latimes--2020-12-02--Coronavirus hospitalizations surge to unprecedented heights as California considers drastic steps

The number of Californians hospitalized with the coronavirus surged to a record high for a fourth straight day — soaring above 8,000 amid continued concerns that a sustained spike in patients may eventually swamp the state ’ s healthcare system .
Though the 8,517 hospitalizations seen Tuesday are unprecedented , officials caution that it likely doesn ’ t represent the ceiling of the latest COVID-19 surge , as the figure largely excludes anyone who was only recently infected , including over the Thanksgiving weekend .
“ We do have a choice to make , each one of us : Do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ solution to this horrifying surge , or do we want to be the problem ?
” Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said during a briefing Wednesday .
“ Because where you fall in this effort now has a life-or-death consequence , possibly for people you know and love , but certainly for people across the county who are loved by others.
” Gov .
Gavin Newsom sounded the alarm on the state of the state ’ s hospitals earlier this week .
Unless things change , he said , California @ @ @ @ @ @ @ capacity by mid-December , a possibility he warned could require dramatic action to keep from becoming reality .
Though ICU numbers have not yet reached the heights seen during the last COVID-19 surge over the summer , they are fast approaching those levels .
As of Tuesday — the most recent day for which state data are available — there were 2,006 COVID-19 patients in intensive care .
That ’ s up roughly 75 % from two weeks ago .
The state ’ s all-time record is 2,058 , set on July 21 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to expand their capacity should need arise , their ability to do so is limited .
ICUs present a particular challenge because they typically need specialized space , equipment and staff .
“ What matters is a hospital ’ s practical ability to take care of the patients that come in the door , and that requires not just a bed but , more importantly , it requires people , it requires staff , it requires supplies and equipment , ” Dr. Christina Ghaly , L.A. County ’ s director of health services @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the number of patients rising rapidly , officials said they are increasingly concerned that demand could outpace the available supply — particularly in ICUs .
“ Unless there has been and continues to be changes in community transmission , we do anticipate that we will have a shortage of ICU beds over the next four weeks , ” Ghaly said of L.A. County .
“ Hospitals will have to take substantive action to meet the need for hospital and , particularly , for ICU level of care.
” Despite the distressing statistics , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which Newsom said could include some form of new stay-at-home order for areas in the strictest purple tier of the state ’ s coronavirus reopening road map — will be a tough sell for pandemic-battered businesses and rule-weary Californians .
L.A. County , for instance , has already run into opposition for recent steps it ’ s taken .
Most objectionable for many has been the renewed suspension of outdoor dining at restaurants — which officials said will help tamp down transmission by reducing lengthy interactions between largely unmasked patrons .
Critics , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wholly unjustified by any kind of data and a capricious broadside against an already reeling industry .
Pasadena , which has its own city health department , has decided not to follow the county ’ s lead .
The Beverly Hills City Council voted unanimously to oppose the outdoor dining ban Tuesday , and asked staff to research the idea of forming an independent public health department that would allow the city to set its own rules .
The South Bay Cities Council of Governments , a joint powers authority of 16 cities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sent a letter to Newsom asking that he “ reconsider allowing significantly large areas that are less impacted by COVID cases and hospitalizations to have more local control over the restrictions on businesses in their area.
” “ It is time to replace the ‘ one-size-fits-all policies ’ with an ability to adopt local restrictions in designated areas , ” the letter states .
It ’ s not just restaurants that have emerged as a political flashpoint .
On the first day that card clubs in L.A. County were forced to close due @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the casinos and the cities where they operate urged officials to allow them to reopen , citing the financial strain .
The card clubs were originally closed in March but were allowed to reopen only in outdoor settings in early October .
The casinos were ordered to close again Monday .
“ Shutting down our casinos is like shutting down our cities , ” City of Commerce Mayor Ivan Altamirano said during a news conference at the Commerce Casino .
Altamirano joined Bell Gardens Mayor Alejandra Cortez and Hawaiian Gardens City Manager Ernie @ @ @ @ @ @ @ noting that the casinos generate up to 75 % of general fund revenue in those working-class cities .
Cortez said her city has already lost up to $ 9 million in tax revenue due to the closing of the Bicycle Hotel and Casino since the start of the pandemic and has been forced to lay off staff and cut employees ’ salaries .
“ Our residents can ’ t afford further cuts , ” she said .
Ferrer said that , given the efficacy of some basic infection prevention measures like widespread masking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s latest regulations attempt to “ limit places where people were intermingling with others that weren ’ t in their households , to limit the capacity at those places so there wouldn ’ t be a lot of crowding.
” “ That ’ s very different than what we did months ago when we actually closed all of nonessential retail , all of nonessential business because we didn ’ t really have the tools we have now , ” she said .
“ The problem with the tools we have now , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have to then use them.
” As debate swirls over how best to contain COVID-19 , the pandemic is continuing its statewide rampage .
Over the last week , California has averaged 14,119 new coronavirus cases per day — a 55.6 % increase from two weeks ago , according to data compiled by The Times .
State health officials estimate that 12 % of those who test positive are hospitalized two to three weeks later , meaning the past week ’ s unprecedented case load could trigger a wave of new hospitalizations .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus patients in its hospitals , and Ferrer said that figure is likely to get worse before it gets better .
Santa Clara County officials also warned Wednesday that the region ’ s system of hospitals is at risk of exceeding capacity .
As of Tuesday , intensive care units were at 93 % capacity at hospitals that traditionally serve the agricultural southern part of the county , like Gilroy ; and East San Jose , which is heavily Latino and has been hit hard by the pandemic .
None of those hospitals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jose , Kaiser Santa Clara , and the county-run Santa Clara Valley Medical Center , O ’ Connor Hospital and St. Louise Regional Hospital — had more than five ICU beds available Tuesday .
“ What this means is that the hospitals in our hardest-hit communities have the fewest beds available for those in need , ” Dr. Jennifer Tong , associate chief medical officer at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center , said at a news conference Wednesday .
ICU occupancy for other hospitals in the county was at 84 % .
Officials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Tong said , “ but these numbers are gravely concerning .
We want you and your loved ones to get the care that you need at our hospitals if you become seriously ill. “ We each must do our part to slow the spread of transmission and protect our hospital capacity , thereby protecting those who live and work here , ” she said .
It ’ s important to remember , Ferrer said this week , that the metrics measuring the pandemic aren ’ t mere figures on a spreadsheet , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , friends , siblings , parents and other relatives .
More than 19,300 Californians — including roughly 7,700 residents of L.A. County — have died from COVID-19 throughout the pandemic , and officials say they ’ re concerned that fatalities could rise in the near future , much as new infections and hospitalizations have .
Aside from abiding by public health restrictions , experts say residents can help protect themselves from the coronavirus by wearing masks in public , regularly washing their hands and staying home when they ’ re sick ; as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and avoiding gatherings with , those they do not live with .
“ We ’ re seeing terrifying increases in numbers in L.A. County that can only be turned around if everyone , businesses and individuals , carefully use the tools we have to slow the spread , ” Ferrer said .
Times staff writers Hayley Smith and Jaclyn Cosgrove contributed to this report .

