latimes--2020-04-22--Some sections of California are pushing to lift stay-at-home rules before others

Leaders in the central California county of San Luis Obispo are confident they have flattened the coronavirus curve .
The coastal county of 283,000 people recorded 134 cases and one death , and this week , there were only two confirmed infected people in hospital beds .
Yet a large share of its economy — the once-bustling shopping district of downtown San Luis Obispo , the famed wine tasting rooms around Paso Robles , the coastal tourist meccas of Morro Bay and Pismo Beach — remained closed tight .
So officials this week are making a bid with Gov .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ gradual reopening process , one they say is guided by science but also recognition that San Luis Obispo County might be in better shape to ease stay-at-home rules faster than more populous hotspots like Los Angeles County and Silicon Valley .
“ This is not like flicking on a light switch , it ’ s more like operating a dimmer , ” San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Bruce Gibson said Tuesday .
“ We ’ re going to bring it up and see if it works , and we do have mechanisms to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ restriction.
” They have joined a small group of other local officials in California to ask Newsom to consider changes in his sweeping statewide restrictions on movements based on local conditions .
While the coronavirus has hit almost all parts of California , some areas have seen significantly more confirmed cases , hospitalizations and deaths than others .
“ This bipartisan group of local elected leaders asks that you allow our county to exercise local authority to implement a phased reopening of our local economy over the next three weeks , ” said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two county supervisors and a state assemblyman .
Sutter County officials sent a similar request to the governor .
San Luis Obispo County has a large supply of personal protective equipment and testing capacity , they added , and has built a site that can quickly scale up to take in more than 900 ill patients .
“ We have been successful in our efforts to manage the virus ’ spread , and we have put in the work and made investments to prepare for any type of surge or second wave , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ local officials , including San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti , have urged patience , expressing concern that lifting the order too soon could cause more outbreaks and hurt the economy more in the long run .
L.A. County over the last week has recorded a sharp rise in deaths , with 297 new deaths over the past seven days compared with 193 fatalities reported over the previous seven-day period .
The L.A. County death toll now stands at 663 as of Tuesday night .
And a new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suggests hundreds of thousands of people in L.A. County might have coronavirus .
“ I know many of you are feeling frustrated or wondering when we ’ ll be able to lift the safer at home order .
But lifting the restrictions too soon could risk lives , ” Garcetti said Monday .
Newsom has expressed doubts about relaxing orders piecemeal in various jurisdictions , and some health experts also have concerns .
For example , if San Luis Obispo County reopened some of its businesses , what would stop residents from Southern @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three or four hours there to spend a weekend at Pismo Beach and potentially cause new outbreaks ?
“ The problem with counties coming up piecemeal is about whether they create magnets , ” said Dr. George Rutherford , a UC San Francisco epidemiologist and infectious diseases expert .
There are situations in which a tailored , nuanced approach may be appropriate by region , said Dr. Robert Kim-Farley , medical epidemiologist and infectious diseases expert at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health .
First , counties would need to show there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there ’ s plenty of hospital capacity .
And cases , hospitalizations and deaths would need to be declining consistently before loosening the rules can begin .
“ So if they start to take away some of these physical distancing measures , they have some room , if you will , to start a little bit of [ coronavirus ] growth upwards without overloading their system , ” Kim-Farley said .
Kim-Farley said he could envision ways of keeping physical distancing in place while allowing more businesses to open , like requiring sporting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ essential businesses now follow in some counties — require people to wear face coverings and limit the number of people inside .
The same concept might apply to beaches and parks — allowing people to go for a walk or a swim , but barring gatherings of large groups , Kim-Farley said .
Newsom suggested on Tuesday that he would not allow local officials to take any action that would loosen the statewide restrictions that he put in place on March 19 .
“ I imagine there ’ ll be some examples of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spirit , ” said the governor .
“ And we may have to dial a little bit of that back.
” The governor said his advisers were seeking to better organize various conversations with county and city leaders over relaxing the restrictions.He said he ’ d provide an update on Wednesday on how current conditions in California compared to the requirements in his six-point blueprint .
In particular , Newsom promised an in-depth look at the challenges related to testing for the coronavirus and tracing potential cases of COVID-19 in communities across the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now averaging about 14,500 tests a day , fewer than his target of 25,000 a day by the end of April .
He cited administration statistics from the most recent 24-hour period — which showed a 3.3 % increase in hospitalizations and a 3.8 % increase in patients being treated in intensive care wards — as evidence that a significant shift toward reopening California businesses and community events was premature .
By Monday , there were 3,365 people with confirmed coronavirus diagnoses in California ’ s hospitals , with 1,241 of them in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all-time highs .
“ If we pull back too quickly , those numbers will go through the roof , ” Newsom said .
“ And I don ’ t think any of the people , in their goodwill and the spirit in which they are wanting to loosen things up , want to see those numbers increase.
” Last week , the Newsom administration highlighted six key indicators for altering his stay-at-home mandate , including the ability to closely monitor and track potential cases , prevent infection of high-risk people , prepare hospitals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meet demand , ensure schools , businesses and childcare facilities can support social distancing , and develop guidelines for when to ask Californians to stay home again if necessary .
Local officials can not lift the state ’ s stay-at-home rules on their own .
But in recent days , some communities have lifted local rules more restrictive than the state ’ s .
Riverside County and Orange County , for example , allowed golf courses to reopen with social distancing measure .
“ Time is of the essence , ” said Orange @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have people that are getting totally stir crazy at home.
” But Orange County health officials stressed they are looking for state guidance on when to allow wider reopening .
“ The last thing we want to do is open the floodgates and watch our case count start to go up again uncontrolled , ” said public health officer Dr. Nichole Quick .
In San Luis Obispo County , roughly halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles , officials this week relaxed some local COVID-19-related restrictions they said went beyond the state ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ construction , recreational fishing , pet grooming , nonurgent surgery and outpatient medical practice .
They also required customers and businesses continue to follow physical distancing rules and the use of face coverings and personal protective equipment when pertinent .
County leaders stressed that if Newsom does allow them to ease the rules , they will do so judiciously .
“ We fully expect that , as we start to lift restrictions , that we will see more disease , ” said Dr. Penny Borenstein , the San Luis Obispo County health officer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We just need to keep our eye on the number of cases , the number of hospitalizations , the number of people in critical condition and not pull the trigger too quickly in one direction or the other .
What we ’ re going to be looking for are trends.
” To the south , in Santa Barbara County , local officials expressed concerns about a patchwork of regulations being implemented over California ’ s central coast — where pet grooming , for instance , is closed in Santa Maria but can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ San Luis Obispo .
That ’ s a concern for Steve Lavagnino , a Santa Barbara County supervisor , whose dog is in such need of a haircut she “ looks like a koala bear at this point.
” He worries that without consistent rules across the region , people could “ do the wrong thing ” and travel around to get services .
Peter Adam , another Santa Barbara County supervisor , said if it were up to him , he would reopen the county ’ s businesses at once in defiance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I would recommend at least interpreting the governor ’ s order as liberally as possible and open our economy as soon as possible fully .
If not , simply defy it and making him come in and enforce it , ” he said .
Lin reported from San Francisco , Myers from Sacramento , and Money and Fry from Long Beach .

