LOS ANGELES — California health authorities reported on Saturday a record high of 695 coronavirus deaths as many hospitals strain under unprecedented caseloads. The state Department of Public Health says the number raises the state's death toll since the start of the pandemic to 29,233. A surge of cases following Halloween and Thanksgiving produced record hospitalizations in California, and now the most seriously ill of those patients are dying in unprecedented numbers. Already, many hospitals in Los Angeles and other hard-hit areas are struggling to keep up and warned they may need to ration care as intensive care beds dwindle.
Gov. Newsom announced, as part of his budget proposal, low-income Californians with annual incomes of less than $30,000 would get a $600 payment.