Luke Money, Rong-Gong Lin II, Hugo Martín

EMT Giselle Dorgalli, second from right, looks at a monitor while performing chest compression on a patient who tested positive for coronavirus in the emergency room at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in the Mission Hills section of Los Angeles.
The number of Californians hospitalized with the coronavirus surged to a record high for a fourth straight day — soaring above 8,000 amid continued concerns that a sustained spike in patients may eventually swamp the state’s healthcare system.
Though the 8,517 hospitalizations seen Tuesday are unprecedented, officials caution that it likely doesn’t represent the ceiling of the latest COVID-19 surge, as the figure largely excludes anyone who was only recently infected, including over the Thanksgiving weekend.
“We do have a choice to make, each one of us: Do we want to be part of the solution to this horrifying surge, or do we want to be the problem?” Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said during a briefing Wednesday. “Because where you fall in this effort now has a life-or-death consequence, possibly for people you know and love, but certainly for people across the county who are loved by others.”
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Gov. Gavin Newsom sounded the alarm on the state of the state’s hospitals earlier this week. Unless things change, he said, California could exceed its existing intensive care unit capacity by mid-December, a possibility he warned could require dramatic action to keep from becoming reality.
On Wednesday night, the city of Los Angeles issued a modified stay-at-home order that conforms with an L.A. County order issued on Friday. The city order says residents should stay at home whenever possible and prohibits gatherings of people outside immediate households, with some exceptions such as religious services and protests.
While the order tells people to stay home, it also allows retail businesses to remain open “after implementing the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health Protocols for Retail Establishments Opening for In-person Shopping.”
Parks and trails remain open along with golf courses, tennis courts, beaches. Music and television production is allowed.
“The city and county orders are the same. In the past there have been some minor differences but currently they are the same,” said Alex Comisar, a spokesman for Garcetti.
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Though ICU numbers have not yet reached the heights seen during the last COVID-19 surge over the summer, they are fast approaching those levels.
As of Tuesday — the most recent day for which state data are available — there were 2,006 COVID-19 patients in intensive care. That’s up roughly 75% from two weeks ago.
The state’s all-time record is 2,058, set on July 21.
Though hospitals have plans in place to expand their capacity should need arise, their ability to do so is limited. ICUs present a particular challenge because they typically need specialized space, equipment and staff.
“What matters is a hospital’s practical ability to take care of the patients that come in the door, and that requires not just a bed but, more importantly, it requires people, it requires staff, it requires supplies and equipment,” Dr. Christina Ghaly, L.A. County’s director of health services, said during a briefing.
With the number of patients rising rapidly, officials said they are increasingly concerned that demand could outpace the available supply — particularly in ICUs.
“Unless there has been and continues to be changes in community transmission, we do anticipate that we will have a shortage of ICU beds over the next four weeks,” Ghaly said of L.A. County. “Hospitals will have to take substantive action to meet the need for hospital and, particularly, for ICU level of care.”
Despite the distressing statistics, the prospect of even more restrictions — which Newsom said could include some form of new stay-at-home order for areas in the strictest purple tier of the state’s coronavirus reopening road map — will be a tough sell for pandemic-battered businesses and rule-weary Californians.
L.A. County, for instance, has already run into opposition for recent steps it’s taken.
Most objectionable for many has been the renewed suspension of outdoor dining at restaurants — which officials said will help tamp down transmission by reducing lengthy interactions between largely unmasked patrons.
Critics, however, have derided the move as wholly unjustified by any kind of data and a capricious broadside against an already reeling industry.
Pasadena, which has its own city health department, has decided not to follow the county’s lead. The Beverly Hills City Council voted unanimously to oppose the outdoor dining ban Tuesday, and asked staff to research the idea of forming an independent public health department that would allow the city to set its own rules.
The South Bay Cities Council of Governments, a joint powers authority of 16 cities and parts of the county, recently sent a letter to Newsom asking that he “reconsider allowing significantly large areas that are less impacted by COVID cases and hospitalizations to have more local control over the restrictions on businesses in their area.”
“It is time to replace the ‘one-size-fits-all policies’ with an ability to adopt local restrictions in designated areas,” the letter states.
It’s not just restaurants that have emerged as a political flashpoint. On the first day that card clubs in L.A. County were forced to close due to rising coronavirus cases, representatives for the casinos and the cities where they operate urged officials to allow them to reopen, citing the financial strain.
The card clubs were originally closed in March but were allowed to reopen only in outdoor settings in early October. The casinos were ordered to close again Monday.
“Shutting down our casinos is like shutting down our cities,” City of Commerce Mayor Ivan Altamirano said during a news conference at the Commerce Casino.
Altamirano joined Bell Gardens Mayor Alejandra Cortez and Hawaiian Gardens City Manager Ernie Hernandez to appeal to county officials, noting that the casinos generate up to 75% of general fund revenue in those working-class cities.
Cortez said her city has already lost up to $9 million in tax revenue due to the closing of the Bicycle Hotel and Casino since the start of the pandemic and has been forced to lay off staff and cut employees’ salaries.
“Our residents can’t afford further cuts,” she said.
Ferrer said that, given the efficacy of some basic infection prevention measures like widespread masking and physical distancing, that the county’s latest regulations attempt to “limit places where people were intermingling with others that weren’t in their households, to limit the capacity at those places so there wouldn’t be a lot of crowding.”
“That’s very different than what we did months ago when we actually closed all of nonessential retail, all of nonessential business because we didn’t really have the tools we have now,” she said. “The problem with the tools we have now, in all honesty, is that people have to then use them.”
As debate swirls over how best to contain COVID-19, the pandemic is continuing its statewide rampage.
Over the last week, California has averaged 14,119 new coronavirus cases per day — a 55.6% increase from two weeks ago, according to data compiled by The Times.
State health officials estimate that 12% of those who test positive are hospitalized two to three weeks later, meaning the past week’s unprecedented case load could trigger a wave of new hospitalizations.
L.A. County already has more than 2,400 coronavirus patients in its hospitals, and Ferrer said that figure is likely to get worse before it gets better.
Santa Clara County officials also warned Wednesday that the region’s system of hospitals is at risk of exceeding capacity. As of Tuesday, intensive care units were at 93% capacity at hospitals that traditionally serve the agricultural southern part of the county, like Gilroy; and East San Jose, which is heavily Latino and has been hit hard by the pandemic.
None of those hospitals — including Regional Medical Center of San Jose, Kaiser Santa Clara, and the county-run Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, O’Connor Hospital and St. Louise Regional Hospital — had more than five ICU beds available Tuesday.
“What this means is that the hospitals in our hardest-hit communities have the fewest beds available for those in need,” Dr. Jennifer Tong, associate chief medical officer at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, said at a news conference Wednesday.
ICU occupancy for other hospitals in the county was at 84%.
Officials are working to redistribute patients as needed, Tong said, “but these numbers are gravely concerning. We want you and your loved ones to get the care that you need at our hospitals if you become seriously ill.
“We each must do our part to slow the spread of transmission and protect our hospital capacity, thereby protecting those who live and work here,” she said.
It’s important to remember, Ferrer said this week, that the metrics measuring the pandemic aren’t mere figures on a spreadsheet, they’re real people: Neighbors, friends, siblings, parents and other relatives.
More than 19,300 Californians — including roughly 7,700 residents of L.A. County — have died from COVID-19 throughout the pandemic, and officials say they’re concerned that fatalities could rise in the near future, much as new infections and hospitalizations have.
Aside from abiding by public health restrictions, experts say residents can help protect themselves from the coronavirus by wearing masks in public, regularly washing their hands and staying home when they’re sick; as well as keeping physical distance from, and avoiding gatherings with, those they do not live with.
“We’re seeing terrifying increases in numbers in L.A. County that can only be turned around if everyone, businesses and individuals, carefully use the tools we have to slow the spread,” Ferrer said.
Times staff writers Hayley Smith and Jaclyn Cosgrove contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-12-02--Suit alleges L.A. attorney stole to splurge on 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' star Erika Jayne

