SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California deaths spur pleas to stay home for Christmas
California's deadly Christmas is being marked by pleas to stay away from holiday gatherings outside the home and avoid indoor church services as the rates of coronavirus deaths and hospitalizations soar.
Public officials are issuing pleas to social distance in what could be a make-or-break effort to curb a COVID-19 surge that has filled some hospitals beyond normal capacity.
The state has recorded more than 2 million COVID-19 cases and on Thursday a new record was recorded for hospitalizations.
Gov. Gavin Newsom says hospitals are under "unprecedented pressure" and if current trends continue the number of those hospitalized because of the virus could double in 30 days.
Department of Defense medical team heading to San Joaquin County
39 members of a Department of Defense medical team are heading to San Joaquin County to expand hospital ICU capacity. They're expected to be working at Adventist Health Lodi Memorial Hospital and Dameron Hospital in Stockton.
ICU services remain high with ICUs operating at 138% of licensed bed capacity. Officials reported 14 patient deaths due to COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, marking the highest single day for reported deaths since the start of the pandemic.
The DOD medical team is expected to arrive on Dec. 29 for orientation and be operating in time for the New Year's weekend.
ICU Capacity for Thursday, Dec. 24
As of Dec. 24, 2020, California has had 2,003,146 confirmed cases of coronavirus, of which 23, 635 have died.
- Greater Sacramento Region: 15.3% (down from 15.6%)
- Northern California: 27.5% (down from 28.8%)
- San Joaquin Valley: 0% (static)
- Bay Area: 9.2% (down from 11.4%)
- Southern California: 0% (static)
San Joaquin County reporting ICUs operating at 131% of licensed bed capacity
As of Thursday, Dec. 24, hospitals in San Joaquin County are reporting 353 COVID-19 positive patients currently are admitted for treatment. Demand for care has pushed the county's ICUs operating at 131% of licensed capacity.
The county is also reporting 12 deaths in the past day due to COVID-19 complications.
COVID in California: 2 million confirmed cases and counting
California has become the first state to record 2 million confirmed coronavirus cases. A tally by Johns Hopkins University on Thursday showed the nation’s most populated state has recorded 2,010,157 infections since January.
The grim milestone comes as a COVID-19 crisis that health officials say stems from Thanksgiving gatherings strains California’s medical system. More than 18,000 people are hospitalized and many of the state’s intensive care units filled.
CSU employees to lose pandemic-related benefits in 2021
At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, California State University created several new benefits to help its employees during the past nine months, which included providing a total of 560 hours of potential leave for workers who had to provide care for dependents or who could not work on-campus or telecommute.
Those benefits are set to expire on Jan. 2, 2021, unless the university and the employees' union can come to an agreement on benefits.
State nears 2 million confirmed cases mark
California’s Christmas Eve is being marked by a grim milestone as the state is poised to become the first to top 2 million confirmed cases of coronavirus. Johns Hopkins University is expected to report that the state reached the mark on Thursday, barely six weeks since hitting 1 million cases.
California has seen its number of cases climb exponentially in recent weeks, overwhelming hospitals, and public officials are begging people to stay home and not mingle for Christmas to avoid yet another surge.
Yet despite all that, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday that there are hints residents may be heeding medical officials’ increasingly desperate calls for caution during the holidays. The transmission rate has been slowing for nearly two weeks. The rate of positive cases reached a new high of 12.3% over a two-week period but was starting to trend down. Yet the state's worst surge is taking a horrendous toll that threatens to only worsen if people gather during the holidays.
Court orders virus safety rules for Foster Farms plant
A court says a chicken processing plant in central California that saw a deadly coronavirus outbreak must provide its workers with masks and follow a raft of other anti-COVID-19 health orders.
A judge in Merced County on Wednesday granted a temporary restraining order sought by a union against Foster Farms. A virus outbreak at its Livingston facility — one of the world’s largest chicken plants — killed nine people and sickened hundreds earlier this year. Foster Farms says it's already following safety rules and repeatedly testing employees for COVID-19, which has caused serious outbreaks at meatpacking plants nationwide.
CORONAVIRUS AND VACCINE RESOURCES AND ANSWERS:
- San Joaquin County Help: A Resource Guide for Struggling Families and Individuals
- Yolo County Help: A Resource Guide for Struggling Families and Individuals
- Stanislaus County Help: A Resource Guide for Struggling Families and Individuals
- Sacramento County Help: A Resource Guide for Struggling Families and Individuals
- Q&A: Why wear a mask after you've been vaccinated?
- Can my employer require the COVID-19 vaccine? | Q&A with workers rights attorney
- Q&A: How do the COVID-19 vaccines work? Are they like the flu vaccine, will there be side effects?
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