By Miriam Raftery

Photo:  Creative Commons via Bing

May 18, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) -- The region’s COVID-19 testing is expanding this week.  Starting Tuesday, May 19th, the public can get free testing at walk-up sites run by the state at two locations:  The County Assessor’s former office at 200 S. Magnolia Ave. in El Cajon and at the Tubman-Chavez Center, 415 Euclid Ave. in southeast San Diego.

By Kendra Sitton

Photo:  Telehealth is increasingly being used to provide patients access to physicians (CC by NC-ND)

May 12, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) -- Governor Gavin Newsom is lifting some hospital restrictions on elective surgeries, bringing parts of the healthcare system back online. COVID-19 has yet to overwhelm hospitals locally, but in preparation, only essential surgeries were conducted for the past two months. Other medical offices switched to telehealth options or shut down completely. For some patients, particularly in East County, health care has gotten harder to access.

In a survey of 1200 cancer patients and survivors, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) found half of them had care that was impacted by the virus. A quarter of those who were impacted had treatment that was delayed and 13% do not know when their care will be rescheduled.

By Miriam Raftery

May 12, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) – Supervisor Dianne Jacob hosted a virtual town hall last Thursday along with El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells and Poway Mayor Steve Vaus. They provided updates on the COVID-19 pandemic locally, addressed ideas for  more businesses, churches and other paces to reopen, and fielded questions submitted by constituents.

May 12,  2020 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future—including the latest on COVID-19.

HEALTH

• 15 children in N.Y.C. identified with rare COVID-linked condition. More cases are likely out there. (NBC)
• Second-trimester miscarriage attributed to a coronavirus infection of placenta (CNBC)
• The coronavirus can be found in semen, raising questions of whether it can be sexually transmitted, new research says (Business Insider)
• In race for a coronavirus vaccine, an Oxford group leaps ahead (Seattle Times)
• Purplish Lesions On Feet Could Be Sign Of Virus, Say Dermatologists (Huffington Post)
• Young and middle-aged people, barely sick with covid-19, are dying from strokes (Washington Post)
• Hopes High for Anti-inflammatories to Combat COVID-19 Immune System Storms (TCT MD)
• Remdesivir drug shows promise -- but it is far from a coronavirus cure (CNN)
• Expert report predicts up to two more years of pandemic misery (CNN)
• The Dr. Fauchi of the 1918 Spanish flu (Forbes)

SCIENCE

• ‘Murder Hornets’ in the U.S.: The Rush to Stop the Asian Giant Hornet (New York Times)
• Elon Musk defies coronavirus order and asks to be arrested (The Verge)
• People Are Social Distancing Less, Cell Phone Data Show  (NPR)

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

East County News Service

May 8, 2020 (San Diego) - With seniors ’sheltering in place” and potentially doing so for many more months to come, the Gary & Mary West Senior Dental Center is making sure vulnerable San Diego seniors have the items they need to keep up their health and oral hygiene during this time.  The organization is in the process of preparing 5,000 Home Care Oral Hygiene Kits for vulnerable seniors in San Diego County.

By David R. Shorey, East County Program Manager, Institute for Public Strategies

May 7, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) -- We are all going through a lot. I can say that beyond just concern about the possibility of being infected with COVID-19, I worry about my friends and family. Add on the stress of financial issues, taking care of children or other family members, and just the general uncertainty of the future and I know that many are emotionally drained. 

By Marcel Gemme

Image via Pixabay

May 5, 2020 (San Diego) - Nursing homes and other senior living facilities have been some of the hardest-hit communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.  As countless news stories emerge about outbreaks at nursing homes, the best guess that anyone has so far as to the total number of coronavirus deaths from nursing homes is 10,000.  

Eligible families may begin enrolling at [http://www.sandiegoforeverychild.org/covid19/]

Photo: Creative Commons via Bing 

May 5, 2020 (San Diego) – San Diego essential workers and at-risk populations may be eligible to enroll their children in emergency subsidized child care so they can continue to work and protect our community during the COVID-19 crisis. Child Development Associates (CDA) and the YMCA of San Diego County Childcare Resource Service (YMCA CRS), which operate the two largest subsidized child care programs in the region, will begin processing vouchers for essential worker families starting today. 

By Ken Stone, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Network

Photo:  A Scripps Health medical team. Group president/CEO says San Diego needs “PPE, pharmaceuticals and scarce medical equipment needed in this type of pandemic.” Photo courtesy of Scripps

May 1, 2020 (San Diego) - Executives with Scripps Health and Sharp HealthCare, two major San Diego hospital chains, have written to the federal government seeking “urgent action” to combat COVID-19 along the U.S.-Mexico border.

By Miriam Raftery

April 30, 2020 (San Diego) – Starting tomorrow, a new county health order eases many restrictions on recreational facilities. Specifically:

• All county parks will be reopened, with 50% parking capacity for social distancing.
• Members of the same household can picnic or participate in sports or other activities in parks, but gatherings are still prohibited.
• Recreational boating can resume at local lakes, bays and the ocean, however passengers must be in the same household.
• Golf courses can also reopen, but golf carts are not allowed. Courses must provide physical distancing and conduct temperature screenings on all golfers.

By Jake Zawlacki

Blood clots can cause strokes, brain and neurological damage; cc image via Bing

April 28, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) -- There are still a lot of unknowns regarding COVID-19 and its effects. Over the past few weeks, patient developments have led researchers to investigate previously unknown risks of COVID-19, including blood clots, debilitating strokes in young people, and long-term damage in some survivors.

COVID-19 was the second leading cause of death in the U.S.from April 6-12. It killed an astounding 12,392 people during that period – ten times more than the 1,227 deaths from flu and pneumonia. The coronavirus killed more people than cancer nationwide. Over 50,000 Americans have died from COVID-19,  or roughly the same number killed during the Vietnam War. While the death toll of the 2019-2020 flu season will be unknown for a couple more months, the rates of infection and death are clearly more severe in coronavirus.

East County News Service

April 26, 2020 (La Mesa) – As part of its response to serve the San Diego community during the coronavirus pandemic, the ALS Association Greater San Diego Chapter has announced it recently loaned six, fully-electric hospital beds to Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa.

By Chris Jennewein, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Network

Photo:  Lifeguards enforce the closure of city beaches. Photo by Chris Stone

April 24, 2020 (San Diego) - San Diego County officials announced Friday that coastal cities may reopen beach access for swimming, surfing, paddleboarding and kayaking on Monday.

“The ocean is a symbol of who we are as San Diegans, and it is appropriate at this point that we open up limited access to the ocean as a step in our continued progress,” said Fletcher at the county’s daily media briefing during the coronavirus pandemic..