A federal lawsuit accuses prominent Los Angeles attorney Thomas Girardi of stealing funds owed to relatives of plane crash victims to underwrite “ a public image of obscene wealth ” for himself and his wife , pop singer and “ Real Housewives of Beverly Hills ” star Erika Jayne .
The lawsuit alleges that Girardi embezzled proceeds of settlements that plane manufacturer Boeing paid out as compensation to dozens of families earlier this year .
The suit was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago by Edelson PC , an Illinois law firm that worked with Girardi representing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has resorted to embezzling the proceeds of settlements that should have been directed to his clients — including ... the widows and orphans who lost loved ones in the tragic crash of Lion Air Flight 610 — in order to continue funding his and Erika ’ s lavish Beverly Hills lifestyles , ” according to the complaint .
The Lion Air flight crashed in the ocean off Indonesia in 2018 , killing all 189 people on board .
The plane was a 737 Max , the jet that Boeing subsequently grounded due to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who is best known for his work on toxic tort cases against Pacific Gas & Electric depicted in the film “ Erin Brockovich , ” did not immediately return messages seeking comment .
He has refused to hand the money over despite months of demands , the lawsuit alleged .
Jayne , whose legal name is Erika Girardi , married the famed attorney in 2000 but filed for divorce last month , citing irreconcilable differences .
Her representatives did not return requests for comment .
The suit contends the divorce “ is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tom ’ s and Erika ’ s money from those that seek to collect on debts owed by Tom ” and his firm , Girardi Keese .
The amount Boeing paid to the families is confidential but “ substantial , ” according to the suit .

“Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne, shown in 2016, is the wife of L.A. attorney Thomas Girardi, shown in an undated photo.
A federal lawsuit accuses prominent Los Angeles attorney Thomas Girardi of stealing funds owed to relatives of plane crash victims to underwrite “a public image of obscene wealth” for himself and his wife, pop singer and “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne.
The lawsuit alleges that Girardi embezzled proceeds of settlements that plane manufacturer Boeing paid out as compensation to dozens of families earlier this year. The suit was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago by Edelson PC, an Illinois law firm that worked with Girardi representing the victims’ surviving relatives.
“Tom has resorted to embezzling the proceeds of settlements that should have been directed to his clients — including ... the widows and orphans who lost loved ones in the tragic crash of Lion Air Flight 610 — in order to continue funding his and Erika’s lavish Beverly Hills lifestyles,” according to the complaint.
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The Lion Air plane crashed in the ocean off Indonesia in 2018, killing all 189 people on board. The plane was a 737 Max, the jet that Boeing subsequently grounded because of problems with its anti-stall software.
Girardi, who is best known for his work on toxic tort cases against Pacific Gas & Electric depicted in the film “Erin Brockovich,” did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
He has refused to hand the money over despite months of demands, the lawsuit alleges.
Jayne, whose legal name is Erika Girardi, married the famed attorney in 2000 but filed for divorce last month, citing irreconcilable differences. Her representatives did not return requests for comment.
The suit contends the divorce “is simply a sham attempt to fraudulently protect Tom’s and Erika’s money from those that seek to collect on debts owed by Tom” and his firm, Girardi Keese.
The amount Boeing paid to the families is confidential but “substantial,” according to the suit.


latimes--2020-12-02--Beverly Hills City Council votes to oppose L.A. County's outdoor dining ban

The Beverly Hills City Council has unanimously voted to oppose amid the worst COVID-19 surge the state has seen .
In a resolution approved Tuesday that calls for the L.A. County Board of Supervisors to repeal the ban , the council cited the detrimental impact on local businesses and said there was a lack of scientific evidence to support the ban .
The council also asked city staff to research the idea of forming a Beverly Hills public health department , which would allow the city to set its own rules for combating a pandemic .
“ I am enraged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supervisors voted on without having the data to do so , especially after all of us , these many , many months , have learned that eating outdoors was the safest way during COVID , ” Councilwoman Lili Bosse said during Tuesday ’ s meeting .
Councilman Julian A .
Gold was similarly incensed , citing Supervisor Sheila Kuehl ’ s decision to eat at an outdoor restaurant hours after she voted to uphold the ban .
“ It says something about the arrogance of the supervisors , ” Gold said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we can … to reverse this.
” The county Board of Supervisors was divided when it approved the outdoor dining ban last week .
The L.A. City Council has also voted to seek a repeal of the ban , saying a new round of permanent restaurant closures would result .
In addition to opposing the dining ban , the Beverly Hills council is asking that county restrictions be based on data , both local and industry-specific .
On Tuesday , L.A. County , reporting more than 7,500 new cases , which the director @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day thus far ” of the pandemic .
The council ’ s vote came after scores of Beverly Hills residents expressed vehement opposition to the outdoor dining ban .
Of the 922 emails the council received from the public about the issue , 919 were against the county ’ s order , officials said during the meeting .
Residents also expressed their dismay during the public comment portion of the meeting , conducted by phone and video .
“ Our business has been devastated , ” said Steve Scott Springer , general manager @ @ @ @ @ @ @ already had to lay off 100 employees .
Now we ’ ve laid off 60 more.
” Josh Flagg , who serves on the Beverly Hills Cultural Heritage Commission , echoed Springer ’ s sentiments .
“ Restaurants can ’ t survive like this , ” Flagg said .
“ There has to be a happy medium .
If it ’ s done the right way , if you ’ re responsible , there shouldn ’ t be a spike in COVID cases … Your safest space is an outdoor environment.
” Other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its own policies because it has its own public health department .
Outdoor dining is still allowed in Pasadena , but everyone at a table must be from the same household , with parties no larger than six , said city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian .
For now , Beverly Hills will continue to follow the county ’ s rules and has created a offering takeout and delivery , city spokesman Keith Sterling said Wednesday .

