latimes--2020-04-15--Coronavirus could halt L.A. concerts, sporting events until 2021, Garcetti says

Los Angeles may hold off on allowing big gatherings until 2021 because of the coronavirus threat , according to an internal Los Angeles Fire Department email reviewed by The Times .
Mayor Eric Garcetti raised the issue during his weekly briefing Monday with a group of high-level staff from several departments , including Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas .
Garcetti indicated during the conference call that “ large gatherings such as concerts and sporting events may not be approved in the city for at least 1 year , ” according to the email .
LAFD Deputy Chief Trevor Richmond wrote the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and others , and sent it Tuesday to several fire department staffers .
The email was reviewed by The Times .
Fire Department spokesman Peter Sanders said Tuesday that Terrazas was “ paraphrasing information he received from the mayor regarding possible scenarios for reopening timelines across a range of events.
” Garcetti spokesman Alex Comisar confirmed the mayor ’ s comments at the meeting .
“ The mayor was generally referencing studies of current and historical data and best practices for safely reopening our economy , ” Comisar said .
Comisar said the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Los Angeles to begin resuming large-scale events .
Garcetti himself has repeatedly told Angelenos during his nightly press briefings that it would be a mistake to reopen businesses and stores before the pandemic can be controlled .
Garcetti also talked during the conference call with his staff about reopening the economy , starting with “ essential businesses and small businesses ... phased in over a period of time ( 6-10 months ) , ” according to Richmond ’ s email .
The coronavirus pandemic has caused the cancellation of sporting , music @ @ @ @ @ @ @ California Gov .
Gavin Newsom said Tuesday that events that draw hundreds or thousands of strangers will be off limits for the near future , based on current guidelines .
The state needs to boost testing , protect high-risk residents from infection and expand hospital capacity before the stay-at-home order imposed last month can be modified , he said .
“ The prospect of mass gatherings is negligible at best until we get to herd immunity and we get to a vaccine , ” Newsom said .
Absent a vaccine , Newsom said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wear face coverings or masks , and to visit restaurants with fewer tables , disposable menus and waiters wearing masks and gloves as the state slowly transitions back to normal .
His administration suggested the state will introduce guidelines for businesses to conduct “ health checks ” when employees return to work .
He also discussed the possibility of throughout the day for students if they return to campus in the fall .
Experts say stay-at-home orders could persist until the end of May or mid-June .
Dr. Robert Kim-Farley , a UCLA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said by that time , places that have effectively maintained physical distancing measures will see significant reductions in the numbers of cases .
In the , hospitals may start to see relief .
Also at this time , Kim-Farley suspects there will be enough capacity to offer tests for the virus and antibodies — to determine whether people are immune — to meet the demand .
In the early summer , perhaps in the middle of June to the end of July , there may be some nuanced , tailored approaches for getting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
Elsewhere , New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has recommended that large events in that city be pushed off until 2021 , according to a local news report .

Los Angeles may hold off on allowing big gatherings until 2021 because of the coronavirus threat, according to an internal Los Angeles Fire Department email reviewed by The Times.
Mayor Eric Garcetti raised the issue during his weekly briefing Monday with a group of high-level staff from several departments, including Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas. Garcetti indicated during the conference call that “large gatherings such as concerts and sporting events may not be approved in the city for at least 1 year,” according to the email.
LAFD Deputy Chief Trevor Richmond wrote the email summarizing Terrazas’ meeting with Garcetti and others and sent it Tuesday to several fire department staffers. The email was reviewed by The Times.
Fire Department spokesman Peter Sanders said Tuesday that Terrazas was “paraphrasing information he received from the mayor regarding possible scenarios for reopening timelines across a range of events.”
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Garcetti spokesman Alex Comisar confirmed the mayor’s comments at the meeting. “The mayor was generally referencing studies of current and historical data and best practices for safely reopening our economy,” Comisar said.
Comisar said the mayor doesn’t have a timeline for Los Angeles to begin resuming large-scale events. Garcetti himself has repeatedly told Angelenos during his nightly press briefings that it would be a mistake to reopen businesses and stores before the pandemic can be controlled.
“It’s difficult to imagine us getting together in the thousands any time soon. I think we should be prepared for that this year. I think we all have never wanted science to work so quickly. But until there’s either a vaccine, some sort pharmaceutical intervention or herd immunity, the science is the science,” Garcetti said on CNN Wednesday.
Garcetti also talked during the conference call with his staff about reopening the economy, starting with “essential businesses and small businesses ... phased in over a period of time (6-10 months),” according to Richmond’s email.
The coronavirus pandemic has caused the cancellation of sporting, music and cultural events across the globe.
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California 20 heartwarming photos show gratitude for healthcare workers Firefighters and law enforcement officers from L.A. to Laguna Beach express their gratitude to healthcare workers for their efforts in fighting COVID-19.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday that events that draw hundreds or thousands of strangers will be off limits for the near future, based on current guidelines. The state needs to boost testing, protect high-risk residents from infection and expand hospital capacity before the stay-at-home order imposed last month can be modified, he said.
“The prospect of mass gatherings is negligible at best until we get to herd immunity and we get to a vaccine,” Newsom said.
Absent a vaccine, Newsom said that Californians should expect to continue to wear face coverings or masks, and to visit restaurants with fewer tables, disposable menus and waiters wearing masks and gloves as the state slowly transitions back to normal.
His administration suggested the state will introduce guidelines for businesses to conduct “health checks” when employees return to work.
He also discussed the possibility of staggering school start times throughout the day for students if they return to campus in the fall.
Experts say stay-at-home orders could persist until the end of May or mid-June.
Dr. Robert Kim-Farley, a UCLA medical epidemiologist and infectious disease expert, said by that time, places that have effectively maintained physical distancing measures will see significant reductions in the numbers of cases. In the nation’s worst-hit areas , hospitals may start to see relief.
Also at that time, Kim-Farley suspects there will be enough capacity to offer tests for the virus and antibodies — to determine whether people are immune — to meet the demand.
In the early summer, perhaps in the middle of June to the end of July, there may be some nuanced, tailored approaches for getting people back to work and easing stay-at-home orders, he said.
Elsewhere, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has recommended that large events in that city be pushed off until 2021, according to a local news report.


latimes--2020-04-15--Coronavirus fears haven't stopped the sex trade on Los Angeles streets

Armed with condoms and disposable thermometers , the outreach workers ventured out to streets in South Los Angeles notorious for sex trade activity .
They expected that some women would still be working on this chilly Friday night in early April .
But what they saw caught them off guard .
Two weeks into the mandated state-at-home orders designed to curb the coronavirus pandemic , not only were sex workers out in pre-quarantine numbers — but so were the johns .
“ It was business as usual , ” said Stephany Powell , executive director of Journey Out , an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trafficking .
The pandemic is devastating the global economy , and it has not spared sex workers .
Strippers , escorts and porn performers are experiencing financial hardships , and many have turned to webcam sites or relief funds to scrape by .
But for those selling sex on the streets , by far the most vulnerable population in the industry , there are fewer options .
Many have to work to survive during the pandemic , and they are finding that some customers are still seeking them out , apparently willing to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ selling sex on the streets tell advocates they have little to no choice but to continue doing high-risk work that has only become more fraught during this health crisis .
“ When you talk to them about the coronavirus , they ’ re aware of it , and they ’ re afraid of it like everybody else , ” Powell said of the workers .
“ If you ’ re out there right now , you ’ re really being pushed to be out there , whether that push factor is poverty or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prostitution stroll , there ’ s a mix of those who have been coerced by sex traffickers and those who are in the life by choice .
But even in those cases , many are held captive by forces including discrimination , abject poverty and the need to provide for their families .
Many street sex workers lack high school diplomas , are undocumented , have extensive criminal records and are victims of abuse , according to advocates .
It ’ s difficult for them to find work in the best of times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the social safety nets available to most others during an economic recession .
Housing vouchers , food stamps , Medicaid , or other forms of welfare are also hard to come by for anyone earning income from sex work .
And they are often ostracized by or isolated from resources like family , church and other community organizations .
With almost nowhere to turn , they face grim options : Work the streets or starve .
Work the streets or face the wrath of pimps or traffickers .
“ Struggle is what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ face , ” said Stephanie Grant , a survivor of sex trafficking and crisis counselor at Journey Out .
“ Our circumstances are regularly very dire , and every day we face life-and-death decisions .
The [ coronavirus ] is just another danger added to the pot.
” Some of the johns who continue to solicit services amid the pandemic have taken advantage of the situation , demanding that they pay less money and seeking riskier services , according to advocates .
One young woman got into a car with a man wearing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she sanitize her hands before touching him , said Grant .
“ Clients are demonstrating that they believe their lives are more valuable than those of the woman they engage with , ” she said .
Grant holds daily Zoom meetings with about a dozen women who work on the streets .
“ About half are still out there , doing what they need to do , ” she said .
In L.A. , the pressure to be on the streets is compounded by increased demand for full-service sex work .
Advocates aren @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the increase but say it could be due to a combination of boredom and anxiety .
“ Even if some clients are moving to remote sex work , the overall effect of everyone being stuck at home and stressed out has been to increase demand , and all of the commercial establishments that people could visit for erotic titillation or satisfaction are closed , ” said Ashley Madness , political action director for the Sex Workers Outreach Project ’ s L.A. chapter .
Although demand for street prostitution may eventually decrease as more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , pimps may cut prices to stimulate demand , just like an airline or restaurant might , said Siddharth Kara , an expert on human trafficking and a visiting scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health .
Sex workers say they were already facing more dangerous conditions after laws were passed in 2018 that made it illegal to advertise sex work online , according to advocates .
Before , sex workers say , they could screen potential clients on sites like Backpage , which was shut down after being linked to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act and Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act were billed as a way to protect sex workers , the new restrictions have effectively pushed more of them onto the streets , according to some advocates .
Another concerning pattern also emerged : More workers returned to abusive or exploitative managers to survive .
Advocates say that pandemic-related job losses also are driving former sex workers back to the streets .
Harmony Grillo , the executive director of Treasures , an outreach and support organization for those in the sex @ @ @ @ @ @ @ women she worked with had done just that as the income they made through the gig economy and service jobs evaporated .
“ If we ’ re in fear , if our financial future is uncertain , we want to go back to what ’ s familiar , ” Grillo said .
“ It ’ s heartbreaking to watch people who ’ ve fought so hard to leave be sucked back in by this.
” Advocates worry that , as economic conditions worsen , traffickers will force their victims to work more hours @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Traffickers and pimps will use whatever vulnerabilities they can , ” Kara said , “ to exert , coerce and extend the exploitation of women and girls.
” With the help of Treasures , women who feel particularly susceptible to the pull of sex work have created their own online accountability group , checking in on a daily basis to encourage one another to stay strong in the face of mounting uncertainty .
“ Many of the women developed post-traumatic stress disorder while in the life , ” Grillo said .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has revived memories of the conditions they experienced while under the control of pimps .
The flashbacks have prompted nightmares and panic attacks .
The Los Angeles Police Department confirms that the sex work on L.A. 's streets continues unabated .
The department does not have specific plans to address the issue , according to Capt .
Gisselle Espinoza , though officers have worked with advocacy groups like Journey Out to “ increase awareness of good sanitation habits.
” “ We are doing our regular traffic enforcement in areas that warrant it , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ status quo.
” Elsewhere in California , some commercial sex corridors are dark .
Johns in San Francisco have mostly stayed away from the strolls in the Mission District and the Tenderloin , said Celestina Pearl , outreach manager at St. James Infirmary , which provides clinical and social services to sex workers in the Bay Area .
“ Casual johns might go out to the strolls once in a while , ” Pearl said .
“ Right now they ’ re like , ‘ I ’ m just definitely not going to.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ workers to gauge their needs at any given time .
Before the pandemic , many asked for pepper spray , Pearl said .
But now they just need cash and supplies , like hygiene products and condoms .
In Los Angeles , many need housing .
Jazzmun Crayton , senior manager of strategic partnerships with the Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team , has spent the past few weeks finding beds for unhoused sex workers .
She ’ s been able to get six women into shelters .
One woman visited Crayton recently to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the streets and was taking social distancing measures seriously .
Crayton beamed .
She knew it was a big deal .
Against all odds , the woman was protecting herself .

