Congressional candidate calls for new round of relief for businesses ordered to shut down again

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Dr. Wilma Wooten briefing (screenshot from video)

July 6, 2020 (San Diego) – Starting at midnight, all indoor service must stop in restaurants and wineries. Outdoor dining and activities can continue, as well as curbside pickup services.

Indoor family entertainment venues such as movie theaters and bowling alleys also must shut down, though outdoor facilities such as zoos can remain open.  The order is in effect for the next three weeks.

County health officials ordered the closures today in response to being placed on the state’s watchlist due to exceeding three COVID-19 pandemic trigger levels for positive cases in the past two weeks, the number of active community outbreaks, and a backlog in tracing new cases.

Part II in a two-part interview with Dr. Leonard Thompson III. 

Click here to view Part I

By Helen Horvath

July 5, 2020 (San Diego) -- In these tumultuous times, impacted by both COVID-19 restrictions and renewed demands for social justice, our nation is at a crossroad to resolve long standing inequities. In San Diego County we have experienced protests stemming from perceptions of inequality. Despite the ban on gatherings and risk of the coronavirus, protesters have taken to the streets, at times without facial protection or social distancing, fighting what some perceive as the greater threat of injustice.  

Part One: ECM interviews Dr. Suzanne Affalo, Medical Director, Alliance Health Clinic and retired Kaiser Permanente physician 

By Angela de Joseph

Photo courtesy of Dr. Suzanne Affalo

July 3, 2020 (San Diego) There is a saying, “When America catches a cold, Black America gets pneumonia.” In the case of COVID-19, this old adage is true. The national coronavirus mortality rate for African Americans is about 2.3 times as high as the rate for Whites and Asians, about twice as high as the Latino and Pacific Islander rate, and 1.5 times as high as the Indigenous rate. But, not in San Diego. 

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Makeshift homeless tent in Lakeside

July 2, 2020 (San Diego) – Today, San Diego County’s Health and Human Services Agency released data on COVID-19 cases among homeless individuals. To date, 147 homeless people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Of those, 41 have been hospitalized, but fortunately, none have died.

Only 10.7% of those cases (12 total) occurred in homeless people in East County.  Central San Diego had the largest share, with 39.3% of the cases.

Only 16 of the 147 cases were in homeless people whose usual lodging is a shelter.

July 1,  2020 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Global coronavirus cases exceed 10 million (Reuters)
• Coronavirus: Florida and Texas reverse reopening as US cases pass 2.5 million  (BBC)
• Why simple cloth masks without valves are better at fighting the spread of covid-19 (Washington Post)
• Dutch Minks Contract COVID-19 — And Appear To Infect Humans (NPR)
• Harmful Arsenic Level Found in Whole Foods Bottled Water: Consumer Reports (NTD)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Facebook removes videos targeting public health officials (Los Angeles Times)
• Facebook bans boogaloo groups, but some smaller groups remain  (MSN)
• Exclusive: Facebook ad boycott campaign to go global, organizers say  (Reuters)
• Amazon buys self-driving car firm Zoox, suggesting a future of automated deliveries (Washington Post)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

Story and photos by Miriam Raftery

Photo, left: Outdoor patio at Vineyard Grant James in Ramona provides ample social distancing for wine-tasting guests

June 29, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) – East County’s once-thriving wine industry is struggling under COVID-19 restrictions – and some local wineries may die on the vine now that the county has once again shut down all bars effect July 1, including wineries and breweries.

Now, some winery owners are criticizing the shutdown as overly broad and unfair,  since many rural wineries have outdoor patios or spacious tasting rooms and have been providing ample social distancing – unlike urban bars and crowded venues such as the Gaslamp District.

Part 1 of a 2-part interview with Dr. Leonard Thompson

By Helen Horvath

Photo:  Dr. Leonard Thompson, CEO and Michelle Thompson, Sr. Vice President, M.A.N.D.A.T.E Records

June 29, 2020 (San Diego) -- In this first of a two-part interview with Dr. Leonard Thompson III, CEO of M.A.N.D.A.T.E Records and Communications Director of the NAACP San Diego, Dr. Horvath and ECM discuss COVID-19’s impact upon his business and the mission of the NAACP. 

M.A.N.D.A.T.E’s acronym means “Making A Necessary Difference at the End.”