A masked pedestrian takes a walk in Beverly Hills. Many of the city’s residents are up in arms over the county’s outdoor dining ban.
The Beverly Hills City Council has unanimously voted to oppose Los Angeles County’s outdoor dining ban amid the worst COVID-19 surge the state has seen.
In a resolution approved Tuesday that calls for the L.A. County Board of Supervisors to repeal the ban, the council cited the detrimental impact on local businesses and said there was a lack of scientific evidence to support the ban.
The council also asked city staff to research the idea of forming a Beverly Hills public health department, which would allow the city to set its own rules for combating a pandemic.
“I am enraged by what the majority of the county supervisors voted on without having the data to do so, especially after all of us, these many, many months, have learned that eating outdoors was the safest way during COVID,” Councilwoman Lili Bosse said during Tuesday’s meeting.
Councilman Julian A. Gold was similarly incensed, citing Supervisor Sheila Kuehl’s decision to eat at an outdoor restaurant hours after she voted to uphold the ban.
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“It says something about the arrogance of the supervisors,” Gold said. “I think we have to do everything we can … to reverse this.”
The county Board of Supervisors was divided when it approved the outdoor dining ban last week. The L.A. City Council has also voted to seek a repeal of the ban, saying a new round of permanent restaurant closures would result.
In addition to opposing the dining ban, the Beverly Hills council is asking that county restrictions be based on data, both local and industry-specific.
On Tuesday, L.A. County shattered its daily coronavirus record , reporting more than 7,500 new cases, which the director of public health called ‘the worst day thus far” of the pandemic.
The council’s vote came after scores of Beverly Hills residents expressed vehement opposition to the outdoor dining ban.
Of the 922 emails the council received from the public about the issue, 919 were against the county’s order, officials said during the meeting.
Residents also expressed their dismay during the public comment portion of the meeting, conducted by phone and video.
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“Our business has been devastated,” said Steve Scott Springer, general manager of Spago Beverly Hills. “We already had to lay off 100 employees. Now we’ve laid off 60 more.”
Josh Flagg, who serves on the Beverly Hills Cultural Heritage Commission, echoed Springer’s sentiments.
“Restaurants can’t survive like this,” Flagg said. “There has to be a happy medium. If it’s done the right way, if you’re responsible, there shouldn’t be a spike in COVID cases … Your safest space is an outdoor environment.”
Other residents cited Pasadena, which can set its own policies because it has its own public health department.
Outdoor dining is still allowed in Pasadena, but everyone at a table must be from the same household, with parties no larger than six, said city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian.


latimes--2020-12-02--Olympic gold medalist Rafer Johnson, who helped bring Summer Games to L.A., dies at 86