Figueroa Street in South Los Angeles, an area where the highest number of prostitution-related arrests in the city are made.
Armed with condoms and disposable thermometers, the outreach workers ventured out to streets in South Los Angeles notorious for sex trade activity.
They expected that some women would still be working on this chilly Friday night in early April. But what they saw caught them off guard.
Two weeks into the mandated stay-at-home orders designed to curb the coronavirus pandemic, not only were sex workers out in pre-quarantine numbers — the johns were, too.
Advertisement
“It was business as usual,” said Stephany Powell, executive director of Journey Out, an L.A.-based nonprofit that helps victims of sex trafficking.
The pandemic is devastating the global economy, and it has not spared sex workers. Strippers, escorts and porn performers are experiencing financial hardships, and many have turned to webcam sites or relief funds to scrape by.
Stephany Powell is the executive director of Journey Out, a local organization that helps victims of sex trafficking. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
But for those selling sex on the streets, by far the most vulnerable population in the industry, there are fewer options. Many have to work to survive during the pandemic, and they are finding that some customers are still seeking them out, apparently willing to share the risk.
Many of those selling sex on the streets tell advocates they have little to no choice but to continue doing high-risk work that has only become more fraught during this health crisis.
“When you talk to them about the coronavirus, they’re aware of it, and they’re afraid of it like everybody else,” Powell said of the workers. “If you’re out there right now, you’re really being pushed to be out there, whether that push factor is poverty or somebody making you.”
Advertisement
On any given prostitution stroll, there’s a mix of those who have been coerced by sex traffickers and those who are in the life by choice. But even in those cases, many are held captive by forces including discrimination, abject poverty and the need to provide for their families.
Many street sex workers lack high school diplomas, are undocumented, have extensive criminal records and are victims of abuse, according to advocates. It’s difficult for them to find work in the best of times, and they aren’t privy to the social safety nets available to most others during an economic recession.
Housing vouchers, food stamps, Medicaid, or other forms of welfare are also hard to come by for anyone earning income from sex work. And they are often ostracized by or isolated from resources like family, church and other community organizations.
With almost nowhere to turn, they face grim options: Work the streets or starve. Work the streets or face the wrath of pimps or traffickers.
“Struggle is what we do. Danger is what we face,” said Stephanie Grant, a survivor of sex trafficking and crisis counselor at Journey Out. “Our circumstances are regularly very dire, and every day we face life-and-death decisions. The [coronavirus] is just another danger added to the pot.”
Some of the johns who continue to solicit services amid the pandemic have taken advantage of the situation, demanding that they pay less money and seeking riskier services, according to advocates.
One young woman got into a car with a man wearing a mask and gloves. He insisted she sanitize her hands before touching him, said Grant.
“Clients are demonstrating that they believe their lives are more valuable than those of the woman they engage with,” she said.
Grant holds daily Zoom meetings with about a dozen women who work on the streets. “About half are still out there, doing what they need to do,” she said.
In L.A., the pressure to be on the streets is compounded by increased demand for full-service sex work. Advocates aren’t certain what’s driving the increase but say it could be due to a combination of boredom and anxiety.
“Even if some clients are moving to remote sex work, the overall effect of everyone being stuck at home and stressed out has been to increase demand, and all of the commercial establishments that people could visit for erotic titillation or satisfaction are closed,” said Ashley Madness, political action director for the Sex Workers Outreach Project’s L.A. chapter.
Although demand for street prostitution may eventually decrease as more people experience job losses and reduced wages, pimps may cut prices to stimulate demand, just like an airline or restaurant might, said Siddharth Kara, an expert on human trafficking and a visiting scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Sex workers say they were already facing more dangerous conditions after laws were passed in 2018 that made it illegal to advertise sex work online, according to advocates. Before, sex workers say, they could screen potential clients on sites like Backpage, which was shut down after being linked to the sex trafficking of underage girls.
Though the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act and Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act were billed as a way to protect sex workers, the new restrictions have effectively pushed more of them onto the streets, according to some advocates.
Another concerning pattern also emerged: More workers returned to abusive or exploitative managers to survive.
Advocates say that pandemic-related job losses also are driving former sex workers back to the streets.
Harmony Grillo, the executive director of Treasures, an outreach and support organization for those in the sex industry, noted that some of the women she worked with had done just that as the income they made through the gig economy and service jobs evaporated.
“If we’re in fear, if our financial future is uncertain, we want to go back to what’s familiar,” Grillo said. “It’s heartbreaking to watch people who’ve fought so hard to leave be sucked back in by this.”
Advocates worry that, as economic conditions worsen, traffickers will force their victims to work more hours and cajole them into riskier behavior.
“Traffickers and pimps will use whatever vulnerabilities they can,” Kara said, “to exert, coerce and extend the exploitation of women and girls.”
With the help of Treasures, women who feel particularly susceptible to the pull of sex work have created their own online accountability group, checking in on a daily basis to encourage one another to stay strong in the face of mounting uncertainty.
“Many of the women developed post-traumatic stress disorder while in the life,” Grillo said. And being confined and isolated in their homes has revived memories of the conditions they experienced while under the control of pimps. The flashbacks have prompted nightmares and panic attacks.
The Los Angeles Police Department confirms that the sex work on L.A.’s streets continues unabated. The department does not have specific plans to address the issue, according to Capt. Gisselle Espinoza, though officers have worked with advocacy groups like Journey Out to “increase awareness of good sanitation habits.”
“We are doing our regular traffic enforcement in areas that warrant it,” Espinoza said. “Enforcement remains status quo.”
Elsewhere in California, some commercial sex corridors are dark.
Johns in San Francisco have mostly stayed away from the strolls in the Mission District and the Tenderloin, said Celestina Pearl, outreach manager at St. James Infirmary, which provides clinical and social services to sex workers in the Bay Area.
“Casual johns might go out to the strolls once in a while,” Pearl said. “Right now they’re like, ‘I’m just definitely not going to.’”
St. James Infirmary surveys street workers to gauge their needs at any given time. Before the pandemic, many asked for pepper spray, Pearl said. But now they just need cash and supplies, like hygiene products and condoms.
In Los Angeles, many need housing. Jazzmun Crayton, senior manager of strategic partnerships with the Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team, has spent the past few weeks finding beds for unhoused sex workers. She’s been able to get six women into shelters.
One woman visited Crayton recently to say she hadn’t been working the streets and was taking social distancing measures seriously.
Crayton beamed. She knew it was a big deal.
Against all odds, the woman was protecting herself.


latimes--2020-04-15--This is the latest list of L.A. County communities with coronavirus cases

The number of coronavirus cases in Los Angeles County reached nearly 10,500 cases on Wednesday with 402 deaths .
Health @ @ @ @ @ deaths linked to the coronavirus , the highest number reported in a single day .
@ @ @ @ @ additional COVID-19 cases .
Here is the latest list of Los Angeles County communities with @ @ @ @

