California’s COVID-19 Statewide Update page shows a chart plotting the past month’s day-to-day numbers on new confirmed cases and deaths, an excellent resource for understanding where we stand in the midst of the pandemic. Yesterday’s increase of 1,469 positive cases would suggest that California will exceed the 50,000 mark in cases sometime today or tomorrow. We will surely top 2,000 deaths today.
Here is from today’s report:
How are COVID-19 cases progressing?
Data as of April 29, 2020 at 11:00 am.
There were 1,469 new confirmed cases Tuesday. The total number of deaths is 1,887, an increase of 78 from Monday.
Other charts show:
How COVID-19 cases are progressing in each county
Gender and ethnicity of those infected with COVID-19
Complaint filed with state over evacuated nursing facility yesterday
Magnolia Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, Riverside CA
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP News) — Riverside County officials have filed a complaint over conditions at a skilled nursing facility that was evacuated after staff failed to show up for work during the coronavirus outbreak.
Dr. Cameron Kaiser, the county’s public health officer, has asked state health officials for an assessment of Magnolia Rehabilitation and Nursing Center before the facility reopens. He also asked in his April 20 letter for the state to determine whether workers acted ethically and professionally when they failed to show up for their shifts.
“We believe that substantial ongoing issues relate to their staffing and infection control plans, and during our inspection of the premises subsequent to my commandeer order identified structural issues,” Kaiser wrote.
The complaint comes after Kaiser ordered the evacuation of more than 80 patients from the facility on April 8 when insufficient staff showed up to care for them.
No one answered the phones at the facility on Tuesday. Messages sent to administrator Larry Mays weren’t immediately returned. On its website, the facility posted a message saying the evacuation was the right decision and it was following up with residents and their families to ensure a smooth transition.
Skilled nursing facilities have been hit hard by the coronavirus, and residents are considered especially vulnerable due to their age and other health conditions and close proximity to each other. The Southern California county has reported more than 650 virus cases among residents and staff of nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe life-threatening illness, including pneumonia.
In his complaint, Kaiser wrote that Riverside County officials tested residents at Magnolia after learning of virus cases. Two days later, officials received a request for staff to cover three eight-hour shifts as the facility’s routinely scheduled workers weren’t showing up.
The county provided staffing for the next day and warned Mays that an emergency plan was required, he said. When the facility continued to have staffing problems, Kaiser ordered the evacuation.
The county took over the facility and evaluated whether it could be used to house virus patients, but found cleanliness issues and possible structural concerns with the flooring would have made doing so too expensive.
The California Department of Public Health declined to comment on the complaint, pending an investigation.
Below is the powerpoint Governor Newsom used at his noon press conference today to outline the process for California’s road to modifying stay-at-home orders and re-opening the businesses and workplaces. A good summary can be found at CBS8 San Diego. (A print version is likely to appear soon on the Governor’s coronavirus page.)
Decision based on progress toward preparing California’s hospitals and health care delivery system for a COVID-19 surge in patients – one of California’s six indicators to gradually modify state’s stay-at-home order
State also announces plans to add at least an additional 80 testing sites, mainly in underserved communities; train up to 10,000 contact tracers
SACRAMENTO — Today, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced plans to allow hospitals and health systems to resume delayed medical care for Californians – such as heart valve replacements, angioplasty and tumor removals, and key preventive care services, such as colonoscopies – which were deferred as the state’s health care delivery systems prepared for a surge of COVID-19 patients. The decision was based on progress toward preparing California hospitals and health systems for a surge in COVID-19 patients – one of the six critical indicators the governor unveiled last week as part of the state’s framework for gradually modifying California’s stay-at-home order.
As part of the Western State’s Pact, California will work with Washington and Oregon to share best practices on how our states can allow hospitals and medical providers to resume delayed medical care in areas that have sufficient hospital capacity, while ensuring the safety and health of our health care workers and patients. The Western states had previously announced a shared, science-based vision for gradually reopening their economies and controlling COVID-19 into the future.
“From the beginning, I have said California’s decisions will be guided by science, not politics, and that Californians’ health comes first,” said Governor Newsom. “Thanks to the work our health care delivery system has done expanding hospital capacity and reducing the rate of spread of COVID-19, hospitals and health systems can consider resuming medical care that residents have delayed during this crisis, such as heart valve replacements, angioplasty and tumor removals, when such care can be delivered safety and with appropriate protections for health care workers. It’s in the best interest of the overall health of our state to allow these procedures to resume when they can be done safely.”
Last week, Governor Newsom announced six indicators that would drive California’s decision to gradually modify portions of the state’s stay-at-home order. They include:
Expanding testing and contact tracing to be able to identify and isolate those with the virus;
Preventing infection in people who are most at risk;
Being able to handle surges in hospitals and the health care delivery system;
Developing therapeutics to meet demand;
Ensuring businesses, schools and child care facilities can support physical distancing; and
Determining when to reinstate certain measures like the stay-at-home order if need be.
Also today, Governor Newsom announced that President Trump has personally committed to sending the state 100,000 testing swabs next week and 250,000 swabs the following week.
Health officials also outlined progress toward the first indicator: expanding testing and contact tracing to be able to identify and isolate those with the virus.
To that end, the state announced the expansion of community testing in underserved areas. The state is contracting with Verily, an Alphabet company, in partnership with Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE) and with support from Rockefeller Foundation and an anonymous donor, to establish six new community testing sites focused on underserved communities such as farmworkers and communities of color. Additionally, the state is contracting with OptumServe, to establish an additional 80 community testing sites, which too will be focused on underserved communities.
“We know that communities of color are disproportionately affected by COVID-19,” said Governor Newsom. “We must ensure that we are deploying testing equitably in an effort to reduce the higher death rates we are seeing in African American and Latino communities.”
In addition, the state is:
Accelerating equitable COVID-19 testing by aiming to deploy 25,000 tests per day by April 30; establishing an additional 80-100 testing sites; and identifying five new high-throughput testing hubs.
Establishing a contact tracing workforce by surveying counties on their capacity; developing a statewide training academy; and training 10,000 public health connectors to conduct contact tracing.
Developing isolation protocols and supports by identifying regional alternate isolation sites and building private-public partnerships to support those who are isolated.
Deploying data management system and tools by publishing a symptom-check app; deploying a data management platform; and establishing a data dashboard for the public.
Now that testing has become more widely available across the state, California updated its testing guidance earlier this week to become the first state to recommend testing of some asymptomatic individuals such as health care workers, first responders and correctional workers. This action will better protect Californians and prevent COVID-19 spread in high-risk settings such as congregate living facilities and correctional facilities.
You must be logged in to post a comment.