 / 83 A runner jogs past the Pottery Barn in Pasadena. Some businesses in the area have boarded up their stores. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 61 / 83 Raquel Lezama and daughter Monica Ramos collect meals for their family at Manual Arts High School. Lezama was laid off from her $17.76-an-hour job at a Beverly Hills hotel. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 62 / 83 The Iron City Tavern in San Pedro tries an incentive to lure takeout customers. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 63 / 83 Healthcare workers gather outside UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center to call for further action from the federal government in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 64 / 83 Kristen Edgerle, of Victorville, collects information from a blood donor before drawing blood at The Richard Nixon Presidential Library blood drive during the coronavirus pandemic in Yorba Linda. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times) 65 / 83 Shauna Jin, of Los Angeles, with her dog, Bodhi, practices social distancing with John Kiss, of Los Angeles, at the entrance of Runyon Canyon Park in Los Angeles. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 66 / 83 A lending library had some additional useful items, including a roll of toilet paper and cans of beans and corn, in a Hermosa Beach neighborhood. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 67 / 83 Protesters drive by the Getty House, the home of L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, in Hancock Park. Tenant advocates are demanding a total moratorium on evictions during the coronavirus crisis. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 68 / 83 Venice residents Emily Berry and Gavin Kelley take a break at Venice Beach. Berry, a cocktail waitress at Enterprise Fish Co., lost her job due to the coronavirus outbreak. Kelley, a manager at a performing arts school with a focus on music, said that he still has a job and that classes at the school will resume online this coming Monday. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 69 / 83 The JW Marriott at L.A. Live is sharing a message of hope with red lights in 34 windows, creating a 19-story display on the hotel’s north side. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 70 / 83 Juan Diaz Jr., a lifelong Dodgers fan, prays that the season will start by May in front of Dodger Stadium on what would have been opening day. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 71 / 83 Hayley, CEO and founder of Love My Neighbor Foundation, right, dances with Crystal Armster, 51, while she and her colleagues continue to feed the homeless on skid row amid the pandemic. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 72 / 83 A masked passenger on a Metro bus in downtown Los Angeles. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 73 / 83 Dede Oneal waits for a coronavirus test at the Crenshaw Christian Center in South Los Angeles. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 74 / 83 A man in a mask passes a closed restaurant along Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 75 / 83 Artist Corie Mattie paints a mural on the side of a pop-up store as a man takes a picture in West Hollywood. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 76 / 83 Medical assistant Zoila Villalta works with Rosie Boston, 32, of Glendale, who is donating blood for her first time at L.A. Care Health Plan downtown. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 77 / 83 A couple wait for a bus outside the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 78 / 83 With all Los Angeles schools closed until further notice, LAUSD buses sit idle in Gardena. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 79 / 83 A lone traveler makes his way to catch a flight in Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 80 / 83 Denise Young looks on as her daughter, Allison, 9, a fourth-grader at EARThS (Environmental Academy of Research Technology and Earth Sciences) Magnet School in Newbury Park, receives a Chromebook. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 81 / 83 Hollywood Boulevard is devoid of the usual crowds. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 82 / 83 Michael Ray, 11, plays before a movie at the Paramount Drive-In. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 83 / 83 Isabella Leader, 15, counts how many flags have been left for World War II veteran Lt. Col. Sam Sachs who was celebrating his 105th birthday at the Mom & Dad’s House, an assisted living facility, in Lakewood. Lt. Col. Sachs appealed to the public for birthday cards after the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of a big celebration and wound up receiving thousands, including a letter and photo from President Trump. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Los Angeles County officials on Monday confirmed seven new coronavirus-linked deaths, bringing the death toll to 44.
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Six of the victims were 65 or older, and one was between the ages of 41 and 65, county Public Health Department director Barbara Ferrer said.
Ferrer announced an additional 342 cases of the virus in the county, bringing the total to 2,474. That count includes individuals who have recovered from COVID-19, a number that officials are working to accurately track.
More than 15,500 people have been tested for the coronavirus in the county, with 12% showing positive.
“Although our numbers continually rise, we have to assume there are others infected,” Ferrer said.
Officials are investigating cases at 25 institutions in the county, including 18 nursing homes or skilled nursing facilities. Eleven of those locations have three or more coronavirus cases, which Ferrer said is the mark of an outbreak.
Within the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, four employees and one inmate have tested positive for coronavirus, according to LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva.
Test results take five to six days on average, Ferrer said, calling this week an important time frame to assess whether cases double or triple.
“Those are the numbers needed to more accurately predict what the peak will be,” she said.
California’s death toll from the coronavirus surpassed 130, with officials warning of tough weeks ahead as the number of confirmed cases continues to surge.
A new death was reported Monday morning by San Francisco’s Department of Public Health. Details about the individual who died were not immediately available.
In order to assist with the growing number of cases in the state, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that his administration is launching the California Health Corps initiative, asking recent retirees and healthcare students nearing graduation to join the state’s efforts to combat the virus.
Over the past four days, the number of intensive care patients in the state has tripled — from 200 to 597 — and the number of hospitalizations has nearly doubled, from 746 to 1,432.
Newsom said that 32.6 million N95 masks have been distributed throughout California and that the state is working to obtain 10,000 additional ventilators. The Army Corps of Engineers is looking at several sites to house an additional 50,000 hospital beds.