Alex Herron, under the care of nurse Mercy Pineda, participates in a blood drive April 14 at USC’s Galen Center.
The number of coronavirus cases in Los Angeles County reached nearly 10,500 cases on Wednesday with 402 deaths.
Health officials Wednesday confirmed 42 more deaths linked to the coronavirus, the highest number reported in a single day. The county also confirmed 472 additional COVID-19 cases.
Here is the latest list of Los Angeles County communities with confirmed coronavirus cases:
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Long Beach 363
Glendale 278
Melrose 215
Pasadena 179
Santa Clarita 166
Torrance 159
North Hollywood 145
Carson 133
Inglewood 132
Hollywood 124
Sylmar 121
Palmdale 118
Burbank 112
Downey 111
South Gate 108
East Los Angeles 108
West Hollywood 105
Santa Monica 98
Van Nuys 96
Canoga Park 93
Lancaster 91
Norwalk 88
Hawthorne 87
Sherman Oaks 85
Redondo Beach 84
Reseda 84
Silver Lake 84
Westlake 84
Lynwood 84
Gardena 82
West Vernon 79
Beverly Hills 78
Woodland Hills 77
Panorama City 76
Compton 72
Palms 69
Unincorporated Florence-Firestone 68
Pico Rivera 67
Glassell Park 66
Boyle Heights 64
Montebello 64
Bell 64
Pacoima 63
Pico-Union 62
Pomona 58
Koreatown 58
Temple-Beaudry 57
Brentwood 57
Encino 56
Exposition Park 56
Whittier 56
Northridge 56
Manhattan Beach 55
Winnetka 55
San Pedro 55
Bellflower 55
East Hollywood 54
North Hills 54
Wilshire Center 54
Covina 54
Granada Hills 53
Florence-Firestone 52
West Adams 51
Central 51
Hancock Park 49
West Covina 48
South Park 47
Tarzana 47
Little Armenia 47
Eagle Rock 46
Hollywood Hills 46
Rancho Palos Verdes 46
Sun Valley 46
Vernon Central 45
Huntington Park 44
Paramount 44
El Sereno 44
Crestview 43
Lakewood 43
Highland Park 40
Lake Balboa 40
Valley Village 40
Wilmington 40
Altadena 39
Westchester 39
Bell Gardens 39
Athens-Westmont 38
Little Bangladesh 38
Chatsworth 38
Alhambra 37
West Los Angeles 37
Mar Vista 37
Palos Verdes Estates 36
Del Rey 36
Westwood 36
Valley Glen 36
Sunland 36
Baldwin Hills 34
Culver City 34
Monterey Park 34
Hacienda Heights 34
Cerritos 34
Harbor Gateway 34
Baldwin Park 34
El Monte 34
Arleta 34
Carthay 33
Venice 32
Pacific Palisades 32
Century Palms/Cove 32
Porter Ranch 31
West Carson 31
Lawndale 31
Harvard Park 31
Vermont Vista 31
Watts 30
South Whittier 30
Maywood 28
Country Club Park 28
University Park 28
Downtown 27
Century City 27
San Fernando 27
Calabasas 26
Beverly Crest 26
Glendora 26
Mission Hills 26
Willowbrook 26
Leimert Park 25
Arcadia 25
Harbor City 25
La Mirada 25
Mid-City 24
West Hills 24
Historic Filipinotown 24
Wholesale District 24
Cudahy 24
Harvard Heights 24
Lomita 23
La Cañada Flintridge 23
Studio City 22
Walnut Park 22
Azusa 22
Diamond Bar 22
Beverlywood 22
La Puente 22
Crenshaw District 22
Hyde Park 22
Los Feliz 21
Agoura Hills 21
Tujunga 21
Bel-Air 21
Miracle Mile 21
Vermont Knolls 20
South Carthay 20
Lincoln Heights 20
Lennox 19
Rowland Heights 19
Lakeview Terrace 19
Malibu 18
Victoria Park 18
San Dimas 18
Vermont Square 18
Green Meadows 18
South Pasadena 17
Hermosa Beach 17
West Whittier/Los Nietos 17
Temple City 17
Adams-Normandie 16
Rosemead 16
View Park/Windsor Hills 16
Mt. Washington 16
Duarte 15
Monrovia 14
San Gabriel 14
Canyon Country 14
Ladera Heights 14
Walnut 13
Cloverdale/Cochran 13
Unincorporated - Covina 13
Claremont 13
Quartz Hill 13
El Segundo 12
Cheviot Hills 12
Gramercy Place 12
East Rancho Dominguez 12
Stevenson Ranch 11
Rolling Hills Estates 11
La Crescenta-Montrose 11
Playa Vista 10
Elysian Valley 10
Valinda 10
Figueroa Park Square 10
La Verne 9
Castaic 9
Covina (Charter Oak) 9
Park La Brea 9
Atwater Village 9
Reseda Ranch 9
Santa Fe Springs 9
Echo Park 9
Thai Town 9
Bassett 9
Rancho Park 8
Marina Peninsula 8
San Marino 8
South San Gabriel 7
Toluca Lake 7
Santa Monica Mountains 7
Lafayette Square 7
Alsace 7
Shadow Hills 7
Athens Village 7
Northeast San Gabriel 7
Cadillac-Corning 7
Lake Los Angeles 7
Westlake Village 6
Rancho Dominguez 6
West Puente Valley 6
Marina del Rey 6
San Jose Hills 6
La Rambla 5
View Heights 5
Del Aire 5
Unincorporated - Monrovia 5
Elysian Park 5
Signal Hill 5
Artesia 5
Reynier Village 5
Sand Canyon 1-4
Santa Catalina Island 1-4
Hawaiian Gardens 1-4
Harbor Pines 1-4
Newhall 1-4
Saugus 1-4
Saugus/Canyon Country 1-4
Lake Hughes 1-4
Pearblossom/Llano 1-4
Sierra Madre 1-4
Pellissier Village 1-4
Franklin Canyon 1-4
South Antelope Valley 1-4
Mandeville Canyon 1-4
South Edwards 1-4
South El Monte 1-4
Faircrest Heights 1-4
Exposition 1-4
Manchester Square 1-4
Placerita Canyon 1-4
Playa del Rey 1-4
Southeast Antelope Valley 1-4
St. Elmo Village 1-4
North Lancaster 1-4
Elizabeth Lake 1-4
North Whittier 1-4
Sun Village 1-4
El Camino Village 1-4
Sunrise Village 1-4
Acton 1-4
Longwood 1-4
East Whittier 1-4
Llano 1-4
La Habra Heights 1-4
Littlerock/Pearblossom 1-4
Littlerock/Juniper Hills 1-4
Toluca Terrace 1-4
Toluca Woods 1-4
East Pasadena 1-4
East Lancaster 1-4
Twin Lakes/Oat Mountain 1-4
Unincorporated - Angeles National Forest 1-4
Unincorporated - Arcadia 1-4
Unincorporated - Azusa 1-4
Unincorporated - Bradbury 1-4
Unincorporated - Cerritos 1-4
Unincorporated - Claremont 1-4
Regent Square 1-4
Unincorporated - Del Rey 1-4
Unincorporated - Duarte 1-4
Unincorporated - El Monte 1-4
East La Mirada 1-4
Unincorporated - Glendora 1-4
Unincorporated - Harbor Gateway 1-4
Unincorporated - Hawthorne 1-4
Unincorporated - La Habra Heights 1-4
Unincorporated - La Verne 1-4
Unincorporated - Lakewood 1-4
Unincorporated - Lynwood 1-4
Unincorporated - Miracle Mile 1-4
Kagel/Lopez Canyons 1-4
Unincorporated - Palmdale 1-4
Unincorporated - Pomona 1-4
Unincorporated - South El Monte 1-4
Unincorporated - Walnut 1-4
Unincorporated - West L.A. 1-4
Unincorporated - Whittier 1-4
Universal City 1-4
University Hills 1-4
East Covina 1-4
Val Verde 1-4
Valencia 1-4
Palisades Highlands 1-4
Desert View Highlands 1-4
Del Sur 1-4
Littlerock 1-4
Rolling Hills 1-4
Commerce 1-4
Little Tokyo 1-4
Roosevelt 1-4
Vernon 1-4
Chinatown 1-4
Jefferson Park 1-4
Rosewood 1-4
Charter Oak 1-4
Rosewood/East Gardena 1-4
Rosewood/West Rancho Dominguez 1-4
Irwindale 1-4
Wellington Square 1-4
San Clemente Island 1-4
West Antelope Valley 1-4
Brookside 1-4
West Chatsworth 1-4
Bradbury 1-4
Bouquet Canyon 1-4
Industry 1-4
Bandini Islands 1-4
Hidden Hills 1-4
West Rancho Dominguez 1-4
Avocado Heights 1-4
San Francisquito Canyon/Bouquet Canyon 1-4
Avalon 1-4
Westfield/Academy Hills 1-4
Westhills 1-4
Leona Valley 1-4
Palos Verdes Peninsula 1-4
Lake Manor 1-4
White Fence Farms 1-4
San Pasqual 1-4
Whittier Narrows 1-4
Angelino Heights 1-4
Angeles National Forest 1-4
Anaverde 1-4
Hi Vista 1-4
Agua Dulce 1-4
Wiseburn 1-4
Sycamore Square 1-4


latimes--2020-04-15--Renters hit by coronavirus are eligible for new eviction protections in L.A. County