Rong-Gong Lin II, John Myers, Luke Money, Hannah Fry

Sheri Henggeler looks at a Toyota Supra on display in the showroom at Ventura Toyota. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
Gustavo Gutierrez, a porter at Ventura Toyota, mops the showroom floor with disinfectant on the first day the dealership reopened for business. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
Leaders in the central California county of San Luis Obispo are confident they have flattened the coronavirus curve. The coastal county of 283,000 people recorded 134 cases and one death, and this week, there were only two confirmed infected people in hospital beds.
Yet a large share of its economy — the once-bustling shopping district of downtown San Luis Obispo, the famed wine tasting rooms around Paso Robles, the coastal tourist meccas of Morro Bay and Pismo Beach — remained closed tight.
So officials this week are making a bid with Gov. Gavin Newsom to begin a slow and gradual reopening process, one they say is guided by science but also recognition that San Luis Obispo County might be in better shape to ease stay-at-home rules faster than more populous hotspots like Los Angeles County and Silicon Valley.
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“This is not like flicking on a light switch, it’s more like operating a dimmer,” San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Bruce Gibson said Tuesday. “We’re going to bring it up and see if it works, and we do have mechanisms to go back to a certain level of restriction.”
They have joined a small group of other local officials in California to ask Newsom to consider changes in his sweeping statewide restrictions on movements based on local conditions. While the coronavirus has hit almost all parts of California, some areas have seen significantly more confirmed cases, hospitalizations and deaths than others.
“This bipartisan group of local elected leaders asks that you allow our county to exercise local authority to implement a phased reopening of our local economy over the next three weeks,” said a letter signed by seven mayors, two county supervisors and a state assemblyman. Sutter County officials sent a similar request to the governor.
San Luis Obispo County has a large supply of personal protective equipment and testing capacity, they added, and has built a site that can quickly scale up to take in more than 900 ill patients.
“We have been successful in our efforts to manage the virus’ spread, and we have put in the work and made investments to prepare for any type of surge or second wave,” the letter said.
Advertisement
Some top local officials, including San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, have urged patience, expressing concern that lifting the order too soon could cause more outbreaks and hurt the economy more in the long run.
L.A. County over the last week has recorded a sharp rise in deaths, with 297 new deaths over the past seven days compared with 193 fatalities reported over the previous seven-day period. The L.A. County death toll now stands at 663 as of Tuesday night. And a new study by USC and L.A. County scientists suggests hundreds of thousands of people in L.A. County might have coronavirus.
“I know many of you are feeling frustrated or wondering when we’ll be able to lift the safer at home order. But lifting the restrictions too soon could risk lives,” Garcetti said Monday.
Newsom has expressed doubts about relaxing orders piecemeal in various jurisdictions, and some health experts also have concerns. For example, if San Luis Obispo County reopened some of its businesses, what would stop residents from Southern California and the Bay Area from driving three or four hours there to spend a weekend at Pismo Beach and potentially cause new outbreaks?
“The problem with counties coming up piecemeal is about whether they create magnets,” said Dr. George Rutherford, a UC San Francisco epidemiologist and infectious diseases expert.
There are situations in which a tailored, nuanced approach may be appropriate by region, said Dr. Robert Kim-Farley, medical epidemiologist and infectious diseases expert at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.
First, counties would need to show there’s adequate testing available, and there’s plenty of hospital capacity. And cases, hospitalizations and deaths would need to be declining consistently before loosening the rules can begin.
“So if they start to take away some of these physical distancing measures, they have some room, if you will, to start a little bit of [coronavirus] growth upwards without overloading their system,” Kim-Farley said.
Kim-Farley said he could envision ways of keeping physical distancing in place while allowing more businesses to open, like requiring sporting goods stores to follow the same rules essential businesses now follow in some counties — require people to wear face coverings and limit the number of people inside.
The same concept might apply to beaches and parks — allowing people to go for a walk or a swim, but barring gatherings of large groups, Kim-Farley said.
Newsom suggested on Tuesday that he would not allow local officials to take any action that would loosen the statewide restrictions that he put in place on March 19.
“I imagine there’ll be some examples of people just getting ahead of that collaborative spirit,” said the governor. “And we may have to dial a little bit of that back.”
The governor said his advisers were seeking to better organize various conversations with county and city leaders over relaxing the restrictions.He said he’d provide an update on Wednesday on how current conditions in California compared to the requirements in his six-point blueprint.
In particular, Newsom promised an in-depth look at the challenges related to testing for the coronavirus and tracing potential cases of COVID-19 in communities across the state. He said the state was now averaging about 14,500 tests a day, fewer than his target of 25,000 a day by the end of April.
He cited administration statistics from the most recent 24-hour period — which showed a 3.3% increase in hospitalizations and a 3.8% increase in patients being treated in intensive care wards — as evidence that a significant shift toward reopening California businesses and community events was premature.
By Monday, there were 3,365 people with confirmed coronavirus diagnoses in California’s hospitals, with 1,241 of them in the intensive care units. Both were all-time highs.
“If we pull back too quickly, those numbers will go through the roof,” Newsom said. “And I don’t think any of the people, in their goodwill and the spirit in which they are wanting to loosen things up, want to see those numbers increase.”
Last week, the Newsom administration highlighted six key indicators for altering his stay-at-home mandate, including the ability to closely monitor and track potential cases, prevent infection of high-risk people, prepare hospitals to handle surges, develop therapies to meet demand, ensure schools, businesses and childcare facilities can support social distancing, and develop guidelines for when to ask Californians to stay home again if necessary.
Local officials cannot lift the state’s stay-at-home rules on their own. But in recent days, some communities have lifted local rules more restrictive than the state’s. Riverside County and Orange County, for example, allowed golf courses to reopen with social distancing measure.
“Time is of the essence,” said Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett. “We have people that are getting totally stir crazy at home.”
But Orange County health officials stressed they are looking for state guidance on when to allow wider reopening. “The last thing we want to do is open the floodgates and watch our case count start to go up again uncontrolled,” said public health officer Dr. Nichole Quick.
In San Luis Obispo County, roughly halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, officials this week relaxed some local COVID-19-related restrictions they said went beyond the state’s order — allowing the resumption of construction, recreational fishing, pet grooming, nonurgent surgery and outpatient medical practice. They also required customers and businesses continue to follow physical distancing rules and the use of face coverings and personal protective equipment when pertinent.
County leaders stressed that if Newsom does allow them to ease the rules, they will do so judiciously.
“We fully expect that, as we start to lift restrictions, that we will see more disease,” said Dr. Penny Borenstein, the San Luis Obispo County health officer.
“We expect them to occur. We just need to keep our eye on the number of cases, the number of hospitalizations, the number of people in critical condition and not pull the trigger too quickly in one direction or the other. What we’re going to be looking for are trends.”
To the south, in Santa Barbara County, local officials expressed concerns about a patchwork of regulations being implemented over California’s central coast — where pet grooming, for instance, is closed in Santa Maria but can be opened up 25 miles away in San Luis Obispo.
That’s a concern for Steve Lavagnino, a Santa Barbara County supervisor, whose dog is in such need of a haircut she “looks like a koala bear at this point.” He worries that without consistent rules across the region, people could “do the wrong thing” and travel around to get services.
Peter Adam, another Santa Barbara County supervisor, said if it were up to him, he would reopen the county’s businesses at once in defiance of Newsom’s order.
“I would recommend at least interpreting the governor’s order as liberally as possible and open our economy as soon as possible fully. If not, simply defy it and making him come in and enforce it,” he said.
Lin reported from San Francisco, Myers from Sacramento, and Money and Fry from Long Beach.