“Still, more needs to be done,” the governor said.
In Orange County, the number of cases hit 464 Monday. The number of confirmed cases has more than tripled in a week. Currently, the cities of Anaheim, Irvine and Newport Beach have 126 confirmed cases among them — one more than the entire county had only a week ago.
Two men and two women have died. Three of the victims were at least 65, and one was between the age of 45 and 64, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.
So far, 5,522 people have been tested countywide.
There are currently more than 6,500 confirmed cases of the virus in the state.
Experts say California will likely continue to see a rise in new cases and deaths for the next few weeks as testing capacity increases but hope that the social distancing measures imposed can slow the spread.
The California Department of Public Health announced Monday that it would no longer collect information about how residents might have contracted the virus.
“Community transmission of COVID-19 has been identified in California since late February, and since early March, most of the confirmed cases in the state were not related to travel outside of the United States,” the state agency said in a statement.
Health officers in several Bay Area counties will extend their shelter-in-place order until at least May 1. At a news conference Monday, San Francisco Mayor London Breed said more people seemed to adhere to the stay-at-home order over the weekend. There are 374 COVID-19 cases in San Francisco, and six people have died of the virus.
The biggest immediate concern as the virus continue to spread is for hospitals, which risk being overwhelmed by a growing number of sick patients.
Breed said that at Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, a skilled nursing and rehabilitation center operated by the San Francisco Department of Public Health with space for about 780 residents, nine employees and two patients have tested positive. Infection control nurses from the state and infection control physicians and epidemiologists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been sent to help deal with the outbreak, officials said.
To prepare for a surge in coronavirus patients, medical cots and equipment are being delivered to the San Mateo Event Center in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Deliveries began Sunday, and the National Guard is expected be at the center through Tuesday to set up the equipment. The federal treatment site can house 250 patients with mild symptoms.
“The latest projections estimate that a medical surge could push the hospitals in our county to capacity and we’ll need another location to house patients requiring particular levels of care,” County Manager Mike Callagy said. “We can’t just wait to see if this will happen.”
A Los Angeles Times data analysis found that California had 7,200 intensive-care beds across more than 365 hospitals. In total, the state has more than 70,000 beds. There is roughly one intensive-care bed for every 5,500 people in California, Times data show.
About half of California’s total intensive-care beds — 3,700 — are in the five-county area around Los Angeles, according to data from 2018, the most recent available. In the nine-county Bay Area, there are roughly 1,400 ICU beds for a population of 7.6 million people.
Intensive-care beds allow for a higher level of treatment than regular beds, a level of care some COVID-19 patients require. Those unable to breathe properly may need a breathing tube and to be hooked up to a ventilator, which physically pushes oxygen into the lungs.
Although a system overload remained the fear, one projection from University of Washington epidemiologists suggested that California’s 9-day-old stay-at-home order might keep the hospital strain below catastrophic levels. And Dr. Robert Kim-Farley, a UCLA epidemiologist, said Friday that after a considerable uptick in cases, “I think we should be able to see some leveling off of those numbers in a couple of weeks because of the physical distancing measures.”
UC Berkeley biostatistics professor Nicholas Jewell says California will soon learn whether its limits on work and public movement have paid dividends.
Because of a lag time of as much as two weeks between transmission of the illness and the onset of symptoms, gauging the benefits of physical distancing takes time. With California’s stay-at-home order less than 2 weeks old, people reporting the illness may have been infected prior to the limitations.
“We need another week or two to really tell if California’s fairly quick shelter in place did make a difference,” Jewell said. “It has the potential to make a huge difference. I know that mathematically … but I don’t know that with any degree of certainty.”
Authorities were out in force over the weekend to make sure people were staying away from beaches, parks and hiking trails that were recently closed as part of unprecedented restrictions on public movements to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Many people obeyed the closures. One man, however, received a $1,000 citation for surfing in Manhatthan Beach on Saturday after he ignored numerous warnings by police and lifeguards cautioning him not to go in the water.
A Ventura County Sheriff’s Department cruiser could be seen guarding the entrance to a popular trail in Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks, where hundreds of hikers and families descended Saturday. In Venice, a Los Angeles Police Department helicopter was seen circling a skate park, announcing that people who did not leave the area would be “arrested for trespassing.”
On Sunday, officials confirmed that two San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department deputies and two firefighters had tested positive for COVID-19. San Bernardino County had recorded 111 cases of the virus and three deaths as of Monday morning. In Orange County, 431 cases of the virus have been reported, including four who died.
An inmate and four Los Angeles County jails employees have also tested positive for the coronavirus, heightening fears that the disease could spread quickly in the overcrowded jail system.
On Monday, Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. Austin Beutner confirmed the first case of the virus in a district employee. The infection was reported to officials last week.
“Unfortunately as the virus spreads throughout the communities we serve, we know this will not be the only employee or member of our school community who is diagnosed with the virus,” Beutner said.
The U.S. Navy hospital ship Mercy, which docked at the Port of Los Angeles on Friday, has begun receiving patients. The boat is operated by naval medical and support staff from 22 commands, along with 70 civil mariners, who will treat patients who don’t have COVID-19 in order to help reduce the strain on the hospital system.
There were three patients aboard the ship as of Sunday afternoon.
“The men and women embarked on board Mercy are energized, eager and ready to provide relief to those in need,” said Capt. John Rotruck, Mercy’s Military Treatment Facility commanding officer, in a news release.
