latimes--2020-03-07--Amid growing coronavirus concerns, locals are torn over Coachella festival coming to their town

At the Empire Polo Club in Indio , six weeks before the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is set to kick off , the peaked white tents are going up across the rolling green lawns .
The rainbow-tinted “ Spectra ” observation deck looms over the field , ready for fans from around the world to soak in the panoramas as Travis Scott , Rage Against the Machine , Frank Ocean and more than 150 acts perform .
Twenty-five miles away , Barbara Cooper and Steve Widders walked their dog on a hiking path by the Indian Canyons Golf @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were growing a bit nervous — about coronavirus possibly coming to their town , and how it might affect one of the biggest weeks for tourism in their area .
“ I just came from Sonoma , where they had people quarantined .
People aren ’ t usually held in isolation for something like the flu , ” said Cooper , 69 and a Palm Springs local .
She worked most of her life as a registered nurse , and knows firsthand how scary such a disease can be .
Coronavirus is especially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Disease Control and Prevention advises older people to “ stay at home as much as possible , ” and in a retirement town where the median age is around 53 , that ’ s a concern .
But Palm Springs is also a tourist town that is counting on the revenue from the hundreds of thousands of music fans that pour in from around the world for Coachella .
Canceling the country ’ s preeminent music festival is worrisome in its own right .
“ A lot of the local economy depends @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ll definitely affect restaurants , spas and hotels , ” Cooper said .
“ I ’ m not really worried about getting coronavirus , because I ’ m not going to Coachella , ” Widders , 70 , said laughing .
“ But the economics are a big concern.
” As the industry behind the spring and summer music festival season confronts the strain of novel coronavirus causing the disease COVID-19 , festival fans are bracing for just about anything .
As of Saturday , there were a reported 377 cases in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ California , with 17 deaths nationwide .
In just the last week , both Ultra Music Festival in Miami and Austin ’ s South by Southwest music , film and tech conferences have been called off over fears of the virus .
So far , Coachella , held over two weekends between April 10-19 , is proceeding as scheduled .
Executives from festival promoter Goldenvoice or its parent company AEG have not made any announcements regarding cancellation or postponement of the festival , which has been long sold out — 125,000 fans are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weekends .
The authority to shut the festival down rests with Riverside County Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser .
Riverside County public health officials said they ’ re in close contact with organizers and stand ready to make decisions based on the risks to the public .
“ We want to make sure we can do anything to protect the community , ” said Kim Saruwatari , the director of public health for Riverside County .
South by Southwest ’ s cancellation by city and county officials may have set a powerful precedent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with COVID-19 .
AEG is not likely to unilaterally cancel the festival .
If it calls off Coachella simply out of its own caution , the promoter ’ s insurance company would not be responsible for reimbursing AEG for its losses .
However , in the event of a county- , city- or state-mandated cancellation , a “ force majeure ” clause ( “ superior force , ” often referred to as the “ hand of God ” ) would be triggered , and insurance would cover AEG ’ s expenses and lost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Coachella ’ s financials said that it nets between $ 75 million and $ 100 million in profits annually , and that an insurance payout in the event of a force majeure could total between $ 150 million and $ 200 million .
Not everyone is hitting the panic button yet in the industry .
One national festival executive who does not work on Coachella , speaking anonymously to be able to comment freely , said that “ unless we ’ re told by the government to shut it down , we ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ festival plans for the year.
” However , if Coachella does follow the examples set by Ultra and South By Southwest , the fallout could be significant for the Greater Palm Springs area , where hospitality is a dominant industry .
Around 388,000 people live in the Coachella Valley .
Recent studies from the Greater Palm Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau peg tourism as a $ 7-billion industry in the area , with 1 in every 4 jobs supported by it .
Even before its 2017 expansion to 125,000 daily visitors , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million in economic activity to the area in 2016 .
The city of Indio nets over $ 3 million in tax revenue every year from the festival ’ s ticket sales alone .
At the hipster hotspots of the Coachella Valley , many fear the impact of a canceled festival .
“ It would affect Palm Springs big time , ” said Tony Martinez , the manager at Bootlegger Tiki , a popular bar just off the main drag of downtown Palm Springs .
His bar doesn ’ t get too much Coachella-specific @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s not so worried about those particular two weeks .
But if a potential Coachella cancellation sends notice that resorts and large events are unsafe in California , it could be a brutal season for tourism .
“ People won ’ t travel and we rely on them coming here , ” he said .
Over at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs , Coachella is a peak time on its calendar .
The hip boutique hotel hosts reams of Coachella-timed after-parties and pool parties , and it ’ s a popular @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attending the festival .
Executive chef Ysaac Rodriguez was winding down in the hotel ’ s Amigo Room bar on Thursday night .
He said that right now , coronavirus hasn ’ t scared off many guests at all — “ It ’ s still going strong , ” he said , pointing to the tight crowds dancing to disco vinyl in the cavern-like pub by the pool .
But if Coachella canceled , the Ace would feel it immediately .
“ We depend on it , ” Rodriguez said .
“ If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ detrimental .
“ I don ’ t think they will cancel , ” he said , striking a note of wait-and-see optimism .
“ But we want people to be safe too .
You have to balance it.
” Just steps away from the Empire Polo Club in the Tack Room Tavern , however , Patty Copeland and Carole Taylor were each visiting family members who were longtime residents in the Coachella Valley .
They were worried that the festival would bring COVID-19 too close to their kids or their elderly family members @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wouldn ’ t want them to go , ” Copeland said .
She came from Minnesota and has two music-fan children in their early 30s .
“ You can ’ t go overboard and buy out everything at Costco , but you want to be sensible.
” “ Absolutely I wouldn ’ t want my daughter going , ” Taylor agreed .
Her 30-year-old daughter has attended three Coachella and Stagecoach country music festivals , but given that they both live in San Francisco , just miles from a cruise ship rife with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t even want her going to work right now.
” Thirty-year-old Haley Lightcap knows that balance better than most .
On Friday afternoon , she was lounging at the Saguaro Hotel in Palm Springs for a friend ’ s party .
She ’ s from Austin , and for years managed the Eastside Tavern there , which was a popular rental for tech and media firms during South by Southwest ( HBO once bought it out for an interactive “ Westworld ” experience ) .
She hadn ’ t been to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ important major music events are to cities heavily reliant on tourism , and what a major event cancellation would do to a smaller city ’ s economy .
That ’ s even truer for the bartenders , hotel staff and others who have little margin of error in their budgets .
“ South by Southwest covered six months of our operating expenses , ” she said .
“ I would make six months ’ pay in three weeks.
” She ’ s not personally worried about the virus , though .
Music fans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gross stuff at festivals .
She ’ s lived through worse .
“ I got swine flu when that was going around and I was fine , ” she joked .
That ’ s not exactly what a parent wants to hear from their kid as they embark on a festival , though .
But simmering fears probably won ’ t keep many fans away .
Barring a cancellation prompted by local government , crowds will still come streaming through the gates as they have done for decades .
But as she looked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where the bones of the concession areas and tent stages begin to rise , concerned mom Copeland wouldn ’ t want anyone she loved to take their chances .
“ I know my kids are adults , but I ’ d say please , please don ’ t go , ” she said , the nick of a tear in her eye .
“ It ’ ll still be there next year .
”