latimes--2020-04-22--The Enneagram is having a moment. You can thank millennials

Emily Rickard was at a casual dinner party in Riverside three years ago when a friend , a professor , mentioned a word that would change her life .
The professor had recently learned about the personality test and wondered if anyone had experience with it .
Rickard was immediately intrigued .
And perplexed .
She has a master ’ s in psychology and a longtime fascination with personality inventories ( think : Myers-Briggs ) , so she couldn ’ t believe that there was a system she hadn ’ t heard of .
Back at home , she researched @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and how it breaks people into nine archetypes designated by a number , and sometimes a one-word nickname ( “ The Peacemaker , ” “ The Enthusiast , ” “ The Challenger , ” “ The Investigator ” ) .
The 37-year-old , who lives in Moreno Valley with her three boys , whom she home-schools , and her husband , a teacher who also helps pastor a church in Riverside , quickly pinned herself as a Nine — “ The Peacemaker.
” ( Figuring out your type often starts with an online @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disagree with generic statements , such as “ I want people to tell me the truth , not spare my feelings.
” ) As she read about the Nine ’ s key motivations — avoiding conflict and maintaining harmony , sometimes by putting others ’ interests ahead of your own — she flashed back to her childhood and how , when her parents argued , she felt like the world might end .
She thought , too , about the times her husband insisted that she pick a dinner spot , and she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hers .
The epiphany brought her to tears , feeling as if her authentic self had , at last , been fully recognized .
Soon she enrolled in a 12-week , online course offered by a company called Your Enneagram Coach , that , for about $ 1,000 , promised an overview of the nine types , as well as help setting up a freelance gig as a life coach teaching from the Enneagram perspective .
Now , she runs a coaching service called NextGen Enneagram , offering a $ 350 package that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ six longer one-on-one meetings .
“ Once you get the Enneagram bug , ” she says , “ it ’ s kind of contagious.
” Sixteen years of Google searches show that the number of people looking up “ Enneagram ” hovered at the same level until 2017 , when it spiked drastically , topping out last summer .
In August , for the first time in its history , , a nonprofit that teaches students how to use the model , sold almost every space at six workshops in Menlo Park , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who has taught the Enneagram for more than 30 years .
“ The Enneagram is exploding , ” she said .
“ Expanding like crazy.
” The boom , which until the pandemic broke out involved people gathering for Enneagram parties and workshops , is part of the same contemporary phenomenon that some observers connect to the resurgence of astrology — in turbulent times , some people find comfort in the rituals of their religion or other , less traditional , belief systems .
When the world feels especially chaotic , said Fran @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the University of Redlands , we crave tools that help us change the one thing we can control — ourselves .
“ It ’ s the inner path , ” Grace said .
“ How can I be a place of peace ?
” Like many other Enneagram converts , Rickard is something of a personal-development junkie .
She saw a marriage and family therapist during grad school , knows her Myers-Briggs type by heart and recently met with a woman who coaches people using neurolinguistic programming , a self-help therapy that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she recognizes that some of the Enneagram ’ s allure is its trendiness — “ It ’ s popular right now , so go with it , right ?
” she says with a laugh — she finds the model less stagnant and more growth-oriented than other personality systems and believes that it will stand the test of time .
Mention the word Enneagram in a group — or DISC or Myers-Briggs or any of the hundreds of tests that distill personalities into a color or a number or an animal — and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ least one person rolling their eyes , convinced its all well-packaged nonsense .
Personality tests , skeptics have long argued , are nothing more than pseudoscience that create a buyer-beware world of little regulation where anyone can call themselves an expert .
The Enneagram itself has ancient , but murky , roots : Some adherents trace it back to a 4th century monk and the same underlying concept as the seven deadly sins .
Others see similarities between the Enneagram ’ s nine-pointed figure and a symbol used in ancient Sufism .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ philosopher Oscar Ichazo , and one of his students , a Berkeley-based psychiatrist , who , in the 1970s , helped popularize the Enneagram in the U.S. By 1994 , the model had gained at least enough credence that Stanford Medical School ’ s psychiatry department co-sponsored the first International Enneagram Conference , drawing more than a thousand people to Palo Alto .
From there , the framework found pockets of popularity with self-help devotees and in Corporate America , where some companies used the tool to build rapport among employees .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , propelled , in part , by a book on the topic by an influential Franciscan priest named Richard Rohr .
Then , thanks to millennials , it exploded into the mainstream in the last few years .
In many ways , the tool , which isn ’ t tied to a specific religion , seems tailor-made for a spiritual-but-not-religious generation that grew up on BuzzFeed quizzes and branding .
Enneagram evangelists tout it as a self-discovery tool that will help you understand your strengths and limitations , spot patterns you fall into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s not about fundamentally altering yourself or trying to morph into another type — that , they ’ ll remind you , is impossible anyway — but about living more consciously with the hand you ’ ve been dealt .
In a world saturated with self-help tools , it ’ s the Enneagram ’ s digestibility that sets it apart .
The nine archetypes are easy to distill into cute and encouraging memes , like the ones shared to half a million followers on the @ enneagramandcoffee Instagram account or the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the @ Enneadog account .
Companies capitalizing on the craze now claim to know the best smoothie bowl and iPhone app for each type and there are more than 20 different podcasts with “ Enneagram ” in their title , including one called “ Do It For the Gram ” hosted by Milton Stewart , a Seven ( “ The Enthusiast.
” ) The 30-year-old , who lives in Memphis and proudly calls himself “ The Enneagram Guy , ” says the tool is a natural fit for him , and fellow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of success and toward a loftier goal : True happiness .
“ The Enneagram helps people get to what is greater , ” he said .
“ To be really internally happy , peaceful , content.
” Another part of the Enneagram ’ s appeal is that nobody owns it .
A few well-established groups , such as the Enneagram Institute and the Narrative Enneagram , host intensive workshops , some of which can cost into the thousands of dollars .
( In a club exploding with newbie converts , groups that started @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a certain cachet . )
But people can also research for free online and label themselves a guru .
“ There ’ s no overarching body that says , ‘ You can ’ t say you ’ re an Enneagram expert , ’ ” said Micky ScottBey Jones , 42 , a Nashville-area Enneagram trainer , who got certified through an extensive online program taught by the School of Conscious Living in Cincinnati .
The lack of quality control is problematic , Jones acknowledged , because someone with only a cursory understanding of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and start charging money .
And when the tool is used without nuance , she said , discussions can devolve into deterministic stereotypes .
“ Oh , you think you ’ re perfect ?
” Jones recalls her ex-husband quipping at her , knowing she was a One , sometimes nicknamed “ The Perfectionist.
” The opposite was true , she told him , Ones have the fiercest “ inner critic ” of any number .
“ It ’ s not a party trick , ” she said .
It takes serious research @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Jones said , and to account for the cultural biases inherent in some of the quizzes and trainings .
As with anything , she said , Enneagram teachers interpret the world through the lens of their own lives and , historically , at least in the U.S. , most instructors have been white .
When Jones , who is black , first started having conversations about the Enneagram , other people told her , and she initially agreed , that she was probably an Eight ( “ The Challenger ” ) .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a common mistyping among black women — one she believes is rooted in stereotypes about black women as angry and strong .
While she is a leader with a strong personality — traits often found in Eights — a key aspect was off : She doesn ’ t freely express her anger .
As a One ( aka “ Perfectionist ” ) , she ’ s prone to tamp the emotion down .
One way to weed out your true type , Enneagram experts say , is to read all nine descriptions and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ embarrasses you .
That was how Paden Hughes — the 33-year-old CEO of Gymnazo , a workout facility in San Luis Obispo — ultimately discovered her type .
She initially thought she might be an Eight , but realized she was a Three ( “ The Achiever ” ) after learning that , at their lowest , Threes are prone to shape-shifting and manipulation .
“ It ’ s the side of you that you don ’ t want anyone to see , “ Hughes said .
But recognizing that side , she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Enneagram with her then 15-person staff more than a year ago and , so far , she said , the employees have liked it more than other personality-typing tools they ’ d tried together , including Myers-Briggs and Strengths Finder .
On a Saturday morning last fall , Hughes ’ gym hosted a two-hour Enneagram workshop led by Joy Pedersen — a 41-year-old life coach and certified Enneagram instructor who has a doctorate in educational leadership .
“ I want us to do introductions , ” Pedersen said softly , asking each @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fact about themselves , as well as their experience with the Enneagram and what they hoped to get from the workshop .
First up was a 38-year-old preschool teacher — fun fact : She ’ s from Fargo , N.D. — who said she knew almost nothing about the Enneagram , but that she kept seeing the word on Instagram .
Then a 59-year-old commercial real estate agent — fun fact : she has anxiety from a lack of fun facts — said she struggled with understanding people and hoped to improve her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pedersen said , smiling , “ that gets me really excited.
” The next day , a different group — a crew of 18 men and women — packed into a living room in Riverside for an Enneagram party led by Rickard , the devotee who lives in Moreno Valley .
Dressed in a sparkly T-shirt and exuding the loud , stay-with-me energy of someone who spends her time home-schooling a trio of young boys , Rickard clapped three times .
The crowd — her friends , her friend ’ s friends and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about the event online — quieted .
“ So , ” Rickard said , squirming with excitement , “ who has heard of the Enneagram ?
” “ Who is obsessed with it like me ?
” she asked .
When only four hands stayed raised , Rickard inched her eyebrows up and down several times , as if to say , “ Challenge accepted.
” Some Christians are leery about the Enneagram because it ’ s not derived directly from the Bible , Rickard said , but that doesn ’ t bother @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pastor at a nondenominational Christian church .
Nothing about it contradicts their beliefs , she says , or those of any of the other world religions she ’ s studied .
“ Anything that gives you insight into how you ’ re made can be helpful , ” she said .
As Rickard outlined the types in a PowerPoint presentation , a mother , who was bouncing her baby on her knee , asked if women with young children ever get mistyped as Twos ( “ The Helper ” ) .
Rickard nodded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in religious communities — are often mistyped because selflessness is a trait they ’ re taught to value and therefore learn to express .
As she pointed to her PowerPoint , a stack of gold bracelets bounced around her left wrist .
She winced .
“ This is so jingly , ” she said .
“ Is that annoying anyone ?
” A friend in the back of the room chuckled , noticing the worry-about-everyone-else question .
“ Ah , ” she whispered to herself , “ The Peacemaker.
” You could argue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a public talk might fret over distracting noises .
But that wasn ’ t what the friend saw — not now that she was a believer .

