In Review
California reported Sunday that 45,352 people recently tested positive for Covid-19, continuing a surge that has pushed hospitals and their exhausted staff to the brink.
Around the United States, hospitals are racing to keep up with surges of Covid-19 patients at numbers they have not seen at any other time in the pandemic.
Cases have skyrocketed since Thanksgiving, and impacts from Christmas and New Year’s celebrations are still unfolding. As of Sunday, more than 20.4 million people have been infected with the virus in the US and at least 350,000 people have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. – (CNN)
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Back in Lockdown Whilst Entertainment Productions Keep Working: Why Can’t California Control the Covid-19?
california shut down
COVID-19: Welcome to the city defying California’s stay-at-home orders to keep businesses open
SKY News says the city council in Solvang has voted unanimously to defy the state of California’s latest stay-at-home orders. It will not enforce things like a ban on outdoor dining.
The emergency motion, the city says, is aimed at protecting small businesses in a city that relies on tourism, especially during the holiday season.
Deputy mayor Claudia Orona denies that Solvang is staging a revolution.
“We’re not inviting businesses to break the law,” she tells Sky News.
“As a city we believe that rather than enforcing and implementing fines, we know that businesses are being responsible and following the mandates and the laws and our role is best directed at looking for resources for education and safety.”
The city has pointed to low COVID-19 case numbers as a justification for its action, but the surrounding county has reported record numbers this week.
And, with Los Angeles just a two-hour drive away, there are concerns that a surge of visitors could increase the risk of spread.
help for essential workers california
‘We are getting crushed.’ What’s behind the alarming rise in California’s Covid-19 cases
CNN says since the Thanksgiving holiday, California has faced a surge of Covid-19 infections unparalleled across the United States, leading to continued daily record highs in hospitalizations and deaths.
Bed capacity in intensive care units has plunged to nearly zero in vast portions of the state as patients rush into hospitals, which are struggling to manage strains on resources and personnel.
“We’re experiencing an explosive and very deadly surge,” Los Angeles County Public Health Director Dr Barbara Ferrer said December 16.
State and local officials are continuing to enact California lockdown rules and quarantine protocols for residents and visitors, even as the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine rollout has provided some long-term hope. Aggressive stay-at-home measures put forth throughout California two weeks ago have yet to slow the spread.
california covid restrictions
‘The virus is moving in’: why California is losing the fight against Covid
The Guardian says early in the coronavirus pandemic, California was celebrated as a beacon of common sense in a country on the brink.
As Donald Trump shunned masks and restrictions and told Americans the virus “came out of nowhere” and “one day like a miracle will disappear”, California leaders were the first to order their residents to shelter in place.
For months, the state seemed to avert the calamity that had befallen New York and Louisiana. Despite being the nation’s most populous state, with the largest number of direct flights to the pandemic’s initial centre in China, California’s death rate remained low.
By early summer, however, the pressure to open back up rose. Officials discovered the state wasn’t immune to the national fatigue with social distancing and mask-wearing. Amid a patchwork of rules and guidelines, cases crept up.
Now, most of California is back under lockdown amid a dramatic surge in infections. The state has tallied more than 1.3m cases, and broke a record last week with more than 25,000 infections recorded in a single day.
But the California covid restrictions and lockdown have received a mixed response from Californians. Many have said the rules, which order residents to stay home except for essential activities, bar hotels from accepting most out-of-state guests, shut down outdoor dining and personal care businesses, were complex, and at times seemingly contradictory.
Why should residents minimise contact with people from other households, but retail shopping and entertainment production can continue?
california travel restrictions
L.A. County’s new mandatory quarantine order for travellers is now official. Here’s how it works
Los Angeles Times reports Los Angeles County has become the latest county in California to impose a mandatory quarantine on long-distance travellers.
At least two other counties — Santa Clara and San Francisco — have similar mandatory orders. The California Department of Public Health on Nov. 13 issued an advisory urging Californians to stay home or in their region and avoid nonessential travel, including for tourism or recreation.
The regional stay-at-home order prohibits hotels and other lodging companies from offering rooms to people visiting for tourism and leisure.
Travel at airports picked up dramatically during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, and officials fear that could cause COVID-19 to spread even more.
How does quarantine work? Who’s exempt?
What are the papers saying?
california stay-at-home order extended
Bay Area’s Stay at Home Order in Effect Until at Least Jan. 8 – nbcbayarea
Thousands of New Year’s revelers ignore stay-at-home orders in Los Angeles County – LA Times
California Coronavirus Updates: Greater Sacramento Region Remains Under Stay-At-Home Order – CAPRadio
California Coronavirus Update: Stay-At-Home Order Extended Until Mid-January; L.A. Hospitals At Breaking Point, State Bracing For Post-Holiday Surge – Deadline
Coronavirus California: Map shows which counties can, can’t reopen under stay-at-home order, reopening tiers – abc7 News
california lockdown again
Inflatable costume could be behind Covid outbreak at California hospital – NBC News
As COVID-19 explodes, was California too strict for its own good? – SFGATE
California doctor calls lockdowns ‘failure of imagination,’ as state becomes epicentre of outbreak – FOX News
Fatigued Californians are back in lockdown. Will it work? – The Guardian
As California Locks Down Again, Bans on Outdoor Dining Bring Confusion and Outrage – Robb Report
Data expert Justin Hart doesn’t know why California insists on lockdown policies – KUSI
the facts
US Coronavirus Cases: 21,113,528
US Deaths: 360,078
US Recovered: 12,436,958
All individuals living in the State of California are currently ordered to stay home or at their place of residence, except for permitted work, local shopping or other permitted errands, or as otherwise authorised.
New 2021 California Laws on Covid-19, housing and more
Los Angeles Times says a number of California’s new laws for 2021 reflect the urgency in addressing both short-term needs and long-term problems, including COVID-19 guidelines and efforts to root out systemic racism.
California stay-at-home order extended – it’s likely the current lockdowns and stay-at-home orders across the state will be extended. But it is not yet confirmed.
People with these symptoms may have COVID-19:
- Fever or chills.
- Cough.
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.
- Fatigue.
- Muscle or body aches.
- Headache.
- New loss of taste or smell.
- Sore throat.