California coronavirus updates: The latest on the pandemic

Coronavirus

California just hit all-time high number of people hospitalized with coronavirus

Lea este artículo en español. Updated June 22, 2020 Climbing over the past week, California’s numbers for statewide coronavirus-related hospitalizations this weekend exceeded the record levels set in late April, CalMatters’ hospital data tracker shows. The tracker, which pulls from state data, shows that on Sunday, 3,702 patients who’ve tested positive for the novel coronavirus were […]

By

Ana B. Ibarra

• June 18, 2020

Protesters carrying American flags and signs in front of the California Capitol are reflected in a fellow-protester’s sunglasses. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Coronavirus

Not an option: Governor orders statewide mask use amid scattered pushback

After weeks of mixed messaging and leaving the decision to counties, the state today said face coverings will be required in many places to stem the spread of coronavirus.

By

Ana B. Ibarra

• June 18, 2020

Jeannie Richards, left, and her sitter Carol Soward, both of Hayward, and their brother Donald Soward look each other through his room window during a visit at the Gateway Nursing home in Hayward Saturday, May 16, 2020. Soward contracted COVID-19 at the care facility while recovering from a leg amputation. Photo by Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group

Coronavirus

Counting the dead: Nursing home COVID data a ‘tangled mess’

Throughout the pandemic, government officials have struggled to accurately track the thousands of vulnerable seniors and disabled people who contracted COVID-19 in nursing homes.

By

Barbara Feder Ostrov

• June 17, 2020

Health

A collision of epidemics: Coronavirus disrupts addiction treatment

During the pandemic, “there's likely much more use of substances that we're not capturing,” one expert said. Early signs suggest drops in people connected to care.

By

Rachel Becker

• June 16, 2020

Orange County Chief Health Officer Dr. Nichole Quick resigned June 8, after receiving threats over her order for residents wear to face masks in public to protect against the coronavirus. Quick is one of several local health officers in California to quit since the pandemic began. Photo by Jeff Gritchen/The Orange County Register via AP

Coronavirus

‘Things have gotten ugly’ — pandemic pushback drives health directors to quit

Local public health officers haven’t been this important in a century. They’re also being second-guessed, harassed and threatened by residents angry about pandemic precautions.

By

Barbara Feder Ostrov

• June 16, 2020

Coronavirus

Who’s watching now? COVID-19 cases swell in nursing homes with poor track records

Lee este artículo en español. Long before the coronavirus began sickening Kingston Healthcare Center’s residents and staff, state and federal officials knew the Bakersfield nursing home had serious problems. During multiple visits last year, state inspectors identified 85 violations at the home, including failure to provide dental care to a resident with rotten teeth, allowing pressure […]

By

Jocelyn Wiener

• June 15, 2020

Coronavirus

Mask vendor sues bank over thwarted deal with California

Blue Flame Medical alleges the collapse of its $609 million mask deal with California has trashed the reputations of its politically-connected founders and led to cancellation of numerous other contracts.

By

Laurel Rosenhall

• June 12, 2020

California Divide

The neighborhoods where COVID collides with overcrowded homes

The pandemic has layered a health crisis on top of a housing crisis on top of a class divide. A clear pattern has emerged as the coronavirus spares some California neighborhoods and strikes others: The virus takes a heavier toll in neighborhoods where people pack into overcrowded homes, according to a CalMatters analysis of neighborhood-level […]

By

Jackie Botts

and

Lo Bénichou

• June 12, 2020

Isidoro Contreras Flores, sells an arrangnment of flowers in Seaside, Calif, on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Photo by David Rodriguez, The Salinas Californian

California Divide

Close Quarters: California’s overcrowded homes fuel spread of coronavirus among workers

Until the pandemic struck, every day for the last 10 years, Isidoro Flores Contreras stood at the edge of the Sand City Costco parking lot, just a few feet from a set of McDonald’s arches, selling $15 flower bouquets. No matter the weather, he slowly walked back and forth along the sidewalk, a hitch in […]

By

Kate Cimini

and

Jackie Botts

• June 12, 2020

California Divide

How we analyzed the link between COVID-19 and crowded housing in California

When coronavirus began spreading in California, public health officials told people who fell ill to isolate themselves in their homes for two weeks. But many California families simply can’t do that. Forced by the high cost of living, parents squeeze into rooms with their children, cousins sleep on couches, grandparents convert living rooms into bedrooms […]

By

Jackie Botts

• June 12, 2020