Renters living in unincorporated Los Angeles County now have new tools to prevent eviction following a vote by the Board of Supervisors in response to the coronavirus pandemic .
Under a measure approved Tuesday , tenants can inform their landlords in writing that they ’ re unable to pay because of economic or medical hardships related to the virus — as long as it is within seven days after rent is due .
That will be enough to prevent an eviction .
Additionally , renters in unincorporated areas now have one year to repay past-due rent .
“ I hope @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people in the homes that they ’ re now required to stay in 24/7 , ” Supervisor Sheila Kuehl said during Tuesday ’ s meeting .
The new rules do not cover renters living in cities that have passed their own eviction rules , including Los Angeles , Beverly Hills , Culver City and Pasadena .
However , any city in L.A. County that has not enacted such protections must abide by the county ’ s order .
The county ’ s measure is more generous to tenants than what was passed by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the city ’ s rules , tenants are required to keep bank statements , pay stubs or other financial documentation to prove they ’ ve been affected by the coronavirus .
Though tenants don ’ t have to provide that information to the their landlords , they may need it or a potential eviction hearing once the state of emergency that city declared for the coronavirus crisis has ended .
The county , meanwhile , says landlords must accept without further documentation their renters ’ written notice about not being able to pay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , courts in L.A. County and around the state are not processing most eviction cases , but renters still may have to go to court eventually if they don ’ t pay rent in April or May .
The county also voted to temporarily halt rent increases for apartments in unincorporated areas subject to rent control rules .
That covers about 43,500 units built on or before Feb. 1 , 1995 .
Any rent increases that occurred on April 1 will need to be rolled back , and any increases planned for May @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supervisors also advanced a plan to use money that the county received from the federal stimulus package to create a rental assistance fund for affected tenants .

Renters living in unincorporated Los Angeles County now have new tools to prevent eviction following a vote by the Board of Supervisors in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Under a measure approved Tuesday, tenants can inform their landlords in writing that they’re unable to pay because of economic or medical hardships related to the virus — as long as it is within seven days after rent is due. That will be enough to prevent an eviction.
Additionally, renters in unincorporated areas now have one year to repay past-due rent.
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“I hope that this will help us to keep people in the homes that they’re now required to stay in 24/7,” Supervisor Sheila Kuehl said during Tuesday’s meeting.
The new rules do not cover renters living in cities that have passed their own eviction rules, including Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Culver City and Pasadena. However, any city in L.A. County that has not enacted such protections must abide by the county’s order.
The county’s measure is more generous to tenants than what was passed by the city of Los Angeles.
Under the city’s rules, tenants are required to keep bank statements, pay stubs or other financial documentation to prove they’ve been affected by the coronavirus. Though tenants don’t have to provide that information to the their landlords, they may need it or a potential eviction hearing once the state of emergency that city declared for the coronavirus crisis has ended.
The county, meanwhile, says landlords must accept without further documentation their renters’ written notice about not being able to pay rent because of the virus.
Currently, courts in L.A. County and around the state are not processing most eviction cases, but renters still may have to go to court eventually if they don’t pay rent in April or May.
The county also voted to temporarily halt rent increases for apartments in unincorporated areas subject to rent control rules. That covers about 43,500 units built on or before Feb. 1, 1995. Any rent increases that occurred on April 1 will need to be rolled back, and any increases planned for May cannot go into effect.
The supervisors also advanced a plan to use money that the county received from the federal stimulus package to create a rental assistance fund for affected tenants.


latimes--2020-04-15--A post-coronavirus California will be dramatically different. Here's what it could look like

What will California look like with some coronavirus restrictions lifted ?
Gov .
Gavin Newsom and other government officials are beginning to talk about that , and even under the best scenarios , it ’ s going to be a different world for some time to come .
People will still be wearing masks .
School schedules might need to be staggered .
Restaurants might need to be redesigned to allow for social distancing .
Mass gatherings such as concerts and sporting events might have to wait a long time to come back .
Absent a vaccine , Newsom said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to wear face coverings or masks , and to visit restaurants with fewer tables , disposable menus and waiters wearing masks and gloves as the state slowly transitions back to normal .
His administration suggested the state will introduce guidelines for businesses to conduct “ health checks ” when employees return to work .
The governor said it ’ s unlikely that mass gatherings will be allowed again at any point this summer .
He also discussed the possibility of staggering school start times throughout the day for students if they return to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ talk about what the new normal will look like .
As I said , normal it will not be — at least until we have herd immunity and we have a vaccine , ” Newsom said .
Diana Dooley , a chief of staff to former Gov .
Jerry Brown , expects the state to allow businesses that are predisposed to social distancing , such as hair salons or certain retail stores , to reopen first before gradually expanding to other types of facilities .
Other experts have said retail stores that reopen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ measures that supermarkets have implemented : limiting the number of customers in the store at a time and having customers and staffers wear face coverings .
The governor said that physical distancing and other precautions against transmission of the coronavirus could remain in place for a lengthy period at schools after stay-at-home orders are lifted and California begins to gradually reopen .
School district leaders will need to begin considering a host of safety measures , he said .
“ Can you stagger the times that our students come in so you can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ environment — by reducing physical contact if possible , reducing the congregate meal , dressing issues related to PE and recess ?
” Newsom said .
“ Those are the kinds of things — those are the kind of conversations — we ’ re all going to be having over the course of the next number of weeks and the next number of months.
” Such precautionary measures would have a profound impact on the experience of school for the state ’ s 6.1 million students in kindergarten through 12th grade as well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ early to mid-March , virtually all schooling in California has become “ distance learning , ” typically involving students and teachers interacting online .
It ’ s hard to make a campus virus-proof , said UC Berkeley education and African American studies professor Janelle Scott .
“ The ability of things to spread is just really not controllable , ” Scott said , adding that it is not uncommon for parents to catch the bugs their children bring home .
“ You spend the first several years of school ... sick all the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ offer a specific timeline .
Experts say stay-at-home orders could persist until the end of May or mid-June .
Dr. Robert Kim-Farley , a UCLA medical epidemiologist and infectious disease expert , said by that time , places that have effectively maintained physical distancing measures will see significant reductions in the numbers of cases .
In the , hospitals may start to see relief .
Also at this time , Kim-Farley suspects there will be enough capacity to offer tests for the virus and antibodies — to determine whether people are immune — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ early summer , perhaps in the middle of June to the end of July , there may be some nuanced , tailored approaches for getting people and easing stay-at-home orders , he said .
Here are the six steps the Newsom administration deemed its , with questions to measure whether each has been completed .
1 .
The ability to monitor and protect our communities through testing , contact tracing , isolating and supporting those who are positive or exposed • How prepared is our state to test everyone who is symptomatic ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ identify contacts of those who are positive to reduce further transmission ?
2 .
The ability to prevent infection in people who are at risk for more severe COVID-19 • Are older Californians and the medically vulnerable living in their own homes supported so they can continue appropriate physical distancing ?
• Have we developed a plan to quickly identify and contain outbreaks in facilities housing older Californians , those living with disabilities , those currently incarcerated and those with co-morbidities ?
3 .
The ability of the hospital and health systems to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bed capacity , staff and supplies , such as ventilators and masks ?
• Can our healthcare system adequately address COVID-19 and other critical needs ?
4 .
The ability to develop therapeutics to meet the demand • Have we built a coalition of private , public , and academic partners to accelerate the development of therapeutics ?
• Have we identified potential therapeutics that have shown promise ?
5 .
The ability of businesses , schools and child-care facilities to support physical distancing • Have we worked with businesses to support physical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health checks when employees or the general public enter the premises ?
• Do we have supplies and equipment to keep the workforce and customers safe ?
6 .
The ability to determine when to reinstitute certain measures , such as the stay-at-home orders , if necessary • Are we tracking the right data to provide us an early warning system ?
• Do we have the ability to quickly communicate the need to reinstate these measures ?