More than 250,000 fans will descend on Indio and Palm Springs for the consecutive weekends of the Coachella festival. The coronavirus could force the cancellation of the concert.
At the Empire Polo Club in Indio, six weeks before the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is set to kick off, the peaked white tents are going up across the rolling green lawns. The rainbow-tinted “Spectra” observation deck looms over the field, ready for fans from around the world to soak in the panoramas as Travis Scott, Rage Against the Machine, Frank Ocean and more than 150 acts perform.
Twenty-five miles away, Barbara Cooper and Steve Widders walked their dog on a hiking path by the Indian Canyons Golf Resort in Palm Springs, and they were growing a bit nervous — about coronavirus possibly coming to their town, and how it might affect one of the biggest weeks for tourism in their area.
“I just came from Sonoma, where they had people quarantined. People aren’t usually held in isolation for something like the flu,” said Cooper, 69, and a Palm Springs local. She worked most of her life as a registered nurse, and knows firsthand how scary such a disease can be. Coronavirus is especially dangerous for the elderly. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises older people to “stay at home as much as possible,” and in a retirement town where the median age is around 53, that’s a concern.
An executive familiar with Coachella’s revenue said that it nets between $75 million and $100 million in profits annually and that an insurance payout in the event of a “force majeure” cancellation could total between $150 million and $200 million. (Zach Cordner / Invision / Associated Press)
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But Palm Springs is also a tourist town that is counting on the revenue from the hundreds of thousands of music fans that pour in from around the world for Coachella. Canceling the country’s preeminent music festival is worrisome in its own right.
“A lot of the local economy depends on tourism here, and it’ll definitely affect restaurants, spas and hotels,” Cooper said.
“I’m not really worried about getting coronavirus, because I’m not going to Coachella,” Widders, 70, said laughing. “But the economics are a big concern.”
As the industry behind the spring and summer music festival season confronts the strain of novel coronavirus causing the disease COVID-19, festival fans are bracing for just about anything. As of Saturday, there were a reported 377 cases in the U.S. and at least 60 cases in California, with 17 deaths nationwide. In just the last week, both Ultra Music Festival in Miami and Austin’s South by Southwest music, film and tech conferences have been called off over fears of the virus.
So far, Coachella, held over two weekends between April 10-19, is proceeding as scheduled. Executives from festival promoter Goldenvoice or its parent company AEG have not made any announcements regarding cancellation or postponement of the festival, which has been long sold out — 125,000 fans are expected daily for each of its two weekends.
The authority to shut the festival down rests with Riverside County Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser. Riverside County public health officials said they’re in close contact with organizers and stand ready to make decisions based on the risks to the public.
“We want to make sure we can do anything to protect the community,” said Kim Saruwatari, the director of public health for Riverside County.
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South by Southwest’s cancellation by city and county officials may have set a powerful precedent in how such massive music festivals deal with COVID-19.
“We depend on” the influx of visitors for Coachella, says Ace Hotel executive chef Ysaac Rodriguez. “If they cancel, it would be really detrimental.” (Douglas Lyle Thompson and Jon Johnson / Ace Hotel)
AEG is not likely to unilaterally cancel the festival. If it calls off Coachella simply out of its own caution, the promoter’s insurance company would not be responsible for reimbursing AEG for its losses. However, in the event of a county-, city- or state-mandated cancellation, a “force majeure” clause (“superior force,” often referred to as the “hand of God”) would be triggered, and insurance would cover AEG’s expenses and lost revenue.
One industry executive familiar with Coachella’s financials said that it nets between $75 million and $100 million in profits annually, and that an insurance payout in the event of a force majeure could total between $150 million and $200 million.
Upon cancellation, ticket buyers would receive refunds.
Not everyone is hitting the panic button yet in the industry. One national festival executive who does not work on Coachella, speaking anonymously to be able to comment freely, said that “unless we’re told by the government to shut it down, we’re still moving forward with all our festival plans for the year.”
However, if Coachella does follow the examples set by Ultra and South By Southwest, the fallout could be significant for the Greater Palm Springs area, where hospitality is a dominant industry.
Around 388,000 people live in the Coachella Valley. Recent studies from the Greater Palm Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau peg tourism as a $7-billion industry in the area, with 1 in every 4 jobs supported by it. Even before its 2017 expansion to 125,000 daily visitors, the Coachella festival brought an estimated $704 million in economic activity to the area in 2016. The city of Indio nets over $3 million in tax revenue every year from the festival’s ticket sales alone.
At the hipster hotspots of the Coachella Valley, many fear the impact of a canceled festival.
“It would affect Palm Springs big time,” said Tony Martinez, the manager at Bootlegger Tiki, a popular bar just off the main drag of downtown Palm Springs. His bar doesn’t get too much Coachella-specific spillover, he said, so he’s not so worried about those particular two weeks. But if a potential Coachella cancellation sends notice that resorts and large events are unsafe in California, it could be a brutal season for tourism.
“People won’t travel and we rely on them coming here,” he said.
Over at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs, Coachella is a peak time on its calendar. The hip boutique hotel hosts reams of Coachella-timed after-parties and pool parties, and it’s a popular spot for well-heeled guests to stay while attending the festival.
Executive chef Ysaac Rodriguez was winding down in the hotel’s Amigo Room bar on Thursday night. He said that right now, coronavirus hasn’t scared off many guests at all — “It’s still going strong,” he said, pointing to the tight crowds dancing to disco vinyl in the cavern-like pub by the pool.
But if Coachella canceled, the Ace would feel it immediately.
“We depend on it,” Rodriguez said. “If they cancel, it would be really detrimental.
“I don’t think they will cancel,” he said, striking a note of wait-and-see optimism. “But we want people to be safe too. You have to balance it.”
Steve Adler, mayor of Austin, Texas, announced a local disaster as a precaution because of the threat of the novel coronavirus, effectively canceling the annual South by Southwest event that had been scheduled for March 13-22. (Associated Press)
Just steps away from the Empire Polo Club in the Tack Room Tavern, however, Patty Copeland and Carole Taylor were each visiting family members who were longtime residents in the Coachella Valley. They were worried that the festival would bring COVID-19 too close to their kids or their elderly family members nearby.
“Hell no, I wouldn’t want them to go,” Copeland said. She came from Minnesota and has two music-fan children in their early 30s. “You can’t go overboard and buy out everything at Costco, but you want to be sensible.”
“Absolutely I wouldn’t want my daughter going,” Taylor agreed. Her 30-year-old daughter has attended three Coachella and Stagecoach country music festivals, but given that they both live in San Francisco, just miles from a cruise ship rife with infected patients docked offshore, “I don’t even want her going to work right now.”
Thirty-year-old Haley Lightcap knows that balance better than most. On Friday afternoon, she was lounging at the Saguaro Hotel in Palm Springs for a friend’s party. She’s from Austin, and for years managed the Eastside Tavern there, which was a popular rental for tech and media firms during South by Southwest (HBO once bought it out for an interactive “Westworld” experience).
She hadn’t been to Coachella before, but knows firsthand how important major music events are to cities heavily reliant on tourism, and what a major event cancellation would do to a smaller city’s economy. That’s even truer for the bartenders, hotel staff and others who have little margin of error in their budgets.
“South by Southwest covered six months of our operating expenses,” she said. “I would make six months’ pay in three weeks.”
She’s not personally worried about the virus, though. Music fans have always been coming into contact with gross stuff at festivals. She’s lived through worse.
“I got swine flu when that was going around and I was fine,” she joked.
That’s not exactly what a parent wants to hear from their kid as they embark on a festival, though. But simmering fears probably won’t keep many fans away. Barring a cancellation prompted by local government, crowds will still come streaming through the gates as they have done for decades.
But as she looked out over the expanse of lawn, where the bones of the concession areas and tent stages begin to rise, concerned mom Copeland wouldn’t want anyone she loved to take their chances.
“I know my kids are adults, but I’d say please, please don’t go,” she said, the nick of a tear in her eye. “It’ll still be there next year.”


latimes--2020-03-07--Canceled by coronavirus: Bay Area cracks down on gatherings, concerts and commutes