Times staff writers Rong-Gong Lin II , Luke Money, Liam Dillon and Richard Winton contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-03-30--This is the latest list of L.A. County communities with coronavirus cases

There were five more coronavirus deaths Sunday , bringing the total to 37 as the virus continued to spread .
@ @ @ @ @ total confirmed cases , including more than 300 reported on Sunday .
More cases and @ @ @ @ @ , with officials warning the numbers will surge in the coming weeks .
Nearly 400 @ @ @ @ @

Manuel Acosta, a security officer with Los Angeles Parks and Recreation, informs two passerby’s that Lake Hollywood Park is open but the surrounding trails are not in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles County recorded another surge in coronavirus cases Sunday.
There were five more coronavirus deaths Sunday, bringing the total to 37 as the virus continued to spread.
The county now has 2,100 total confirmed cases, including more than 300 reported on Sunday. More cases and deaths were reported across California, with officials warning the numbers will surge in the coming weeks.
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Nearly 400 people have been hospitalized.
Age breakdown
0 to 17 -- 27
18 to 40 --674
41 to 65 --676
over 65 --343
By community
City of Agoura Hills 9
City of Alhambra 10
City of Arcadia 8
City of Artesia --
City of Avalon 0
City of Azusa 1
City of Baldwin Park 0
City of Bell 5
City of Bell Gardens 1
City of Bellflower 12
City of Beverly Hills 21
City of Bradbury 0
City of Burbank 17
City of Calabasas 10
City of Carson 26
City of Cerritos 1
City of Claremont 1
City of Commerce 0
City of Compton 9
City of Covina 3
City of Cudahy --
City of Culver City 7
City of Diamond Bar 2
City of Downey 18
City of Duarte --
City of El Monte 0
City of El Segundo --
City of Gardena 6
City of Glendale 36
City of Glendora 4
City of Hawaiian Gardens --
City of Hawthorne 11
City of Hermosa Beach --
City of Hidden Hills 0
City of Huntington Park 2
City of Industry 0
City of Inglewood 14
City of Irwindale 0
City of La Canada Flintridge 7
City of La Habra Heights 0
City of La Mirada 6
City of La Puente 2
City of La Verne 1
City of Lakewood 11
City of Lancaster 19
City of Lawndale 3
City of Lomita --
City of Long Beach 75
City of Lynwood 13
City of Malibu --
City of Manhattan Beach 23
City of Maywood 2
City of Monrovia 4
City of Montebello 3
City of Monterey Park 5
City of Norwalk 12
City of Palmdale 6
City of Palos Verdes Estates 14
City of Paramount 5
City of Pasadena 9
City of Pico Rivera 5
City of Pomona 4
City of Rancho Palos Verdes 8
City of Redondo Beach 24
City of Rolling Hills 0
City of Rolling Hills Estates --
City of Rosemead 1
City of San Dimas 2
City of San Fernando 0
City of San Gabriel 6
City of San Marino --
City of Santa Clarita 32
City of Santa Fe Springs 0
City of Santa Monica 38
City of Sierra Madre 0
City of Signal Hill --
City of South El Monte 0
City of South Gate 11
City of South Pasadena 3
City of Temple City 1
City of Torrance 32
City of Vernon 0
City of Walnut 2
City of West Covina 5
City of West Hollywood 50
City of Westlake Village 0
City of Whittier 6
City of Los Angeles 839
Los Angeles - Adams-Normandie --
Los Angeles - Alsace --
Los Angeles - Angeles National Forest 0
Los Angeles - Angelino Heights 0
Los Angeles - Arleta 4
Los Angeles - Atwater Village --
Los Angeles - Baldwin Hills 7
Los Angeles - Bel Air 8
Los Angeles - Beverly Crest 17
Los Angeles - Beverlywood 10
Los Angeles - Boyle Heights 8
Los Angeles - Brentwood 31
Los Angeles - Brookside 0
Los Angeles - Cadillac-Corning 0
Los Angeles - Canoga Park 3
Los Angeles - Carthay 9
Los Angeles - Central 3
Los Angeles - Century City 8
Los Angeles - Century Palms/Cove 5
Los Angeles - Chatsworth 4
Los Angeles - Cheviot Hills --
Los Angeles - Chinatown 0
Los Angeles - Cloverdale/Cochran --
Los Angeles - Country Club Park --
Los Angeles - Crenshaw District --
Los Angeles - Crestview 9
Los Angeles - Del Rey 10
Los Angeles - Downtown 9
Los Angeles - Eagle Rock 8
Los Angeles - East Hollywood 5
Los Angeles - Echo Park --
Los Angeles - El Sereno 1
Los Angeles - Elysian Park --
Los Angeles - Elysian Valley --
Los Angeles - Encino 26
Los Angeles - Exposition 0
Los Angeles - Exposition Park 4
Los Angeles - Faircrest Heights 0
Los Angeles - Figueroa Park Square 0
Los Angeles - Florence-Firestone 6
Los Angeles - Glassell Park 7
Los Angeles - Gramercy Place --
Los Angeles - Granada Hills 8
Los Angeles - Green Meadows --
Los Angeles - Hancock Park 17
Los Angeles - Harbor City 1
Los Angeles - Harbor Gateway 4
