Coronavirus updates: More than 200 dead in California, including 9 in Sacramento County
March 2020 has finally ended, but health experts say the worst of the coronavirus pandemic has yet to come for California.
Health officials have already reported more than 200 deaths statewide as of Wednesday night. California is facing economic devastation due to the crisis, but public health leaders say the peak of growth in new cases — as well as hospitalizations and deaths — will likely come no earlier than mid-May, with some variance possible in different parts of the state.
Thursday will mark two weeks since Gov. Gavin Newsom gave a mandatory stay-at-home order to the state’s nearly 40 million residents, an extraordinary measure intended to slow and “flatten” the growth curve of the virus, to keep its impact on hospital systems manageable.
The order has essentially shut down entire sectors of the economy, and has upended ordinary life for millions of people: mass layoffs have shot unemployment claims to record highs; K-12 schools remain closed through at least early May and will very likely stay shuttered for much longer; and non-essential activities like dining in at restaurants as well as in-person events of any size have temporarily ceased.
The virus, which causes the disease called COVID-19, has infected more than 935,000 people worldwide, including over 215,000 in the United States as of Wednesday evening, according to data by Johns Hopkins University. The disease has killed more than 47,000 people, with over 5,100 fatalities coming in the U.S., and a high percentage of both infections and deaths in New York state as the rapid spread of the highly contagious virus strains hospital systems there.
Newsom on Wednesday said more than 8,100 confirmed coronavirus cases have been reported in California. A Sacramento Bee survey tally of figures released by counties’ public health departments showed more more than 215 COVID-19 deaths in California as of Wednesday night.
In a daily news conference by state leaders on Wednesday, Newsom said more than 1,800 coronavirus patients were hospitalized, with 774 in ICU beds. His administration still predicts the state will need 50,000 more hospital beds on top of the 75,000 that the hospital system already had before the coronavirus outbreak, with a peak that could come around mid-May.
9th death in Sacramento County, officials give city-by-city breakdown
The county public health department in a midday Wednesday update reported a total of 314 confirmed COVID-19 and one additional death from the disease, which now has killed nine people in Sacramento County. The infection total grew by 90 from a total of 224 given two days earlier.
Health officials made the troubling discovery that about one-third of all cases reported in the county have been linked to church gatherings. Dr. Peter Beilenson, head of Sacramento County’s Department of Health Services, said Wednesday morning that a single church that has continued in-person services, which he did not name, has had 24 confirmed cases among its congregation.
Officials also for the first time gave city-by-city tallies for the county’s coronavirus figures: six of the deaths so far have come in the city of Sacramento among 172 cases within city limits, and the remaining three fatalities have come in Elk Grove among 33 cases.
Galt has confirmed three cases, Folsom has reported seven, Citrus Heights 12, Rancho Cordova 18 and unincorporated areas 53, according to the public health website, with no deaths in those locations at this point.
Isleton is the only incorporated city in the county with no reported COVID-19 cases.
Should Californians wear masks?
California Department of Public Health Director Sonia Angell during Wednesday’s news conference said there’s some evidence masks could slow the spread of the virus by blocking some saliva droplets, but she stopped short of saying all Californians should start wearing them.
“There may be some benefits from using (face coverings), but only when they’re used well,” Angell said.
For example, wearing a mask could give someone a false sense of security, which could be dangerous if it leads someone to stop following guidelines on physical distancing, hand washing or face touching, she said.
California officials had previously discouraged members of the general public from buying and wearing masks, and Newsom continued to say that the general public should not purchase surgical and N95 masks needed by health workers.
When will coronavirus spread peak in California?
The peak of the COVID-19 exponential growth curve, the point at which the rate of either coronavirus deaths or infections reaches its highest point and then slows down, is projected to be at least several weeks away for California.
Time frames can vary a bit by location and will change with effective social distancing measures and with better data available for modeling, but state and local health officials earlier this week projected a peak in hospitalizations around the middle or end of May.
Beilenson told The Sacramento Bee he was “cautiously” optimistic that the jurisdiction could fare relatively well if residents continue to adhere to social distancing guidelines. He said late last week that another month and a half of stay-at-home orders “probably makes a lot of sense.”
What experts universally agree is that the United States, as a whole, has not reached its peak; in terms of total fatalities, it may be orders of magnitude away. Just over 4,000 have died in the U.S. as of Wednesday morning, according to data kept by Johns Hopkins. A day earlier, Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, said anywhere between 100,000 to 240,000 deaths nationwide over the course of the pandemic may now be seen as a best-case scenario.
Yolo County extends shelter-in-place, reports 4 new cases
Yolo County has extended its public health “shelter-in-place order” through May 1. The county original declared the order March 18, a day before Newsom’s statewide mandate, and it had been set to end April 7.
Officials in a Wednesday update said there are now 28 confirmed coronavirus cases in the county, up three from 25 the previous day.
“I am proud of the people and businesses of Yolo County who have supported the orders to stay at home and practice social distancing. Such public health measures take time to slow, and eventually stop, the COVID-19 virus spread,” Yolo County Public Health Officer Dr. Ron Chapman said in a prepared statement. “Given the increasing number of cases in our county, and surrounding counties, the order to stay at home has been extended to May 1.”
One fatality has been reported so far in Yolo County.
Unemployment figures already similar to Great Recession
Newsom in a Tuesday news conference said more than 1.6 million Californians have filed for unemployment insurance, including about 150,000 claims on Monday alone.