The efforts to battle coronavirus in California have taken a dramatic turn , with public health authorities in Northern California asking the public to make sacrifices that will cause hardship on everyday life on a scale not seen in generations .
Disruptions that were unimaginable months ago became real almost immediately .
San Francisco ’ s St. Patrick ’ s Day Parade was postponed .
San Francisco Symphony concerts were scrapped .
Stanford University moved classes online .
Silicon Valley companies ordered employees to work from home .
Heeding San Francisco ’ s call to cancel large gatherings , such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , even a volunteer tree planting gathering for Arbor Week was pulled .
And the largest school district in Northern California , the Elk Grove Unified School District , canceled class and sports games through Friday after a family associated with the Elk Grove Unified School District was exposed to the virus and placed on quarantine to see if they were infected and would get sick .
Cancel or postpone all non-essential gatherings and in-person meetings , some of the recommendations said .
Work from home if you can , especially if you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or have medical conditions such as heart disease , lung disease , diabetes , kidney disease or a weakened immune system .
Suspend non-essential employee travel .
Try to keep workers one arm ’ s length away from each other .
Stagger start and end times at the office to keep people away from each other .
Don ’ t require a doctor ’ s note for sick workers .
Stock up on your medications .
The tips also went down to personal habits : Use a paper towel to press the elevator @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hands .
Stay home if you ’ re sick .
And , in particularly direct language from the San Mateo County health officer : “ Under all circumstances , stop touching your face , eyes , nose , or mouth with your unwashed hands.
” In Southern California , authorities decided to allow the Los Angeles Marathon to proceed Sunday as scheduled .
But health officials did urge spectators to keep 6 feet away from strangers , the maximum distance at which droplets loaded with virus from an infected person ’ s cough @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ground .
Los Angeles County health officials have tried to urge calm as well as safety .
There are now 14 cases in L.A. County , with none pointing to community spread so far .
On Friday , L.A. County Department of Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer estimated that 50 people in the county have been tested for the new coronavirus and emphasized that more tests are coming back negative than positive .
Health officials in San Francisco , San Mateo and Santa Clara counties decided to take aggressive steps after it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can be more deadly than the seasonal flu for the elderly and those with underlying health conditions — was spreading .
In the eyes of the authorities , the virus that caused more than 3,500 deaths and sickened at least 105,000 people worldwide had become a public health threat in the Bay Area .
The region , they feared , is at risk of going the way of the Seattle area , where 58 have been infected and 11 people have died in King County .
By contrast , in all of California @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases and one death .
So , as it ’ s become clear that efforts to contain the virus have failed , officials decided the only hope to limit the death toll was to slow its spread as much as possible .
To do it , that means keeping people away from each other on a scale in a way that hasn ’ t been done in California in recent memory .
For San Francisco , the big change came Thursday after officials identified two infected San Francisco residents who were infected , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ travel to places with confirmed COVID-19 cases nor had a known contact with a person with a confirmed infection .
An additional six San Francisco residents who did have known contact with an infected person tested positive for the virus on Saturday .
“ We must reduce the times and places where people come together , ” Dr. Grant Colfax , San Francisco director of health , said at a news conference Friday night .
“ Human viruses need people to carry them .
They thrive in normal social circumstances .
If we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we have multiple confirmed cases and deaths , the window of opportunity that we have now will have closed .
“ If the plan works in San Francisco , it may even seem like an overreaction , because the virus spread will be reduced and fewer people will get sick , ” Colfax said .
“ But it is the best thing for public health , and to protect all of us.
” Silicon Valley has the most cases of any other county in California , with 32 reported in Santa Clara County @ @ @ @ @ @ @ companies such as Apple and Google .
On Thursday , the county health officer , Dr. Sara Cody , said she expected to continue finding more cases in the days to come .
“ The risk of exposure to the virus in our community is increasing , ” Cody said at a news conference .
The measures are “ meant to slow the spread of the virus in our community and ... meant to protect those who are most vulnerable.
” In San Mateo County , which is home to Facebook ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the potential of the virus to spread into a severe pandemic .
In a worst-case scenario , he warned , a pandemic will cause disruptions to obtaining goods and services , cause the cancellation of public events and restrict the ability to travel .
“ It has likely been spreading for weeks , perhaps months , ” Dr. Scott Morrow said in a statement .
“ We now all need to take assertive actions to inhibit the spread of this new virus.
” Not everyone heeded the new advice .
The Golden State @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Chase Center Saturday night .
The San Jose Sharks played their Thursday night game , and other events at SAP Center for the weekend were scheduled to proceed .
The changes are affecting gatherings big and small .
The Santa Clara city library is canceling all programs for the upcoming week , and most programs at the senior center .
San Jose ’ s senior meals program will transition to a boxed to-go , pick-up format .
Mountain View decided to add hand sanitizer stations at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of telling people to avoid crowds is to prevent many illnesses hitting the region all at once , health experts said .
“ Our goal is to not have them all at once , ” said Dr. Shanthi Kappagoda , clinical associate professor of infectious diseases at Stanford University , “ so that our local hospitals and clinics are not overwhelmed.
” Measures such as closing school , churches and theaters were associated with lower peak death rates during the 1918 flu pandemic , a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ particular , the difference in how Philadelphia and St. Louis handled the flu was striking .
Philadelphia downplayed the significance of the flu and allowed a citywide parade to continue 11 days into the outbreak , and by the time officials ordered school closures and other bans on public gatherings five days after the parade , it was too late — “ disease spread had already begun to overwhelm local medical and public health resources , ” the study said .
St. Louis , meanwhile , enacted social distancing measures two days after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Philadelphia ’ s peak death rate was dramatically worse than St. Louis ’ .
U.S. officials warn that peak demand for intensive care unit beds and the number of ventilators needed to help severely ill people breathe would be in extremely short supply in a pandemic .
That ’ s why slowing down the spread of the disease is so important , to reduce demand on hospitals , according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ’ s pre-pandemic strategy .
People will have to make their own decisions on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ too big , experts say .
“ If I were going to have a bunch of 90-year-olds at a birthday party , I probably wouldn ’ t have that many there — and I certainly wouldn ’ t have a lot of kids running around infecting them , ” said Dr. George Rutherford , an epidemiologist and infectious disease expert at UC San Francisco .
Fears of the virus are well-placed when it comes to protecting the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions and focusing efforts on “ keeping this virus away @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and elderly people whose lungs can ’ t recover from this , ” said Dr. Jeremy Faust , emergency physician at Brigham and Women ’ s Hospital and an instructor at Harvard Medical School .
Those at higher risk include those over the age of 70 and with underlying medical conditions such as diabetes , obesity , asthma , disease of the heart , lung or kidney and those with weakened immune systems .
If infection control fails , early diagnosis is important , to give more time to treat the patient , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ putting the patient on a ventilator to help them breathe if their lungs begin to fail .
Taking common-sense measures to protect the elderly should be a priority , Dr. Anthony Fauci , director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases , said in a video interview with the editor of the Journal of the American Medical Assn .
posted Friday .
Among the top priorities , he said , was getting nursing homes up to speed with regard to infection control .
“ You saw what happened in the Seattle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last time that ’ s going to happen , ” Fauci said .
When asked why this particular outbreak seems to have cast a pall on America not seen since the polio outbreaks of the 1950s or within the gay community with HIV/AIDS , Fauci said it ’ s because so much is still unknown .
“ The unknown is so scary , ” Fauci said .
And there ’ s lots of confusing details — the fact that 81 % of people infected can easily recover , yet it can be quite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ underlying medical conditions .
If the coronavirus outbreak deteriorated into a situation where a significant number of people throughout the country needed intensive care , that would be a problem for our healthcare system , Fauci said .
“ A real bad outbreak will stress any healthcare system , no matter how good it is , ” Fauci said .
“ Our hope is , a ) it doesn ’ t occur naturally , and b ) that we can do some intervention that can prevent it from getting that bad.
” Times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ report from Los Angeles .