By Miriam Raftery

“It’s very likely that we won’t be able to provide the same level of service that we do today….The County has no walk-in services for the homeless, and pretty soon that’s going to be the way it will be in El Cajon.” – Mary Case, Executive Director at Crisis House (photo, left)

June 25, 2020 (El Cajon) – El Cajon’s City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve an early lease termination agreement to oust Crisis House from city-owned property at 1034 Magnolia Ave. For the past 26 years, the city has leased the property to Crisis House for a dollar a year, recognizing the value to the community of the services provided by Crisis House, which has a mission to “break the cycle of poverty, domestic violence and homelessness and strengthen families and individuals so that they can thrive and transform their lives.”

The city wants Crisis House gone from is current location near the new Hampton Inn hotel.  So the Council-approved measure offers Crisis House $700,000 if it vacates the property by September 30^th. That amount diminishes to just $350,000 by year’s end and $150,000 by March 31, or zero if Crisis house remains until the lease expires on June 30, 2021.

But Mary Case, Executive Director of Crisis House, says that’s not enough time to find an affordable space, adding that the action will almost certainly mean major cuts in services.

Hear our  interview with Dr. Raed Al-Naser for KNSJ radio: click here.

By Briana Gomez

Photo, left: Doris Bittar

“Arab Americans are largely considered Caucasian, other, or unknown.  We are a disappeared minority, rendering us nearly invisible in the media and in medicine.” – Doris Bittar, President, Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee, San Diego chapter

June 25, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) -- Minority communities across the US are being disproportionately affected by COVID-19. For example, nearly 67% of cases in San Diego are among Latinos and Hispanics, who comprise only 30% of the population, according to County Health Department  figures as of June 20.  But a lack of data on Arab and Middle Eastern Americans makes it impossible to accurately assess impacts of the pandemic on this population locally and nationally.

East County News Service

June 25, 2020 (San Diego) - Padres fans may soon have something to cheer about.

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred has announced that the MLB will officially begin a 60-day season, starting around July 24, according to ESPN.

San Diego has eight community outbreaks, reopenings halted

By Miriam Raftery

Image:  Comparison of U.S. and European Union COVID-19 cases based on Johns Hopkins University medical data.

June 25, 2020 (San Diego)—If you’re planning a European vacation anytime soon, you may be out of luck. The European Union is looking to reopen to tourism from countries with low rates of the virus, travelers from the U.S. are expected to be banned, along with travelers from Brazil and Russia, the New York Times reports.

COVID-19 has largely diminished in Europe thanks to swift and aggressive actions by government in nations hard-hit there in late March. By contrast, cases have skyrocketed in the U.S., which had a similar number of cases in late March as Europe. But President Donald Trump never ordered a national lock-down or made masks mandatory; the U.S. was also late disseminating testing and sent inadequate numbers of personal protection equipment to medical providers.

The U.S. has had 11.3 million cases to date, more than any other nation on earth.  Over 120,000 Americans have died of COVID-19, which is more lives lost than from World War.

Source: Children’s Nature Retreat

June 23, 2020 (Alpine) -- The Children’s Nature Retreat, a 20-acre animal sanctuary in Alpine with 140-plus domesticated animals, is reopening to guests.

The animal sanctuary is open by appointment only, limited to 50 people. Guests are required to wear masks at the entrance, and if they come within 6-feet of anyone outside of their family/household; visitors can roam the outdoor property on the self-guided tour without masks.

By Christine Huard, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego News Association

Photo:  A man is tested for coronavirus at a drive-up site. Courtesy County News Center

June 22, 2020 (San Diego) - San Diego County public health officials reported a daily record of 310 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, but no additional deaths from the disease.

By José A. Álvarez, County of San Diego Communications Office

Photo:  Face coverings are required in public and within six feet of someone who is not a household member

June 18, 2020 (San Diego) - Two more COVID-19 community outbreaks were identified in the region June 17, bringing the region’s seven-day total to eight, the County Health and Human Services Agency announced today.

East County News Service 

Photo, left:  Rev. Shane Harris during George Floyd march on bridge in Minnesota in late May

June 18, 2020 (San Diego) – Rev. Shane Harris, president of the People’s Alliance for Justice, spent two weeks in quarantine battling COVID-19.  Today, the nationally known civil rights leader based in San Diego announced he has tested negative and is returning to the public to lead multiple reforms ad proposals on inequalities in policing, racial justice and COVID-19.