Taryn Luna, Howard Blume, Rong-Gong Lin II

Healthcare workers at Glendale Adventist Hospital gather outside Tuesday for a tribute to their work by Glendale police and fire first responders.
What will California look like with some coronavirus restrictions lifted?
Gov. Gavin Newsom and other government officials are beginning to talk about that, and even under the best scenarios, it’s going to be a different world for some time to come.
People will still be wearing masks. School schedules might need to be staggered. Restaurants might need to be redesigned to allow for social distancing. Mass gatherings such as concerts and sporting events might have to wait a long time to come back.
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BEVERLY HILLS, CA - APRIL 02, 2020 Doy Estacio walks past the Sephora store located on Colorado Blvd in Pasadena Thursday morning April 02, 2020 that is boarded up as some businesses in Beverly Hills and Pasadena have boarded up the front of their stores during the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic possibly to avoid vandalism during the crisis. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) (Al Seib/Al Seib/Los Angeles Times)
Businesses
Absent a vaccine, Newsom said Tuesday that Californians should expect to continue to wear face coverings or masks, and to visit restaurants with fewer tables, disposable menus and waiters wearing masks and gloves as the state slowly transitions back to normal.
His administration suggested the state will introduce guidelines for businesses to conduct “health checks” when employees return to work.
The governor said it’s unlikely that mass gatherings will be allowed again at any point this summer. He also discussed the possibility of staggering school start times throughout the day for students if they return to campus in the fall.
“We talk about what the new normal will look like. As I said, normal it will not be — at least until we have herd immunity and we have a vaccine,” Newsom said.
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Diana Dooley, a chief of staff to former Gov. Jerry Brown, expects the state to allow businesses that are predisposed to social distancing, such as hair salons or certain retail stores, to reopen first before gradually expanding to other types of facilities.
Other experts have said retail stores that reopen may need to implement the social distancing measures that supermarkets have implemented: limiting the number of customers in the store at a time and having customers and staffers wear face coverings.
Parker Curry, 10, does her school work online amid school closures due to coronavirus concerns. (Brandy Curry )
Schools
The governor said that physical distancing and other precautions against transmission of the coronavirus could remain in place for a lengthy period at schools after stay-at-home orders are lifted and California begins to gradually reopen.
School district leaders will need to begin considering a host of safety measures, he said.
“Can you stagger the times that our students come in so you can appropriate yourself differently within the existing physical environment — by reducing physical contact if possible, reducing the congregate meal, dressing issues related to PE and recess?” Newsom said. “Those are the kinds of things — those are the kind of conversations — we’re all going to be having over the course of the next number of weeks and the next number of months.”
Such precautionary measures would have a profound impact on the experience of school for the state’s 6.1 million students in kindergarten through 12th grade as well as for students attending college. Since early to mid-March, virtually all schooling in California has become “distance learning,” typically involving students and teachers interacting online.
It’s hard to make a campus virus-proof, said UC Berkeley education and African American studies professor Janelle Scott.
“The ability of things to spread is just really not controllable,” Scott said, adding that it is not uncommon for parents to catch the bugs their children bring home. “You spend the first several years of school ... sick all the time.”
Red Cross technician Eddie Valdivia, left, and nurse Mercy Pineda work with a donor as USC Athletics and the Red Cross host a blood drive. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Timelines
The governor didn’t offer a specific timeline. Experts say stay-at-home orders could persist until the end of May or mid-June.
Dr. Robert Kim-Farley, a UCLA medical epidemiologist and infectious disease expert, said by that time, places that have effectively maintained physical distancing measures will see significant reductions in the numbers of cases. In the nation’s worst-hit areas , hospitals may start to see relief.
Also at this time, Kim-Farley suspects there will be enough capacity to offer tests for the virus and antibodies — to determine whether people are immune — to meet the demand.
In the early summer, perhaps in the middle of June to the end of July, there may be some nuanced, tailored approaches for getting people back to work and easing stay-at-home orders, he said.
Kristen Dawson, left, sister Kim Bartasavich, far right, and neighbor Brenda Arteaga-Walsh practice social distancing at Dawson’s house in Hawthorne. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
Next steps
Here are the six steps the Newsom administration deemed its road map to modifying the stay-at-home order , with questions to measure whether each has been completed.
1. The ability to monitor and protect our communities through testing, contact tracing, isolating and supporting those who are positive or exposed
How prepared is our state to test everyone who is symptomatic?
Do we have the ability to identify contacts of those who are positive to reduce further transmission?
2. The ability to prevent infection in people who are at risk for more severe COVID-19
Are older Californians and the medically vulnerable living in their own homes supported so they can continue appropriate physical distancing?
Have we developed a plan to quickly identify and contain outbreaks in facilities housing older Californians, those living with disabilities, those currently incarcerated and those with co-morbidities?
3. The ability of the hospital and health systems to handle surges
Do we have adequate bed capacity, staff and supplies, such as ventilators and masks?
Can our healthcare system adequately address COVID-19 and other critical needs?
4. The ability to develop therapeutics to meet the demand
Have we built a coalition of private, public, and academic partners to accelerate the development of therapeutics?
Have we identified potential therapeutics that have shown promise?
5. The ability of businesses, schools and child-care facilities to support physical distancing
Have we worked with businesses to support physical distancing practices and introduced guidelines to provide health checks when employees or the general public enter the premises?
Do we have supplies and equipment to keep the workforce and customers safe?
6. The ability to determine when to reinstitute certain measures, such as the stay-at-home orders, if necessary


latimes--2020-04-15--Crackdown intensifies on those violating coronavirus stay-at-home rules

Authorities across California are intensifying their crackdowns on scofflaws who are not following state and local stay-at-home orders aimed at reducing the spread of the coronavirus .
Los Angeles City Atty .
Mike Feuer filed criminal charges against 10 businesses — including a massage parlor , smoke shop , car wash and print shop — saying they refused to shut down despite Mayor Eric Garcetti ’ s order imposed to fight the coronavirus .
It ’ s part of a larger crackdown not just on nonessential businesses but also on individuals who are going to beaches , trails and parks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott and City Atty .
Dennis Herrera announced that they had shut down an underground nightclub for violating the city ’ s public health order .
It was the first such move to enforce the measure to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic .
“ The operators of this illegal club senselessly put lives at risk , ” Scott said , “ at a time when our city is doing everything within our means to slow the spread of this pandemic and safeguard the health and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Angeles , the owners of 14 businesses face misdemeanor prosecution for continuing to remain open in violation of the “ Safer at Home ” order , which and requires businesses deemed nonessential to close .
“ We have to achieve voluntary compliance , ” Feuer said .
“ We have achieved voluntary compliance in more than 200 cases.
” The Los Angeles Police Department has reported 79 businesses to the city attorney for criminal prosecution since the order was put in place , according to the mayor ’ s office .
Those charged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fernando Valley smoke shops , a Lincoln Boulevard tobacco shop , a vape store , a Sepulveda Boulevard car wash , a Sherman Way massage parlor , a Verdugo Road print shop and a South L.A. beauty supply store , according to Feuer ’ s office .
Last week , Feuer — including two smoke shops , an electronics discount store and shoe store — with violating the closure order .
More than 120 citations have been issued across San Diego County to people accused of violating stay-at-home orders .
As of Monday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ county had issued 68 citations , San Diego police had issued 47 and Carlsbad police had issued 10 for a total of 125 , according to figures provided by each department .
.
In many cases , the citations were issued at locations that are closed to the public , including beaches and parks , though details about each citation were not readily available , officials said .
The other police departments in the county said Monday that they had not issued any citations .
San Diego police ’ s total includes 18 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the department said officers had cited five smoke shops .
A police spokesman said the figures were estimates because the handwritten citations were hard to track .
The numbers came from specific units and divisions , Lt. Shawn Takeuchi said .
Three citations he reviewed from last weekend were issued to people accused of ignoring closure signs at beaches .
“ Officers either saw the people walk past and around barricades , ” he said , “ or people admitted to knowing the beach was closed .
”

Authorities across California are intensifying their crackdowns on scofflaws who are not following state and local stay-at-home orders aimed at reducing the spread of the coronavirus.
Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer filed criminal charges against 10 businesses — including a massage parlor, smoke shop, car wash and print shop — saying they refused to shut down despite Mayor Eric Garcetti’s order imposed to fight the coronavirus.
It’s part of a larger crackdown not just on nonessential businesses but also on individuals who are going to beaches, trails and parks that are closed.
Earlier this week, San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott and City Atty. Dennis Herrera announced that they had shut down an underground nightclub for violating the city’s public health order. It was the first such move to enforce the measure to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
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“The operators of this illegal club senselessly put lives at risk,” Scott said, “at a time when our city is doing everything within our means to slow the spread of this pandemic and safeguard the health and well-being of the public.”
In Los Angeles, the owners of 14 businesses face misdemeanor prosecution for continuing to remain open in violation of the “Safer at Home” order, which was issued March 19 and requires businesses deemed nonessential to close.
“We have to achieve voluntary compliance,” Feuer said. “We have achieved voluntary compliance in more than 200 cases.”
The Los Angeles Police Department has reported 79 businesses to the city attorney for criminal prosecution since the order was put in place, according to the mayor’s office.
Those charged Tuesday included the owners of two San Fernando Valley smoke shops, a Lincoln Boulevard tobacco shop, a vape store, a Sepulveda Boulevard car wash, a Sherman Way massage parlor, a Verdugo Road print shop and a South L.A. beauty supply store, according to Feuer’s office.
Last week, Feuer charged four stores — including two smoke shops, an electronics discount store and shoe store — with violating the closure order.
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More than 120 citations have been issued across San Diego County to people accused of violating stay-at-home orders.
As of Monday, sheriff’s deputies across the county had issued 68 citations, San Diego police had issued 47 and Carlsbad police had issued 10 for a total of 125, according to figures provided by each department. The total roughly doubled from a week ago .
In many cases, the citations were issued at locations that are closed to the public, including beaches and parks, though details about each citation were not readily available, officials said.
The other police departments in the county said Monday that they had not issued any citations.
San Diego police’s total includes 18 citations given to businesses. Last week, the department said officers had cited five smoke shops.
A police spokesman said the figures were estimates because the handwritten citations were hard to track. The numbers came from specific units and divisions, Lt. Shawn Takeuchi said.
Three citations he reviewed from last weekend were issued to people accused of ignoring closure signs at beaches.
“Officers either saw the people walk past and around barricades,” he said, “or people admitted to knowing the beach was closed.”


latimes--2020-04-15--From skeptics to spreading the gospel, Latinos quickly became converts to masks in war against coron

From skeptics to spreading the gospel, Latinos quickly became converts to masks in war against coronavirus

