covid-19

A man wearing a mask walks past a boarded up restaurant in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco on April 7, 2020. California is entering the fourth week of sheltering in place to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

WhatMatters

California may be about to hit coronavirus peak. Are new masks coming from China safe? COVID-19 poses dire predicament for farms and farmworkers

By

Emily Hoeven

• April 13, 2020

A man wearing disposable gloves and a bandana over his face walks past a boarded up shop on Haight Street in San Francisco on April 7, 2020. California is entering the fourth week of sheltering in place to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus, and the number of Californians hospitalized and those in ICUs with COVID-19 is starting to edge up only slightly. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Coronavirus

Wary optimism: Small uptick of COVID-19 Californians in hospital and intensive care

Just a few days from a forecasted peak in California’s pandemic, it's seeing fewer hospitalizations and intensive care patients than anticipated.

By

Elizabeth Aguilera

• April 10, 2020

First responders at a Kaiser emergency room in San Francisco on April 9, 2020. Today, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the state would make hotel rooms available to care providers in regions with high rates of COVID-19 infections who need to self-isolate. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

WhatMatters

CA only using 32% of ventilators

Questions swirl around California ventilator supply. Assembly speaker adjusts to life in an empty Capitol. Health care workers may get hotel discounts.

By

Emily Hoeven

• April 10, 2020

Cassie Gamboa, left, and Robert Romo, right, go into their new hotel room with Edwin Aviles, of Union Station Homeless Services on April 7, 2020. Photo by Michael Owen Baker courtesy of Los Angeles County

Housing

Here’s how putting California’s homeless in hotels actually works

State officials are trying to find hotel rooms for homeless Californians with COVID-19 or vulnerabilities, but say the logistics are daunting.

By

Matt Levin

• April 9, 2020

WhatMatters

Trending: #PresidentNewsom

Newsom's big medical mask deal leads to #PresidentNewsom buzz on Twitter. Is it safe to clean and reuse medical masks during coronavirus pandemic?

By

Emily Hoeven

• April 9, 2020

Feb. 20, 2020, workers pack N95 respirators in a medical supply factory in Nantong in east China's Jiangsu province. Today, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that California will receive 200 million masks per month from unspecified suppliers in Asia in order to meet state needs during the COVID-19 crisis. Photo by FeatureChina via AP Images

WhatMatters

CA now “confident” about supplying state needs

Newsom lands deal for 200 million masks per month for health care workers, says coronavirus cases may peak in mid to late May.

By

Emily Hoeven

• April 8, 2020

Cages of ventilators, part of a shipment of 400, are displayed, Tuesday, March 24, 2020 at the New York City Emergency Management Warehouse where they will be distributed. Photo by Mark Lennihan, AP Photo

WhatMatters

CA gives feds 500 ventilators

Calfiornia sends 500 ventilators to federal government. Essential workers get child care help. Demand for small business loans crashes system.

By

Emily Hoeven

• April 7, 2020

Gov. Gavin Newsom at a press conference in the state capitol following the first COVID-19 death in California. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

WhatMatters

Newsom: I have a responsibility to do better

Newsom takes responsibility for coronavirus backlog. COVID-19 unravels safety net for developmentally disabled. CA lawmakers try to govern from home.

By

Emily Hoeven

• April 6, 2020

Housing

Nearly 900 placed into hotels, motels — a fraction of California’s homeless

California announces a cost-sharing project with FEMA to place thousands of vulnerable individuals in hotels and motels. Gov. Gavin Newsom also pledges to find a longer-term solution for the homeless.

By

Matt Levin

• April 3, 2020

A construction worker in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco on March 25, 2020. Public works employees are exempt during the shelter in place order. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

WhatMatters

500% increase in CA unemployment claims

Unemployment claims surge 500% in California, small businesses face devastation as coronavirus pandemic upends state econony.

By

Emily Hoeven

• April 3, 2020

Covid-19