Good night. am Diya Chacko, And it is Wednesday July 15. This is what is happening with the coronavirus in California and beyond.
San Francisco now it has teamed up with other California cities to stop its reopening.
The city is in what its chief of health, Grant Colfax, calls “Red zone” for increased transmission of COVID-19: Every infected person now spreads the disease to an average of 1.3 other San Francisco residents. That number must be one or less, Colfax said Wednesday. “If we don’t do better, we are facing major problems in late August and September.”
Across California, cases and hospitalizations hit a new halt Tuesday and another 144 deaths were reported. In total, more than 7,300 Californians have died from COVID-19. Latinos have been especially affected: they represent almost 39% of the state’s population, but 55% of their COVID-19 cases.
Latinos are now 2.9 times more likely to test positive than whites, an increasing disparity, according to data from the California Department of Public Health.
(Ben Welsh / Los Angeles Times)
The state’s largest outbreaks have been in Southern California and the Central Valley, where economies are particularly dependent on Latino workers. “My worst fear is infecting my daughters,” said an Alhambra trucker, adding that they have only provided him with two masks every three to four weeks. “They don’t care about drivers, and we’re the ones who do all the dirty work.”
There is some positive news about the vaccine front. The results of a phase 1 clinical trial of a candidate vaccine developed by Moderna Inc. confirm that it induced the production of antibodies against the coronavirus in human test subjects. Furthermore, antibody levels were comparable to those of patients who contracted COVID-19 and recovered.
However, that doesn’t necessarily mean the vaccine can provide immunity to the disease, just that the results “support continued development,” according to executive director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Institute for Medical Research. “We must take into account the complexity of vaccine development and the work is yet to be done. “
By the numbers
Cases and deaths in California as of 4:30 pm PDT on Wednesday:
Track the latest numbers and how they break down in California with our charts.
(Priya Krishnakumar / Los Angeles Times)
See which counties are reopening with our tracker.
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Through California
California Department of Education guide for schools, updated last month, says the decision to reopen the campuses will be made by each of the state’s more than 1,000 school districts. That hasn’t changed, even with increasing cases statewide and some districts slated to start a new academic year in less than three weeks.
Even some of Governor Gavin Newsom’s supporters say that lack of state rules It is no longer acceptable, given the increasing tension between parents and educators over conflicting orders from local officials. (Orange County is an example). “The burden of making this decision has to rest on your shoulders,” said the president of the California Federation of Teachers.
The superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District He has said it may be unsafe to open campuses until coronavirus testing is available to all K-12 students and employees on a regular basis, perhaps weekly. That would mean enough testing for nearly half a million students and 75,000 staff members, reducing current county testing levels and straining infrastructure that can no longer meet demand.
Los Angeles County Director of Health Barbara Ferrer said she had some concerns. test scale and how effective it could be. “Right now, I would like to urge us to focus a lot on infection control and the distancing protocols that we have implemented,” he said.
The 2021 Tournament of Roses Parade has been canceled for the first time in 75 years. Officials initially hoped they could maintain the Parade of roses safely, but after weeks of evaluation, it became clear that such a feat would be impossible as “the reality of the pandemic,” said the tournament’s executive director. The Rose Bowl soccer game is still planned for January 1, he said, whether it is played in front of socially estranged fans or in an empty stadium.
Means
– For general security, Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds (here’s a super fun instructional video). Stop touching your face and keep your phone clean. Practice social distancing, maintaining a six foot radius of personal public space. AND Wear a mask If you leave home. Here’s how to get it right.
– Pending symptoms including fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, repeated tremors with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, and loss of taste or smell. If you are worried you could be infectedCall your doctor or urgent care clinic before going there.
– Need a COVID-19 test? Here’s how to get a free trial if you’re in Los Angeles County. And here is a map of test sites in California.
– Here it is how to care for someone with COVID-19, from controlling your symptoms to preventing the spread of the virus.
– yeah his work has been affected Because of the pandemic, here is how to apply for unemployment.
– Here are some free resources for restaurant workers and entertainment industry professionals who are struggling making ends meet.
– Tips for helping children Navigating pandemic life includes being honest about uncertainties, acknowledging your feelings, and sticking to a routine. Here is guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
– In need of mental health services? Here are resources to deal with during the crisis from CDC and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Los Angeles County residents can also call (800) 854-7771 or text “LA” to 741741.
– Thinking of going out? Here is how you can assess your risk.
Around the nation and the world
Walmart will require all customers to wear masks at their U.S. stores beginning July 20. The retailer will place employees, called “health ambassadors,” near the entrances to “remind those without a mask of the new requirements,” said the company’s chief operating officer. The policy also applies to the company’s warehouse retailer, Sam’s Club, and follows similar rules made by Costco, Starbucks, and Best Buy.
Olympic leaders’ decision to postpone the 2022 Youth Olympic Games for four years is raising questions about whether Tokyo Games, Currently slated for next summer, it could also be delayed. With the virus still on the rise, recent polls have shown that the Japanese remain skeptical about welcoming thousands of athletes, officials and fans to their country. The International Olympic Committee says it is still working with the World Health Organization on plans to allow the Summer Games to take place in 2021.
Blocking orders are being re-imposed on parts of India As their number of cases nears 1 million and governments try to protect the health system from being overwhelmed. The national restriction was eased in June to help mitigate more than $ 133 billion in anticipated losses; Authorities are now increasingly trying to locate their blockages to protect the economy from further damage.
Your questions answered
Today’s question comes from readers who want to know: How does contact tracking work? Here is a quick breakdown of the process.
Contact tracing aims to stop the spread of the disease by finding people who may have been exposed and preventing them from spreading to others. The process is simple to understand but not easy to implement in this pandemic.
After a person tests positive for the coronavirus, a contact tracker would contact them and try to determine where they have been recently and who they were with. The main focus is on close contacts, or on people who were within six feet of the infected person for at least 10 minutes or so.
The tracker would then track those close contacts and ask them to self-isolate and test if necessary. For those showing symptoms, the tracking process would be repeated.
The whole effort becomes more and more complicated if people have spent a lot of time near family and friends, and inside bars, restaurants and other closed public spaces. There is also added pressure to act quickly: the longer a person goes without being alerted, the greater the risk that they will spread the disease if they have it.
An added benefit of contact tracing is that it can provide data on the relative security of different activities and environments. For example, searching for contacts in Sacramento found that the main sources of recent circulation were graduation parties and funeral gatherings.
You have a question? Our reporters covering the coronavirus outbreak want to hear from you. Send us an email your questions and we will do our best to answer them. You can find more answers in our FAQ summary and on our coronavirus summary page.
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