Los Angeles and California Reopening
LA has a population of 10 million and California a population of 40 million. We now have 3,340 deaths and 81,800 confirmed cases in CA. We have been spared the devastating infection and death rates of the New York City region possibly due to early stay at home orders by the Governor and the health care leaders in the Bay Area. We experienced record numbers of new deaths today against a steady backdrop of declining new deaths, declining rates of hospitalizations, and declining rates of new cases. Governor Newsom is letting counties reopen slowly depending on the assessments of local officials of the dangers of the disease in their counties and communities. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-05-20/californias-coronavirus-deaths-are-still-a-problem-but-heres-why-officials-still-want-to-reopen LA is on a pace to fully reopen by July 4, nearly 6 weeks away. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-05-19/la-county-residents-more-coronavirus-cases-study We are moving from an era of stay at home except for groceries and medical care to an era of wear a mask and socially distance from others outside your immediate household.
The rate of transmission in LA is now 1; that means each infected person is infecting one other person. Earlier the rate of transmission was 3; in other words each infected person was infecting three others. To beat the virus, we need to get the rate of transmission lower than 1 – a lot lower if we can. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-05-18/coronavirus-infection-rate-drop-los-angeles-county-falling
Some of the worst hot spots are prisons, nursing homes, meat packing facilities, religious gatherings and large family gatherings for birthdays and mother’s day. Prisons all over the state have been a central space for the spread of Covid 19. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/20/california-prisons-covid-19-outbreak-deaths Nursing homes have accounted for nearly half of all deaths, and certain facilities have had a history of repeated offenses for lack of infection control and insufficient staffing. https://khn.org/news/covid-plagued-california-nursing-homes-often-had-problems-in-past/ Meat packing plants in the agricultural regions of the Central Valley have had and are having major outbreaks. https://www.fresnobee.com/news/business/agriculture/article242714526.html Religious services have also been a source of major outbreaks in California. https://abcnews.go.com/US/200-possibly-exposed-coronavirus-religious-service-violated-stay/story?id=70733928 A woman coughing at a large Pasadena family birthday party infected many at the party. https://abc7.com/pasadena-covid-coronavirus-cluster/6173576/ Further north in Washington state, a woman coughing at a church choir practice infected over 50 people. https://www.livescience.com/covid-19-superspreader-singing.html In an effort to appeal to his religious right supporters, President Trump’s Department of Justice is warning Governor Newsom about suppressing and discriminating against church observances as California reopens. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/justice-department-warns-california-its-reopening-plan-discriminates-against-churches-2020-05-19
Ignore the President, don’t drink the bleach or take the chloroquine or lay in a tanning bed for UV rays; listen to the CDC, whose safe re-opening guidelines have finally escaped the White House’s embargo. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/php/CDC-Activities-Initiatives-for-COVID-19-Response.pdf