COVID-19 California

CALIFORNIA IS SECOND SAFEST STATE IN NATION FROM COVID

East County News Service

Photo: CC-ND

 

January 27, 2022 (San Diego) -- With around 64% of the population fully vaccinated against COVID-19 but the omicron variant on the rise, WalletHub today released updated rankings for the Safest States During COVID-19, along with accompanying videos and audio files.  California is ranked the second safest overall, after Hawaii, an island state. California also has the highest vaccination rate in the nation.


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CALIFORNIA'S BIG REOPENING: WHAT CHANGES AND WHAT DOESN'T ON JUNE 15?

By Ben Christopher, CalMatters

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters

Photo:  Carlos Hernandez holds his mask while getting a haircut by Sarah Cordiey at Spiros Barber Shop in Long Beach on June 9, 2021. "During the pandemic, I got depression and anxiety," said Hernandez, who saw his family for the first time last week in more than one year. "But then when I got [fully] vaccinated I felt a lot better." Photo by Pablo Unzueta for CalMatters

June 14, 2021 (San Diego) - California’s grand reopening day is almost here, but it comes with a few asterisks. 

If all goes as expected and promised, on June 15 our 15-month-long ordeal of public health restrictions, mandates, bans and color-coded tiers to stem the COVID-19 pandemic will finally come to an end. As Gov. Gavin Newsom said in April and reaffirmed in May, tomorrow is when “we can start to open up…business as usual.”

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GOVERNOR SAYS CALIFORNIA CAN FULLY REOPEN JUNE 15; SAN DIEGO ENTERS 'ORANGE' TIER

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

Photo:  Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks outside a vaccination site in San Francisco on Tuesday. Image from live feed

April 7, 2021 (San Diego) - Marking a major step in a return to normalcy, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday that all COVID-19 restrictions on businesses, gatherings and recreational activities will be lifted June 15, although a statewide mask mandate will remain in place.


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COUNTY MOVES TO RED TIER: MOVIE THEATERS, INDOOR DINING AND MORE CAN REOPEN WITH CAPACITY LIMITS

By Miriam Raftery

March 16, 2021 (San Diego) – San Diego County will move from the purple tier into the less restrictive red tier starting tomorrow. The state notified county officials today of the change, which allows many businesses to reopen or expand capacity, though masks and social distancing are still required. Here are some of the changes:


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CALIFORNIA HITS KEY VACCINATION BENCHMARK, MOVING SAN DIEGO COUNTY CLOSER TO 'RED' TIER

By Ana B. Ibarra and Rachel Becker | CalMatters

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters.

Photo:  a woman is vaccinated at the Sharp super station in Chula Vista. Courtesy County News Center

March 14, 2021 (San Diego) - California on Friday hit a benchmark of delivering 2 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to underserved communities, triggering a big change that will transform the state’s reopening map from purple to mostly red.


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CALIFORNIA STADIUMS, THEME PARKS MAY REOPEN APRIL 1 IF COVID RULES ARE MET

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

Photo:  artist’s rendering of SeaWorld San Diego’s new dive coaster under construction. Image via SeaWorld

March 5, 2021 (San Diego) - Petco Park, SeaWorld and other major outdoor attractions and sports/performance venues across the state can reopen as early as April 1 subject to counties’ rates of COVID-19 spread and with strict capacity-control mandates and required mask-wearing, state officials announced Friday.


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AS PANDEMIC AID ENDS, CALIFORNIANS FACE BRUTAL NEW YEAR

By Nigel Duara, CalMatters

CALmatters is an independent public interest journalism venture covering California state politics and government.

Photo:  Jacques Gene at his home in Cool, near Sacramento, with his 7-year-old son Wyatt. They are among the hundreds of thousands of Californians who are bracing for pandemic aid to end, as federal unemployment benefits expire and the state lifts its eviction moratorium. Photo by Hector Amezcua for CalMatters

November 25, 2020 (Sacramento) - In late 2017, a house fell on Jacques Gene. 

The construction foreman in Cool, east of Sacramento, was inside a half-finished home when the rolling trusses that make up the underside of the roof fell, collapsing the whole house. Gene, 46, suffered broken ribs, a punctured lung and a concussion. When his coworkers sorted through the rubble, he says, they didn’t expect to find him alive. 


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COVID TESTING OF TEACHERS, STAFF HOTLY DEBATED AS CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS REOPEN

By Barbara Feder Ostrov, CalMatters

CalMatters is an independent public interest journalism venture covering California state politics and government.