As the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles neared , city leaders knew they needed to start strong .
Many doubted the city could pull off such a global event , and a weak or botched opening ceremony might prove them right .
For the key role of lighting the Olympic flame , organizers chose Rafer Johnson , winner of the 1960 Olympic decathlon gold medal and one of the city ’ s most treasured athletes .
But in preparation for the opening ceremony , Johnson discovered a problem .
Plans called for Johnson to carry the Olympic torch up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Angeles Coliseum , and then up an even steeper — and shaky — set of steps to a platform where he was to turn to the crowd , flaming torch in hand , and open the Games by igniting a gas jet .
But the top step was so narrow , and the riser so wobbly , that Johnson asked for a handhold to be installed .
The producer of the ceremony protested , saying a handhold would ruin photos of the moment .
“ What would be a worse picture , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to something or me falling headfirst down to the floor of the Coliseum ?
” Johnson got the handhold , and his lighting of the Olympic flame proved to be an iconic moment in a widely praised ceremony .
It was a fulfilling role for Johnson , a man whose legacy was interwoven with Los Angeles ’ history , beginning with his performances as a world-class athlete at UCLA and punctuated by the night in 1968 when he helped disarm Robert F. Kennedy ’ s assassin at the Ambassador Hotel .
Forever a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lived , Johnson died Wednesday at his home in Sherman Oaks .
The Olympian ’ s death was confirmed by his family .
He was 86 .
The son of Texas farmworkers who moved to California when he was young , Johnson rose to become the World ’ s Greatest Athlete , the unofficial title bestowed on the winner of the Olympic decathlon at a time when track and field stars received the adulation that today is bestowed on the best of the NFL and NBA .
At the 1960 Rome Olympics , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ flag bearer , the first Black American so honored .
His decathlon battle that year with C.K .
Yang — his training partner at UCLA — ranks among the classic moments of Olympics history .
In an eventful life , Johnson broke racial barriers , played an unexpected role in the international relations of the Cold War and immersed himself in the turbulent politics of the 1960s .
To help disabled children , Johnson co-founded the California Special Olympics in 1969 and served as its president for 10 years .
In contrast to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ today , the deeply religious Johnson was always a vocal advocate for fair play and good sportsmanship .
He eschewed drugs and alcohol and , in track races , refused even to try to anticipate the starter ’ s gun , believing that it was a form of cheating .
“ It seems funny to say winning is not all-important — I always want to win , and no one likes to lose , ” he once said .
“ But when you start out on the field , everyone is equal .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lewis Johnson was born during the Depression , on Aug. 18 , 1934 , in Hillsboro , Texas , the second of six children born to Lewis Johnson , a cotton picker and farm handyman , and Alma Gibson Johnson .
After a brief move to Oklahoma , the family returned to Texas when Johnson was 3 and settled in a Dallas home with no electricity or indoor plumbing .
When he was 9 , Johnson ’ s parents , in search of a fresh start and better opportunities for their children , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Kingsburg , where most of the residents were of Swedish descent .
The Johnsons were the only Black family .
Johnson and his siblings would join his parents picking cotton after school , on weekends , holidays and all summer .
Johnson believed the hard work not only made him strong , but gave him discipline that would later help make him a successful athlete .
In his 1998 autobiography , he wrote , “ Thinking about picking cotton brings tears to my eyes to this day , just from remembering how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earn a meager living.
” He recalled his father as a “ kind , hard-working family man ” when he was sober , but a “ hell-raising drunk ” who beat his wife when he ’ d been drinking .
It was a specter that would loom over much of Johnson ’ s life .
Johnson remembered his years in Kingsburg fondly , saying it was like a “ Frank Capra movie.
” Still , there were dangers .
Johnson once saved his brother Jimmy from drowning at a local swimming hole .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ play for the San Francisco 49ers and be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame .
Johnson was a four-sport star in high school , lettering in football , baseball , basketball and , his favorite , track and field .
“ There was something pure and innocent about the sport : You ran , you jumped , you threw things , just as young men had done since the dawn of civilization , ” he wrote in his autobiography .
For college , Johnson chose UCLA , in part because its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the racial barrier in Major League Baseball , and Ralph Bunche , the first Black American to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize .
Still , Johnson encountered racism on campus .
One white woman he was seeing was forced to choose between her sorority membership and dating a Black man .
A fraternity rejected Johnson as a member because he was Black .
But he was accepted elsewhere and became the first Black American to join a national fraternity at UCLA — Pi Lambda Phi .
Johnson ’ s fast ascendancy as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ won the Pan American Games in 1955 , earning a spot on “ The Ed Sullivan Show.
” He then broke the world record for the decathlon , establishing himself as the favorite for the 1956 Olympics .
But a knee injury and torn stomach muscle hampered Johnson and he finished second at the Games in Melbourne , Australia , a bitter disappointment .
Back at UCLA , Johnson was elected student body president , a position that brought him “ a pile of hate mail , ” he recalled , with one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think you are , black boy ?
” In 1958 , with Cold War tensions at their height , much of the world ’ s attention was drawn to the first U.S.-USSR track meet , to be held in Moscow .
In the spotlight was the battle to be the World ’ s Greatest Athlete between Johnson and Vasili Kuznetsov , who held the world record then .
Onlookers built it up as a battle between communism and the free world , a role that made Johnson uncomfortable .
“ I was fully @ @ @ @ @ @ @ man was an emissary of a nation where discrimination raged and racists got away with lynchings , ” he said .
“ I found myself affected by the political overtones despite my efforts to ignore them.
” In the end , Johnson turned in his best decathlon yet , beating Kuznetsov and again breaking the world record .
When it was all done , the Soviet crowd rushed the field , and Johnson thought they were going to attack him .
Instead , they raised him on their shoulders and shouted his name @ @ @ @ @ @ @ track has an athlete performed so well as Rafer Johnson in Moscow , ” wrote Sports Illustrated .
In 1958-59 , Johnson played basketball for legendary UCLA coach John Wooden and began training with Yang , a Taiwanese athlete who had come to UCLA and emerged as a decathlete nearly as strong as Johnson .
The competitive rivals would develop a unique friendship .
“ Ours was the purest of rivalries , ” Johnson recalled .
“ We each wanted the other guy to do well , but we wanted even more to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an athlete ’ s fame , the rules of amateurism at the time kept Johnson from cashing in .
He had to turn down a role in the movie “ Spartacus ” for fear it would endanger his eligibility and , for a while , he was forced to pay his bills flipping burgers at Culver City ’ s Hamburger Handout .
Johnson hurt his back in a 1959 car accident , forcing him to sit out a year ’ s worth of competition , and raising questions about whether he could compete @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But that doubt was erased when Johnson won the 1960 Olympic trials , yet again setting a new world record in the process .
Johnson ’ s two-day battle with Yang in Rome was a drama-fueled duel .
The first day ’ s events were interrupted by downpours , keeping the athletes on the track until nearly midnight .
Johnson , leading Yang by a small margin of 55 points , got just five hours ’ sleep .
No other competitors were close to the two leaders .
By 10 p.m. on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just 67 points with only the final event — the 1,500-meter run — remaining .
Johnson hated the 1,500 and Yang was better at it .
If Yang beat Johnson by more than 10 seconds , the gold would go to him .
But Johnson determinedly stuck on Yang ’ s heels lap after lap and ran the fastest 1,500 meters of his life .
He finished just 1.2 seconds behind Yang , claiming the gold medal .
An exhausted Johnson immediately announced he was retiring from the sport .
Johnson ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In 1961 , the Los Angeles Rams picked him in the NFL draft , though Johnson hadn ’ t played football since high school .
He also was offered a spot on the Harlem Globetrotters .
He passed on the offers and instead dabbled in the movies , landing supporting roles in about a dozen films and several TV shows .
Johnson had a short career as a TV reporter , covering the 1964 Olympics for NBC and then working as a sports anchor for KNBC in Los Angeles .
At an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kennedy , then the U.S. attorney general .
Their political and social views meshed and they quickly became friends .
Soon , Johnson was a regular guest at Kennedy ’ s homes in Virginia and Massachusetts on Cape Cod , playing touch football and scuba diving off Edward M. Kennedy ’ s yacht .
When Robert Kennedy announced his run for president in 1968 , Johnson jumped in with full support , addressing rallies , speaking at news conferences and meeting with voters .
At public events , Johnson and former Rams football @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kennedy that people thought they were his bodyguards .
On the night of June 5 , 1968 , Kennedy spoke to jubilant supporters at the Ambassador Hotel in L.A. after winning the California Democratic primary .
As he went to leave , gunshots rang out , and Kennedy fell , mortally wounded .
Johnson and others rushed the gunman , Sirhan Sirhan , and Johnson said he grabbed the gun , still in Sirhan ’ s hand .
Johnson said he twisted Sirhan ’ s fingers to get the gun loose , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ later on the chaotic night , Johnson realized he still had the gun and turned it over to police .
Kennedy ’ s assassination left Johnson traumatized and depressed , but he found a new direction by helping launch the California Special Olympics , the athletics event for disabled children .
It was a cause he remained involved in the rest of his life .
From 1983-92 , he was president of the Special Olympics Southern California .
He also had a long career at Continental Telephone , rising to vice president of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Betsy Thorsen and they had a daughter , Jennifer , and a son , Joshua , all of whom survive him .
In 1979 , L.A. Mayor Tom Bradley asked Johnson to join the board of the committee bringing the 1984 Summer Olympics to the city .
As the Games approached , speculation swirled about who would be the final torchbearer , usually an athlete who stirred exceptional pride in the host nation .
Would it be Mark Spitz , winner of seven gold medals in swimming in 1972 ?
Bruce Jenner , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 10 days before the July 28 ceremony , Johnson was called to a meeting with Peter Ueberroth , president of the organizing committee , and David Wolper , the producer of the opening ceremony .
Ueberroth said he wanted Johnson to light the flame .
“ By the time his words left his breath and hit my ears , I had said yes , ” Johnson recalled .
Five years earlier , Johnson had cast the deciding vote in the balloting that elected Ueberroth president of the organizing committee .
But Ueberroth was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chosen to light the flame as a gesture of gratitude .
Johnson was ordered to keep the news quiet .
The media were chasing it and Ueberroth , who loved the intrigue , wanted it to be a surprise , as the announcement of the final torchbearer usually is .
So Johnson told only his wife , and began his workouts during a family vacation at her parents ’ home in Newport Beach .
“ I got a couple of five-pound weights , ” he said , “ and I ran up and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was 49 at the time , but in rehearsals for the opening ceremony , Wolper was making his torchbearer feel like an old man .
“ Those steps were killers , ” Johnson says .
“ I never got all the way up in rehearsals.
” On the temporary ladder at the top , each step was white , each was narrow .
The ladder tended to rock if Johnson didn ’ t stay in the center .
So he had them paint black dots in the center of each step , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ top step .
At Johnson ’ s request , workers drilled a 36-inch fiberglass pole on the top step that stood to his left as he faced the crowd and gave him a handhold .
At the ceremony , Johnson received the torch and started up the stairs .
On the temporary ladder he concentrated on the dots .
“ When I got up there , and I turned and saw the crowd , saw that view , and there was nothing behind me , and I ’ m standing on something about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would have fallen .
I can ’ t even explain the feeling .
My heart was pounding in my chest .
I felt like I was going to die.
” He raised the torch to the gas jet attached to the bottom of the arch .
He heard a whoosh .
The flame took and rose , through the rings , up to the cauldron , which erupted in fire .
Watching on television , Johnson ’ s former broadcasting colleague Tom Brokaw spilled tears of pride .
“ I thought about the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how I ’ d always believed , well before I knew him personally , that he was the quintessential American athlete .
”