Los Angeles - Harbor Pines 0
Los Angeles - Harvard Heights --
Los Angeles - Harvard Park 2
Los Angeles - Highland Park 6
Los Angeles - Historic Filipinotown 0
Los Angeles - Hollywood 38
Los Angeles - Hollywood Hills 23
Los Angeles - Hyde Park 2
Los Angeles - Jefferson Park 0
Los Angeles - Koreatown 10
Los Angeles - Lafayette Square --
Los Angeles - Lake Balboa 6
Los Angeles - Lakeview Terrace --
Los Angeles - Leimert Park --
Los Angeles - Lincoln Heights 1
Los Angeles - Little Armenia 0
Los Angeles - Little Bangladesh 2
Los Angeles - Little Tokyo 0
Los Angeles - Longwood 0
Los Angeles - Los Feliz 5
Los Angeles - Manchester Square --
Los Angeles - Mandeville Canyon --
Los Angeles - Mar Vista 8
Los Angeles - Marina Peninsula --
Los Angeles - Melrose 56
Los Angeles - Mid-City 8
Los Angeles - Miracle Mile 8
Los Angeles - Mission Hills 5
Los Angeles - Mt. Washington --
Los Angeles - North Hills 2
Los Angeles - North Hollywood 26
Los Angeles - Northridge 8
Los Angeles - Pacific Palisades 11
Los Angeles - Pacoima 3
Los Angeles - Palisades Highlands 0
Los Angeles - Palms 15
Los Angeles - Panorama City 4
Los Angeles - Park La Brea --
Los Angeles - Pico-Union 4
Los Angeles - Playa Del Rey --
Los Angeles - Playa Vista 5
Los Angeles - Porter Ranch 3
Los Angeles - Rancho Park --
Los Angeles - Regent Square 0
Los Angeles - Reseda 11
Los Angeles - Reseda Ranch --
Los Angeles - Reynier Village --
Los Angeles - San Pedro 9
Los Angeles - Shadow Hills --
Los Angeles - Sherman Oaks 25
Los Angeles - Silver Lake 14
Los Angeles - South Carthay 5
Los Angeles - South Park 4
Los Angeles - St. Elmo Village 0
Los Angeles - Studio City 10
Los Angeles - Sun Valley 5
Los Angeles - Sunland --
Los Angeles - Sycamore Square 0
Los Angeles - Sylmar 8
Los Angeles - Tarzana 19
Los Angeles - Temple-Beaudry 5
Los Angeles - Thai Town --
Los Angeles - Toluca Lake --
Los Angeles - Toluca Terrace 0
Los Angeles - Toluca Woods 0
Los Angeles - Tujunga 2
Los Angeles - University Hills 0
Los Angeles - University Park 5
Los Angeles - Valley Glen 3
Los Angeles - Valley Village 14
Los Angeles - Van Nuys 6
Los Angeles - Venice 13
Los Angeles - Vermont Knolls --
Los Angeles - Vermont Square --
Los Angeles - Vermont Vista 3
Los Angeles - Vernon Central 3
Los Angeles - Victoria Park --
Los Angeles - View Heights 0
Los Angeles - Watts 1
Los Angeles - Wellington Square 0
Los Angeles - West Adams 7
Los Angeles - West Hills 5
Los Angeles - West Los Angeles 13
Los Angeles - West Vernon 8
Los Angeles - Westchester 12
Los Angeles - Westlake 2
Los Angeles - Westwood 17
Los Angeles - Wholesale District 11
Los Angeles - Wilmington 7
Los Angeles - Wilshire Center 4
Los Angeles - Winnetka 8
Los Angeles - Woodland Hills 18
Unincorporated - Acton 0
Unincorporated - Agua Dulce 0
Unincorporated - Altadena 10
Unincorporated - Anaverde 0
Unincorporated - Angeles National Forest 0
Unincorporated - Arcadia 0
Unincorporated - Athens-Westmont 7
Unincorporated - Athens Village 0
Unincorporated - Avocado Heights 0
Unincorporated - Azusa 0
Unincorporated - Bandini Islands 0
Unincorporated - Bassett 0
Unincorporated - Bouquet Canyon 0
Unincorporated - Bradbury 0
Unincorporated - Canyon Country --
Unincorporated - Castaic 4
Unincorporated - Cerritos 0
Unincorporated - Charter Oak 0
Unincorporated - Claremont 0
Unincorporated - Covina --
Unincorporated - Covina (Charter Oak) 0
Unincorporated - Del Aire 0
Unincorporated - Del Rey 0
Unincorporated - Del Sur 0
Unincorporated - Desert View Highlands 0
Unincorporated - Duarte 0
Unincorporated - East Covina 0
Unincorporated - East La Mirada 0
Unincorporated - East Lancaster 0
Unincorporated - East Los Angeles 8
Unincorporated - East Pasadena 0
Unincorporated - East Rancho Dominguez 0
Unincorporated - East Whittier --
Unincorporated - El Camino Village 0
Unincorporated - El Monte 0
Unincorporated - Elizabeth Lake 0
Unincorporated - Florence-Firestone 0
Unincorporated - Franklin Canyon 0
Unincorporated - Glendora 0
Unincorporated - Hacienda Heights 2
Unincorporated - Harbor Gateway 0
Unincorporated - Hawthorne --
Unincorporated - Hi Vista 0
Unincorporated - Kagel/Lopez Canyons 0
Unincorporated - La Crescenta-Montrose 0
Unincorporated - La Habra Heights 0
Unincorporated - La Rambla --
Unincorporated - La Verne --
Unincorporated - Ladera Heights 0
Unincorporated - Lake Hughes 0
Unincorporated - Lake Los Angeles 0
Unincorporated - Lake Manor 0
Unincorporated - Lakewood 0
Unincorporated - Lennox --
Unincorporated - Leona Valley 0
Unincorporated - Littlerock 0
Unincorporated - Littlerock/Juniper Hills 0
Unincorporated - Littlerock/Pearblossom 0
Unincorporated - Llano 0