Photo:  parents and students mill around the McGaugh Elementary School parking lot during morning and afternoon changeover on Sept. 17. Los Alamitos Unified School District has reopened its elementary schools for hybrid in-person instruction with students attending either morning or afternoon sessions in the classroom in addition to distance learning. Photo by Tash Kimmell for CalMatters

September 26, 2020 (San Diego) - As schools throughout California tiptoe toward reopening, decisions about whether to routinely test teachers, staff and even students for the COVID-19 virus are proving controversial – and potentially costly. 


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LAWMAKERS PROPOSE SWEEPING RELIEF TO HOMEOWNERS, RENTERS

By Matt Levin | CALmatters

CALmatters is an independent public interest journalism venture covering California state politics and government.

Photo:  A for rent sign in front of a cottage in San Diego, Oct. 30, 2018.  Photo by KPBS Staff.

May 17, 2020 (San Diego) - As missed rent payments and delinquent mortgages pile up across the state, California Democratic lawmakers Tuesday introduced a series of sweeping proposals aimed at shielding homeowners, renters and landlords from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.


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GOVERNOR ROLLS OUT FOUR-PHASE PLAN TO REOPEN BUSINESSES


By Miriam Raftery

April 29, 2020 (Sacramento) – Low-risk businesses and public spaces may be able to open, with modifications, in “weeks, not months” Governor Gavin Newsom said in a briefing yesterday . He laid out a detailed plan to reopen the state in four phases, with six key indicators to be met in order to lift restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 health emergency.


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CALIFORNIA ORDERS NURSING HOMES TO ADMIT RESIDENTS WITH COVID-19; EXPERTS CALL DIRECTIVE A “DEATH SENTENCE”

By Miriam Raftery

April 1, 2020 (San Diego) -- After weeks of warning Californians about the deadly threat the coronavirus poses to nursing home residents, the State of California on March 30th ordered California nursing home operators to bring the virus into their facilities, “knowing full well it is likely to kill many residents,” says Michael Dark, staff attorney at California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR).


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STATE SEEKS MEDICAL AND HEALTHCARE WORKERS

East County News Service

April 1, 2020 (San Diego) -- The California Health Corps Registration has put out an urgent request for volunteers who are health professionals or medical students during the COVID-19 crisis. An online registration has been set up here.

Participants will be paid and will be given malpractice insurance coverage. Locations will vary, but the staste-run organization will try to match your geographical preferences.

“As California responds to the COVID-19 outbreak, we are preparing for an increase in the number of people who urgently need health care in our communities. To serve Californians and support our health care system, we are preparing to open additional health care sites to provide medical services both for people who have symptoms of, or test positive for, COVID-19 and to relieve the pressure on our health care system by providing care for non-COVID-19 cases,” the site states.

“We need your help. To ensure adequate staff for these sites throughout the state, we’re calling on healthcare providers, behavioral health professionals, and health care administrators.”

The following healthcare professionals are among those sought, though additional occupations are listed in the actual application:


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STATE EXPANDS AND CLARIFIES “ESSENTIAL” JOBS AND BUSINESSES THAT CAN STAY OPEN

By Miriam Raftery

March 23, 2020 (Sacramento)—The State Public Health Officer has listed a detailed 14-page list of “essential critical infrastructure workers” allowed to continue working under the Governor’s executive order, which mandates that most Californians stay home due to the COVID-19 emergency.  

View the full list:  https://covid19.ca.gov/img/EssentialCriticalInfrastructureWorkers.pdf

The list provides much more detail than the original executive order.  For example, appliance repair stores, mortuaries, mental health and substance abuse workers, cannabis clinics, veterinary and animal care facility workers, postal and shipping companies, plumbers, electricians, exterminators, auto repair shops, home improvement and appliance stores, attorneys and accountants helping to meet statutory requirements, farm workers, food suppliers and farmer’s markets, laundry services, IT professionals/computer repairs, construction workers, critical tribal positions, suppliers of critical industries and manufacturers of critically needed products such as hand sanitizers are among the many occupations added on the expanded list of businesses that can remain in operation.


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GOVERNOR DECLARES EMERGENCY AS MORE COVID-19 CASES DIAGNOSED, INCLUDING IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY

By Miriam Raftery

March 5, 2020 (San Diego) – Governor Gavin Newsom declared a statewide emergency yesterday amid news of 53 COVID-19 cases diagnosed in California and the first COVID-19 death in our state.  New cases include an LAX airport screener, cruise ship passengers, a South Korean flight attendant at LAX, and an AT&T store employee in Otay Mesa here in San Diego County.

California health officials are now monitoring 9,400 cases in 49 counties statewide.


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