The efforts to battle coronavirus in California have taken a dramatic turn, with public health authorities in Northern California asking the public to make sacrifices that will cause hardship on everyday life on a scale not seen in generations.
Disruptions that were unimaginable months ago became real almost immediately. San Francisco’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade was postponed. San Francisco Symphony concerts were scrapped. Stanford University moved classes online. Silicon Valley companies ordered employees to work from home. Heeding San Francisco’s call to cancel large gatherings, such as concerts, sporting events and conventions, even a volunteer tree planting gathering for Arbor Week was pulled.
And the largest school district in Northern California, the Elk Grove Unified School District, canceled class and sports games through Friday after a family associated with the Elk Grove Unified School District was exposed to the virus and placed on quarantine to see if they were infected and would get sick.
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Cancel or postpone all non-essential gatherings and in-person meetings, some of the recommendations said. Work from home if you can, especially if you’re over the age of 60 or have medical conditions such as heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, kidney disease or a weakened immune system. Suspend non-essential employee travel. Try to keep workers one arm’s length away from each other. Stagger start and end times at the office to keep people away from each other. Don’t require a doctor’s note for sick workers. Stock up on your medications.
The tips also went down to personal habits: Use a paper towel to press the elevator button and door handles. Stop shaking hands. Stay home if you’re sick. And, in particularly direct language from the San Mateo County health officer: “Under all circumstances, stop touching your face, eyes, nose, or mouth with your unwashed hands.”
In Southern California, authorities decided to allow the Los Angeles Marathon to proceed Sunday as scheduled. But health officials did urge spectators to keep 6 feet away from strangers, the maximum distance at which droplets loaded with virus from an infected person’s cough or sneeze can fly before falling to the ground.
California Despite coronavirus concerns, the L.A. Marathon will go on, officials say As the Los Angeles Marathon approaches, some athletes and city residents are worried that the race could be a hotbed for the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Los Angeles County health officials have tried to urge calm as well as safety. There are now 14 cases in L.A. County, with none pointing to community spread so far. On Friday, L.A. County Department of Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer estimated that 50 people in the county have been tested for the new coronavirus and emphasized that more tests are coming back negative than positive.
Health officials in San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties decided to take aggressive steps after it became clear the new coronavirus — which can be more deadly than the seasonal flu for the elderly and those with underlying health conditions — was spreading.
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In the eyes of the authorities, the virus that caused more than 3,500 deaths and sickened at least 105,000 people worldwide had become a public health threat in the Bay Area. The region, they feared, is at risk of going the way of the Seattle area, where 58 have been infected and 11 people have died in King County. By contrast, in all of California, there have been at least 70 cases and one death.
So, as it’s become clear that efforts to contain the virus have failed, officials decided the only hope to limit the death toll was to slow its spread as much as possible. To do it, that means keeping people away from each other on a scale in a way that hasn’t been done in California in recent memory.
For San Francisco, the big change came Thursday after officials identified two infected San Francisco residents who were infected, neither of whom had a history of travel to places with confirmed COVID-19 cases nor had a known contact with a person with a confirmed infection. An additional six San Francisco residents who did have known contact with an infected person tested positive for the virus on Saturday.
“We must reduce the times and places where people come together,” Dr. Grant Colfax, San Francisco director of health, said at a news conference Friday night. “Human viruses need people to carry them. They thrive in normal social circumstances. If we wait longer to take stronger action until we have multiple confirmed cases and deaths, the window of opportunity that we have now will have closed.
“If the plan works in San Francisco, it may even seem like an overreaction, because the virus spread will be reduced and fewer people will get sick,” Colfax said. “But it is the best thing for public health, and to protect all of us.”
Silicon Valley has the most cases of any other county in California, with 32 reported in Santa Clara County, which is home to Stanford and companies such as Apple and Google. On Thursday, the county health officer, Dr. Sara Cody, said she expected to continue finding more cases in the days to come.
“The risk of exposure to the virus in our community is increasing,” Cody said at a news conference. The measures are “meant to slow the spread of the virus in our community and ... meant to protect those who are most vulnerable.”
In San Mateo County, which is home to Facebook’s headquarters, the health officer warned of the potential of the virus to spread into a severe pandemic. In a worst-case scenario, he warned, a pandemic will cause disruptions to obtaining goods and services, cause the cancellation of public events and restrict the ability to travel.
“It has likely been spreading for weeks, perhaps months,” Dr. Scott Morrow said in a statement. “We now all need to take assertive actions to inhibit the spread of this new virus.”
Not everyone heeded the new advice. The Golden State Warriors turned down a recommendation to cancel its game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Chase Center Saturday night. The San Jose Sharks played their Thursday night game, and other events at SAP Center for the weekend were scheduled to proceed.
The changes are affecting gatherings big and small. The Santa Clara city library is canceling all programs for the upcoming week, and most programs at the senior center. San Jose’s senior meals program will transition to a boxed to-go, pick-up format. Mountain View decided to add hand sanitizer stations at all city recreational facilities.
The goal of telling people to avoid crowds is to prevent many illnesses hitting the region all at once, health experts said.
“Our goal is to not have them all at once,” said Dr. Shanthi Kappagoda, clinical associate professor of infectious diseases at Stanford University, “so that our local hospitals and clinics are not overwhelmed.”
Measures such as closing school, churches and theaters were associated with lower peak death rates during the 1918 flu pandemic, a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2007 found.
In particular, the difference in how Philadelphia and St. Louis handled the flu was striking. Philadelphia downplayed the significance of the flu and allowed a citywide parade to continue 11 days into the outbreak, and by the time officials ordered school closures and other bans on public gatherings five days after the parade, it was too late — “disease spread had already begun to overwhelm local medical and public health resources,” the study said.
St. Louis, meanwhile, enacted social distancing measures two days after the flu arrived. The result was that Philadelphia’s peak death rate was dramatically worse than St. Louis’.
U.S. officials warn that peak demand for intensive care unit beds and the number of ventilators needed to help severely ill people breathe would be in extremely short supply in a pandemic. That’s why slowing down the spread of the disease is so important, to reduce demand on hospitals, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s pre-pandemic strategy.
Telling the public to avoid crowds can reduce the number of daily illnesses in an outbreak or pandemic, reducing the burden on hospitals and clinics. (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
People will have to make their own decisions on how big of a social gathering is too big, experts say.
“If I were going to have a bunch of 90-year-olds at a birthday party, I probably wouldn’t have that many there — and I certainly wouldn’t have a lot of kids running around infecting them,” said Dr. George Rutherford, an epidemiologist and infectious disease expert at UC San Francisco.
Fears of the virus are well-placed when it comes to protecting the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions and focusing efforts on “keeping this virus away from nursing homes, long-term care facilities and elderly people whose lungs can’t recover from this,” said Dr. Jeremy Faust, emergency physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an instructor at Harvard Medical School.
Those at higher risk include those over the age of 70 and with underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, obesity, asthma, disease of the heart, lung or kidney and those with weakened immune systems. If infection control fails, early diagnosis is important, to give more time to treat the patient, offering help such as providing oxygen or putting the patient on a ventilator to help them breathe if their lungs begin to fail.
Taking common-sense measures to protect the elderly should be a priority, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in a video interview with the editor of the Journal of the American Medical Assn. posted Friday.
Among the top priorities, he said, was getting nursing homes up to speed with regard to infection control.
“You saw what happened in the Seattle area — that’s not the last time that’s going to happen,” Fauci said.
When asked why this particular outbreak seems to have cast a pall on America not seen since the polio outbreaks of the 1950s or within the gay community with HIV/AIDS, Fauci said it’s because so much is still unknown.
“The unknown is so scary,” Fauci said. And there’s lots of confusing details — the fact that 81% of people infected can easily recover, yet it can be quite deadly for the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions.
If the coronavirus outbreak deteriorated into a situation where a significant number of people throughout the country needed intensive care, that would be a problem for our healthcare system, Fauci said.
“A real bad outbreak will stress any healthcare system, no matter how good it is,” Fauci said. “Our hope is, a) it doesn’t occur naturally, and b) that we can do some intervention that can prevent it from getting that bad.”
Times staff writer Soumya Karlamangla contributed to this report from Los Angeles.


latimes--2020-03-07--Cruise passengers held on ship in Long Beach as patient gets coronavirus test

Officials are delaying the exit of passengers on the Carnival Panorama cruise ship docked in Long Beach as they awaits the results of a coronavirus test given to an ill passenger .
Long Beach city officials said on Twitter that a passenger aboard the cruise was taken to a local hospital by the Long Beach Fire Department and is being tested for the coronavirus .
The ship is docked at a Long Beach terminal , but “ in an abundance of caution , [ the CDC ] has decided to hold passengers on board until the patient can be evaluated.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the cruise ship , said passengers have been waiting more than three hours to disembark .
Passengers are not being isolated in their rooms and have been allowed to gather in the ship ’ s bars and casino , she said .
“ There is a medical matter with a Carnival Panorama guest that caused authorities to suspend debarkation .
The guest in question does not meet CDC criteria for coronavirus risk , but officials still have questions .
Our shoreside medical team is in direct contact with authorities and we hope to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Facebook post by the cruise director .