Before she began to spread the gospel of masks , Rosalina Nava was a skeptic .
Even as many of her Asian immigrant neighbors in the San Gabriel Valley increasingly wore them to protect against the growing coronavirus threat , the 42-year-old court reporter resisted wearing a mask , finding them strange and cold .
In this regard , that made her typical of Latinos , the largest group in California .
But by the middle of March , even before many places started requiring masks in public , Nava and many other Latinos not only became converts to wearing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their loved ones , their partners and their co-workers to wear them .
Nava persuaded her boyfriend to wear a mask , and he in turn convinced his his aunts , uncles and cousins living in Riverside to put them on even before the county made usage mandatory on April 4 .
“ It was nerve-racking seeing everyone wearing these masks and not really understanding what was going on , ” Nava said .
“ When I realized how deadly the coronavirus was , I thought it was time to turn that fear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on a limited sample , preliminary data released last week by L.A. County showed that Latinos , which make up almost half of the county ’ s population , represent just over a quarter of its coronavirus deaths .
Experts said that the lower mortality rate could partly be due to the fact that the Latino community tends to be younger than other demographic groups .
But they also worried that there could be a surge in Latino deaths , pointing to such factors as relatively high poverty rates in the population , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ often require them to be out of the house .
The county ’ s top public health official , Dr. Barbara Ferrer , cautioned against drawing conclusions based on the figures , given they were based on 57 % of reported deaths .
But they aligned with information released last week by Gov .
Gavin Newsom ’ s administration , which also showed that Latino deaths statewide were smaller than their percentage of California ’ s population .
A Pew Research poll last month found that about two-thirds of Latino adults considered the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health of the U.S. population as a whole , compared with about half of the general public .
Whether this has resulted in changes in social behavior — including wearing masks and taking other precautions that could lower the spread of the virus — is unclear .
While experts are split on the effectiveness of cloth masks , Nava has come to believe there is no downside to wearing them — and that they can only help to slow the spread of transmission .
“ If you and I are in the same @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you , why not use one ?
” she asked .
“ Why not flatten the curve ?
” Nava purchased and sent cloth masks back to family in the Central Valley .
She also convinced her hesitant boyfriend , Danny Herrera , a 42-year-old advertising agency strategist , to cover his face .
He said he had to push family members in the Inland Empire to shed their skepticism , as he had , and wear the masks .
“ I have a lot of family there who weren ’ t really @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Herrera said .
“ But now they ’ re all doing it and have been doing it way before Riverside County said to.
” Carlos Franco , a 29-year-old produce distributor from Boyle Heights , said he realized he had to wear a mask three weeks ago while shopping at a market .
“ I was in line to buy milk and the guy ahead of me coughed all over the pen that everybody uses to sign credit card slips , ” said Franco , who ’ s seen his business @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during the lockdown .
“ From then on it was like , I ’ m using [ touchless ] Apple Pay and a face mask because I don ’ t want to get anyone sick , ” he said .
Franco said a lot of Asian co-workers and customers had been wearing the masks for months before his own conversion .
But he said he found the changing guidance on them from officials confusing .
“ One week it was , ‘ save the mask for nurses and doctors ’ and another week @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that masks aren ’ t effective , ” he said .
For weeks now , Franco said he has been pushing family and friends to use masks to fight the spread of coronavirus .
“ They ’ re not uncomfortable at all , and now when I wear one it lets my customers know I ’ m serious about their safety , ” he said .
Julissa Rodriguez , 28 , said she has been wearing masks whenever she leaves her home in Van Nuys .
Two months ago the field representative for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would have never considered using a mask .
Rodriguez said she changed her mind when Gov .
Gavin Newsom issued his stay-at-home order on March 19 that closed nonessential businesses .
From that point , she understood the significance of COVID-19 and saw a change within her neighborhood .
“ That weekend , all over the Valley , you saw members of the Latinx community , who play a huge role in the informal economy , selling masks for $ 5 on many street corners , ” Rodriguez said .
“ The distribution @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people to change their minds.
” One person who needed additional convincing was Rodriguez ’ s 64-year-old father .
“ My dad was telling me , ‘ I ’ m invincible ’ and ‘ I ’ m fine ’ and ‘ Nothing is going to happen to me , ’ ” Rodriguez said .
“ I told him that this wasn ’ t about him .
This was about protecting my mom , me and everyone in the house .
He understood after that .
”

Before she began to spread the gospel of masks, Rosalina Nava was a skeptic.
Even as many of her Asian immigrant neighbors in the San Gabriel Valley increasingly wore them to protect against the growing coronavirus threat, the 42-year-old court reporter resisted wearing a mask, finding them strange and cold. In this regard, that made her typical of Latinos, the largest group in California.
But by the middle of March, even before many places started requiring masks in public, Nava and many other Latinos not only became converts to wearing — they became mask evangelists, pushing their loved ones, their partners and their co-workers to wear them.
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Nava persuaded her boyfriend to wear a mask, and he in turn convinced his his aunts, uncles and cousins living in Riverside to put them on even before the county made usage mandatory on April 4.
“It was nerve-racking seeing everyone wearing these masks and not really understanding what was going on,” Nava said. “When I realized how deadly the coronavirus was, I thought it was time to turn that fear into action.”
Though incomplete and based on a limited sample, preliminary data released last week by L.A. County showed that Latinos, which make up almost half of the county’s population, represent just over a quarter of its coronavirus deaths. Experts said that the lower mortality rate could partly be due to the fact that the Latino community tends to be younger than other demographic groups.
But they also worried that there could be a surge in Latino deaths, pointing to such factors as relatively high poverty rates in the population, larger households and working in fields that often require them to be out of the house.
The county’s top public health official, Dr. Barbara Ferrer, cautioned against drawing conclusions based on the figures, given they were based on 57% of reported deaths. But they aligned with information released last week by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration, which also showed that Latino deaths statewide were smaller than their percentage of California’s population.
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A Pew Research poll last month found that about two-thirds of Latino adults considered the coronavirus outbreak a major threat to the health of the U.S. population as a whole, compared with about half of the general public. Whether this has resulted in changes in social behavior — including wearing masks and taking other precautions that could lower the spread of the virus — is unclear.
“When I realized how deadly the coronavirus was, I thought it was time to turn that fear into action.” — El Monte resident Rosalina Nava
While experts are split on the effectiveness of cloth masks, Nava has come to believe there is no downside to wearing them — and that they can only help to slow the spread of transmission.
“If you and I are in the same room and it helps me or helps you, why not use one?” she asked. “Why not flatten the curve?”
Nava purchased and sent cloth masks back to family in the Central Valley. She also convinced her hesitant boyfriend, Danny Herrera, a 42-year-old advertising agency strategist, to cover his face.
He said he had to push family members in the Inland Empire to shed their skepticism, as he had, and wear the masks.
“I have a lot of family there who weren’t really happy to put the face masks on,” Herrera said. “But now they’re all doing it and have been doing it way before Riverside County said to.”
El Monte couple Rosalina Nava and Danny Herrera. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)
Carlos Franco, a 29-year-old produce distributor from Boyle Heights, said he realized he had to wear a mask three weeks ago while shopping at a market.
“I was in line to buy milk and the guy ahead of me coughed all over the pen that everybody uses to sign credit card slips,” said Franco, who’s seen his business, Elias Produce, struggle with sales during the lockdown.
“From then on it was like, I’m using [touchless] Apple Pay and a face mask because I don’t want to get anyone sick,” he said.
Franco said a lot of Asian co-workers and customers had been wearing the masks for months before his own conversion. But he said he found the changing guidance on them from officials confusing.
“One week it was, ‘save the mask for nurses and doctors’ and another week the experts and the media were saying that masks aren’t effective,” he said.
For weeks now, Franco said he has been pushing family and friends to use masks to fight the spread of coronavirus.
“They’re not uncomfortable at all, and now when I wear one it lets my customers know I’m serious about their safety,” he said.
Julissa Rodriguez, 28, said she has been wearing masks whenever she leaves her home in Van Nuys.
Two months ago the field representative for Assemblyman Adrin Nazarian (D-Van Nuys) would have never considered using a mask.
Rodriguez said she changed her mind when Gov. Gavin Newsom issued his stay-at-home order on March 19 that closed nonessential businesses. From that point, she understood the significance of COVID-19 and saw a change within her neighborhood.
“That weekend, all over the Valley, you saw members of the Latinx community, who play a huge role in the informal economy, selling masks for $5 on many street corners,” Rodriguez said. “The distribution of masks and their availability led many people to change their minds.”
One person who needed additional convincing was Rodriguez’s 64-year-old father.
“My dad was telling me, ‘I’m invincible’ and ‘I’m fine’ and ‘Nothing is going to happen to me,’” Rodriguez said. “I told him that this wasn’t about him. This was about protecting my mom, me and everyone in the house. He understood after that.”


latimes--2020-04-15--17 heartwarming photos show first responders' gratitude for healthcare workers

Healthcare workers from Glendale to Mission Viejo were honored Tuesday by first responders who drove firetrucks , highway patrol cars @ @ @ @ @ of tribute for their efforts amid the COVID-19 pandemic .
At UC Irvine Medical Center @ @ @ @ @ gathered outside to acknowledge a parade of about 25 emergency vehicles honoring them with sirens @ @ @ @ @ procession paused outside the windows of an emergency room , where workers inside banged on @ @ @ @ @ of mutual appreciation .
At Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo , Orange County sheriff ’ @ @ @ @ @ the cardiac rehab unit .
And a group of Glendale police officers and firefighters gathered @ @ @ @ @ Adventist Health Glendale .