During a gathering in Riverside in the fall, a group plays an interactive game to help them start to narrow down their Enneagram personality types.
Emily Rickard was at a casual dinner party in Riverside three years ago when a friend, a professor, mentioned a word that would change her life.
Enneagram.
The professor had recently learned about the personality test and wondered if anyone had experience with it. Rickard was immediately intrigued. And perplexed.
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She has a master’s in psychology and a longtime fascination with personality inventories (think: Myers-Briggs), so she couldn’t believe that there was a system she hadn’t heard of. Back at home, she researched the Enneagram (pronounced ANY-uh-gram) model and how it breaks people into nine archetypes designated by a number, and sometimes a one-word nickname (“The Peacemaker,” “The Enthusiast,” “The Challenger,” “The Investigator”).
The 37-year-old, who lives in Moreno Valley with her three boys, whom she home-schools, and her husband, a teacher who also helps pastor a church in Riverside, quickly pinned herself as a Nine — “The Peacemaker.” (Figuring out your type often starts with an online assessment that asks you to agree or disagree with generic statements, such as “I want people to tell me the truth, not spare my feelings.”)
As she read about the Nine’s key motivations — avoiding conflict and maintaining harmony, sometimes by putting others’ interests ahead of your own — she flashed back to her childhood and how, when her parents argued, she felt like the world might end. She thought, too, about the times her husband insisted that she pick a dinner spot, and she simply shrugged, elevating his cravings above hers.
California The nine Enneagram types Which Enneagram type are you? Here is a rundown of the nine personality types.
The epiphany brought her to tears, feeling as if her authentic self had, at last, been fully recognized. Soon she enrolled in a 12-week, online course offered by a company called Your Enneagram Coach, that, for about $1,000, promised an overview of the nine types, as well as help setting up a freelance gig as a life coach teaching from the Enneagram perspective. Now, she runs a coaching service called NextGen Enneagram, offering a $350 package that includes a 30-minute, pinpoint-your-type interview and six longer one-on-one meetings.
“Once you get the Enneagram bug,” she says, “it’s kind of contagious.”
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Actually, quite contagious.
Sixteen years of Google searches show that the number of people looking up “Enneagram” hovered at the same level until 2017, when it spiked drastically, topping out last summer. In August, for the first time in its history, the Narrative Enneagram , a nonprofit that teaches students how to use the model, sold almost every space at six workshops in Menlo Park, according to founding president Terry Saracino, who has taught the Enneagram for more than 30 years.
“The Enneagram is exploding,” she said. “Expanding like crazy.”
The boom, which until the pandemic broke out involved people gathering for Enneagram parties and workshops, is part of the same contemporary phenomenon that some observers connect to the resurgence of astrology — in turbulent times, some people find comfort in the rituals of their religion or other, less traditional, belief systems. When the world feels especially chaotic, said Fran Grace, a professor of religious studies at the University of Redlands, we crave tools that help us change the one thing we can control — ourselves.
“It’s the inner path,” Grace said. “How can I be a place of peace?”
Emily Rickard discusses the Enneagram at a gathering in the fall at her friend’s home in Riverside. (Ana Venegas / For The Times)
Like many other Enneagram converts, Rickard is something of a personal-development junkie. She saw a marriage and family therapist during grad school, knows her Myers-Briggs type by heart and recently met with a woman who coaches people using neurolinguistic programming, a self-help therapy that sometimes uses hypnotic techniques.
And while she recognizes that some of the Enneagram’s allure is its trendiness — “It’s popular right now, so go with it, right?” she says with a laugh — she finds the model less stagnant and more growth-oriented than other personality systems and believes that it will stand the test of time.
::
Mention the word Enneagram in a group — or DISC or Myers-Briggs or any of the hundreds of tests that distill personalities into a color or a number or an animal — and you’ll almost always spot at least one person rolling their eyes, convinced its all well-packaged nonsense. Personality tests, skeptics have long argued, are nothing more than pseudoscience that create a buyer-beware world of little regulation where anyone can call themselves an expert.
The Enneagram itself has ancient, but murky, roots: Some adherents trace it back to a 4th century monk and the same underlying concept as the seven deadly sins. Others see similarities between the Enneagram’s nine-pointed figure and a symbol used in ancient Sufism.
1 / 9 The Reformer/Perfectionist: Ones are disciplined, self-controlled people who are afraid of making mistakes and feel compelled to leave the world better than they found it. (Peter and Maria Hoey / For The Times) 2 / 9 The Helper/Giver: Twos are generous and empathetic people who can be prone to people-pleasing. (Peter and Maria Hoey / For The Times) 3 / 9 The Achiever/Performer: Threes are energetic, make-it-happen people who care deeply about being admired. (Peter and Maria Hoey / For The Times) 4 / 9 The Individualist/Romantic: Fours are idealistic and intense people who crave authenticity. (Peter and Maria Hoey / For The Times) 5 / 9 The Investigator/Observer: Fives are analytical, self-reliant and, at times, detached. (Peter and Maria Hoey / For The Times) 6 / 9 The Loyalist/Loyal Skeptic: Sixes are dutiful, diligent people who can be prone to distrust. (Peter and Maria Hoey / For The Times) 7 / 9 The Enthusiast/Epicure: Sevens are peppy, at times scattered, people who love the thrill of a new opportunity. (Peter and Maria Hoey / For The Times) 8 / 9 The Challenger/Protector: Eights are self-assured and intense people who are perturbed by indecisiveness and injustice. (Peter and Maria Hoey / For The Times) 9 / 9 The Peacemaker/Mediator: Nines are accepting, go-with-the-flow people whose longing for harmony sometimes causes them to acquiesce to others’ desires. (Peter and Maria Hoey / For The Times)
But the modern interpretation is credited to Bolivian-born philosopher Oscar Ichazo, and one of his students, a Berkeley-based psychiatrist, who, in the 1970s, helped popularize the Enneagram in the U.S. By 1994, the model had gained at least enough credence that Stanford Medical School’s psychiatry department co-sponsored the first International Enneagram Conference, drawing more than a thousand people to Palo Alto.
From there, the framework found pockets of popularity with self-help devotees and in Corporate America, where some companies used the tool to build rapport among employees. It also gained traction in some Christian circles, propelled, in part, by a book on the topic by an influential Franciscan priest named Richard Rohr. Then, thanks to millennials, it exploded into the mainstream in the last few years. In many ways, the tool, which isn’t tied to a specific religion, seems tailor-made for a spiritual-but-not-religious generation that grew up on BuzzFeed quizzes and branding.
‘The Enneagram helps people get to what is greater. To be really internally happy, peaceful, content.’ — Milton Stewart, podcast host for “Do It For the Gram”
Enneagram evangelists tout it as a self-discovery tool that will help you understand your strengths and limitations, spot patterns you fall into during stress and communicate more clearly. It’s not about fundamentally altering yourself or trying to morph into another type — that, they’ll remind you, is impossible anyway — but about living more consciously with the hand you’ve been dealt.
In a world saturated with self-help tools, it’s the Enneagram’s digestibility that sets it apart.
The nine archetypes are easy to distill into cute and encouraging memes, like the ones shared to half a million followers on the @enneagramandcoffee Instagram account or the GIFs of puppies and Enneagram jokes tweeted by the @Enneadog account. Companies capitalizing on the craze now claim to know the best smoothie bowl and iPhone app for each type and there are more than 20 different podcasts with “Enneagram” in their title, including one called “Do It For the Gram” hosted by Milton Stewart, a Seven (“The Enthusiast.”)
Column One A showcase for compelling storytelling from the Los Angeles Times More stories
The 30-year-old, who lives in Memphis and proudly calls himself “The Enneagram Guy,” says the tool is a natural fit for him, and fellow millennials who want to move beyond discussions of success and toward a loftier goal: True happiness.
“The Enneagram helps people get to what is greater,” he said. “To be really internally happy, peaceful, content.”
Another part of the Enneagram’s appeal is that nobody owns it.
A few well-established groups, such as the Enneagram Institute and the Narrative Enneagram, host intensive workshops, some of which can cost into the thousands of dollars. (In a club exploding with newbie converts, groups that started talking about the Enneagram decades ago carry a certain cachet.)
But people can also research for free online and label themselves a guru.
“There’s no overarching body that says, ‘You can’t say you’re an Enneagram expert,’” said Micky ScottBey Jones, 42, a Nashville-area Enneagram trainer, who got certified through an extensive online program taught by the School of Conscious Living in Cincinnati.
The lack of quality control is problematic, Jones acknowledged, because someone with only a cursory understanding of the Enneagram could call themselves a trainer and start charging money. And when the tool is used without nuance, she said, discussions can devolve into deterministic stereotypes.
“Oh, you think you’re perfect?” Jones recalls her ex-husband quipping at her, knowing she was a One, sometimes nicknamed “The Perfectionist.” The opposite was true, she told him, Ones have the fiercest “inner critic” of any number.
Think of the lines on the Enneagram figure as arrows explaining the directions each personality type moves in times of stress and growth. So, when a Nine is stressed, they resemble an unhealthy Six, but when they’re thriving, they look like a healthy Three. (Peter and Maria Hoey / For The Times)
“It’s not a party trick,” she said.
It takes serious research to understand the tool’s subtleties, Jones said, and to account for the cultural biases inherent in some of the quizzes and trainings. As with anything, she said, Enneagram teachers interpret the world through the lens of their own lives and, historically, at least in the U.S., most instructors have been white.
When Jones, who is black, first started having conversations about the Enneagram, other people told her, and she initially agreed, that she was probably an Eight (“The Challenger”). But she later realized that that was a common mistyping among black women — one she believes is rooted in stereotypes about black women as angry and strong. While she is a leader with a strong personality — traits often found in Eights — a key aspect was off: She doesn’t freely express her anger. As a One (aka “Perfectionist”), she’s prone to tamp the emotion down.
One way to weed out your true type, Enneagram experts say, is to read all nine descriptions and focus on the one that unsettles or embarrasses you. That was how Paden Hughes — the 33-year-old CEO of Gymnazo, a workout facility in San Luis Obispo — ultimately discovered her type. She initially thought she might be an Eight, but realized she was a Three (“The Achiever”) after learning that, at their lowest, Threes are prone to shape-shifting and manipulation.
“It’s the side of you that you don’t want anyone to see,“ Hughes said. But recognizing that side, she believes, spurs growth.
She implemented the Enneagram with her then 15-person staff more than a year ago and, so far, she said, the employees have liked it more than other personality-typing tools they’d tried together, including Myers-Briggs and Strengths Finder.
Attendees broke into groups to discuss personality types during the Enneagram workshop in Riverside. (Ana Venegas / For The Times)
On a Saturday morning last fall, Hughes’ gym hosted a two-hour Enneagram workshop led by Joy Pedersen — a 41-year-old life coach and certified Enneagram instructor who has a doctorate in educational leadership.
“I want us to do introductions,” Pedersen said softly, asking each of the participants to share a fun fact about themselves, as well as their experience with the Enneagram and what they hoped to get from the workshop.
First up was a 38-year-old preschool teacher — fun fact: She’s from Fargo, N.D. — who said she knew almost nothing about the Enneagram, but that she kept seeing the word on Instagram. Then a 59-year-old commercial real estate agent — fun fact: she has anxiety from a lack of fun facts — said she struggled with understanding people and hoped to improve her communication skills.
“Oooh,” Pedersen said, smiling, “that gets me really excited.”
The next day, a different group — a crew of 18 men and women — packed into a living room in Riverside for an Enneagram party led by Rickard, the devotee who lives in Moreno Valley.
Dressed in a sparkly T-shirt and exuding the loud, stay-with-me energy of someone who spends her time home-schooling a trio of young boys, Rickard clapped three times. The crowd — her friends, her friend’s friends and a few strangers who’d learned about the event online — quieted.
“So,” Rickard said, squirming with excitement, “who has heard of the Enneagram?”
Eighteen hands popped up.
“Who is obsessed with it like me?” she asked.
Rickard’s friends, her friend’s friends and a few strangers who’d learned about the event online attended the workshop. (Ana Venegas / For The Times)
When only four hands stayed raised, Rickard inched her eyebrows up and down several times, as if to say, “Challenge accepted.”
Some Christians are leery about the Enneagram because it’s not derived directly from the Bible, Rickard said, but that doesn’t bother her — or her husband, a pastor at a nondenominational Christian church. Nothing about it contradicts their beliefs, she says, or those of any of the other world religions she’s studied.
“Anything that gives you insight into how you’re made can be helpful,” she said.
As Rickard outlined the types in a PowerPoint presentation, a mother, who was bouncing her baby on her knee, asked if women with young children ever get mistyped as Twos (“The Helper”). Rickard nodded, saying women — and particularly women in religious communities — are often mistyped because selflessness is a trait they’re taught to value and therefore learn to express.
As she pointed to her PowerPoint, a stack of gold bracelets bounced around her left wrist. She winced.
“This is so jingly,” she said. “Is that annoying anyone?”
A friend in the back of the room chuckled, noticing the worry-about-everyone-else question.
“Ah,” she whispered to herself, “The Peacemaker.”
You could argue, of course, that anyone giving a public talk might fret over distracting noises. But that wasn’t what the friend saw — not now that she was a believer.


