Coronavirus updates: Newsom leases 2 more hospitals, deploys Guard to aid Sacramento food bank
As the coronavirus continues to spread, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Saturday that the state is leasing two hospitals to increase California’s readiness for an expected surge in COVID-19 cases.
Newsom’s office said the state will spend $30 million to lease and expand Seton Medical Center in Daly City and St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles. St. Vincent has been closed since January but will be reopened to accommodate up to 366 coronavirus patients. The leases will last three months.
Earlier, the state arranged to Community Hospital in Long Beach, which was scheduled to begin accepting patients Saturday.
Newsom also said the state would spend $8.6 million to buy more ventilators and other equipment. State officials have worried that an increase in coronavirus cases could overwhelm the state’s supply of ventilators, which numbers around 7,500. The machines can be crucial in saving patients with serious respiratory ailments.
Newsom sends National Guard to Sacramento
Newsom sent in the National Guard to help distribute food in Sacramento County.
Friday night’s order, which was expected, came as the number of cases in California reached 1,224 and the number of fatalities linked to the virus that causes COVID-19 reached 23, according to the California Department of Public Health. Worldwide, the virus has infected 278,239 people and killed 11,921, according to Johns Hopkins University figures on Saturday.
On Thursday, Newsom told all 40 million residents of California to stay home, except for essential services and to continue social distancing.
Friday’s order to deploy the California National Guard was intended to provide resources to vulnerable residents of the state by delivering food as food banks struggle to keep up with demand.
“It’s in these times of crisis that Californians are at their best, coming to the aid of those in their community who are most in need,” Newsom said in a prepared statement. “Food banks provide a critical lifeline for families, and are needed now more than ever. Families across our state are suddenly losing work, and millions of Californians most vulnerable to COVID-19 are staying home to protect their health and the health of others.”
Due to increased demand during the pandemic, food banks have not been able to maintain adequate levels of volunteer staffing, according to the Governor’s Office.
National Guard members will deploy first to a distribution warehouse in Sacramento County, and will go on to conduct assessments of food banks across the state.
“This short-term assistance from the California National Guard allows time to mobilize AmeriCorps, California Conservation Corps and Local Conservation Corps members, and other volunteers where counties have identified serious gaps,” Newsom’s office said.
Earlier in the week, Newsom floated the possibility of enacting martial law if necessary.
Lack of local testing
Sacramento County health officials said Friday that a lack of available coronavirus testing resources has skewed the number of reported cases, meaning that there could be 20 to 100 percent more cases in the county than officially confirmed.
As of Saturday, Sacramento County has received confirmation for 53 confirmed cases of coronavirus — but the county Department of Public Health only has the capacity to test 50 patients per day, which means that health officials are rationing tests for those with severe symptoms.
Dr. Peter Beilenson, the county’s top health official, said that he suspects many more are infected and spreading the virus without even knowing it.
Beilenson said the federal response to the coronavirus has not been commensurate to the crisis local leadership is now facing.
“I don’t know how (the federal government) can’t have prepared for this,” Beilenson told The Sacramento Bee. “You knew that swabs were necessary for this virus in January, you’d think they could produce in a couple months enough swabs.”
Locales throughout the country are reporting similar shortages of supplies. NPR recently reported that while the federal government hopes to increase testing capacity through a planned rollout of drive-thru testing sites soon, the United States is still responding sluggishly.
As of Wednesday, the U.S. had tested 71,000 patients for coronavirus, while South Korea had tested 270,000, according to NPR.
Grand Princess cruise tests positive
The San Francisco Chronicle reported Saturday that seven asymptomatic passengers aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship who were quarantined at Travis Air Force Base tested positive with coronavirus Friday.
The Grand Princess had been bound for Hawaii when a previous passenger tested positive for the virus, causing the ship to be waylaid at sea for days to restrict the spread of coronavirus.
The seven patients were sent to a care facility for further treatment, according to the Chronicle.
Of the 858 passengers who were quarantined at Travis Air Force Base, the results of 110 tests have been received, although a total of 308 passengers volunteered to be tested. Two thirds of the ship’s passengers refused testing, the Chronicle reported.
Yosemite shut down
Yosemite National Park, one of California’s most popular tourist destinations, shut down Friday in an attempt to slow the spread of coronavirus.
Local health officials urged Yosemite leadership to close the park until further notice in response to the pandemic, according to reporting by The Fresno Bee. The park saw more than 4.5 million visitors last year.
The closure came despite Mariposa and Tuolumne Counties — in which the national park is located — having reported no confirmed coronavirus cases.
Only residents and park employees will be permitted to enter the park for the duration of the closure, which will be enforced 24 hours a day, every day.
Northern California cases
El Dorado County health officials announced their first two cases of coronavirus in county residents Friday.
The first case, announced Friday morning, was in a patient who had recently traveled to Central California to visit sick family members. The patient has yet to return to El Dorado County and has recovered from her mild symptoms.
By Friday afternoon, county health officials had announced a second case. This patient recently traveled to Washington state, where he was likely exposed to coronavirus.
The man, who does not have underlying health issues and is under 65, was tested positive for coronavirus in Placer County.
“His symptoms were mild, he self-isolated when he became symptomatic as health officials have been suggesting, and he has fully recovered,” El Dorado County Public Health Officer Dr. Nancy Williams said in a prepared statement.
County officials have received results of 68 coronavirus tests, of which all but two were negative. At least 50 more tests on El Dorado County residents are pending results.
Last week, El Dorado County joined scores of other California counties in declaring a public health emergency in response to coronavirus.
Humboldt County also reported its second case of coronavirus Friday, exactly one month after reporting its first.
The second patient had recently traveled to a high-risk country, and was ordered into quarantine, along with anyone who was in close contact with them.
“Our thoughts go out to this individual and we wish them a full recovery,” Humboldt County Health Officer Dr. Teresa Frankovich said in a prepared statement. “We have said repeatedly that we expect additional cases in our community. We’ve been fortunate to have had time to prepare, and we have prepared. I certainly do not think this will be the last case in Humboldt County.”
The first patient was released from isolation on Feb. 28 after a full recovery.
Death toll rising in Santa Clara County
The Bay Area has been one of the hardest-hit regions of California by the pandemic.
Santa Clara County, which was one of the first counties in the state to report cases of coronavirus, reported two new deaths from the virus Friday as the total number of infected reached 196.
The seventh person in the county to succumb to COVID-19 was a man in his 80s, according to county health officials. He was hospitalized on March 3 and died on Tuesday.
The eighth and latest death was a man in his 70s. The virus continues to spread in Santa Clara County, as officials also reported seven new cases in the same day.
Newsom previously ordered all California residents over 65 to self-isolate in order to limit the spread of the virus, which disproportionately affects elderly patients.
This story was originally published March 21, 2020 at 11:16 AM with the headline "Coronavirus updates: Newsom leases 2 more hospitals, deploys Guard to aid Sacramento food bank."