After being held back for hours over concerns about an ill patient, passengers on the Carnival Panorama cruise ship docked in Long Beach were finally allowed to exit late Saturday.
Long Beach city officials said on Twitter that a passenger aboard the cruise was taken to a local hospital by the Long Beach Fire Department and is being tested for the coronavirus.
The ship is docked at a Long Beach terminal, but “in an abundance of caution, [the CDC] has decided to hold passengers on board until the patient can be evaluated.” Siehara Kennedy, who is aboard the cruise ship, said passengers have been waiting more than three hours to disembark.
Passengers are not being isolated in their rooms and have been allowed to gather in the ship’s bars and casino, she said.
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“There is a medical matter with a Carnival Panorama guest that caused authorities to suspend debarkation. The guest in question does not meet CDC criteria for coronavirus risk, but officials still have questions. Our shoreside medical team is in direct contact with authorities and we hope to debark shortly,” according to a Facebook post by the cruise director.


latimes--2020-03-07--Sheriff's Department seeks oversight of Kobe Bryant crash photo scandal

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has asked his department ’ s chief watchdog to monitor its investigation of the scandal over deputies sharing photos of the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant , his daughter and seven others .
“ I am requesting that the Office of the Inspector General immediately assign an investigator to our case for oversight and transparency purposes , ” Villanueva said in a letter this week .
“ I believe early monitoring of the LASD investigation will ensure a high quality and comprehensive investigation that will enhance public trust and confidence in both organizations.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ asked the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission to weigh in as the department drafts a new policy regarding the taking and distribution of photographs and recordings by on-duty personnel .
The letter was addressed to Inspector General Max Huntsman and Brian Williams , executive director of the commission .
“ It is evident our photograph policy is deficient and this incident has identified a need for me to direct the creation of [ a ] new policy , ” he wrote Wednesday .
The Sheriff ’ s Department ’ s Manual of Policies and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a personal cellphone “ to record , store , document , catalog , transmit , and/or forward any image , document , scene , or environment captured as a result of their employment and/or while performing official Department business that is not available or accessible to the general public.
” In a response letter on Friday , Huntsman said his office would monitor the internal affairs investigation .
He also offered to take over the investigation , as his office has done in the past when conflicts of interest have arisen .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conducting an inquiry into public allegations that LASD command staff ordered the destruction of evidence of crash scene photographs and suppressed the investigation prior to the matter being reported publicly , ” Huntsman said in the letter .
The Times first reported last week that deputies were sharing crash photos and that , in response , the leadership of the Sheriff ’ s Department , instead of following the normal investigative protocols , tried to keep a lid on the episode — even after determining that several more deputies had obtained photos , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were demands for an independent inquiry into the matter , the latest in a series of scandals to afflict the nation ’ s largest sheriff ’ s department in recent years .
Williams and Patti Giggans , the commission chairwoman , also sent a response letter on Friday requesting a meeting with Villanueva before the March 19 commission meeting to “ establish a framework as to how we are going to address this and other pressing matters.
” Giggans said Saturday morning that the panel responded “ in the affirmative , ” saying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ input on department rules on taking photographs at crime and accident scenes .
“ We accepted the invitation , his overture , and look forward to working with the sheriff on this , ” Giggans said .
The Sheriff ’ s Department received a written complaint three days after the Jan. 26 crash that a deputy at a Norwalk bar was showing gruesome images taken at the scene of the tragedy .
Villanueva later acknowledged that he ordered the deputies to delete the photos , a move that legal experts and some inside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of evidence .
“ Had we done the original , usual routine , which was relieve everybody of duty and everybody lawyers up and all that , that would increase the odds tenfold that those photos would have some how made their way into the public domain .
And that ’ s definitely what we do not want , ” Villanueva said , according to KNBC-TV Channel 4 .
After The Times ’ reporting , Villanueva said he would launch an investigation .
In a statement at the time , the department said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the thought deputies could allegedly engage in such an insensitive act .
A thorough investigation will be conducted by the Department , with the number one priority of protecting the dignity and privacy of the victims and their families.
” An attorney for Vanessa Bryant , the Laker great ’ s wife , called the alleged behavior by deputies “ inexcusable and deplorable.
” Gary C. Robb requested an internal affairs investigation into the allegations and the “ harshest possible discipline ” for those responsible .
“ This is an unspeakable violation of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ privacy rights of the victims and their families , ” he said .

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has asked his department’s chief watchdog to monitor its investigation of the scandal over deputies sharing photos of the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others.
“I am requesting that the Office of the Inspector General immediately assign an investigator to our case for oversight and transparency purposes,” Villanueva said in a letter this week. “I believe early monitoring of the LASD investigation will ensure a high quality and comprehensive investigation that will enhance public trust and confidence in both organizations.”
In the letter, Villanueva also asked the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission to weigh in as the department drafts a new policy regarding the taking and distribution of photographs and recordings by on-duty personnel. The letter was addressed to Inspector General Max Huntsman and Brian Williams, executive director of the commission.
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“It is evident our photograph policy is deficient and this incident has identified a need for me to direct the creation of new policy,” he wrote Wednesday.
The Sheriff’s Department’s Manual of Policies and Procedures states that members shall not use a personal cellphone “to record, store, document, catalog, transmit, and/or forward any image, document, scene, or environment captured as a result of their employment and/or while performing official Department business that is not available or accessible to the general public.”
In a response letter on Friday, Huntsman said his office would monitor the internal affairs investigation. He also offered to take over the investigation, as his office has done in the past when conflicts of interest have arisen.
“As you are aware, we are conducting an inquiry into public allegations that LASD command staff ordered the destruction of evidence of crash scene photographs and suppressed the investigation prior to the matter being reported publicly,” Huntsman said in the letter.
The Times first reported last week that deputies were sharing crash photos and that, in response, the leadership of the Sheriff’s Department, instead of following the normal investigative protocols, tried to keep a lid on the episode — even after determining that several more deputies had obtained photos, according to interviews. Subsequently, there were demands for an independent inquiry into the matter, the latest in a series of scandals to afflict the nation’s largest sheriff’s department in recent years.
Williams and Patti Giggans, the commission chairwoman, also sent a response letter on Friday requesting a meeting with Villanueva before the March 19 commission meeting to “establish a framework as to how we are going to address this and other pressing matters.”
Giggans said Saturday morning that the panel responded “in the affirmative,” saying that it would be happy to give input on department rules on taking photographs at crime and accident scenes.
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“We accepted the invitation, his overture, and look forward to working with the sheriff on this,” Giggans said.
The Sheriff’s Department received a written complaint three days after the Jan. 26 crash that a deputy at a Norwalk bar was showing gruesome images taken at the scene of the tragedy.
Villanueva later acknowledged that he ordered the deputies to delete the photos, a move that legal experts and some inside the department said could amount to destruction of evidence.
“Had we done the original, usual routine, which was relieve everybody of duty and everybody lawyers up and all that, that would increase the odds tenfold that those photos would have some how made their way into the public domain. And that’s definitely what we do not want,” Villanueva said, according to KNBC-TV Channel 4.
After The Times’ reporting, Villanueva said he would launch an investigation. In a statement at the time, the department said “the Sheriff is deeply disturbed at the thought deputies could allegedly engage in such an insensitive act. A thorough investigation will be conducted by the Department, with the number one priority of protecting the dignity and privacy of the victims and their families.”
An attorney for Vanessa Bryant, the Laker great’s wife, called the alleged behavior by deputies “inexcusable and deplorable.”
Gary C. Robb requested an internal affairs investigation into the allegations and the “harshest possible discipline” for those responsible.
“This is an unspeakable violation of human decency, respect and of the privacy rights of the victims and their families,” he said.


latimes--2020-03-07--71 students in Murrieta placed under self-quarantine amid coronavirus concerns

Murrieta school officials said 71 students have been placed in self-quarantine after a school employee was tested for the coronavirus .
The employee had recently been to a country where the coronavirus was spreading , according to the Murrieta Valley Unified School District , which said Murrieta Valley High School would be closed Monday and cleaned .
School officials said the Riverside County Public Health Department made the decision to isolate the students because they came in contact with the employee .
Officials emphasized that no coronavirus cases have been confirmed .
The school is one of several in California @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Stanford University said Friday night that it will move classes online for the final two weeks of the winter quarter .
Stanford also said large events would be “ canceled or adjusted.
” USC said Friday that it would conduct lectures and seminars online rather than in classrooms for three days next week as a test should it be forced to suspend in-person contact .
San Francisco ’ s Lowell High School announced it would close and cancel events and gatherings for at least the rest of the week after it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its students is being treated for COVID-19 , the disease caused by the coronavirus .
Clifton Middle School in Monrovia was deep-cleaned Thursday after officials became aware that a person who might have the virus had been on campus .
Monrovia Unified School District President Robb Hammond said officials hired a company to disinfect the school .
In San Jose , a preschool after a teacher tested positive for the virus .
An Oakland charter school was closed through the end of the week because of a possible , and an exclusive private @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the weekend after a potential exposure of someone connected to the school .