Unincorporated - Long Beach 0
Unincorporated - Lynwood 0
Unincorporated - Marina del Rey --
Unincorporated - Miracle Mile 0
Unincorporated - Monrovia --
Unincorporated - Newhall 0
Unincorporated - North Lancaster 0
Unincorporated - North Whittier 0
Unincorporated - Northeast San Gabriel 0
Unincorporated - Padua Hills 0
Unincorporated - Palmdale 0
Unincorporated - Palos Verdes Peninsula 0
Unincorporated - Pearblossom/Llano 0
Unincorporated - Pellissier Village 0
Unincorporated - Placerita Canyon 0
Unincorporated - Pomona 0
Unincorporated - Quartz Hill 0
Unincorporated - Rancho Dominguez 0
Unincorporated - Roosevelt 0
Unincorporated - Rosewood 0
Unincorporated - Rosewood/East Gardena 0
Unincorporated - Rosewood/West Rancho Dominguez 0
Unincorporated - Rowland Heights 1
Unincorporated - San Clemente Island 0
Unincorporated - San Francisquito Canyon/Bouquet Canyon 0
Unincorporated - San Jose Hills 0
Unincorporated - San Pasqual 0
Unincorporated - Sand Canyon 0
Unincorporated - Santa Catalina Island 0
Unincorporated - Santa Monica Mountains 0
Unincorporated - Saugus 0
Unincorporated - Saugus/Canyon Country 0
Unincorporated - South Antelope Valley 0
Unincorporated - South Edwards 0
Unincorporated - South El Monte 0
Unincorporated - South San Gabriel 0
Unincorporated - South Whittier 5
Unincorporated - Southeast Antelope Valley 0
Unincorporated - Stevenson Ranch --
Unincorporated - Sun Village 0
Unincorporated - Sunrise Village 0
Unincorporated - Twin Lakes/Oat Mountain 0
Unincorporated - Universal City 0
Unincorporated - Val Verde 0
Unincorporated - Valencia --
Unincorporated - Valinda --
Unincorporated - View Park/Windsor Hills 0
Unincorporated - Walnut 0
Unincorporated - Walnut Park 0
Unincorporated - West Antelope Valley 0
Unincorporated - West Carson 6
Unincorporated - West Chatsworth 0
Unincorporated - West LA --
Unincorporated - West Puente Valley 0
Unincorporated - West Rancho Dominguez 0
Unincorporated - West Whittier/Los Nietos 0
Unincorporated - Westfield/Academy Hills 0
Unincorporated - Westhills 0
Unincorporated - White Fence Farms 0
Unincorporated - Whittier 0
Unincorporated - Whittier Narrows 0
Unincorporated - Willowbrook 1
Unincorporated - Wiseburn --
- Under Investigation 154
-- Means data not available


latimes--2020-03-30--Will the coronavirus outbreak lead to new L.A. crime fiction? The jury is out

Steph Cha doesn ’ t expect much in the way of good crime fiction to spring from the coronavirus outbreak .
She has lots of reasons , not least of which is that the pandemic has put a damper on crime from Los Angeles to New York City .
But wait until the outbreak is over , says the author of the 2019 crime thriller “ Your House Will Pay ” and a trilogy of L.A.-based detective novels featuring Korean American sleuth Juniper Song .
“ If we come out of this , and this is an unmitigated economic crisis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of small businesses , more homelessness , 25 % to 30 % unemployment , the post-coronavirus era could be like the Depression era , ” Cha said .
“ That ’ s where noir came from.
” Here in the undisputed capital of noir , a new generation of fictional gumshoes is treading the mean streets of a very different Southern California than those first explored by the likes of Philip Marlowe .
Many are like Cha ’ s Juniper Song and Joe Ide ’ s Isaiah Quintabe , millennial sleuths whose work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ County rarely explored in one of fiction ’ s most popular genres .
And they share a common bond with Marlowe — who sprang to life in Raymond Chandler ’ s 1939 classic “ The Big Sleep ” — and with the men and women who have fought for literary justice in the decades since .
They were born in times and places of economic upheaval and cultural change , of pain and disaster and deep inequality , the stuff that powers fiction .
Marlowe is a product of the Great Depression .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a gay , Mexican American defense attorney , struggling during the depths of the AIDS crisis .
Isaiah Quintabe is Sherlock Holmes reincarnated as a black high school dropout navigating gang-filled East Long Beach .
Cha ’ s “ Your House Will Pay ” explores tensions between black people and Korean Americans in the years after the 1992 riots .
“ Noir flourishes in these hotbeds of desperation , ” Cha said on the day the U.S. crested 100,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus .
“ The way that [ 2020 ] becomes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s not coronavirus fiction , it ’ s post-coronavirus fiction .
