SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — Here are the latest updates on coronavirus and how local governments are responding to the illness, with a focus on California.
CALIFORNIA STATUS UPDATE
The California Department of Public Health reports:
- Confirmed cases: 14,336 (As of April 5).
- 343 deaths
- 22 state and county labs processing tests for COVID-19, including commercial, private and academic labs. As of April 5, approximately 143,800 tests have been conducted.
- Click here for complete information on coronavirus, unemployment, and more from the state of California.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
- Sac City Unified strikes agreement with principals for distance learning: Sacramento City Unified School District have made another step forward on their course toward distance learning. The district recently landed an agreement with their school principals for the their distance learning plan, expected to start on April 13. “I am pleased to announce this agreement with United Professional Educators (UPE), who have helped lead the way through this unprecedented health crisis by putting our students first,” said Sac City Unified Superintendent Jorge Aguilar. “This group of dedicated principals demonstrates continued leadership and partnership benefitting our students. This agreement moves us another important step forward to implement a distance learning plan that serves all Sac City Unified students.”
- California governor sticking with mid-May as COVID-19 peak: Gov. Gavin Newsom is sticking to a mid-May projection of when the COVID-19 outbreak will reach its peak in California. While confirmed cases and deaths are rising in California, the rate of hospitalizations and intensive-care placements — a key indicator of resources the state needs — have been increasing more slowly. Newsom said they rose less than 5% over the weekend. A new analysis by researchers at the University of Washington shows California will hit its peak of COVID-19 deaths on April 17. Newsom isn't changing his forecast for the state but he and the researchers agree things will worsen if people stop social distancing.
- Gold River senior living facility resident dies: A resident in the Eskaton Lodge in Gold River who tested positive for the coronavirus has passed away, according to Betsy Donovan, Chief Operating Officers for the lodge. Officials were notified this morning. Gold River is located in the unincorporated area of Sacramento County.
- As thousands join, few rules for California Health Corps: Tens of thousands of retired health care workers and medical and nursing students are signing up for the newly established California Health Corps. But almost nothing is known about how it will operate, how much it will cost and whether taxpayers will be liable for any malpractice. Gov. Gavin Newsom established the corps to staff the 66,000 additional hospital rooms he said could be needed when the coronavirus outbreak peaks in California in mid-May. Now the state's task is to smoothly integrate that volunteer army into the existing health care system and the stopgap medical facilities springing up in sports arenas, fairgrounds and other locations.
- 462 cases in Sacramento County: As of 10:15 a.m., Sacramento County has 462 confirmed coronavirus cases and 18 deaths.
- Yuba-Sutter Health Officer extends "stay home" order: The Yuba-Sutter Health Officers is extending the "stay home" order to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. A "more stringent" stay home order was issued through May 3. “Without this tailored set of restrictions that further reduces the number of interactions between people, scientific evidence indicates that the public health crisis in the area will worsen to the point at which it may overtake available healthcare resources,” Dr. Phuong Luu said. The new order restricts fishing, automotive sales lots, parks and barbecue areas.
- Sacramento company teams with Xerox to mass produce ventilators: Vortan Medical Technology and Xerox are teaming up to mass produce disposable ventilators in the fight against the coronavirus. The companies plan to scale up production from 40,000 ventilators in April to between 150,000 to 200,000 by June. The companies hope to make up to 1 million ventilators in the coming months.
- Sacramento County plans to extend its stay-at-home order until April 30, 2020, county spokesperson Samantha Mott told ABC10 on Monday. The order, which was established on March 19, was originally set to expire on Tuesday, April 7. Mott said the county will announce the extension on April 7. The county now has mobile COVID-19 testing available by appointment for the public to use and has also set up a COVID-19 hotline for people in the county. People seeking drive-up testing will have to go through a questionnaire.
- California's governor says the state will loan 500 ventilators to the national stockpile for use by New York and other states experiencing a crush of hospitalizations due to the new coronavirus. Gov. Gavin Newsom's announcement on Monday follows commitments by Oregon and Washington to transfer ventilators to New York. It also comes despite California's request for 10,000 ventilators from the national stockpile, which has not been fulfilled. As of Friday, Newsom said the state had about 4,200 ventilators. California is expecting its coronavirus peak to come sometime in May.
OUR MISSION: FACTS NOT FEAR
Coronavirus Background
According to the CDC, coronavirus (COVID-19) is a family of viruses that is spreadable from person to person. Coronavirus is believed to have been first detected in a seafood market in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. If someone is sick with coronavirus, the symptoms they may show include mild to severe respiratory illness, cough, and difficulty breathing.
Currently, there is no vaccine; however, the CDC suggests the following precautions, along with any other respiratory illness:
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
- Stay home when you are sick.
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
- Wash your hands with soap and water for a minimum of 20 seconds.
WHY HEALTH OFFICIALS ARE SO CONCERNED
Some people have compared the low overall death toll to the flu's high annual death toll in the United States as a reason not to be concerned about COVID-19, however, doctors and health officials are concerned for three main reasons:
- Some people have built up immunity to the flu, but few have immunity to COVID-19 version of coronavirus.
- Both the flu and COVID-19 are spread by droplets, but COVID-19 might be spread in the air. Scientists are researching exactly how COVID-19 spreads.
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