"Clearly we have the capacity, individual and collective capacity, not to have to go in that direction by just being a little bit more thoughtful about how we go about our day-to-day lives. Instead, the governor. Education. President Bidens promise to end the pandemic is being tested by the Omicron variant, which is spreading rapidly through the country. ICU hospitalizations are also on the rise: 18% in 14 days. After California detected the first case of the omicron variant in the U.S., Gov. My colleagues put together thoughts from readers on what may be different about our lives from before. I feel like weve been fooled, Rhoads said. Casa Romantica announced that it was temporarily closed and all events were canceled. On Nov, 3, Massachusetts Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday said confirmation of the first U.S. case of the COVID-19 omicron variant in California . What experts say, Flying over the holidays? In terms of global access to vaccines, this should be an absolute top priority. (AP photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez). Overall, there seemed to be a sense in the Bay Area that ordering certain types of businesses to close or limiting the size of crowds at large events was an outdated strategy to control the pandemic. When I look around the corner ahead, what I see is a deluge of Omicron, Dr. Sara Cody, the Santa Clara County public health director and health officer, said last week. We have a profound ethical responsibility to get lifesaving vaccines to these regions as fast as possible. How to actually get tough on crime: California shouldnt seek answers too far on either side of the pendulum the best approach is to combine accountability with opportunity and rehabilitation, writes Karen Pank, executive director of the Chief Probation Officers of California. We want to hear from you! Six of the units are residential and the rest are vacation rentals, he said. Even before Omicron, places like Fresno County during its Delta surge was seeking help from L.A. County to transfer patients there, underscoring the Central Valleys vulnerability, Chin-Hong said. Authorities have stressed vaccinations, booster shots and various safety protocols such as mask-wearing in public indoor places as the best way to fight Omicron, adding that they dont see a need for another lockdown. Newsom prepared to 'revert back' to stricter COVID-19 restrictions if necessary. During a routine update Monday on COVID-19's impact throughout the state, Newsom stressed the importance for individuals to "mitigate the likelihood and need" to reverse course by being mindful of their actions as more aspects of the economy are reopened. Basically, whats happening is we have a very large vaccinated population, and we have a much more infectious virus. Believe me, I want a vacation! What does it mean for L.A.? And we're tracking the state's coronavirus hospitalizations by county. Officials in Southern California say a coastal landslide closed a historic cultural center, shut down rail service in the area and forced the evacuation of nearby residences, California Landslide Halts Rail Service, Homes Evacuated, In this image from KABC7 video, is an aerial view of a landslide on the western side of the Casa Romantica and Cultural Center and Gardens in San Clemente, Calif., on Thursday, April 27, 2023. Economy. For example, KF94 masks, which are made in Korea, have been shown to have very high performance and are also quite breathable. tiers that have for months dictated so much about our lives, provided there are enough Covid-19 vaccines available for anyone age 16 or older, But in California, cases have been declining, as of Monday, 34 percent of the states total population, implement a stay-at-home order last year, on March 19. ], Experts have also criticized the process for allowing poorer and harder-hit communities to be bypassed, even while state officials have repeatedly said equity is a North Star.. All Rights Reserved. We have vaccines.. How long will California be able to avoid shutdowns of schools, health care facilities and businesses if the omicron wave doesnt peak soon? The tracks were shifting due to storm surge and sand erosion on the ocean side and a gradually sliding hillside on the other, according to the Orange County Transportation Authority. [New York Times]. Such changes may be needed because we cant have everybody hunkered down for 10 days, which is the current guideline for how long a person should be isolated after testing positive, Chin-Hong said. President Biden has said there will be enough vaccines available for all adults in the country by the end of May. The lack of state oversight has also slowed development in cities and counties, which as of June 2019 had issued building permits for only 11% of the affordable units in their housing plans. Want to submit a guest commentary or reaction to an article we wrote? West Contra Costa Unified, which reopened Tuesday after closing for two days with no instruction, is now requiring employees to wear KN95 masks and students to wear surgical masks. The number of Californians being infected and hospitalized with COVID-19 has crept up over the past two weeks, increasing fears of a winter surge. Still, significant challenges remain. // NBC News, Crows everywhere, and Sunnyvales going to do something about it. CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: Californias school crisis gets short shrift in Newsoms budget proposal. Rodolfo Gonzalez, a pharmacist intern, prepares Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in Delano last month. And as we are want to be reminded and should be reminded, last year we had a challenging winter, particularly down here in Southern California. Falling debris halted rail service on shoreline tracks at the base of the cliff that are used by Metrolink and Amtraks Pacific Surfliner, officials said. Are we seeing an uptick in breakthrough cases? Email us your story at CAtoday@nytimes.com. But in California, cases have been declining since hitting a peak early this year, with an average of around 2,700 new cases a day now, the lowest figure since June. Among all 50 states, California has the. Winter is here, Newsom said, noting of the seasonality of Covid-19 as more people gather inside. CalMatters is dedicated to explaining how state government impacts our lives. Did you use the states My Turn system? Wednesday: State officials said they planned to lift all pandemic restrictions except the mask mandate on June 15. By subscribing, I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. It may not fix the problem, but you might find some comfort in reading about how we have all hit a wall. For every 100,000 residents, the Bay Area has 5 people hospitalized with COVID-19, while Orange Countys rate is 6, L.A. Countys is 7, and Ventura Countys is 9. And even though the vaccines work really, really well, theyre not perfect. Judge rules against San Diego Unifieds COVID vaccine mandate. And for children, in particular, masking works. [New York Times], Many people living in homeless shelters and on the street have not received the federal stimulus checks theyre entitled to. When state officials recently announced that the state would expand vaccine eligibility to anyone 16 and older starting April 15, Dr. Christopher Longhurst, U.C. Experts don't expect a return to stay-at-home orders that shut down broad swaths of the economy due to the Delta variant, also known as B.1.617.2, which was first identified in India. That said, if a new variant comes in with significant natural and vaccine immune escape, which is not out of the question, then all bets are off, and were potentially headed off to another round of waves. SACRAMENTO, Calif. . If no surviving relatives remain or can be found, then the probate estate will "escheat" to California state. Meanwhile, students and teachers in both Oakland and San Francisco Unified are threatening sickouts, saying they wont show up to school without heightened health and safety protocols. We cover the biggest stories to help you stay informed. We also have natural immunity. Chin-Hong said the Bay Area might be sufficiently equipped to handle an Omicron surge, given high vaccination rates, increasing booster rates at least in the older population and acceptance of kid vaccines and adolescents generally high.. December 1, 2021 / 4:18 PM / CBS Sacramento. As coronavirus ravages Californias psychiatric hospital system, the Department of State Hospitals has found itself enmeshed in a web of lawsuits one asking it to release patients, another asking it to admit more. Copyright 2023 KGO-TV. With 94% of Californias population now in the most restrictive tier, it looks increasingly unrealistic that millions of K-12 students will be able to return to campus in January. He reminded listeners today that hospitals had to implement emergency measures last year, some of which were enabled by the state order, as bed capacities were stretched thin and morgues ran out of space and body bags. Many said that bureaucratic hurdles, complicated by limited phone or internet access, were insurmountable. Send us a tip using our annonymous form. // Sacramento Bee, Kin of dead sex abuse victim sue under new California law. We cover the biggest stories to help you stay informed. California reported 3,716 new cases on Wednesday and 134 new deaths. By December, hospitals especially in hard-hit areas, like Los Angeles were overwhelmed with patients, and the state ordered Californians to stay at home again. Its Wednesday, November 18. One possibility is that the Bay Area will see a relatively small jump in hospitalizations; L.A. County, a medium jump and the Central Valley the highest jump, said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious diseases expert at UC San Francisco. There is an assumption that people are unvaccinated by choice, but there are actually a number of other factors at play. // Mission Local, Will Amtrak Joe bail out Californias troubled bullet train? Copyright 2023 UC Regents; all rights reserved. // Los Angeles Times, Firing upheld for California police who played video game during holdup. This year, I just want to remind people, that we want to avoid the Twindemic.. But its important for people to continue to protect themselves and protect their loved ones. Last month, California Gov. // Associated Press, California budget surplus could lead to early CalPERS debt payments. View UCBerkeleyOfficials profile on Instagram, View UCZAXKyvvIV4uU4YvP5dmrmAs profile on YouTube, A $25-an-hour minimum wage for medical workers could benefit everyone, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, visionary Berkeley grad, to run Biden