And I hope it doesn ’ t come to that.
” It is , of course , too soon to tell .
Years generally pass before life-shaking events and major cultural change are reflected in fiction .
So don ’ t hold your breath for the Great Post-Coronavirus Novel .
If you need proof , just check the mystery section of your library or local bookstore .
That ’ s where you ’ ll find Dave Brandstetter , the first major @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Brandstetter was introduced in 1970 by Los Angeles poet and novelist Joseph Hansen .
He was a middle-aged L.A. insurance investigator , tough , smart and honorable .
Five years before Brandstetter premiered in “ Fadeout , ” the first demonstrations for gay and lesbian equality began in Philadelphia .
They were called the Annual Reminders and they ended in 1969 .
That was the year of the Stonewall riots — days of violent protests after police raided Stonewall Inn , a Greenwich Village bar catering to gay men and lesbians .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Angeles in 1981 .
Two years later , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that most cases were among gay men , intravenous drug users , Haitians and people with hemophilia .
Henry Rios hit the bookstores in 1986 .
Like his creator Michael Nava , Rios got his law degree at Stanford University and started out in San Francisco before moving to Los Angeles .
The fictional Mexican American attorney met his lover , Josh Mandel , in book two of the Rios series ; Mandel was dead from AIDS @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Like noir heroes before him , Rios was an outsider with a credo : “ I ’ d gone into therapy like a good Californian , ” he said in “ The Death of Friends , ” “ and learned that in all probability the reason I ’ d devoted myself to the legal lepers of the world was because I felt like an outcast myself — ‘ queer ’ in every sense of the word — and I struggled to compensate with good works.
” And then , there ’ s Charlotte @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1992 Los Angeles riots .
She is a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department , a black woman in a white male universe .
The first Justice novel begins 48 hours into the uprising , when Los Angeles is a scene of flames and chaos .
But it was published seven years after the event , in 1999 .
In her four Charlotte Justice novels , Paula L. Woods brings readers a slice of Los Angeles that few are familiar with : the vibrant and successful black professional class , comfortably @ @ @ @ @ @ @ View Park-Windsor Hills .
Justice is a purposeful creation , an antidote to what Woods says is the media image of African Americans in Southern California : “ Blacks are going to live in South Los Angeles , and they ’ re going to be poor.
” The day after the CDC reported the first case of coronavirus in the U.S. — but long before the panicked run on toilet paper and hand sanitizer — Ide strolled San Pedro Street in South Los Angeles , passing homeless people lying on the sidewalk , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The west side of San Pedro belonged to the Trinity Street Gang , he said , the east side was Outlaws territory .
What is now the Kaura apartments was a liquor store , where “ winos used to sit out there on orange crates and drink Thunderbird all day.
” There was a prostitute named Jessie , he said , who “ would show you the body part of your choice for a dollar .
It took me a long time to save up a dollar .
I don ’ t really @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remember it made me dizzy.
” Ide is 62 , a former screenwriter who loved Sherlock Holmes as a boy and never got a movie made .
His old neighborhood is now largely Latino , but when he was growing up in the years after the Watts riots , it was black and poor .
Three generations of his hard-scrabble Japanese American family lived in a rickety house on Adams Boulevard .
It was torn down , he said , just before it fell down .
This intersection of Adams and San Pedro @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Beach neighborhood where Isaiah Quintabe plies his trade .
Quintabe was 25 in Ide ’ s first book — titled “ IQ ” after its hero ’ s nickname and chief weapon .
He ’ s around 29 in “ Hi Five , ” which was released Jan. 28 .
His parents are dead , his older brother killed in what first appeared to be a terrible auto accident .
He is brilliant and lonely and carries the weight of his neighborhood on his thin shoulders .
“ Isaiah didn ’ t know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , things were getting worse , ” Ide writes in the prologue to “ Hi Five.
” “ Not a surprising viewpoint when your job was fighting human suffering and indifference.
” Ide said he wasn ’ t looking to introduce readers to a previously little known corner of Los Angeles County when he sat down to write the first IQ book .
“ Sherlock in the ‘ hood was my only idea , ” he said .
“ That was it .
I had no aspirations to write about some great theme @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of transition ... .
I wish I had aimed higher .
But my aim was to write a really good story.
” That he did both still surprises him .
“ A detective in the ‘ hood solving problems in the ‘ hood ?
I didn ’ t think that was extraordinary , ” he said , “ until people started saying , ‘ I haven ’ t read a book like that.
’ ” Cha , however , knew exactly what she wanted to accomplish when she sat down to write the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Her Home , ” which was released in 2013 .
She ’ d read “ The Big Sleep ” when she was a freshman in high school , living in Encino , shopping in Koreatown and the Korean American enclaves of the San Fernando Valley .
She wanted , she said , “ to write a young , Korean American , female Marlowe , somebody with that sensibility .
...
He ’ s kind of idealistic , and he ’ s constantly disappointed , and he ’ s a basically decent person who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ look at the world in a very embittered way.
” Cha , who is 34 , stepped away from her millennial Marlowe in her latest novel , “ Your House Will Pay , ” which is based on the real-life killing of Latasha Harlins in 1991 .
Harlins was shot in the back of the head by a Korean convenience store owner two weeks after Rodney King was beaten by Los Angeles police officers .
Both incidents were caught on video .