Murrieta school officials said 71 students have been placed in self-quarantine after a school employee was tested for the coronavirus.
The employee had recently been to a country where the coronavirus was spreading, according to the Murrieta Valley Unified School District, which said Murrieta Valley High School would be closed Monday and cleaned.
School officials said the Riverside County Public Health Department made the decision to isolate the students because they came in contact with the employee.
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Officials emphasized that no coronavirus cases have been confirmed.
The school is one of several in California that have been affected by the coronavirus.
Stanford University said Friday night that it will move classes online for the final two weeks of the winter quarter. Stanford also said large events would be “canceled or adjusted.”
USC said Friday that it would conduct lectures and seminars online rather than in classrooms for three days next week as a test should it be forced to suspend in-person contact.
San Francisco’s Lowell High School announced it would close and cancel events and gatherings for at least the rest of the week after it was learned that a relative of one of its students is being treated for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
Clifton Middle School in Monrovia was deep-cleaned Thursday after officials became aware that a person who might have the virus had been on campus. Monrovia Unified School District President Robb Hammond said officials hired a company to disinfect the school.


latimes--2020-03-07--More California coronavirus cases tied to Grand Princess cruse ship reported

More Californians who were on the Grand Princess cruise ship have tested positive for the coronavirus as officials try to find others who might be infected .
There was an outbreak aboard the ship during a cruise last month to Mexico , and some passengers who got off in the Bay Area became sick when they got home .
An elderly Placer County man became the first Californian to die of the virus .
A second elderly man who was on the cruise died in Sunnyvale , and officials believe he was also infected .
Tests are pending .
On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Madera counties announced new cases tied to the cruise ship , adding to four cases in Placer County and three in Contra Costa County .
“ We are taking this situation seriously and are taking steps necessary to protect the health and safety of Santa Cruz County residents , ” said Gail Newel , the county health officer , in a statement Saturday .
The county said it was tracking other residents who were on the cruise .
“ All are being actively monitored and are under self-quarantine , with daily contact with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for those exhibiting symptoms , ” the statement said .
County health workers have been reaching out to people who are already on shore to see if they have the virus and whether it has spread within their families or communities .
That process is ongoing .
Meanwhile , the question of what to do with the roughly 3,000 people still on the boat off the coast of San Francisco remains .
On Friday , 21 people aboard tested positive for the coronavirus .
Vice President Mike Pence said the with the state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ noncommercial port over the weekend and quarantine those aboard as necessary .
Those testing positive so far included 19 crew and two passengers .
A total of 46 people had been tested , a sign the virus was spreading aboard the boat .
President Trump said he would ultimately let Pence , who leads the task force in charge of the response , decide whether to allow passengers to leave the ship .
But he said several times during a visit to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta on Friday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them on board because bringing them ashore would increase the number of official cases on American soil .
The Grand Princess dropped off passengers from the Mexico trip on Feb. 21 and was returning from a subsequent cruise to Hawaii when it was held off the California coast .
With testing still underway , officials don ’ t know how many of the more than 3,000 people on board have the virus .
Placer County Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sisson said the man who died showed symptoms of COVID-19 while on the cruise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ San Francisco .
He called 911 and was taken by ambulance to a Kaiser Permanente facility in Roseville on Feb. 27 .
He was tested for COVID-19 on Sunday , with the results returned positive on Tuesday .

Alejandra Reyes-Velarde, Melody Gutierrez, Anita Chabria

The California Air National Guard delivered coronavirus test kits to the Grand Princess cruise ship by helicopter off the coast of California on Thursday.
More Californians who were on the Grand Princess cruise ship have tested positive for the coronavirus as officials try to find others who might be infected.
There was an outbreak aboard the ship during a cruise last month to Mexico, and some passengers who got off in the Bay Area became sick when they got home. An elderly Placer County man became the first Californian to die of the virus. A second elderly man who was on the cruise died in Sunnyvale, and officials believe he was also infected. Tests are pending.
On Saturday, officials in Santa Cruz and Madera counties announced new cases tied to the cruise ship, adding to four cases in Placer County and three in Contra Costa County.
“We are taking this situation seriously and are taking steps necessary to protect the health and safety of Santa Cruz County residents,” said Gail Newel, the county health officer, in a statement Saturday.
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Route of the Grand Princess (Thomas Suh Lauder / Los Angeles Times)
The county said it was tracking other residents who were on the cruise. “All are being actively monitored and are under self-quarantine, with daily contact with public health officials. Testing is requested for those exhibiting symptoms,” the statement said.
County health workers have been reaching out to people who are already on shore to see if they have the virus and whether it has spread within their families or communities. That process is ongoing.
Meanwhile, the question of what to do with the roughly 3,000 people still on the boat off the coast of San Francisco remains. On Friday, 21 people aboard tested positive for the coronavirus.
Vice President Mike Pence said the federal government is working with the state to bring the cruise ship into a noncommercial port over the weekend and quarantine those aboard as necessary. Those testing positive so far included 19 crew and two passengers. A total of 46 people had been tested, a sign the virus was spreading aboard the boat.
President Trump said he would ultimately let Pence, who leads the task force in charge of the response, decide whether to allow passengers to leave the ship. But he said several times during a visit to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta on Friday that he would be inclined to leave them on board because bringing them ashore would increase the number of official cases on American soil.
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The Grand Princess dropped off passengers from the Mexico trip on Feb. 21 and was returning from a subsequent cruise to Hawaii when it was held off the California coast . With testing still underway, officials don’t know how many of the more than 3,000 people on board have the virus.
Placer County Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sisson said the man who died showed symptoms of COVID-19 while on the cruise and while traveling through the Port of San Francisco.
He called 911 and was taken by ambulance to a Kaiser Permanente facility in Roseville on Feb. 27. He was tested for COVID-19 on Sunday, with the results returned positive on Tuesday.


latimes--2020-03-07--Despite coronavirus, why are the L.A. Marathon and Coachella still on?

The coronavirus has brought major changes to public events and spaces in California and beyond .
San Francisco , for example , postponed its St. Patrick ’ s Day parade , one of many celebrations and spectator events that have been disrupted as officials try to contain the virus .
Several Silicon Valley companies have told employees they can work from home .
Major conferences and events like South by Southwest in Texas have been canceled .
But some major events are still on — at least for now .
Here is what we know : The L.A. Marathon is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sunday despite coronavirus concerns .
L.A. County health officials recommended that spectators who are sick stay home and that anyone who attends stay six feet away from others .
Runners were advised to wash their hands before the race and to not shake hands with other participants or the public .
Hand sanitizer will also be available for runners along the course .
“ We are not currently recommending the suspension of any large public events , including the L.A. Marathon , ” Barbara Ferrer , director of the county Public Health Department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ The public can continue to enjoy all that L.A. County has to offer , including this historic event.
” Officials have said they don ’ t see enough of a public health threat to cancel the marathon .
“ We are actively monitoring the situation and communicating directly with participants via social channels , email and our website to update them as we learn more , ” Murphy Reinschreiber , chief operating officer of the McCourt Foundation , which organizes the event , said in an email earlier this week .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be our top priority.
” The marathon is one of the largest in the country .
Runners traverse the city , starting at Dodger Stadium and ending near the Santa Monica Pier .
One L.A. city council member on Friday questioned the decision to run the race .
“ This is a big popular event , but I remain concerned & don ’ t think it ’ s worth the risk , ” wrote Councilman Tom Bonin on Twitter .
There have been questions about the massive Coachella music festival , set @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cousin Stagecoach , set for April 24-26 , in Indio .
So far , Riverside County health officials have not called for cancellation of those events .
Dr. Cameron Kaiser , the county ’ s public health officer , told reporters Friday that the region has not reported any cases of COVID-19 and there has not been any community spread .
“ If we do make an emergency declaration based on changes in local conditions , as a public health officer I do have the ability to shut down such large gatherings .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ lead time as possible , ” Kaiser said .
He told the Desert Sun that officials could change their minds if coronavirus spreads but didn ’ t specify how many cases there would have to be to cancel Coachella , which last year drew 100,000 fans .
In addition to the city ’ s St. Patrick ’ s Day parade , the San Francisco Symphony ’ s concert scheduled has been interrupted .
Stanford University moved classes online .
USC said Friday that it would conduct lectures and seminars online rather than in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ test its ability to operate remotely should it become necessary to suspend in-person contact .
Silicon Valley companies ordered employees to work from home .
Heeding San Francisco ’ s call to cancel large gatherings , like concerts , sports games and conventions , even a volunteer tree planting gathering for Arbor Week was called off .
Los Angeles County officials have held discussions about banning spectators from sporting events if the outbreak gets worse , but that has not be ordered yet .
“ If at any point we think that there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be worried about extensive , extensive community transmission ... we may ask for modifications at large public events , ” Ferrer said Thursday .
“ This could be that games are played but there are no spectators .
This could be that there are limits to how people are going to gather at public events .
But I want to reassure everyone we are not there today .
”