latimes--2020-04-22--3.7 earthquake hits South Los Angeles, causing light shaking across Southland

A magnitude 3.7 earthquake that struck underneath South Los Angeles just after midnight caused light shaking across the Los Angeles Basin .
The earthquake occurred at 12:03 a.m. Wednesday .
Light shaking — enough to rattle dishes and windows and rock parked cars — was felt in South L.A. , Inglewood , Culver City , Playa Vista and at Los Angeles International Airport , according to the U.S. Geological Survey .
Weak shaking was felt across the L.A. Basin and the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys and in northern Orange County .
The earthquake ’ s epicenter was about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ La Brea avenues .
The earthquake occurred in the vicinity of the Newport-Inglewood fault zone .
The Newport-Inglewood fault has long been considered one of Southern California ’ s top seismic danger zones because it runs under some of the region ’ s most densely populated areas , from the Westside of Los Angeles to the Orange County coast .
The Newport-Inglewood fault was responsible for the deadliest earthquake in the modern history of Southern California — the magnitude 6.4 Long Beach earthquake of 1933 , which killed about 120 people .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Rose Canyon fault system that runs into San Diego .
Scientists believe earthquakes as large as magnitudes 6.8 to 7.5 have struck the Newport-Inglewood/Rose Canyon fault system , which stretches from the border of Beverly Hills and Los Angeles through Long Beach and the Orange County coast to downtown San Diego .
A plausible magnitude 6.9 earthquake on the Rose Canyon fault in San Diego , threatening the civic and financial center of California ’ s second-largest city and the nation ’ s fourth-biggest naval base , could damage 120,000 of San @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cause $ 38 billion in economic losses from building and infrastructure damage and $ 5.2 billion in lost income from business interruptions , according to a report released last month .
In the last 10 days , there have been two earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby .
An average of five earthquakes with magnitudes between 3.0 and 4.0 occur per year in the greater Los Angeles area , according to a recent three-year data sample .
The earthquake occurred at a depth of 7.4 miles .
Did you feel this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the USGS .
Even if you didn ’ t feel this small earthquake , you never know when the Big One is going to strike .
Ready yourself by following our five-step earthquake preparedness guide and building your own emergency kit .
The first version of this article was automatically generated by Quakebot , a computer application that monitors the latest earthquakes detected by the USGS .
A Times editor reviewed the post before it was published .
It was subsequently revised by a Times journalist .
If you ’ re interested @ @ @ @ @ @ @ visit our list of frequently asked questions .

A magnitude 3.7 earthquake that struck underneath South Los Angeles just after midnight caused light shaking across the Los Angeles Basin.
The earthquake occurred at 12:03 a.m. Wednesday. Light shaking — enough to rattle dishes and windows and rock parked cars — was felt in South L.A., Inglewood, Culver City, Playa Vista and at Los Angeles International Airport, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Weak shaking was felt across the L.A. Basin and the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys and in northern Orange County.
The earthquake’s epicenter was about half a mile southeast of Slauson and La Brea avenues.
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The earthquake occurred in the vicinity of the Newport-Inglewood fault zone. The Newport-Inglewood fault has long been considered one of Southern California’s top seismic danger zones because it runs under some of the region’s most densely populated areas, from the Westside of Los Angeles to the Orange County coast.
The Newport-Inglewood fault was responsible for the deadliest earthquake in the modern history of Southern California — the magnitude 6.4 Long Beach earthquake of 1933, which killed about 120 people.
The fault is now known to connect with the Rose Canyon fault system that runs into San Diego. Scientists believe earthquakes as large as magnitudes 6.8 to 7.5 have struck the Newport-Inglewood/Rose Canyon fault system, which stretches from the border of Beverly Hills and Los Angeles through Long Beach and the Orange County coast to downtown San Diego.
A plausible magnitude 6.9 earthquake on the Rose Canyon fault in San Diego, threatening the civic and financial center of California’s second-largest city and the nation’s fourth-biggest naval base, could damage 120,000 of San Diego County’s 700,000 structures and cause $38 billion in economic losses from building and infrastructure damage and $5.2 billion in lost income from business interruptions, according to a report released last month.
I'm happy to have slept thru last night's little quake. It appears to be on the Newport-Inglewood fault, at almost the same location as 4 M3 quakes in April, May and June 2015. Those and today are all deep (~7-8 miles down), way below the oil fields. — Dr. Lucy Jones (@DrLucyJones) April 22, 2020
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In the last 10 days, there have been two earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby.
An average of five earthquakes with magnitudes between 3.0 and 4.0 occur per year in the greater Los Angeles area, according to a recent three-year data sample.
The earthquake occurred at a depth of 7.4 miles. Did you feel this earthquake? Consider reporting what you felt to the USGS.
Even if you didn’t feel this small earthquake, you never know when the Big One is going to strike. Ready yourself by following our five-step earthquake preparedness guide and building your own emergency kit.
The first version of this article was automatically generated by Quakebot, a computer application that monitors the latest earthquakes detected by the USGS. A Times editor reviewed the post before it was published. It was subsequently revised by a Times journalist. If you’re interested in learning more about the system, visit our list of frequently asked questions.


latimes--2020-04-22--Autopsies reveal first confirmed U.S. coronavirus deaths occurred in California in February

Two coronavirus-infected people died in Santa Clara County on Feb. 6 and Feb. 17 , the medical examiner revealed Tuesday , making them first documented COVID-19 fatalities in the United States .
Until now , the first fatality was believed to have occurred in Kirkland , Wash. , on Feb. 29 .
Officials previously had said the first Silicon Valley death was March 9 .
But the Santa Clara County medical examiner revealed Tuesday that people who died Feb. 6 , Feb. 17 and March 6 also died of COVID-19 .
“ These three individuals died at home during a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only through the [ U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ] .
Testing criteria set by the CDC at the time restricted testing to only individuals with a known travel history and who sought medical care for specific symptoms , ” the county said in a statement .
“ As the Medical Examiner-Coroner continues to carefully investigate deaths throughout the county , we anticipate additional deaths from COVID-19 will be identified.
” Silicon Valley was an early center of the coronavirus outbreak .
So far it has reported nearly 2,000 cases and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ concerns that the new coronavirus has been in California longer than experts first believed .
Dr. Jeff Smith , a physician who is the chief executive of Santa Clara County government , said earlier this month that data collected by the CDC , local health departments and others suggest it was “ a lot longer than we first believed ” — most likely since “ back in December.
” “ This wasn ’ t recognized because we were having a severe flu season , ” Smith said in an interview .
“ Symptoms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If you got a mild case of COVID , you didn ’ t really notice .
You didn ’ t even go to the doctor .
The doctor maybe didn ’ t even do it because they presumed it was the flu.
” In January and most of February , there was little if any community testing in California .
A preliminary study , conducted by researchers at Stanford University , estimates that between 2.5 % and 4.2 % of Santa Clara County residents had antibodies to the new coronavirus in their blood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ indication that a person ’ s immune system has responded to a past infection .
Though the county had reported roughly 1,000 cases in early April , the Stanford researchers estimate the actual number was between 48,000 and 81,000 , or 50 to 85 times greater .