The store owner was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and served no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the heart of “ Your House Will Pay , ” which takes place in a racially polarized Los Angeles decades later .
The Korean female shooter in Cha ’ s novel , Jung-Ja Han , changes her name and rebuilds her life .
Her youngest daughter does not know of her mother ’ s criminal history .
“ Other than the racist killer part , I modeled [ Jung-Ja-Han ] after my own mom , ” Cha said .
“ I wanted to write a great mom who was also a racist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t think those things are at all mutually exclusive.
” Cha , her husband and their basset hounds Duke and Milo have been sheltering at home since March 13 .
She is pregnant , due to deliver a boy-to-be-named-later on April 29 .
She ’ s been reading , walking the dogs , and watching “ Fleabag ” and “ Six Feet Under.
” She had hoped to get a good start on her next novel before the baby is due , hire a nanny , get a nursery ready .
Now she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like a month from now .
They may move in with her parents if the world is still on lockdown .
Either that or try to be new parents on their own .
And the next novel ?
“ I ’ m thinking about writing something about Koreatown and real estate , property ownership , the surveillance era , ” she said .
“ I need to figure out character and story , which I usually start with .
Now I ’ m starting with themes .
“ And do the themes even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what anything ’ s going to look like on the other side of this .
...
This whole crisis is going to change the way we look at things like shelter and labor and basic human needs .
I hope in a positive way.
” The L.A. Times Book Club hosts its first virtual meetup with crime writers Steph Cha and Joe Ide at 7 p.m. on March 30 .
Join the conversation at the L.A. Times Facebook Page or on You Tube .

Steph Cha doesn’t expect much in the way of good crime fiction to spring from the coronavirus outbreak. She has lots of reasons, not least of which is that the pandemic has put a damper on crime from Los Angeles to New York City.
No crime? No crime stories.
But wait until the outbreak is over, says the author of the 2019 crime thriller “Your House Will Pay” and a trilogy of L.A.-based detective novels featuring Korean American sleuth Juniper Song.
“If we come out of this, and this is an unmitigated economic crisis, and we have an unprecedented closure of small businesses, more homelessness, 25% to 30% unemployment, the post-coronavirus era could be like the Depression era,” Cha said. “That’s where noir came from.”
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Here in the undisputed capital of noir, a new generation of fictional gumshoes is treading the mean streets of a very different Southern California than those first explored by the likes of Philip Marlowe. Many are like Cha’s Juniper Song and Joe Ide’s Isaiah Quintabe, millennial sleuths whose work brings them into parts of Los Angeles County rarely explored in one of fiction’s most popular genres.
Novelist Steph Cha is shown here in a Koreatown neighborhood. Her novels in the crime fiction genre are about her detective protagonist, Juniper Song. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)
And they share a common bond with Marlowe — who sprang to life in Raymond Chandler’s 1939 classic “The Big Sleep” — and with the men and women who have fought for literary justice in the decades since. They were born in times and places of economic upheaval and cultural change, of pain and disaster and deep inequality, the stuff that powers fiction.
Marlowe is a product of the Great Depression. Michael Nava’s hero Henry Rios is a gay, Mexican American defense attorney, struggling during the depths of the AIDS crisis. Isaiah Quintabe is Sherlock Holmes reincarnated as a black high school dropout navigating gang-filled East Long Beach. Cha’s “Your House Will Pay” explores tensions between black people and Korean Americans in the years after the 1992 riots.
“Noir flourishes in these hotbeds of desperation,” Cha said on the day the U.S. crested 100,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus. “The way that [2020] becomes an era of crime fiction, it’s not coronavirus fiction, it’s post-coronavirus fiction. And I hope it doesn’t come to that.”
It is, of course, too soon to tell. Years generally pass before life-shaking events and major cultural change are reflected in fiction. So don’t hold your breath for the Great Post-Coronavirus Novel. If you need proof, just check the mystery section of your library or local bookstore.
That’s where you’ll find Dave Brandstetter, the first major gay hero in a mystery novel. Brandstetter was introduced in 1970 by Los Angeles poet and novelist Joseph Hansen. He was a middle-aged L.A. insurance investigator, tough, smart and honorable.
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Five years before Brandstetter premiered in “Fadeout,” the first demonstrations for gay and lesbian equality began in Philadelphia. They were called the Annual Reminders and they ended in 1969. That was the year of the Stonewall riots — days of violent protests after police raided Stonewall Inn, a Greenwich Village bar catering to gay men and lesbians.
The first AIDS case was diagnosed in Los Angeles in 1981. Two years later, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that most cases were among gay men, intravenous drug users, Haitians and people with hemophilia.
Henry Rios hit the bookstores in 1986. Like his creator Michael Nava, Rios got his law degree at Stanford University and started out in San Francisco before moving to Los Angeles. The fictional Mexican American attorney met his lover, Josh Mandel, in book two of the Rios series; Mandel was dead from AIDS at the end of book five. Like noir heroes before him, Rios was an outsider with a credo:
“I’d gone into therapy like a good Californian,” he said in “The Death of Friends,” “and learned that in all probability the reason I’d devoted myself to the legal lepers of the world was because I felt like an outcast myself — ‘queer’ in every sense of the word — and I struggled to compensate with good works.”