Alex Wigglesworth, Soumya Karlamangla, Rong-Gong Lin II

Dusk on the first day of the first weekend of Coachella 2013.
The coronavirus has brought major changes to public events and spaces in California and beyond.
San Francisco, for example, postponed its St. Patrick’s Day parade, one of many celebrations and spectator events that have been disrupted as officials try to contain the virus. Several Silicon Valley companies have told employees they can work from home. Major conferences and events like South by Southwest in Texas have been canceled.
But some major events are still on — at least for now.
Here is what we know:
Los Angeles Marathon
The L.A. Marathon is expected to go on as scheduled on Sunday despite coronavirus concerns.
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L.A. County health officials recommended that spectators who are sick stay home and that anyone who attends stay six feet away from others. Runners were advised to wash their hands before the race and to not shake hands with other participants or the public. Hand sanitizer will also be available for runners along the course.
“We are not currently recommending the suspension of any large public events, including the L.A. Marathon,” Barbara Ferrer, director of the county Public Health Department, said in a statement Thursday. “The public can continue to enjoy all that L.A. County has to offer, including this historic event.”
Officials have said they don’t see enough of a public health threat to cancel the marathon.
“We are actively monitoring the situation and communicating directly with participants via social channels, email and our website to update them as we learn more,” Murphy Reinschreiber, chief operating officer of the McCourt Foundation, which organizes the event, said in an email earlier this week. “Runner safety is paramount and will continue to be our top priority.”
The marathon is one of the largest in the country. Runners traverse the city, starting at Dodger Stadium and ending near the Santa Monica Pier.
One L.A. city council member on Friday questioned the decision to run the race.
“This is a big popular event, but I remain concerned & don’t think it’s worth the risk,” wrote Councilman Tom Bonin on Twitter.
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Coachella
There have been questions about the massive Coachella music festival, set for April 10-19, and its country cousin Stagecoach, set for April 24-26, in Indio.
So far, Riverside County health officials have not called for cancellation of those events.
Dr. Cameron Kaiser, the county’s public health officer, told reporters Friday that the region has not reported any cases of COVID-19 and there has not been any community spread.
“If we do make an emergency declaration based on changes in local conditions, as a public health officer I do have the ability to shut down such large gatherings. We would do so with as much lead time as possible,” Kaiser said.
He told the Desert Sun that officials could change their minds if coronavirus spreads but didn’t specify how many cases there would have to be to cancel Coachella, which last year drew 100,000 fans.
Other venues
In addition to the city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, the San Francisco Symphony’s concert scheduled has been interrupted. Stanford University moved classes online.
USC said Friday that it would conduct lectures and seminars online rather than in classrooms for three days next week to test its ability to operate remotely should it become necessary to suspend in-person contact.
Silicon Valley companies ordered employees to work from home. Heeding San Francisco’s call to cancel large gatherings, like concerts, sports games and conventions, even a volunteer tree planting gathering for Arbor Week was called off.
Los Angeles County officials have held discussions about banning spectators from sporting events if the outbreak gets worse, but that has not be ordered yet.
“If at any point we think that there’s good reason for us to be worried about extensive, extensive community transmission ... we may ask for modifications at large public events,” Ferrer said Thursday. “This could be that games are played but there are no spectators. This could be that there are limits to how people are going to gather at public events. But I want to reassure everyone we are not there today.”


latimes--2020-03-07--Coronavirus cases keep rising in Los Angeles,  across California: Here is what you need to know

California is emerging as an epicenter for the coronavirus in the United States , with the spread continuing and a cruise ship off the coast with people who contracted the virus .
Here are the latest facts : The latest : Counties continued to report more cases Friday .
Some areas are seeing spread through community contact , such as Santa Clara , San Francisco and Solano .
Here are the numbers as of Friday : Seven cases have been tied to people who were once on a cruise ship where there was a coronavirus outbreak .
Stanford University is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ member tested positive .
9,900+ –number of people self-monitoring who returned to the U.S. through SFO or LAX The latest : L.A. County confirmed two additional cases of the new coronavirus Friday , bringing the total to 13 .
The new cases still don ’ t point to community spread in Los Angeles County , L.A. County Department of Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said .
She estimated that 50 people in the county have been tested for COVID-19 and emphasized that more tests are coming back negative than positive .
The L.A. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ • 8 cases involve a group of travelers who visited northern Italy , where coronavirus has cause widespread outbreaks .
• 2 are connected to close contact to a coronavirus patient .
• 1 is a patient who lived in Wuhan , China .
The latest : The cruise ship remains off the California coast amid the outbreak on board .
With testing still underway , officials still don ’ t know how many of the more than 3,000 people on board have the virus .
They also have not determined where exactly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The cruise is linked to cases in California , including the death in Placer County .
- At least 7 cases in California linked to the cruise

Alex Wigglesworth, Colleen Shalby, Anita Chabria

Student Joshua Guyton outside Monrovia’s Clifton Middle School, which was deep cleaned after another student’s parent came in contact with someone exposed to the novel coronavirus.
California is emerging as an epicenter for the coronavirus in the United States, with the spread continuing and a cruise ship off the coast with people who contracted the virus.
Here are the latest facts:
California
The latest: Counties continued to report more cases Friday. Some areas are seeing spread through community contact, such as Santa Clara, San Francisco and Solano. Here are the numbers as of Friday: Seven cases have been tied to people who were once on a cruise ship where there was a coronavirus outbreak. Stanford University is going to online classes after a faculty member tested positive.
69 Positive cases
1 Death
24 Cases of positive tests related to federal repatriation flights
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45 Cases not related to repatriation flights
22 - Travel-related
12 - Person to person
9 - Community transmission
2 – Currently under investigation
9,900+ –number of people self-monitoring who returned to the U.S. through SFO or LAX
49 – Number of local health jurisdictions involved in self-monitoring
15 – Labs with test kits
Los Angeles
The latest: L.A. County confirmed two additional cases of the new coronavirus Friday, bringing the total to 13. The new cases still don’t point to community spread in Los Angeles County, L.A. County Department of Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. She estimated that 50 people in the county have been tested for COVID-19 and emphasized that more tests are coming back negative than positive. The L.A. Marathon is still scheduled for Sunday.
• 8 cases involve a group of travelers who visited northern Italy, where coronavirus has cause widespread outbreaks.
• 2 are connected to close contact to a coronavirus patient.
• 2 are Los Angeles International Airport workers.
• 1 is a patient who lived in Wuhan, China.
Grand Princess cruise ship
The latest: The cruise ship remains off the California coast amid the outbreak on board. With testing still underway, officials still don’t know how many of the more than 3,000 people on board have the virus. They also have not determined where exactly those who are infected would go. The cruise is linked to cases in California, including the death in Placer County.
- 21 people tested positive on the boat
- At least 7 cases in California linked to the cruise
- 1 death


latimes--2020-03-07--Gov. Gavin Newsom reports $1.2-million income in new disclosure of tax returns