Matt Hamilton, Paige St. John, Rong-Gong Lin II

Two coronavirus-infected people died in Santa Clara County on Feb. 6 and Feb. 17, the medical examiner revealed Tuesday, making them first documented COVID-19 fatalities in the United States.
Until now, the first fatality was believed to have occurred in Kirkland, Wash., on Feb. 29.
For the record: A previous version of this story said Silicon Valley had eight COVID-19 deaths. As of Wednesday, Santa Clara County health officials had confirmed 94 deaths in the region.
Officials previously had said the first Silicon Valley death was March 9. But the Santa Clara County medical examiner revealed Tuesday that people who died Feb. 6, Feb. 17 and March 6 also died of COVID-19.
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“These three individuals died at home during a time when very limited testing was available only through the [U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]. Testing criteria set by the CDC at the time restricted testing to only individuals with a known travel history and who sought medical care for specific symptoms,” the county said in a statement. “As the Medical Examiner-Coroner continues to carefully investigate deaths throughout the county, we anticipate additional deaths from COVID-19 will be identified.”
Silicon Valley was an early hotbed of the coronavirus outbreak. So far it has reported nearly 2,000 cases and 94 deaths.
There have been growing concerns that the new coronavirus has been in California longer than experts first believed.
Dr. Jeff Smith, a physician who is the chief executive of Santa Clara County government, said earlier this month that data collected by the CDC, local health departments and others suggest it was “a lot longer than we first believed” — most likely since “back in December.”
“This wasn’t recognized because we were having a severe flu season,” Smith said in an interview. “Symptoms are very much like the flu. If you got a mild case of COVID, you didn’t really notice. You didn’t even go to the doctor. The doctor maybe didn’t even do it because they presumed it was the flu.”
In January and most of February, there was little if any community testing in California.
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A preliminary study, conducted by researchers at Stanford University, estimates that between 2.5% and 4.2% of Santa Clara County residents had antibodies to the new coronavirus in their blood by early April. Antibodies are an indication that a person’s immune system has responded to a past infection.
Though the county had reported roughly 1,000 cases in early April, the Stanford researchers estimate the actual number was between 48,000 and 81,000, or 50 to 85 times greater.


latimes--2020-04-21--California becomes first state to recommend coronavirus tests for some without symptoms

California public health officials have partially lifted restrictions on who should receive tests for the coronavirus , recommending for the first time that asymptomatic people living or working in high-risk settings such as nursing homes , prisons and even some households should now be considered a priority .
The move makes California the first state to broaden restrictive federal guidelines and reflects increasing availability of testing , as major labs report sufficient supplies and excess capacity to run more procedures , according to the public health department .
The developments are viewed by some experts as a significant step toward @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and isolate every coronavirus case .
“ California is leading the way , ” said Brandon Brown , an epidemiologist at UC Riverside .
“ We will be able to test more individuals , identify more people currently with COVID-19 , isolate them , and thereby both flatten the curve and prevent the future spread of infection.
” But others say it ’ s too early to tell if sufficient progress is being made to enhance a testing process that has been botched from the start by delays and bungling .
Just last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reagent supply chains remained inadequate across the state .
Like other states , California had previously adhered to put forth by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , which identify hospitalized patients and symptomatic healthcare workers as the primary subjects for testing .
A second-priority tier includes symptomatic people who are either elderly or have underlying conditions .
People who do not show symptoms are labeled “ NON-PRIORITY , ” under federal guidelines .
Under California ’ s new guidelines , asymptomatic people who work or live in high-risk settings , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are “ Priority 1.
” While doctors have long been given autonomy to decide which patients should be offered tests , they faced pressure from hospital administrators — who cited CDC guidelines — to save testing tools for the sickest .
The tests also rarely reached mild or asymptomatic people who did not have reason to seek medical attention , but could be spreading the virus .
“ Most of the people who wanted to get tested didn ’ t meet the criteria for who was allowed to get tested ” under the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an adjunct professor at Stanford University School of Medicine who serves on Gov .
Gavin Newsom ’ s task force on testing .
The new recommendations will grant health workers the liberty to use testing resources in any “ congregate living situation ” where the virus could spread quickly .
That means nursing homes , prisons , and even certain households where they believe residents are at risk .
The public health department also added a fourth-priority tier to its recommendations , explicitly noting that local officials may test “ all low-risk symptomatic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ testing of asymptomatic persons ” when possible .
“ Our job is to make sure that all Californians can get a test done , and that it ’ s convenient , and accurate — and that our state leads the country in the amount of testing done , ” Kocher said .
“ I think we ’ ll achieve that goal.
” Outside experts say the changes signal an overall shift in response strategy , tracking and testing each confirmed case ’ s close contacts in order to halt transmission .
Dr. Georges @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Public Health Assn.
, called it “ wonderful news , ” saying the broader criteria would allow experts to trace contacts more extensively .
“ Enhanced tracking will result in much better disease containment.
” According to the department ’ s memo to healthcare workers , one major reason for the changes is increased access to supplies .
Testing “ is becoming more readily available at hospital , academic , commercial , and public health laboratories across California , ” it said .
High-volume labs across California have the collective capacity to run @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kocher said .
Technicians at Kaiser , Sutter Health , Quest , LabCorp , and the University of California have ample supplies and “ would be happy to have more samples , ” Kocher said .
“ They could run a lot more tests a day , but they don ’ t have that many samples.
” That comes as a surprise to some , given ongoing difficulties in global supply chains .
Los Angeles County on Monday reported the results of an enormous testing backlog ; earlier this month , California ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ due in part to supply issues .
“ People continue to talk about testing , testing , testing .
I think people don ’ t understand that there ’ s some real fallacies to that , ” said Michael Osterholm , director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota , who said officials across the country appear to be out-of-touch with the reality of supply shortages .
“ This is not about money .
It ’ s about physics .
It ’ s just , you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of capacity overnight , ” he added .
“ For people who think they ’ re going to base an amazing program on this — this is just naive.
” As recently as last Wednesday , Newsom pointed to ongoing product shortages that have hampered California ’ s testing efforts .
“ We need more swabs .
We ’ ve been very directed and pointed in terms of working with our partners at FEMA , to try to procure those swabs , ” he said .
The task force also acknowledged the procurement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ small hospital labs you can find that will say , ‘ I ’ m out of stuff , and I can ’ t get it , ’ and they ’ re dealing with the shortage in the extraction chemicals , ” said Kocher .
“ But we ’ ve come up with good plans to resolve bottlenecks .
We have a nice supply , ” he added .
The state hopes to be running 25,000 tests per day by the end of April , Kocher said , and will continue to increase capacity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ turns out that we need a lot more testing , then we ’ ll work to get even more , ” Kocher said .