Rafer Johnson prepares to light the Olympic flame at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to open the 1984 Summer Games.
As the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles neared, city leaders knew they needed to start strong. Many doubted the city could pull off such a global event, and a weak or botched opening ceremony might prove them right.
For the key role of lighting the Olympic flame, organizers chose Rafer Johnson, winner of the 1960 Olympic decathlon gold medal and one of the city’s most treasured athletes. But in preparation for the opening ceremony, Johnson discovered a problem.
Plans called for Johnson to carry the Olympic torch up the progressively steeper stairs of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and then up an even steeper — and shaky — set of steps to a platform where he was to turn to the crowd, flaming torch in hand, and open the Games by igniting a gas jet. But the top step was so narrow, and the riser so wobbly, that Johnson asked for a handhold to be installed.
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The producer of the ceremony protested, saying a handhold would ruin photos of the moment.
“What would be a worse picture,” Johnson replied, “me holding on to something or me falling headfirst down to the floor of the Coliseum?”
Johnson got the handhold, and his lighting of the Olympic flame proved to be an iconic moment in a widely praised ceremony.
It was a fulfilling role for Johnson, a man whose legacy was interwoven with Los Angeles’ history, beginning with his performances as a world-class athlete at UCLA and punctuated by the night in 1968 when he helped disarm Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin at the Ambassador Hotel.
Forever a civic booster in the metropolis where he lived, Johnson died Wednesday at his home in Sherman Oaks. The Olympian’s death was confirmed by his family. He was 86.
The son of Texas farmworkers who moved to California when he was young, Johnson rose to become the World’s Greatest Athlete, the unofficial title bestowed on the winner of the Olympic decathlon at a time when track and field stars received the adulation that today is bestowed on the best of the NFL and NBA.
At the 1960 Rome Olympics, Johnson was the U.S. team’s flag bearer, the first Black American so honored. His decathlon battle that year with C.K. Yang — his training partner at UCLA — ranks among the classic moments of Olympics history.
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Rafer Johnson holds the cauldron that he used to light the Olympic flame for the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
In an eventful life, Johnson broke racial barriers, played an unexpected role in the international relations of the Cold War and immersed himself in the turbulent politics of the 1960s. To help disabled children, Johnson co-founded the California Special Olympics in 1969 and served as its president for 10 years.
In contrast to the anything-to-win attitudes often found in sports today, the deeply religious Johnson was always a vocal advocate for fair play and good sportsmanship. He eschewed drugs and alcohol and, in track races, refused even to try to anticipate the starter’s gun, believing that it was a form of cheating.
“It seems funny to say winning is not all-important — I always want to win, and no one likes to lose,” he once said. “But when you start out on the field, everyone is equal. That is the important idea.”
Sports Column: Rafer Johnson hopes his legacy inspires others to be their best Rafer Johnson is a man and an athlete whose life both literally and figuratively lit a flame.
Rafer Lewis Johnson was born during the Depression, on Aug. 18, 1934, in Hillsboro, Texas, the second of six children born to Lewis Johnson, a cotton picker and farm handyman, and Alma Gibson Johnson. After a brief move to Oklahoma, the family returned to Texas when Johnson was 3 and settled in a Dallas home with no electricity or indoor plumbing.
When he was 9, Johnson’s parents, in search of a fresh start and better opportunities for their children, moved to the San Joaquin Valley town of Kingsburg, where most of the residents were of Swedish descent. The Johnsons were the only Black family.
Johnson and his siblings would join his parents picking cotton after school, on weekends, holidays and all summer. Johnson believed the hard work not only made him strong, but gave him discipline that would later help make him a successful athlete. In his 1998 autobiography, he wrote, “Thinking about picking cotton brings tears to my eyes to this day, just from remembering how hard my parents had to toil to earn a meager living.”
He recalled his father as a “kind, hard-working family man” when he was sober, but a “hell-raising drunk” who beat his wife when he’d been drinking. It was a specter that would loom over much of Johnson’s life.
Johnson remembered his years in Kingsburg fondly, saying it was like a “Frank Capra movie.” Still, there were dangers. Johnson once saved his brother Jimmy from drowning at a local swimming hole. Jimmy Johnson would later go on to play for the San Francisco 49ers and be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Johnson was a four-sport star in high school, lettering in football, baseball, basketball and, his favorite, track and field. “There was something pure and innocent about the sport: You ran, you jumped, you threw things, just as young men had done since the dawn of civilization,” he wrote in his autobiography.
For college, Johnson chose UCLA, in part because its alumni included Jackie Robinson, who broke the racial barrier in Major League Baseball, and Ralph Bunche, the first Black American to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Still, Johnson encountered racism on campus. One white woman he was seeing was forced to choose between her sorority membership and dating a Black man. A fraternity rejected Johnson as a member because he was Black. But he was accepted elsewhere and became the first Black American to join a national fraternity at UCLA — Pi Lambda Phi.
Johnson’s fast ascendancy as a decathlete drew national attention. He won the Pan American Games in 1955, earning a spot on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” He then broke the world record for the decathlon, establishing himself as the favorite for the 1956 Olympics.
But a knee injury and torn stomach muscle hampered Johnson and he finished second at the Games in Melbourne, Australia, a bitter disappointment.
Back at UCLA, Johnson was elected student body president, a position that brought him “a pile of hate mail,” he recalled, with one letter asking, “Who do you think you are, black boy?”
In 1958, with Cold War tensions at their height, much of the world’s attention was drawn to the first U.S.-USSR track meet, to be held in Moscow. In the spotlight was the battle to be the World’s Greatest Athlete between Johnson and Vasili Kuznetsov, who held the world record then.
Onlookers built it up as a battle between communism and the free world, a role that made Johnson uncomfortable.
“I was fully aware of the irony that a Black man was an emissary of a nation where discrimination raged and racists got away with lynchings,” he said. “I found myself affected by the political overtones despite my efforts to ignore them.”
In the end, Johnson turned in his best decathlon yet, beating Kuznetsov and again breaking the world record. When it was all done, the Soviet crowd rushed the field, and Johnson thought they were going to attack him. Instead, they raised him on their shoulders and shouted his name.
“Never in the history of track has an athlete performed so well as Rafer Johnson in Moscow,” wrote Sports Illustrated.
In 1958-59, Johnson played basketball for legendary UCLA coach John Wooden and began training with Yang, a Taiwanese athlete who had come to UCLA and emerged as a decathlete nearly as strong as Johnson. The competitive rivals would develop a unique friendship.
“Ours was the purest of rivalries,” Johnson recalled. “We each wanted the other guy to do well, but we wanted even more to win.”
Though Olympic success could cement an athlete’s fame, the rules of amateurism at the time kept Johnson from cashing in. He had to turn down a role in the movie “Spartacus” for fear it would endanger his eligibility and, for a while, he was forced to pay his bills flipping burgers at Culver City’s Hamburger Handout.
Johnson hurt his back in a 1959 car accident, forcing him to sit out a year’s worth of competition, and raising questions about whether he could compete at the 1960 Olympics in Rome.
But that doubt was erased when Johnson won the 1960 Olympic trials, yet again setting a new world record in the process.
Johnson’s two-day battle with Yang in Rome was a drama-fueled duel. The first day’s events were interrupted by downpours, keeping the athletes on the track until nearly midnight. Johnson, leading Yang by a small margin of 55 points, got just five hours’ sleep. No other competitors were close to the two leaders.
By 10 p.m. on the second day, Johnson led Yang by just 67 points with only the final event — the 1,500-meter run — remaining. Johnson hated the 1,500 and Yang was better at it. If Yang beat Johnson by more than 10 seconds, the gold would go to him.
But Johnson determinedly stuck on Yang’s heels lap after lap and ran the fastest 1,500 meters of his life. He finished just 1.2 seconds behind Yang, claiming the gold medal. An exhausted Johnson immediately announced he was retiring from the sport.
Johnson’s victory brought him attention from surprising places. In 1961, the Los Angeles Rams picked him in the NFL draft, though Johnson hadn’t played football since high school. He also was offered a spot on the Harlem Globetrotters.
He passed on the offers and instead dabbled in the movies, landing supporting roles in about a dozen films and several TV shows.
Johnson had a short career as a TV reporter, covering the 1964 Olympics for NBC and then working as a sports anchor for KNBC in Los Angeles.
At an awards dinner in 1961, Johnson met Kennedy, then the U.S. attorney general. Their political and social views meshed and they quickly became friends. Soon, Johnson was a regular guest at Kennedy’s homes in Virginia and Massachusetts on Cape Cod, playing touch football and scuba diving off Edward M. Kennedy’s yacht.
When Robert Kennedy announced his run for president in 1968, Johnson jumped in with full support, addressing rallies, speaking at news conferences and meeting with voters. At public events, Johnson and former Rams football player Roosevelt Grier stayed so close to Kennedy that people thought they were his bodyguards.
On the night of June 5, 1968, Kennedy spoke to jubilant supporters at the Ambassador Hotel in L.A. after winning the California Democratic primary. As he went to leave, gunshots rang out, and Kennedy fell, mortally wounded.
Johnson and others rushed the gunman, Sirhan Sirhan, and Johnson said he grabbed the gun, still in Sirhan’s hand. Johnson said he twisted Sirhan’s fingers to get the gun loose, and put it in his pocket. Hours later on the chaotic night, Johnson realized he still had the gun and turned it over to police.
Kennedy’s assassination left Johnson traumatized and depressed, but he found a new direction by helping launch the California Special Olympics, the athletics event for disabled children. It was a cause he remained involved in the rest of his life. From 1983-92, he was president of the Special Olympics Southern California. He also had a long career at Continental Telephone, rising to vice president of personnel.
In 1971, Johnson married Betsy Thorsen and they had a daughter, Jennifer, and a son, Joshua, all of whom survive him.
In 1979, L.A. Mayor Tom Bradley asked Johnson to join the board of the committee bringing the 1984 Summer Olympics to the city.
As the Games approached, speculation swirled about who would be the final torchbearer, usually an athlete who stirred exceptional pride in the host nation. Would it be Mark Spitz, winner of seven gold medals in swimming in 1972? Bruce Jenner, the 1976 Olympic decathlon champion?
About 10 days before the July 28 ceremony, Johnson was called to a meeting with Peter Ueberroth, president of the organizing committee, and David Wolper, the producer of the opening ceremony. Ueberroth said he wanted Johnson to light the flame.
“By the time his words left his breath and hit my ears, I had said yes,” Johnson recalled.
Five years earlier, Johnson had cast the deciding vote in the balloting that elected Ueberroth president of the organizing committee. But Ueberroth was always adamant later that Johnson was not chosen to light the flame as a gesture of gratitude.
Johnson was ordered to keep the news quiet. The media were chasing it and Ueberroth, who loved the intrigue, wanted it to be a surprise, as the announcement of the final torchbearer usually is.
So Johnson told only his wife, and began his workouts during a family vacation at her parents’ home in Newport Beach. “I got a couple of five-pound weights,” he said, “and I ran up and down inside a parking garage.”
Johnson was 49 at the time, but in rehearsals for the opening ceremony, Wolper was making his torchbearer feel like an old man.
“Those steps were killers,” Johnson says. “I never got all the way up in rehearsals.”
On the temporary ladder at the top, each step was white, each was narrow. The ladder tended to rock if Johnson didn’t stay in the center. So he had them paint black dots in the center of each step, and two dots in the center of the top step.
At Johnson’s request, workers drilled a 36-inch fiberglass pole on the top step that stood to his left as he faced the crowd and gave him a handhold.
At the ceremony, Johnson received the torch and started up the stairs. On the temporary ladder he concentrated on the dots.
“When I got up there, and I turned and saw the crowd, saw that view, and there was nothing behind me, and I’m standing on something about a foot wide, I know I would have fallen. I can’t even explain the feeling. My heart was pounding in my chest. I felt like I was going to die.”
He raised the torch to the gas jet attached to the bottom of the arch. He heard a whoosh. The flame took and rose, through the rings, up to the cauldron, which erupted in fire.
Watching on television, Johnson’s former broadcasting colleague Tom Brokaw spilled tears of pride.
“I thought about the whole arc of his life. And how I’d always believed, well before I knew him personally, that he was the quintessential American athlete.”
Staff writer David Wharton contributed to this article.