California Gov .
Gavin Newsom and his wife , documentary filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom , reported an income of $ 1.2 million in 2018 , including $ 800,000 from the governor ’ s wineries , restaurants , hotels and other hospitality businesses .
The Newsoms ’ tax returns provide a window into a complex network of the family ’ s financial interests throughout California , holdings that have helped them earn an average of more than $ 1 million a year since 2011 and purchase a $ 3.7-million , six-bedroom home just outside of Sacramento shortly before he took office @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allowed reporters to view his 2018 federal and state tax returns that he filed jointly with his wife , which covered his final year as California ’ s lieutenant governor .
Newsom filed those returns last fall after receiving an extension from the Internal Revenue Service .
The Newsoms reported paying $ 480,179 in income taxes — $ 358,724 to the federal government and $ 121,455 to the state of California .
The Newsoms , who have four young children , paid $ 244,000 for household services , primarily child care — a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Social Security , Medicare and federal income tax .
In 2018 , Siebel Newsom earned a salary of $ 150,000 as head of her foundation , the Representation Project , and a $ 111,000 salary from her film production company , Girls Club Entertainment .
Newsom reported $ 131,000 in earnings as the state ’ s lieutenant governor .
The couple also reported donating $ 25,683 to charity , including to Best Buddies , a nonprofit that assists people with intellectual and developmental disabilities that was founded by Anthony Kennedy Shriver , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Maria Shriver .
A complete list of the charities to which the Newsoms donated was not available .
Among the more unusual expenses declared in the Newsom ’ s tax documents was $ 899 for silver and platinum storage .
Newsom ’ s tax returns from previous years showed that he made hundreds of thousands of dollars trading silver bars .
During his successful 2018 campaign , Newsom released his tax returns from 2011 onward and , after his election , the Democratic governor vowed to release his taxes each year while in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Jerry Brown , refused to release his tax returns while in office or during his campaigns .
Last July , Newsom signed a law to require all candidates for president and governor to release five years of tax returns if they wanted to appear on California ’ s primary ballot , a measure aimed directly at President Trump for his refusal to make his taxes public .
“ Folks think @ realDonaldTrump is avoiding tax release because he pays a very low rate , ” the governor tweeted in May 2016 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ are a house of cards.
” The California Supreme Court , however , struck down the requirement for presidential candidates , saying it violated the state Constitution .
The court upheld the provision that requires candidates for California governor to release their tax returns , starting in 2022 .
Newsom would need to provide additional returns , beyond those released so far , to satisfy the law ’ s provisions .
Newsom allowed reporters to review — but not photocopy — his 2018 tax years at the state Capitol on Friday .
One @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 45 minutes to examine the returns , a stack of tax documents roughly two inches think .
Newsom often cites his business expertise as a key credential in his ability to govern a state as complex as California , one of the most economically diverse states in the union .
With the help of the wealthy Getty family , heirs to a family oil fortune , Newsom opened a San Francisco wine store in 1992 , expanding it over the last 25 years into a network of nearly two dozen businesses known as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Valley wineries , hotels in Lake Tahoe and Palm Springs , and bars and restaurants in San Francisco .
Newsom placed those investments in a blind trust before he was sworn in as governor .
Under the terms of the blind trust , the trustee has total authority over the assets , including the power to sell off Newsom ’ s business ownership without consulting him , according to the governor ’ s office .
The trustee is barred from discussing those decisions with Newsom .
Most of those assets remain in his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ listed in his 2019 statement of economic interests filed with the California Fair Political Practices Commission .
The disclosure reflected more than $ 6 million in investments and assets .
His Airelle Wines Inc. and a related entity , Villa Encinal Partners , each had a fair market value of over $ 1 million each , the record showed .
The Newsoms also received more than $ 100,000 in rental income from their home in Marin County , where the family lived before moving to Sacramento .
Newsom also sold off a number @ @ @ @ @ @ @ diagnostic companies that he inherited from his father , retired state appellate court Justice William Newsom , after his death in December 2018 .
Newsom collected between $ 22,000 and $ 220,000 after selling those holdings in NRG Energy Inc. , Tanzanian Royalty Exploration Corp. , Enerplus and Veracyte , Inc. , according to his financial disclosure .
The economic interest statements are an imprecise gauge of wealth .
Public officials who file them are required only to report the fair market value of their assets in ranges , such as `` $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over $ 1 million ” — for example , a $ 10-million asset would have the same value on the statement as one worth just over $ 1 million .

Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife, documentary filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom, reported an income of $1.2 million in 2018, according to tax returns reviewed by The Times.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife, documentary filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom, reported an income of $1.2 million in 2018, including $800,000 from the governor’s wineries, restaurants, hotels and other hospitality businesses.
The Newsoms’ tax returns provide a window into a complex network of the family’s financial interests throughout California, holdings that have helped them earn an average of more than $1 million a year since 2011 and purchase a $3.7-million, six-bedroom home just outside of Sacramento shortly before he took office last year.
On Friday, Newsom allowed reporters to view his 2018 federal and state tax returns that he filed jointly with his wife, which covered his final year as California’s lieutenant governor. Newsom filed those returns last fall after receiving an extension from the Internal Revenue Service.
The Newsoms reported paying $480,179 in income taxes — $358,724 to the federal government and $121,455 to the state of California.
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The Newsoms, who have four young children, paid $244,000 for household services, primarily child care — a figure that included $55,017 in withholdings for Social Security, Medicare and federal income tax.
In 2018, Siebel Newsom earned a salary of $150,000 as head of her foundation, the Representation Project, and a $111,000 salary from her film production company, Girls Club Entertainment. Newsom reported $131,000 in earnings as the state’s lieutenant governor.
The couple also reported donating $25,683 to charity, including to Best Buddies, a nonprofit that assists people with intellectual and developmental disabilities that was founded by Anthony Kennedy Shriver, the brother of former California First Lady Maria Shriver. A complete list of the charities to which the Newsoms donated was not available.
Among the more unusual expenses declared in the Newsom’s tax documents was $899 for silver and platinum storage. Newsom’s tax returns from previous years showed that he made hundreds of thousands of dollars trading silver bars.
During his successful 2018 campaign, Newsom released his tax returns from 2011 onward and, after his election, the Democratic governor vowed to release his taxes each year while in office. His predecessor, former Gov. Jerry Brown, refused to release his tax returns while in office or during his campaigns.
Last July, Newsom signed a law to require all candidates for president and governor to release five years of tax returns if they wanted to appear on California’s primary ballot, a measure aimed directly at President Trump for his refusal to make his taxes public.
“Folks think @realDonaldTrump is avoiding tax release because he pays a very low rate,” the governor tweeted in May 2016. “I think its because his finances are a house of cards.”
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The California Supreme Court, however, struck down the requirement for presidential candidates, saying it violated the state Constitution. The court upheld the provision that requires candidates for California governor to release their tax returns, starting in 2022. Newsom would need to provide additional returns, beyond those released so far, to satisfy the law’s provisions.
Newsom allowed reporters to review — but not photocopy — his 2018 tax years at the state Capitol on Friday. One reporter from each media outlet was given 45 minutes to examine the returns, a stack of tax documents roughly two inches think.
Newsom often cites his business expertise as a key credential in his ability to govern a state as complex as California, one of the most economically diverse states in the union.
With the help of the wealthy Getty family, heirs to a family oil fortune, Newsom opened a San Francisco wine store in 1992, expanding it over the last 25 years into a network of nearly two dozen businesses known as PlumpJack Group. The businesses include Napa Valley wineries, hotels in Lake Tahoe and Palm Springs, and bars and restaurants in San Francisco.
Newsom placed those investments in a blind trust before he was sworn in as governor. Under the terms of the blind trust, the trustee has total authority over the assets, including the power to sell off Newsom’s business ownership without consulting him, according to the governor’s office. The trustee is barred from discussing those decisions with Newsom.
Most of those assets remain in his financial portfolio, however, and were listed in his 2019 statement of economic interests filed with the California Fair Political Practices Commission.
The disclosure reflected more than $6 million in investments and assets. His Airelle Wines Inc. and a related entity, Villa Encinal Partners, each had a fair market value of over $1 million each, the record showed.
The Newsoms also received more than $100,000 in rental income from their home in Marin County, where the family lived before moving to Sacramento.
Newsom also sold off a number of investments in energy, mining and diagnostic companies that he inherited from his father, retired state appellate court Justice William Newsom, after his death in December 2018.
Newsom collected between $22,000 and $220,000 after selling those holdings in NRG Energy Inc., Tanzanian Royalty Exploration Corp., Enerplus and Veracyte, Inc., according to his financial disclosure.
The economic interest statements are an imprecise gauge of wealth. Public officials who file them are required only to report the fair market value of their assets in ranges, such as “$10,000 to $100,000” or “over $1 million” — for example, a $10-million asset would have the same value on the statement as one worth just over $1 million.