A specimen is turned in at the mobile testing site at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in South Los Angeles.
California public health officials have partially lifted restrictions on who should receive tests for the coronavirus, recommending for the first time that asymptomatic people living or working in high-risk settings such as nursing homes, prisons and even some households should now be considered a priority.
The move makes California the first state to broaden restrictive federal guidelines and reflects increasing availability of testing, as major labs report sufficient supplies and excess capacity to run more procedures, according to the public health department.
The developments are viewed by some experts as a significant step toward establishing widespread testing in California to identify and isolate every coronavirus case.
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“California is leading the way,” said Brandon Brown, an epidemiologist at UC Riverside. “We will be able to test more individuals, identify more people currently with COVID-19, isolate them, and thereby both flatten the curve and prevent the future spread of infection.”
But others say it’s too early to tell if sufficient progress is being made to enhance a testing process that has been botched from the start by delays and bungling. Just last week, state officials said swab and reagent supply chains remained inadequate across the state.
Like other states, California had previously adhered to narrow testing recommendations put forth by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which identify hospitalized patients and symptomatic healthcare workers as the primary subjects for testing. A second-priority tier includes symptomatic people who are either elderly or have underlying conditions.
1 / 37 Drive-through COVID-19 testing in Boyle Heights. Experts say widespread testing is crucial for states to be able to safely reopen their economies. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 37 Testing in Boyle Heights. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 37 A testing sample is sealed. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 37 Putting on personal protective equipment before testing. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 37 Testing in Boyle Heights. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 37 A patient is screened before testing. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 37 Information is collected from a patient. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 37 Boyle Heights COVID-19 testing. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 37 Juan Infante, a certified medical assistant, takes the temperature of a patient before she gets tested. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 37 Carson City Mayor Albert Robles does self-testing at a new drive-up testing site for COVID-19 outside of a community center in Carson. Free COVID-19 testing is available to all city residents. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 37 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 drive-up testing site for COVID-19 in Carson. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 37 A Carson resident passes a sealed self-test to a health official at a drive-up testing site. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 37 Carson resident Melvin Smith, 64, does self-testing. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 37 A person drops a specimen at a COVID-19 mobile testing site in Bell. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 37 A person swabs their mouth at a COVID-19 mobile testing site in Bell. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 37 A man talks with a healthcare worker outside Kedren Community Health Center in South LA, where they are offering walk-up coronavirus testing along with other medical services. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times) 17 / 37 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) 18 / 37 A portrait and quote by Martin Luther King, Jr. overlooks a 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) 19 / 37 Julie Montez, right, sits in her car as a nurse administers a coronavirus test at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) 20 / 37 Nurses pose for a fun photo between breaks at a drive-through public testing for coronavirus at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) 21 / 37 Healthcare workers tend to a driver in line at a drive-through Coronavirus (COVID-19) testing site at the Westminster Mall in Westminster. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times) 22 / 37 Healthcare workers tend to a driver in line at a drive-through Coronavirus testing site at the Westminster Mall in Westminster. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times) 23 / 37 Gessie Lurlay is working as a coronavirus screener at the Camarena Health Center in Madera. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times) 24 / 37 Francis Gon-Gibbs, of LA County Fire Department Lifeguard Division, stands at the entrance of a 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) 25 / 37 A man drops off his self-administered COVID-19 test in a blue bin at a drive-up test site at the Veterans Administration Parking Lot 15 outside of Jackie Robinson Stadium in Los Angeles. (Genaro Molina/Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times) 26 / 37 Workers direct drivers at a drive-up test site for COVID-19 at the Veterans Administration Parking Lot 15 outside of Jackie Robinson Stadium in Los Angeles. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times) 27 / 37 A man misses the blue bin while dropping off his self-administered COVID-19 test at a drive-up test site at the Veterans Administration Parking Lot 15 outside of Jackie Robinson Stadium in Los Angeles. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times) 28 / 37 Workers help conduct drive-thru coronavirus testing at Crenshaw Christian Center in South Los Angeles. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times) 29 / 37 A sign directs people to drive-thru coronavirus testing at Crenshaw Christian Center in South Los Angeles. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times) 30 / 37 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) 31 / 37 A woman shows her notice from her doctor that allows her to obtain a test for COVID-19 at a new drive-up testing site in a parking lot at the South Bay Galleria in Redondo Beach. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times) 32 / 37 Coronavirus CO drive-thru sample collection takes place at the county fairgrounds in Victorville. (Irfan Khan/Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) 33 / 37 San Bernardino County health care worker takes a sample at a coronavirus drive-thru sample collection that took place at the county fairgrounds in Victorville. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) 34 / 37 Motorists, line up on Stadium Way, near Dodger Stadium, waiting to enter a parking lot and be tested for the coronavirus. (Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times) 35 / 37 Members of the Los Angeles Fire Dept. wear protective gear while handing out kits to people to swab the inside of their mouths to test for the coronavirus, inside a parking lot on Stadium Way, near Dodger Stadium. (Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times) 36 / 37 Riverside County medical personnel screen a car of load of four people at a coronavirus drive-though testing facility for Coachella Valley residents in the parking lot of the Southwest in Indian Wells. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times) 37 / 37 Aerial views cars lined up for drive-through coronavirus testing inside a parking lot on Stadium Way near Dodger Stadium. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
People who do not show symptoms are labeled “NON-PRIORITY,” under federal guidelines. Under California’s new guidelines, asymptomatic people who work or live in high-risk settings, as identified by public health officials, are “Priority 1.”
While doctors have long been given autonomy to decide which patients should be offered tests, they faced pressure from hospital administrators — who cited CDC guidelines — to save testing tools for the sickest. The tests also rarely reached mild or asymptomatic people who did not have reason to seek medical attention, but could be spreading the virus.
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“Most of the people who wanted to get tested didn’t meet the criteria for who was allowed to get tested” under the previous guidelines, said Bob Kocher, an adjunct professor at Stanford University School of Medicine who serves on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s task force on testing.
The new recommendations will grant health workers the liberty to use testing resources in any “congregate living situation” where the virus could spread quickly. That means nursing homes, prisons, and even certain households where they believe residents are at risk.
The public health department also added a fourth-priority tier to its recommendations, explicitly noting that local officials may test “all low-risk symptomatic persons” and even conduct “surveillance testing of asymptomatic persons” when possible.
“Our job is to make sure that all Californians can get a test done, and that it’s convenient, and accurate — and that our state leads the country in the amount of testing done,” Kocher said. “I think we’ll achieve that goal.”
Tracking the coronavirus in California The latest maps and charts on the spread of COVID-19 in California.
Outside experts say the changes signal an overall shift in response strategy, tracking and testing each confirmed case’s close contacts in order to halt transmission.
Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Assn., called it “wonderful news,” saying the broader criteria would allow experts to trace contacts more extensively. “Enhanced tracking will result in much better disease containment.”
According to the department’s memo to healthcare workers, one major reason for the changes is increased access to supplies. Testing “is becoming more readily available at hospital, academic, commercial, and public health laboratories across California,” it said.
High-volume labs across California have the collective capacity to run more than 80,000 tests per day, Kocher said. Technicians at Kaiser, Sutter Health, Quest, LabCorp, and the University of California have ample supplies and “would be happy to have more samples,” Kocher said. “They could run a lot more tests a day, but they don’t have that many samples.”
That comes as a surprise to some, given ongoing difficulties in global supply chains. Los Angeles County on Monday reported the results of an enormous testing backlog; earlier this month, California’s testing lagged behind most other states due in part to supply issues.
“People continue to talk about testing, testing, testing. I think people don’t understand that there’s some real fallacies to that,” said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, who said officials across the country appear to be out-of-touch with the reality of supply shortages.
“This is not about money. It’s about physics. It’s just, you can’t make up this kind of capacity overnight,” he added. “For people who think they’re going to base an amazing program on this — this is just naive.”
As recently as last Wednesday, Newsom pointed to ongoing product shortages that have hampered California’s testing efforts. “We need more swabs. We’ve been very directed and pointed in terms of working with our partners at FEMA, to try to procure those swabs,” he said.
The task force also acknowledged the procurement issues. “There are definitely some small hospital labs you can find that will say, ‘I’m out of stuff, and I can’t get it,’ and they’re dealing with the shortage in the extraction chemicals,” said Kocher. “But we’ve come up with good plans to resolve bottlenecks. We have a nice supply,” he added.
The state hopes to be running 25,000 tests per day by the end of April, Kocher said, and will continue to increase capacity over the summer. “If it turns out that we need a lot more testing, then we’ll work to get even more,” Kocher said.
Times staff writer John Myers contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-04-21--"We do not want another Gabriel Fernandez' Coronavirus leads to 'alarming' drop in child abuse repor

"We do not want another Gabriel Fernandez' Coronavirus leads to 'alarming' drop in child abuse reports