Allen J. Schaben , Luis Sinco , Robert Gauthier

Healthcare workers from Glendale to Mission Viejo were honored Tuesday by first responders who drove firetrucks, highway patrol cars and police vehicles in processions of tribute for their efforts amid the COVID-19 pandemic. At UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange, healthcare workers gathered outside to acknowledge a parade of about 25 emergency vehicles honoring them with sirens and flashing lights. The procession paused outside the windows of an emergency room, where workers inside banged on the windows in a show of mutual appreciation. At Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, Orange County sheriff’s deputies honored nurses from the cardiac rehab unit. And a group of Glendale police officers and firefighters gathered to honor the workers at Adventist Health Glendale.
UC Irvine Medical Center
UC Irvine Medical Center workers acknowledge police officers parading in their honor. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
UC Irvine Medical Center workers wave to firefighters. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
An Anaheim firefighter in the procession at UC Irvine Medical Center. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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St. Jude Medical Center
Medical personnel from St. Jude Medical Center stand clustered on the sidewalk as Fullerton and Brea Firefighters, EMS and Police join together in a show of support for healthcare workers outside of the hospital in Fullerton. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
Medical personnel pose for pictures with Fullerton firefighters in a show of support for healthcare workers outside of the St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
Firefighters stand atop a Fullerton Fire Department Engine in a show of support for healthcare workers outside of the St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
Adventist Health Glendale
Adventist Health Glendale workers take a break to acknowledge the tribute in their honor. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
Healthcare workers, police officers and firefighters gather outside the Glendale hospital. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times )
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Healthcare workers in Glendale. (Luis Sinco /Los Angeles Times)
Police officers applaud at the Glendale hospital. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
Providence St. Joseph Medical Center
A vintage Burbank police car leads a procession to honor healthcare workers at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Healthcare workers wave to friends before the start of a procession to honor nurses during a noon celebration in front of Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
First responders proceed with lights and sirens on Alameda Avenue to honor healthcare workers at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Mission Hospital
A worker from Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo acknowledges the tribute. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Nurses from the Mission Hospital cardiac rehab unit are honored. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
The scene at the hospital in Mission Viejo. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)


latimes--2020-04-15--A widow believed coronavirus killed her husband. It took weeks to learn the truth

For Julie Murillo , the fight to get her husband tested for COVID-19 lasted twice as long as his battle with the illness itself .
Julio Ramirez fell sick March 8 after returning from a trip to Indiana for his job as a sales representative for a jewelry company .
Fearing he ’ d been exposed to the coronavirus , the 43-year-old sought care , but doctors refused to test him on two separate occasions , instead giving him medication and telling him to rest at his San Gabriel home .
Nearly three weeks later , after a campaign by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hiring a private autopsy firm , a team from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health visited the funeral home where Ramirez ’ s body was being kept .
Test results confirmed what Murillo had suspected : Her husband had contracted the coronavirus .
As public health officials struggle to get an accurate picture of the coronavirus outbreak , much attention has been paid to how limitations on testing have caused the reported number of cases to be artificially low .
But deaths can also slip through the cracks and escape official @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a savvy loved one who becomes an advocate for the dead , like Murillo .
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health works closely with the county ’ s coroner ’ s office to test suspected COVID-19 cases postmortem .
“ I can give you assurances that even when there ’ s testing that happens unfortunately after someone has passed away , those results are reported to us and they are included in our daily tabulations of the number of people who have died , ” health department director Barbara Ferrer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ L.A. County are not handled by the Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner .
The coroner ’ s office investigates 15 % to 20 % of the county ’ s roughly 60,000 deaths each year , according to statistics released by the health department in 2019 .
The rest are handled by hospitals and mortuaries .
When a person dies of natural causes while under the care of a medical professional , either at home or in a healthcare facility , the coroner generally doesn ’ t get involved and the treating physician signs the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to denote whether COVID-19 played a role and to report all such deaths to the Department of Public Health and the coroner ’ s office .
They also must report deaths of presumed COVID-19 cases , according to guidelines released by the health department last week .
“ In general , patients who die are assessed similar to all patients , ” the Department of Public Health said in an emailed statement .
“ If the individual had symptoms consistent with COVID-19 the clinician may approve testing .
This has been done on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doesn ’ t appear to be happening uniformly , according to Vidal Herrera , a retired deputy field investigator for the county coroner ’ s office who now owns a private autopsy business in East Los Angeles .
Herrera said his firm , 1-800-Autopsy , has been flooded with requests from scores of people whose loved ones died and were not tested for the coronavirus .
During one especially busy time , he said he received 50 to 60 calls in just a few days .
“ The families , they just want @ @ @ @ @ @ @ member die of coronavirus ?
The hospital is not telling me , ’ ” he said .
“ Many times they rubber-stamp a cause of death .
We see things like respiratory failure attributable to pneumonia.
” The day after Ramirez developed a fever , body aches and a dry cough , he called Kaiser Permanente , his healthcare provider .
A doctor evaluated him over the phone and wrote him a prescription for Tamiflu and cough medicine , Murillo said .
When Ramirez ’ s condition continued to decline , Murillo took @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Care center on March 13 .
By then , the struggle to breathe had left her husband so weak that she had to push him in a wheelchair .
A receptionist first took the couple ’ s cellphone number and directed them to an area for people with flu-like symptoms .
A doctor then called and evaluated Ramirez by phone .
The questions seemed narrowly focused on the extent of his travel and whether he ’ d been outside the country , Murillo said .
The doctor had Murillo wheel Ramirez to another @ @ @ @ @ @ @ X-ray , where he was too frail to take off his sweater .
Afterward , she pushed him to the pharmacy to pick up cough syrup , antibiotics and an inhaler .
“ The only person who saw him was the technician who did the X-ray , ” Murillo said .
“ No one ever touched him.
” The couple were sent home and told to await a call with the doctor ’ s findings .
No COVID-19 test was administered .
Murillo , 42 , and Ramirez attended Roosevelt High School in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ went their separate ways .
The two later reconnected and married three years ago .
But after Ramirez got sick , they began sleeping in separate bedrooms as a precaution against the highly contagious virus .
Three days after they visited the urgent care , Murillo could not wake Ramirez when she went to check on him .
She called 911 , and when first responders arrived , they told her he ’ d been dead for several hours .
“ From finding my husband to trying to find a pulse on him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the floor — it ’ s just a vision that I can ’ t shake , ” she said .
“ Everything is just a blur , what happened .
And when I start getting a clear mind , then I start getting upset that maybe somehow this could have been prevented or he could at least have had a fighting chance.
” For more than two hours , no one would come to their apartment to pick up Ramirez ’ s body .
“ They kept going back and forth : Is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or the mortuary ?
” Murillo said .
She eventually was advised that because her husband ’ s death was considered natural and he was under the care of a doctor , it was not a coroner ’ s case and she needed to coordinate with a mortuary to have his body removed .
She also learned that the treating physician had signed a death certificate listing Ramirez ’ s cause of death as pneumonia and there were no plans to perform an autopsy or postmortem testing for the coronavirus .
Kaiser Permanente @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the time , COVID-19 testing at its facilities was restricted to patients who were both exhibiting symptoms and had come in contact with another person confirmed as positive .
“ COVID-19 testing was very limited by the government in the early stages of the pandemic , when Mr. Ramirez came to us , ” the statement said .
“ We were required to abide by these public health authority testing limits , as we did in this case , which were based on very limited availability of tests.
” At that point , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in death what the couple couldn ’ t do while he was alive .
Fixing her mind on learning exactly what had happened took the focus off her crushing grief .
“ That ’ s the only thing helping me right now , the fact that I ’ m trying to get my answers , ” she said .
The mortuary connected her with Herrera , and she hired 1-800-Autopsy to investigate .
On March 26 , small samples of each of Ramirez ’ s organs were collected and preserved in formaldehyde .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that some of the samples be sent to its Infectious Diseases Pathology Branch in Atlanta for testing .
But Herrera found that the CDC would not accept tissue samples from his private company .
It told him to work with the L.A. County Department of Public Health , which referred him to the county coroner ’ s office , which told him to call the hospital where the physician signed off on the death certificate , he said .
“ It ’ s like a dog chasing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The CDC did not respond to a request for comment .
The L.A. County Department of Public Health said that its Acute Communicable Disease Control Program recommends that private autopsy companies work with commercial laboratories for postmortem testing .
But at the time , Herrera was unable to acquire test kits in order to administer a nasal swab and send it to a commercial lab .
So Murillo , who was quarantined without access to a computer , enlisted family members and friends to make phone calls to government officials pleading for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ husband ’ s death , the county Department of Public Health called to say it was sending a team to the funeral home to test Ramirez .
On April 4 , she learned the results were positive .
Murillo said the discovery hasn ’ t given her closure , but something bordering on a sense of relief .
“ I felt that I finally got an answer , ” she said .
Kaiser Permanente said in a statement that limits on who can be tested “ have evolved over the past several weeks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now than it was a month ago .
“ We offer our deepest sympathy to the Ramirez family during their time of grieving , ” Kaiser Permanente said .
Last week , Herrera was able to obtain swab tests from a doctor he works with who has connections with a laboratory .
He said he no longer will pursue COVID-19 testing through the CDC via autopsy .
He hopes to roll out the swab testing to clients more widely in the coming days .
“ Our mission statement is : ‘ The deceased @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ Without a witness , they will be forgotten , ” Herrera said .
“ And right now , we ’ re witnessing an epidemic and they need answers.
” In a cruel twist of fate , he used the first test on his friend and “ right-hand man , ” Sean Sadler .
The 52-year-old licensed embalmer , who worked for 14 years as Herrera ’ s chief autopsy technician , died last week after collapsing in his shower .
Herrera said that Sadler had been off work since showing flu-like symptoms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on April 4 to say he was still sick .
Three days later , his wife called to say he was gone .
After initially suspecting Sadler had contracted the coronavirus , Herrera conducted an autopsy and tested his friend for COVID-19 .
The results were negative .
The loss stung no less .
“ As we say , the circus must go on , ” he said , clearing his throat to choke back tears .
“ Death doesn ’ t stop for anybody — not for me , not for my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as we always have.
” Murillo is still serving out her quarantine at the apartment she shared with her husband .
She closed off the bedroom where he died .
Public health officials have advised her not to go inside .
She won ’ t watch television because the news scares her .
She tested negative for the coronavirus once right after Ramirez died .
But each time her nose runs or she feels a tickle in her throat , she worries she could be getting sick with the disease that caused her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s time .
It ’ s a surreal existence , isolated from those she loves as she tries to process the immense loss .
Worst of all , she said , unable to plan a burial and wracked with anxiety , she can ’ t properly grieve .
“ I want to say it ’ s just a bad dream , ” she said .
“ Did this really happen ?
”