latimes--2020-12-02--California stay-at-home order looms as COVID-19 cases explode to new levels

California reached another troubling COVID-19 milestone Tuesday , averaging 14,120 cases per day with more than 8,200 hospitalized — both new records .
The continuing surge is putting more pressure on state and local officials to take more aggressive action to slow the spread before it overwhelms hospitals .
Los Angeles County , which has been particularly hard hit , reported more than 7,500 new cases — the most in a single day .
Projections suggest L.A. County could reach 9,000 cases by next week .
Officials have said they would consider a restrictive stay-at-home order if cases kept rising @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Thanksgiving weekend likely spread the virus even more .
What are the options ?
Gov .
Gavin Newsom warned Monday that a new stay-at-home order could be coming .
It ’ s possible such an order would be imposed only on counties in the worst shape among those in the purple tier — although the vast majority of counties are in that tier .
“ We will be coming out with some additional information , some additional recommendations in the very , very near future , ” Newsom said .
Few details of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dr. Mark Ghaly , California ’ s health and human services secretary , said Monday that officials could learn from the spring lockdown .
“ One of the most important things we ’ ve learned is we can be not just more surgical with what we do , but we can really prescribe it for a shorter or a different amount of time , ” Ghaly said .
“ Early on , some of those orders really were open-ended ; we weren ’ t sure .
Today , we know that we can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reliable way more quickly , and that ’ s part of what we ’ re considering.
” But it might take some cues from L.A. County , which now has the toughest restrictions in the state .
Officials in L.A. County a “ targeted safer-at-home order ” that is in effect through Dec. 20 .
It closes public playgrounds ; places new capacity limits on retail stores , outdoor museums , galleries , zoos and aquariums ; and prohibits all gatherings among people from different households , except for outdoor religious services and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ top of other restrictions that went into effect last week , including on outdoor dining .
On Saturday , L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer held out hope these restrictions could be enough to slow the spread .
But she stressed it only works if people follow the rules .
“ If this doesn ’ t work , and two to three weeks from now we find ourselves in a worse place than we are , we ’ re going to have to go back and look at what else do we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not continue to risk overwhelming the healthcare system , ” Ferrer said .
“ I don ’ t think there ’ s any disagreement about that — that ’ s a disaster that we have to avoid at all costs.
” Other counties have their own various restrictions .
In Santa Clara County , hotel use has been restricted to essential travel or to people needing medical isolation or quarantine .
Capacity at retail establishments was further capped .
Authorities also suspended contact sports for professional teams , forcing the San Francisco 49ers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ games scheduled for December .
San Francisco this week will announce more rollbacks , including a possible quarantine order for travelers and reduced indoor capacity at businesses , as the coronavirus continues to surge , city officials said Tuesday .
Dr. Grant Colfax , San Francisco ’ s director of public health , said : “ We know unfortunately that the worst is likely yet to come.
” What is the situation at hospitals ?
Newsom on Monday said Southern California is forecast to run out of intensive care unit capacity by mid- @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
By Christmas Eve , ICU beds are forecast to be at 107 % of capacity across the region .
While intensive care treatments have improved since the early days of the pandemic , all bets are off once ICUs are pushed beyond capacity .
The average net increase in people hospitalized in California with COVID-19 is now about 342 patients a day over the last week , according to a Times analysis .
The acceleration is twice as bad as the summertime surge , which saw the average net increase in hospitalizations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over a weeklong period in late June .
In L.A. County , hospitalizations have more than tripled since Halloween , when there were about 800 people hospitalized , and surged past 2,400 on Monday .
It was the second consecutive day that the high for hospitalizations in L.A. County has been broken , and a number that ’ s 9 % higher that the peak from the summer wave .
Santa Clara County officials warned Wednesday that its system of hospitals are at risk of exceeding the capacity soon .
As of Tuesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % of capacity at hospitals that traditionally serve the agricultural southern part of the county , like Gilroy , and the East San Jose , which is heavily Latino and hit hard by the pandemic.None of those hospitals had more than five ICU beds available Tuesday , including Regional Medical Center of San Jose , Kaiser Santa Clara , and the three county-run hospitals , Santa Clara Valley Medical Center , O ’ Connor Hospital , or St. Louise Regional Hospital .
How about the vaccine ?
The development of COVID vaccines offers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not help with this winter surge .
California expects to receive about 327,000 doses of , to go to front-line health workers .
The CDC ’ s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices met Tuesday to debate and vote on who should be first in line to receive initial doses of a COVID-19 vaccine .
They recommended that the initial vaccination effort focus on front-line healthcare workers , as well as residents of long-term care facilities , such as nursing homes and assisted-living facilities .
As more vaccine becomes available , more groups will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the immunization effort in the United States will be in high gear by late spring and early summer , as Pfizer and Moderna continue to ramp up production and other vaccine candidates complete their clinical trials and apply for emergency-use authorization .
Times staff writers Tom Curwen and Alex Wigglesworth contributed to this report .