On a typical day , up to 1,000 calls and reports of suspected child abuse and neglect flood into the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’ s Department and Department of Children and Family Services .
Eagle-eyed teachers , doctors , dentists , counselors , coaches — an army of mandated reporters across California — along with security guards , janitors and observant parents typically fill the hotline with reports of suspected child abuse or neglect .
Those calls , investigators say , often save lives .
But since the outbreak of the coronavirus has shuttered schools , curtailed medical visits @ @ @ @ @ @ @ behind closed doors , the reports of suspected abuse have dropped by as much as 50 % .
The drop began almost immediately after California began its stay-at-home orders to prevent the spread of the coronavirus .
“ We usually have a lot of eyes and ears out there making sure children are safe .
But right now we don ’ t know what is happening behind closed doors , ” Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villaneuva said Monday in an interview .
“ We do not want another Gabriel Fernandez or another @ @ @ @ @ @ @ referring to two young boys who were killed after lengthy and repeated incidents of abuse at home .
“ That is my worst nightmare.
” In Fernandez ’ s case , highlighted by The Times and a Netflix series , social workers and sheriff ’ s deputies failed to act despite repeated reports by a slew of mandated reporters in Palmdale before the 8-year-old succumbed to his horrific injuries in 2013 .
In March , the L.A. County Sheriff ’ s Department documented about 4,200 reports on its suspected-child-abuse reporting system , compared @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The drop is even more dramatic so far in April , with 662 reports in the first week , compared with 1,352 in 2019 .
“ These numbers are alarming because of the magnitude of the decline , ” Villaneuva said .
Those declines also come as his deputies are responding to an uptick in reports of domestic violence as residents are under stay-at-home orders to prevent the disease ’ s spread .
In response to the drop in abuse reports , Villanueva said he is launching a plan “ to do welfare @ @ @ @ @ @ @ patrol personnel.
” He said he is working with the Special Victims Unit , the Department of Children and Family Services and other stakeholders to develop a way to identify high-risk minors who may not have contact with their schools and then have patrol deputies do some form of a welfare check .
The sheriff , who spent years working the streets and is a veteran of child abuse and neglect investigations , said teachers , daycare workers and janitors are key to investigators when it comes to protecting children .
Without schools @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said the abuse is likely to still be going on out of sight .
“ We are at the mercy of those who report .
We need the community to take up the slack , ” he said .
Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Kris Pitcher , who oversees detectives , said in the first month since the stay-at-home order the department has recorded a nearly 53 % drop in suspected child abuse reports , with 1,173 from March 17 to April 17 , compared with 2,488 for the same period in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ director of the Department of Children and Family Services , said the decline in reports is unprecedented and is occurring across the nation as most areas have gone into some form of a shutdown because of the pandemic .
Pryor said child welfare systems rely primarily on mandated reporters in education and secondly from medical professionals .
Without school , teachers are not seeing students .
And because routine medical visits have been curtailed , doctors and nurses are not seeing children the way they normally do .
Pryor said the child welfare @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ways they can better keep an eye out for children .
But she noted that when it comes to making contact with households , police agencies have more leeway than social workers .
The department ’ s social workers , she said , are continuing to work on their cases .
In some situations , they are making home visits with the appropriate protective equipment .
In other cases , they use video to stay in contact with families .
DCFS Director Bobby Cagle said the public can help fill the void .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ County residents to be the voice for children who may be experiencing physical abuse , severe food insecurity or other forms of neglect , ” he said .
Orange County Dist .
Atty .
Todd Spitzer warned that the pandemic may serve up victims to predators .
“ Given the stay-at-home orders and schools closed , our children and elderly are the most vulnerable as they are potentially in the closest contact now with their abusers , ” he said .
“ When we review how we handled this pandemic , it looks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ horror stories.
” Spitzer also called on the public to report any suspicious activity they observe .
He said the supermarket may now be where signs of child or elder abuse are spotted .
“ It is so much better to call the elder abuse or child abuse hotlines and be wrong than fail to report it at all and something terrible happened , ” he said .
The Orange County Social Services Administration has reported a 44 % drop in suspected child abuse and neglect compared with a prior month .
Deborah @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told county supervisors early this month that teachers are being encouraged to check on students ’ well being when in contact with them remotely .
Last week , Gov .
Gavin Newsom announced $ 42 million in funding for children who are at greater risk for abuse or neglect because of the coronavirus pandemic , including about $ 7 million for social worker overtime and additional outreach .
“ Without the structure and safety of school , children — who are already vulnerable to abuse and neglect at home — face a greater @ @ @ @ @ @ @ noting that this month is National Child Abuse Prevention Month .
“ Similarly , we recognize that many parents who have lost jobs and income due to the COVID-19 pandemic may be feeling overwhelmed and strained.
” Jennifer Braun , president and chief executive of the Alliance for Children ’ s Rights , said Newsom has taken the right steps with funding for more resources and support for parents .
She said anything the government can do to reduce financial stress on parents will also reduce the chances of abuse .
“ There @ @ @ @ @ @ @ abuse reports when this comes to an end , ” she said , which may overwhelm the child welfare system .

Sheriff Alex Villanueva said he is launching a plan “to do welfare checks on our most at-risk kids with patrol personnel.”
On a typical day, up to 1,000 calls and reports of suspected child abuse and neglect flood into the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Department of Children and Family Services.
Eagle-eyed teachers, doctors, dentists, counselors, coaches — an army of mandated reporters across California — along with security guards, janitors and observant parents typically fill the hotline with reports of suspected child abuse or neglect. Those calls, investigators say, often save lives.
But since the outbreak of the coronavirus has shuttered schools, curtailed medical visits and largely hidden the lives of children behind closed doors, the reports of suspected abuse have dropped by as much as 50%. The drop began almost immediately after California began its stay-at-home orders to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
“We usually have a lot of eyes and ears out there making sure children are safe. But right now we don’t know what is happening behind closed doors,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villaneuva said Monday in an interview.
“We do not want another Gabriel Fernandez or another Anthony Avalos,” he said, referring to two young boys who were killed after lengthy and repeated incidents of abuse at home. “That is my worst nightmare.”
Gabriel Fernandez, left, and Anthony Avalos, right. (Family photos)
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In Fernandez’s case, highlighted by The Times and a Netflix series, social workers and sheriff’s deputies failed to act despite repeated reports by a slew of mandated reporters in Palmdale before the 8-year-old succumbed to his horrific injuries in 2013.
In March, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department documented about 4,200 reports on its suspected-child-abuse reporting system, compared with 5,218 reports the year before. The drop is even more dramatic so far in April, with 662 reports in the first week, compared with 1,352 in 2019.
“These numbers are alarming because of the magnitude of the decline,” Villaneuva said.
Those declines also come as his deputies are responding to an uptick in reports of domestic violence as residents are under stay-at-home orders to prevent the disease’s spread.
In response to the drop in abuse reports, Villanueva said he is launching a plan “to do welfare checks on our most at-risk kids with patrol personnel.” He said he is working with the Special Victims Unit, the Department of Children and Family Services and other stakeholders to develop a way to identify high-risk minors who may not have contact with their schools and then have patrol deputies do some form of a welfare check.
The sheriff, who spent years working the streets and is a veteran of child abuse and neglect investigations, said teachers, daycare workers and janitors are key to investigators when it comes to protecting children.
Without schools, daycare facilities and counseling programs, he said the abuse is likely to still be going on out of sight.
“We are at the mercy of those who report. We need the community to take up the slack,” he said.
Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Kris Pitcher, who oversees detectives, said in the first month since the stay-at-home order the department has recorded a nearly 53% drop in suspected child abuse reports, with 1,173 from March 17 to April 17, compared with 2,488 for the same period in 2019.
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Ginger Pryor, chief deputy director of the Department of Children and Family Services, said the decline in reports is unprecedented and is occurring across the nation as most areas have gone into some form of a shutdown because of the pandemic.
Pryor said child welfare systems rely primarily on mandated reporters in education and secondly from medical professionals. Without school, teachers are not seeing students. And because routine medical visits have been curtailed, doctors and nurses are not seeing children the way they normally do.
Pryor said the child welfare agency is talking to law enforcement about ways they can better keep an eye out for children. But she noted that when it comes to making contact with households, police agencies have more leeway than social workers.
The department’s social workers, she said, are continuing to work on their cases. In some situations, they are making home visits with the appropriate protective equipment. In other cases, they use video to stay in contact with families.
DCFS Director Bobby Cagle said the public can help fill the void.
“I am calling on Los Angeles County residents to be the voice for children who may be experiencing physical abuse, severe food insecurity or other forms of neglect,” he said.
Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer warned that the pandemic may serve up victims to predators.
“Given the stay-at-home orders and schools closed, our children and elderly are the most vulnerable as they are potentially in the closest contact now with their abusers,” he said. “When we review how we handled this pandemic, it looks like that will be one of our horror stories.”
Spitzer also called on the public to report any suspicious activity they observe. He said the supermarket may now be where signs of child or elder abuse are spotted.
“It is so much better to call the elder abuse or child abuse hotlines and be wrong than fail to report it at all and something terrible happened,” he said.
The Orange County Social Services Administration has reported a 44% drop in suspected child abuse and neglect compared with a prior month. Deborah Baetz, Social Services Administration director, told county supervisors early this month that teachers are being encouraged to check on students’ well being when in contact with them remotely.
Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced $42 million in funding for children who are at greater risk for abuse or neglect because of the coronavirus pandemic, including about $7 million for social worker overtime and additional outreach.
“Without the structure and safety of school, children — who are already vulnerable to abuse and neglect at home — face a greater threat,” said Newsom, also noting that this month is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. “Similarly, we recognize that many parents who have lost jobs and income due to the COVID-19 pandemic may be feeling overwhelmed and strained.”
Jennifer Braun, president and chief executive of the Alliance for Children’s Rights, said Newsom has taken the right steps with funding for more resources and support for parents. She said anything the government can do to reduce financial stress on parents will also reduce the chances of abuse.
“There is going to be a deluge of abuse reports when this comes to an end,” she said, which may overwhelm the child welfare system.