Paula L. Woods is the author of four Charlotte Justice novels. (Stefano Paltera / For The Times)
And then, there’s Charlotte Justice, a complex product of the 1992 Los Angeles riots. She is a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department, a black woman in a white male universe. The first Justice novel begins 48 hours into the uprising, when Los Angeles is a scene of flames and chaos. But it was published seven years after the event, in 1999.
In her four Charlotte Justice novels, Paula L. Woods brings readers a slice of Los Angeles that few are familiar with: the vibrant and successful black professional class, comfortably ensconced in neighborhoods like Baldwin Hills and View Park-Windsor Hills.
Justice is a purposeful creation, an antidote to what Woods says is the media image of African Americans in Southern California: “Blacks are going to live in South Los Angeles, and they’re going to be poor.”
The day after the CDC reported the first case of coronavirus in the U.S. — but long before the panicked run on toilet paper and hand sanitizer — Ide strolled San Pedro Street in South Los Angeles, passing homeless people lying on the sidewalk, traversing his childhood walk to school.
The west side of San Pedro belonged to the Trinity Street Gang, he said, the east side was Outlaws territory. What is now the Kaura apartments was a liquor store, where “winos used to sit out there on orange crates and drink Thunderbird all day.”
There was a prostitute named Jessie, he said, who “would show you the body part of your choice for a dollar. It took me a long time to save up a dollar. I don’t really remember what I saw, but I remember it made me dizzy.”
Author Joe Ide surveys the neighborhood where he grew up in South Los Angeles. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)
Ide is 62, a former screenwriter who loved Sherlock Holmes as a boy and never got a movie made. His old neighborhood is now largely Latino, but when he was growing up in the years after the Watts riots, it was black and poor. Three generations of his hard-scrabble Japanese American family lived in a rickety house on Adams Boulevard. It was torn down, he said, just before it fell down.
This intersection of Adams and San Pedro is the template for the East Long Beach neighborhood where Isaiah Quintabe plies his trade. Quintabe was 25 in Ide’s first book — titled “IQ” after its hero’s nickname and chief weapon. He’s around 29 in “Hi Five,” which was released Jan. 28. His parents are dead, his older brother killed in what first appeared to be a terrible auto accident.
He is brilliant and lonely and carries the weight of his neighborhood on his thin shoulders. “Isaiah didn’t know the statistics, but from his perspective, things were getting worse,” Ide writes in the prologue to “Hi Five.” “Not a surprising viewpoint when your job was fighting human suffering and indifference.”
Ide said he wasn’t looking to introduce readers to a previously little known corner of Los Angeles County when he sat down to write the first IQ book.
“Sherlock in the ‘hood was my only idea,” he said. “That was it. I had no aspirations to write about some great theme or to describe L.A. in a period of transition.... I wish I had aimed higher. But my aim was to write a really good story.”
That he did both still surprises him.
“A detective in the ‘hood solving problems in the ‘hood? I didn’t think that was extraordinary,” he said, “until people started saying, ‘I haven’t read a book like that.’”
Cha, however, knew exactly what she wanted to accomplish when she sat down to write the first Juniper Song mystery, “Follow Her Home,” which was released in 2013. She’d read “The Big Sleep” when she was a freshman in high school, living in Encino, shopping in Koreatown and the Korean American enclaves of the San Fernando Valley.
She wanted, she said, “to write a young, Korean American, female Marlowe, somebody with that sensibility. ... He’s kind of idealistic, and he’s constantly disappointed, and he’s a basically decent person who gets himself into situations that make him look at the world in a very embittered way.”
Steph Cha walks in the Koreatown neighborhood. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)
Cha, who is 34, stepped away from her millennial Marlowe in her latest novel, “Your House Will Pay,” which is based on the real-life killing of Latasha Harlins in 1991.
Harlins was shot in the back of the head by a Korean convenience store owner two weeks after Rodney King was beaten by Los Angeles police officers. Both incidents were caught on video. The store owner was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and served no prison time.
A similar shooting is at the heart of “Your House Will Pay,” which takes place in a racially polarized Los Angeles decades later. The Korean female shooter in Cha’s novel, Jung-Ja Han, changes her name and rebuilds her life. Her youngest daughter does not know of her mother’s criminal history.
“Other than the racist killer part, I modeled [Jung-Ja-Han] after my own mom,” Cha said. “I wanted to write a great mom who was also a racist and a killer. I don’t think those things are at all mutually exclusive.”
Cha, her husband and their basset hounds Duke and Milo have been sheltering at home since March 13. She is pregnant, due to deliver a boy-to-be-named-later on April 29. She’s been reading, walking the dogs, and watching “Fleabag” and “Six Feet Under.”
She had hoped to get a good start on her next novel before the baby is due, hire a nanny, get a nursery ready. Now she has no idea what life will look like a month from now. They may move in with her parents if the world is still on lockdown. Either that or try to be new parents on their own.
And the next novel?
“I’m thinking about writing something about Koreatown and real estate, property ownership, the surveillance era,” she said. “I need to figure out character and story, which I usually start with. Now I’m starting with themes.
“And do the themes even work? I don’t know what anything’s going to look like on the other side of this. ... This whole crisis is going to change the way we look at things like shelter and labor and basic human needs. I hope in a positive way.”
The L.A. Times Book Club hosts its first virtual meetup with crime writers Steph Cha and Joe Ide at 7 p.m. on March 30. Join the conversation at the L.A. Times Facebook Page or on You Tube.