Vidal Herrera, inside the lab of his company, 1-800-Autopsy, has been flooded with requests for private autopsies from people around the country who want to know whether a loved one died of COVID-19.
For Julie Murillo, the fight to get her husband tested for COVID-19 lasted twice as long as his battle with the illness itself.
Julio Ramirez fell sick March 8 after returning from a trip to Indiana for his job as a sales representative for a jewelry company. Fearing he’d been exposed to the coronavirus, the 43-year-old sought care, but doctors refused to test him on two separate occasions, instead giving him medication and telling him to rest at his San Gabriel home.
He died there March 16.
Nearly three weeks later, after a campaign by Murillo that included calling government agencies and hiring a private autopsy firm, a team from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health visited the funeral home where Ramirez’s body was being kept. Test results confirmed what Murillo had suspected: Her husband had contracted the coronavirus.
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As public health officials struggle to get an accurate picture of the coronavirus outbreak, much attention has been paid to how limitations on testing have caused the reported number of cases to be artificially low. But deaths can also slip through the cracks and escape official tallies — at least in the absence of a savvy loved one who becomes an advocate for the dead, like Murillo.
Julie Murillo fought for weeks to have the body of her husband, Julio Ramirez, tested for COVID-19. He died at his San Gabriel home on March 16 after being refused twice by doctors to be tested for the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. ( Julie Murillo)
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health works closely with the county’s coroner’s office to test suspected COVID-19 cases postmortem.
“I can give you assurances that even when there’s testing that happens unfortunately after someone has passed away, those results are reported to us and they are included in our daily tabulations of the number of people who have died,” health department director Barbara Ferrer said.
The majority of deaths in L.A. County are not handled by the Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. The coroner’s office investigates 15% to 20% of the county’s roughly 60,000 deaths each year, according to statistics released by the health department in 2019. The rest are handled by hospitals and mortuaries.
When a person dies of natural causes while under the care of a medical professional, either at home or in a healthcare facility, the coroner generally doesn’t get involved and the treating physician signs the death certificate.
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The physicians are required to denote whether COVID-19 played a role and to report all such deaths to the Department of Public Health and the coroner’s office. They also must report deaths of presumed COVID-19 cases, according to guidelines released by the health department last week.
“In general, patients who die are assessed similar to all patients,” the Department of Public Health said in an emailed statement. “If the individual had symptoms consistent with COVID-19 the clinician may approve testing. This has been done on a number of cases.”
But that doesn’t appear to be happening uniformly, according to Vidal Herrera, a retired deputy field investigator for the county coroner’s office who now owns a private autopsy business in East Los Angeles.
“The families, they just want to know, ‘Did my family member die of coronavirus? The hospital is not telling me,’” says Vidal Herrera, who owns 1-800-Autopsy. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Herrera said his firm, 1-800-Autopsy, has been flooded with requests from scores of people whose loved ones died and were not tested for the coronavirus. During one especially busy time, he said he received 50 to 60 calls in just a few days.
“The families, they just want to know, ‘Did my family member die of coronavirus? The hospital is not telling me,’ ” he said. “Many times they rubber-stamp a cause of death. We see things like respiratory failure attributable to pneumonia.”
The day after Ramirez developed a fever, body aches and a dry cough, he called Kaiser Permanente, his healthcare provider. A doctor evaluated him over the phone and wrote him a prescription for Tamiflu and cough medicine, Murillo said.
When Ramirez’s condition continued to decline, Murillo took him to Kaiser’s Downey Urgent Care center on March 13.
By then, the struggle to breathe had left her husband so weak that she had to push him in a wheelchair.
A receptionist first took the couple’s cellphone number and directed them to an area for people with flu-like symptoms. A doctor then called and evaluated Ramirez by phone. The questions seemed narrowly focused on the extent of his travel and whether he’d been outside the country, Murillo said.
The doctor had Murillo wheel Ramirez to another area of the hospital for a chest X-ray, where he was too frail to take off his sweater. Afterward, she pushed him to the pharmacy to pick up cough syrup, antibiotics and an inhaler.
“The only person who saw him was the technician who did the X-ray,” Murillo said. “No one ever touched him.”
The couple were sent home and told to await a call with the doctor’s findings. No COVID-19 test was administered.
Murillo, 42, and Ramirez attended Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights in the 1990s and then went their separate ways. The two later reconnected and married three years ago.
But after Ramirez got sick, they began sleeping in separate bedrooms as a precaution against the highly contagious virus.
Three days after they visited the urgent care, Murillo could not wake Ramirez when she went to check on him. She called 911, and when first responders arrived, they told her he’d been dead for several hours.
“From finding my husband to trying to find a pulse on him to dragging him off the bed onto the floor — it’s just a vision that I can’t shake,” she said.
“Everything is just a blur, what happened. And when I start getting a clear mind, then I start getting upset that maybe somehow this could have been prevented or he could at least have had a fighting chance.”
For more than two hours, no one would come to their apartment to pick up Ramirez’s body. “They kept going back and forth: Is the coroner going to pick him up or the mortuary?” Murillo said.
She eventually was advised that because her husband’s death was considered natural and he was under the care of a doctor, it was not a coroner’s case and she needed to coordinate with a mortuary to have his body removed.
She also learned that the treating physician had signed a death certificate listing Ramirez’s cause of death as pneumonia and there were no plans to perform an autopsy or postmortem testing for the coronavirus.
Kaiser Permanente said in a statement that, at the time, COVID-19 testing at its facilities was restricted to patients who were both exhibiting symptoms and had come in contact with another person confirmed as positive.
“COVID-19 testing was very limited by the government in the early stages of the pandemic, when Mr. Ramirez came to us,” the statement said. “We were required to abide by these public health authority testing limits, as we did in this case, which were based on very limited availability of tests.”
At that point, Murillo vowed to do for her husband in death what the couple couldn’t do while he was alive. Fixing her mind on learning exactly what had happened took the focus off her crushing grief.
“That’s the only thing helping me right now, the fact that I’m trying to get my answers,” she said.
California Do you know someone who has lost the battle with COVID-19? In our effort to cover this pandemic as thoroughly as possible, we’d like to hear from the loved ones of people who have died from the coronavirus.
The mortuary connected her with Herrera, and she hired 1-800-Autopsy to investigate. On March 26, small samples of each of Ramirez’s organs were collected and preserved in formaldehyde.
For suspected COVID-19 cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that some of the samples be sent to its Infectious Diseases Pathology Branch in Atlanta for testing.
But Herrera found that the CDC would not accept tissue samples from his private company. It told him to work with the L.A. County Department of Public Health, which referred him to the county coroner’s office, which told him to call the hospital where the physician signed off on the death certificate, he said.
“It’s like a dog chasing their tail,” Herrera said.
The CDC did not respond to a request for comment. The L.A. County Department of Public Health said that its Acute Communicable Disease Control Program recommends that private autopsy companies work with commercial laboratories for postmortem testing.
But at the time, Herrera was unable to acquire test kits in order to administer a nasal swab and send it to a commercial lab.
So Murillo, who was quarantined without access to a computer, enlisted family members and friends to make phone calls to government officials pleading for a postmortem test.
Sixteen days after her husband’s death, the county Department of Public Health called to say it was sending a team to the funeral home to test Ramirez. On April 4, she learned the results were positive.
Murillo said the discovery hasn’t given her closure, but something bordering on a sense of relief.
“I felt that I finally got an answer,” she said.
Kaiser Permanente said in a statement that limits on who can be tested “have evolved over the past several weeks” and that testing is more available now than it was a month ago.
“We offer our deepest sympathy to the Ramirez family during their time of grieving,” Kaiser Permanente said.
Last week, Herrera was able to obtain swab tests from a doctor he works with who has connections with a laboratory. He said he no longer will pursue COVID-19 testing through the CDC via autopsy. He hopes to roll out the swab testing to clients more widely in the coming days.
“Our mission statement is: ‘The deceased must be protected and given a voice.’ Without a witness, they will be forgotten,” Herrera said. “And right now, we’re witnessing an epidemic and they need answers.”
In a cruel twist of fate, he used the first test on his friend and “right-hand man,” Sean Sadler. The 52-year-old licensed embalmer, who worked for 14 years as Herrera’s chief autopsy technician, died last week after collapsing in his shower.
Herrera said that Sadler had been off work since showing flu-like symptoms the week before. He called Herrera on April 4 to say he was still sick. Three days later, his wife called to say he was gone.
After initially suspecting Sadler had contracted the coronavirus, Herrera conducted an autopsy and tested his friend for COVID-19. The results were negative. The loss stung no less.
“As we say, the circus must go on,” he said, clearing his throat to choke back tears. “Death doesn’t stop for anybody — not for me, not for my employees. We just have to respond as we always have.”
Murillo is still serving out her quarantine at the apartment she shared with her husband. She closed off the bedroom where he died. Public health officials have advised her not to go inside.
She won’t watch television because the news scares her. She tested negative for the coronavirus once right after Ramirez died. But each time her nose runs or she feels a tickle in her throat, she worries she could be getting sick with the disease that caused her healthy husband to die in a week’s time.
It’s a surreal existence, isolated from those she loves as she tries to process the immense loss. Worst of all, she said, unable to plan a burial and wracked with anxiety, she can’t properly grieve.
“I want to say it’s just a bad dream,” she said. “Did this really happen?”