campaign, Community engagement improves wildlife restoration outcomes, UC Berkeley computer scientist wins 2023 Guggenheim Fellowship, Berkeley political scientist Scott Straus named to prestigious fellowship, UC Berkeley breaks ground on new Engineering Center, Berkeley graduate programs succeed once again in new U.S. News rankings. // San Francisco Chronicle, Redwood forest owned by King Tut of Hoarders in Santa Cruz Mountains begins new chapter. The more uncontrolled epidemics we have globally, the more likely it is that new variants will emerge. The threat of flooding continues as the massive mountain snowpack left by the storms begins to melt. More by Emily Hoeven, Long lines of people wait for more than two hours for a COVID-19 test at a testing site in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles on Jan. 5, 2022. A number of Bay Area counties quickly followed suit, issuing strong recommendations, including for those who are vaccinated. Better understanding of who is at risk of vaccine failure and may require a booster is a high priority. Will California shut down again? The highly contagious Delta variant now accounts for nearly 83% of California's sequenced coronavirus cases up from 53% in late June and just 6% in late May. [KQED], Both Los Angeles County and San Francisco are in the orange tier. A potential problem could result if far too many workers are out sick at the same time, meaning officials may need to shorten the time period infected people are put under isolation to keep hospitals running. Subscribe to The Berkeleyan, our weekly email newsletter. All Rights Reserved. Removing the dams will restore a 400-mile salmon run, a win for commercial fishermen and the Karuk and Yurok tribes, which have long relied on the runs to feed their families. 4.1K views, 50 likes, 28 loves, 154 comments, 48 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from 7th District AME Church: Thursday Morning Opening Session // Los Angeles Times, Several California lawmakers emerge as apparent attendees of Maui conference. I think one thing we dont often hear a lot about is that masks are not all the same, and there are high quality masks available for children. And if you arent feeling much at all but fatigue, youre certainly not alone. Stanford University announced that it will require eligible students to show proof of receiving a booster to the COVID-19 vaccine, unless they have a medical or religious exemption, by Jan. 31. It was a year ago when the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic was solidified for many Californians. 379K views, 2.4K likes, 5.7K loves, 26K comments, 5.1K shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Binibining Bukidnon: Binibining Bukidnon 2023 Grand Coronation. Online classes mandatory by Ricardo Cano July 17, 2020 Updated July 28, 2020 Twitter Today, Gov. Four residential units in an adjacent building were initially red-tagged as unsafe and then overnight all 24 units were evacuated because the hillside continued to move, said Mayor Chris Duncan. Newsom announced the state's largest single-day increase Wednesday of new confirmed coronavirus cases, 12,807, and California has surpassed New . Its about our ability to add tools to the tool kit.. Copyright 2023 TheAssociated Press. Gavin Newsom says he is prepared to "revert back" to more stringent coronavirus restrictions, if necessary, as California continues to see a rise in cases. LOS ANGELES The California surge in coronavirus cases has shut down schools and sidelined thousands of police, firefighters, teachers and health care workers but officials are hoping it will . An investigation found that some properties held by the states largest owner of nursing homes arent licensed, and their applications have been pending for years. Over the past year, California has become a high-profile case study of the ways in which reopening a vast economy can be more complex, unequal and politically fraught than shutting one down. On the one hand, we have issues of equity and histories of structural racism and access limiting vaccine coverage, and on the other hand, we have kids who are, as you say, simply not eligible. Ethnic studies strengthens democracy: The latest recommendations to Californias proposed ethnic studies curriculum are a bold step forward for students, writes Albert Camarillo, a Stanford University professor of American history. Auditor: State wasted $2.7 billion for affordable housing. Maybe the fall will be normal, but I think its more likely that were going to have one last wave of cases and hospitalizations. Gavin Newsom announced that schools serving more than 5 million students across the state will not be reopening for in-person instruction this fall. Projected losses from a major California earthquake soar. Berkeley and has reported all over the state, including the Bay Area, Bakersfield and Los Angeles but she always wants to see more. In California, about 72% of adults and about 59% of all residents have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, according to CDC data. By contrast, experts are especially nervous about places with low vaccination rates, like the Inland Empire and San Joaquin Valley. Equity and scale are possible for the wealthiest states in the nation, Jacqueline Martinez Garcel, chief executive of the Latino Community Foundation, said recently.