California coronavirus updates: The latest on the pandemic

Coronavirus

Did California get its money’s worth from $1.7 billion COVID test contract?

The Valencia lab, a public-private venture between the state and PerkinElmer, processed only 1 to 8% of all Californians’ COVID tests in the first 10 months of the contract. And the lab was riddled with dozens of problems, according to an inspection report.

By

Kristen Hwang

and

Ana B. Ibarra

• December 16, 2021

People walk down a street in Laguna Beach on May 17, 2021. California won't lift its mask requirement until June 15 to give the public and businesses time to prepare and ensure cases stay low, state Health Director Mark Ghaly said Monday. AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

Coronavirus

California mandates masks again

As COVID-19 infections rise, the Newsom administration renewed its mask mandate for indoor public places in California — exactly six months after lifting the last one.

By

Ana B. Ibarra

• December 13, 2021

Pedestrians walk past a sign for a COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Los Angeles on August 17, 2021. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

Coronavirus

First US omicron infection found in San Francisco

Lea este artículo en español. California will increase COVID-19 testing of some airport travelers after a passenger flying to San Francisco International Airport from South Africa was identified as the first known case of the omicron variant in the United States. The California Department of Public Health announced today that travelers arriving from countries identified by […]

By

Kristen Hwang

• December 1, 2021

A registered nurse puts on her PPE before entering a room to check on a patient in a COVID-19 unit decorated with Christmas stockings at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo on Dec. 21, 2020. AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

Coronavirus

Another COVID holiday: Is California in a better place this year?

The answer is no in many parts of California: Eighteen counties, mostly rural ones, have more hospitalized COVID-19 patients today than a year ago. But urban counties are faring better.

By

Ana B. Ibarra

and

Hannah Getahun

• November 23, 2021

Coronavirus

COVID misinformation plagues California’s Indigenous speakers

Health officials have tried to reach out to hundreds of thousands of people speaking Mixteco and other Indigenous languages but barriers remain, leaving them vulnerable to COVID.

By

Hannah Getahun

• November 10, 2021

A close-up photograph of the CA Notify website on an iPhone.

Economy

California rolled out websites and apps to fight COVID-19 — did they work?

Lea este artículo en español. During the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year, Shira Shafir was trying to make vaccine appointments for some colleagues at UCLA. Unfortunately, the first few times she used MyTurn, part of California’s technological response to the pandemic, the site proved difficult even for her, an adjunct associate professor at UCLA focused on […]

By

Grace Gedye

• November 9, 2021

Mobile vaccination teams visited Los Angeles Unified school campuses to deliver first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccines, as students returned to in-person classes in Los Angeles on Aug. 30, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Coronavirus

Young children can receive COVID vaccines soon. Here’s what you need to know

U.S. gave final approval Tuesday for children ages 5 to 11. In some California counties, they can be vaccinated as soon as today.

By

Ana B. Ibarra

• November 3, 2021

A Fluzone influenza vaccine at Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy in San Francisco on Jan. 9, 2018. AP Photo/Jeff Chiu

Coronavirus

COVID and the flu: Is a ‘twindemic’ threat lurking again?

Experts hope continued masking will reduce this season’s dual threat of COVID and flu.

By

Ana B. Ibarra

• October 21, 2021

Coronavirus

Hospitals brace for strikes as California workers protest staff shortages

Long-simmering disputes with unions over staffing are reaching crisis points. Almost a third of California hospitals report insufficient numbers of critical workers, including nurses, technicians and janitors.

By

Kristen Hwang

• October 15, 2021

Coronavirus

Shlomo Rechnitz nursing home suit over COVID deaths reflects ‘broken state licensing’

A lawsuit describes nursing home magnate Shlomo Rechnitz and his companies as the “unlicensed owner-operator” of a troubled Redding facility.

By

Jocelyn Wiener

• October 4, 2021