Given the 759,000 already counted as unemployed by Employment Development Department before the coronavirus crisis began prompting closures and layoffs, the 1.6 million people on unemployment would represent a tripling of the number of Californians out of work, putting the state’s unemployment rate at roughly 12 percent.
That would be similar to the peak unemployment rate California experienced in 2010, about a year after the Great Recession officially ended — this time, hitting the state (as well as the nation at large) in a matter of weeks.
Schools won’t open before end of school year, state officials say
California’s top education official, Tony Thurmond, sent a letter to district superintendents Tuesday saying it “currently appears that our students will not be able to return to school campuses before the end of the school year,” essentially acknowledging that public schools will need to transition online for the rest of the academic year.
That is not a mandate at this time, but is reflective of current timelines being looked at for social distancing and stay-at-home orders, which Newsom recently said could last as long as 12 weeks.
Newsom during Wednesday’s news conference echoed state superintendent’s message that families should not expect schools to reopen this school year.
The governor also announced that Google will be providing 100,000 high-speed WiFi hotspots, as well as “thousands” of Chromebooks, in a collaborative effort to close the inequality gap between families’ access to internet technology.
Some districts, including Sacramento City Unified and San Juan Unified, have already begun to distribute thousands of laptops and Chromebooks to students as they prepare for the switch over to “distance learning.”
Newsom in late March suggested it was unlikely that schools would be able to physically reopen before their planned summer breaks.
Sacramento, Placer and Yolo counties’ offices of education in recent days extended their planned closures through May 1, meaning the earliest districts could open their campuses in the region would be May 4.
State prisons to release 3,500 inmates nearing parole
The state, in a filing to a panel of three federal judges, notes that Newsom’s order halting intake from county jails will reduce inmate population by 3,000 prisoners over 30 days, and that 3,500 inmates who are within 60 days of parole will be released in the coming weeks.
Another 480 to 530 inmates now housed in dormitories “will be transferred to other prisons with unoccupied buildings or space available,” the state said, adding that there is no need for the courts to intervene as they have in the past.
The filing comes as officials now say at least seven inmates and 25 correctional staffers have tested positive for COVID-19 across the state, with six of the infected inmates at California State Prison, Los Angeles County, in Lancaster.
Thousands nearing the end of sentences for non-serious, non-violent offenses are also being released early from county jails across California.
Coronavirus leads homeless to occupy vacant homes
On Sunday, Sacramento police removed three homeless adults from a vacant home in Land Park, cited them for trespassing and released them.
Video of the three being detained was posted to social media, and homeless advocates have pointed to the incident as an example of the population’s vulnerability leading them to take whatever measures are necessary, in this case trespassing and occupying a vacant home, in efforts to avoid exposure to the coronavirus.
Crystal Sanchez, an activist and president of the Sacramento Homeless Union, said she believes more homeless people will move into corporate or publicly-owned vacant houses in the city as the pandemic continues.
“Yes, they will move into a safe unused space,” Sanchez said. “At a time when precaution, protection and safety is key, we must do what we have to to survive this pandemic. This has become a moral obligation, so if that means breaking legal law, we must do what we need to.”
Police were called Sunday because people were trying to work on the inside of the house, Sgt. Will Conner can be heard saying on the video.
“There were people inside and they were not able to do the work,” Conner told a group of homeless advocates who were observing the incident. “Neighbors are calling as well as the people responsible for this building so they can do work inside.”
A police investigation found the three people had forced their way into the residence through a side door and were trespassing, Sacramento Police Department spokesman Officer Karl Chan said.
Latest coronavirus numbers: Where are California’s hot spots?
Coronavirus activity continues to be heaviest near two of the state’s most populous regions: the Los Angeles area and the Bay Area.
Los Angeles County has reported 64 coronavirus deaths as of noon Wednesday and more than 3,500 cases. Santa Clara County is next at 30 dead among 890 cases, followed by Riverside County at 13 dead among 371 confirmed infections, according to those counties’ public health departments.
In the four-county Sacramento area, Sacramento County confirmed its ninth death among 314 cases in a Wednesday update.
There have been a total of three fatalities among more than 120 confirmed cases in Sacramento’s three neighboring counties, according to their public health departments as of Wednesday morning: 78 cases in Placer County, including two deaths; 28 cases and one death in Yolo County; and 18 cases with no deaths yet reported in El Dorado County.
The U.S. has surpassed 200,000 total infections, according to the Johns Hopkins map, which shows more than 80,000 of those confirmed cases in New York state. The United States (206,000), Italy (110,000) and Spain (102,000) have all passed COVID-19’s previous epicenter of China in total case count. China has stagnated near 82,000 cases and 3,400 fatalities for a couple of weeks.
More than 13,000 people have died in Italy and another 9,000 in Spain, according to Johns Hopkins. More than 1,100 have died of the virus in New York City.
What is COVID-19? How is the coronavirus spread?
Coronavirus is spread through contact between people within 6 feet of each other, especially through coughing and sneezing that expels respiratory droplets that land in the mouths or noses of people nearby. The CDC says it’s possible to catch the disease COVID-19 by touching something that has the virus on it, and then touching your own face, “but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.”
Symptoms of the virus that causes COVID-19 include fever, cough and shortness of breath, which may occur two days to two weeks after exposure. Most develop only mild symptoms, but some people develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia, which can be fatal. The disease is especially dangerous to the elderly and others with weaker immune systems.
This story was originally published April 1, 2020 at 8:55 AM with the headline "Coronavirus updates: More than 200 dead in California, including 9 in Sacramento County."