Rong-Gong Lin II, Luke Money, Maura Dolan

California reached another troubling COVID-19 milestone Tuesday, averaging 14,120 cases per day with more than 8,200 hospitalized — both new records.
The continuing surge is putting more pressure on state and local officials to take more aggressive action to slow the spread before it overwhelms hospitals. Los Angeles County, which has been particularly hard hit, reported more than 7,500 new cases — the most in a single day. Projections suggest L.A. County could reach 9,000 cases by next week.
Officials have said they would consider a restrictive stay-at-home order if cases kept rising, which is now expected because the Thanksgiving weekend likely spread the virus even more.
Advertisement
What are the options?
Gov. Gavin Newsom warned Monday that a new stay-at-home order could be coming.
It’s possible such an order would be imposed only on counties in the worst shape among those in the purple tier — although the vast majority of counties are in that tier. “We will be coming out with some additional information, some additional recommendations in the very, very near future,” Newsom said.
Few details of such an order have been announced. Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s health and human services secretary, said Monday that officials could learn from the spring lockdown.
“One of the most important things we’ve learned is we can be not just more surgical with what we do, but we can really prescribe it for a shorter or a different amount of time,” Ghaly said. “Early on, some of those orders really were open-ended; we weren’t sure. Today, we know that we can get impact from certain interventions in a reliable way more quickly, and that’s part of what we’re considering.”
But it might take some cues from L.A. County, which now has the toughest restrictions in the state.
Officials in L.A. County rolled out a “targeted safer-at-home order” that is in effect through Dec. 20. It closes public playgrounds; places new capacity limits on retail stores, outdoor museums, galleries, zoos and aquariums; and prohibits all gatherings among people from different households, except for outdoor religious services and political demonstrations.
Advertisement
Those limitations are on top of other restrictions that went into effect last week , including a renewed ban on outdoor dining.
On Saturday, L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer held out hope these restrictions could be enough to slow the spread. But she stressed it only works if people follow the rules.
“If this doesn’t work, and two to three weeks from now we find ourselves in a worse place than we are, we’re going to have to go back and look at what else do we have as options, because we cannot continue to risk overwhelming the healthcare system,” Ferrer said. “I don’t think there’s any disagreement about that — that’s a disaster that we have to avoid at all costs.”
Other counties have their own various restrictions.
In Santa Clara County, hotel use has been restricted to essential travel or to people needing medical isolation or quarantine. Capacity at retail establishments was further capped. Authorities also suspended contact sports for professional teams, forcing the San Francisco 49ers to look elsewhere to play their home games scheduled for December.
San Francisco this week will announce more rollbacks, including a possible quarantine order for travelers and reduced indoor capacity at businesses, as the coronavirus continues to surge, city officials said Tuesday.
Dr. Grant Colfax, San Francisco’s director of public health, said: “We know unfortunately that the worst is likely yet to come.”
What is the situation at hospitals?
Newsom on Monday said Southern California is forecast to run out of intensive care unit capacity by mid- to late December if current trends continued. By Christmas Eve, ICU beds are forecast to be at 107% of capacity across the region. While intensive care treatments have improved since the early days of the pandemic, all bets are off once ICUs are pushed beyond capacity.
The average net increase in people hospitalized in California with COVID-19 is now about 342 patients a day over the last week, according to a Times analysis. The acceleration is twice as bad as the summertime surge, which saw the average net increase in hospitalizations top out at 173 patients a day over a weeklong period in late June.
In L.A. County, hospitalizations have more than tripled since Halloween, when there were about 800 people hospitalized, and surged past 2,400 on Monday. It was the second consecutive day that the high for hospitalizations in L.A. County has been broken, and a number that’s 9% higher that the peak from the summer wave.
Santa Clara County officials warned Wednesday that its system of hospitals are at risk of exceeding the capacity soon. As of Tuesday, intensive care units were at 93% of capacity at hospitals that traditionally serve the agricultural southern part of the county, like Gilroy, and the East San Jose, which is heavily Latino and hit hard by the pandemic.None of those hospitals had more than five ICU beds available Tuesday, including Regional Medical Center of San Jose, Kaiser Santa Clara, and the three county-run hospitals, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, O’Connor Hospital, or St. Louise Regional Hospital.
How about the vaccine?
The development of COVID vaccines offers hope for 2021. But it will not help with this winter surge.
California expects to receive about 327,000 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine , to go to front-line health workers.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices met Tuesday to debate and vote on who should be first in line to receive initial doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. They recommended that the initial vaccination effort focus on front-line healthcare workers, as well as residents of long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes and assisted-living facilities. As more vaccine becomes available, more groups will be eligible.
Most experts feel that the immunization effort in the United States will be in high gear by late spring and early summer, as Pfizer and Moderna continue to ramp up production and other vaccine candidates complete their clinical trials and apply for emergency-use authorization.
Times staff writers Tom Curwen and Alex Wigglesworth contributed to this report.