Covid-19

Coronavirus

Feds to send COVID tests to nursing homes, but can California really use them?

State health officials were caught off guard by the federal government’s plan, as the tests are less accurate and may be of limited use in California’s nursing homes.

By Barbara Feder Ostrov • July 17, 2020

CalMatters en Español

Casi todas las escuelas de California tienen orden de cerrar. Las clases en línea son obligatorias

La educación de al menos el 90% del estado se hará en línea. Las escuelas no pueden reabrir a menos que se estabilice la cantidad de casos de coronavirus y las hospitalizaciones del condado al que pertenecen.

By Ricardo Cano • July 17, 2020

Education

Nearly all California schools ordered to shut down. Online classes mandatory

Education for at least 90% of the state will have to be held online. Schools cannot reopen unless their county's coronavirus infections and hospitalizations are stable.

By Ricardo Cano • July 17, 2020

Health

Without a trace: This California county has stopped contact tracing as coronavirus surges

Merced County promised 42 tracers to interview infected people. But it’s not actually tracing. “All of us got sick, and the county didn’t do anything to help us.”

By Rebecca Sohn • July 16, 2020

Coronavirus

The gathering storm: How the state seized control of two troubled nursing homes as coronavirus crisis loomed

Once a rarity, state takeovers of on-the-edge nursing homes are expected to become more common as the pandemic tips facilities further into chaos.

By Barbara Feder Ostrov • July 15, 2020

WhatMatters

Newsom vs. Orange County — again

Good morning, California. It’s Wednesday, July 15. What happens if districts defy state? Orange County isn’t making things easy for Gov. Gavin Newsom. The county’s board of education recommended Monday that students return to school without face masks or physical distancing, contradicting guidelines from the state Department of Education and testing Newsom’s avowed commitment to […]

By Emily Hoeven • July 15, 2020

Coronavirus

The new COVID-19 rationing: Testing just got harder to get in California

The state announced a new tiered system that gives testing priority to patients hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms, and those linked to outbreaks.

By Ana B. Ibarra • July 14, 2020

WhatMatters

Newsom orders California back to square one

Good morning, California. It’s Tuesday, July 14. Bars, indoor dining, gyms, churches to close Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday ordered massive swaths of California’s economy to close back down, largely reverting the state to where it was in March, as a surge in coronavirus patients pushes rural hospitals to the brink. Newsom directed all 58 […]

By Emily Hoeven • July 14, 2020

Economy

Newsom closes indoor businesses statewide; clamps down further on some counties

As coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continue to spike, California Gov. Gavin Newsom closes indoor activities at restaurants, wineries, movie theaters, museums and card rooms while also ordering breweries and bars to close all operations, indoors and out.

By Ana B. Ibarra • July 13, 2020

Dan Walters

Will California’s schools reopen their doors?

Will California's public schools, with 6 million students, reopen after shutting down due to the COVID-19 pandemic? Or will stay-at-home classes continue?

By Dan Walters • July 13, 2020