Here are your daily facts, news, and information on COVID-19, compiled by the Senate Democratic Caucus.

Cal OES Update:

• April 11, 2020 – pdf

Governor Updates:

• Today at Noon: Governor Gavin Newsom will provide an update on the state’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The update will be streamed at the @CAgovernor Twitter page and California Governor Facebook page.

Important Updates:

• Commissioner Lara Orders Insurance Companies to Refund Premiums to Drivers and Businesses Affected by the COVID-19 Emergency – bulletin | press release
• Department of Finance Interim Fiscal Update Letter – link

News Highlights:

• California orders insurers to give refunds on 6 kinds of policies, including auto, due to coronavirus
• The Supreme Court, said Monday it will hear oral arguments by teleconference in May
• Pandemic reveals need for schools to utilize technology for online classrooms
• Los Angeles County officials reported 31 new coronavirus deaths on Sunday, its largest single-day total
• As Californians stay at home, air quality improves
• California’s early coronavirus efforts will cost $7 billion, Gov. Gavin Newsom says
• Lost wages and jobs haven’t dented support for coronavirus stay-at-home orders, poll finds
• If the country’s most popular coronavirus model proves accurate, California will reach the peak of its outbreak this Wednesday
• 80 inmates, 55 sheriff’s workers in Riverside County have coronavirus
• Farmworkers putting food on America’s tables are facing their own coronavirus crisis
• Recent state-level polling shows that a majority of Americans in each state approve of the way their governor has handled the COVID-19 crisis
• The U.S. is weighing when to reopen the economy as coronavirus infection rates showed signs of stabilizing
• Coronavirus deaths pass 100,000 globally
• President Trump on Monday claimed that he, not state governors, has the ultimate authority to loosen restrictions on states as the coronavirus outbreak eases
• Gov. Newsom’s announced that Lenny Mendonca, chief economic and business adviser, director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development — GO-Biz — and chair of the California High Speed Rail Authority, would be departing both posts

News Articles:

California:

• California orders insurers to give refunds on 6 kinds of policies, including auto, due to coronavirus — California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Monday ordered insurance companies to provide partial credits or refunds of premiums for March, April and — if shelter-in-place restrictions remain — for May in at least six lines of insurance “where the risk of loss has fallen substantially” because the coronavirus has people working and driving less. SF Chronicle — 4/13/20

• Newsom’s business adviser steps down + Why Caltrans is speeding up roadwork + E-voting warning — Lenny Mendonca, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s top business adviser and chairman of the High-Speed Rail Authority, is leaving the administration to focus on his family and personal business.Sac Bee –– 4/13/20

• One model projects California coronavirus deaths will peak Wednesday. But it’s more complex — If the country’s most popular coronavirus model proves accurate, California will reach the peak of its outbreak this Wednesday, on what would have been tax day if the pandemic hadn’t uprooted nearly all of the United States’ social and financial structures. On that day, according to the model designed by scientists at global health research center in Seattle, 66 people will die in California. From there, the daily death toll will decrease over several weeks, until the outbreak — at least this first phase of it — is over in mid-May. SF Chronicle — 4/12/20

• New signs suggest coronavirus was in California far earlier than anyone knew — A man found dead in his house in early March. A woman who fell sick in mid-February and later died. These early COVID-19 deaths in the San Francisco Bay Area suggest that the novel coronavirus had established itself in the community long before health officials started looking for it. The lag time has had dire consequences, allowing the virus to spread unchecked before social distancing rules went into effect. LA Times — 4/11/20

• Pandemic reveals need for schools to utilize technology for online classrooms — When the coronavirus pandemic forced schools to close this spring, it exposed the California Legislature’s lack of wisdom in approving a two-year moratorium on the expansion of distance learning in charter public schools. CalMatters — 4/12/20

• Open for Easter? Legal spat brews over lockdown restrictions on Sunday service — California’s shelter-in-place rules do not violate religious liberty, and that Christians across the state are able to celebrate Easter this Sunday — pandemic bedamned. On Thursday night, the Center for American Liberty threatened San Bernardino and Riverside counties with a lawsuit for shelter-in-place orders that the legal group argues violate religious liberty by excessively and unconstitutionally restricting religious expression. CalMatters — 4/10/20

• Easter brings 31 new coronavirus deaths in L.A. County, the largest single-day total yet — Los Angeles County officials reported 31 new coronavirus deaths on Sunday, its largest single-day total so far. Twenty-five of those fatalities were people over the age of 65 and six people were in the 41-65 age bracket, health officials said. LA Times — 4/12/20

• California to move seniors to Navy ship to cope with nursing home infections — The Navy ship will lend assistance “specific to the challenges within our nursing facilities and nursing homes,” Newsom said in his Friday noon press conference.  In addition, Newsom said that the state has identified seven specific sites around California “that allow us hundreds and hundreds of beds” outside of the Mercy for nursing home patients in need of them. Sac Bee — 4/10/20

• As Californians stay at home, air quality improves – for now — The statewide stay-at-home order has brought about drastic reductions in air pollution and planet-warming emissions, experts say. The Los Angeles basin, where the term smog was invented, has enjoyed the longest period of  good air quality days since 1995, according to a UCLA researcher. Cal Matters — 4/12/20

• How a stockpile of 39 million masks was exposed as fake — A powerful California union that claimed to have discovered 39 million masks for healthcare workers fighting the novel coronavirus was duped in an elaborate scam uncovered by FBI investigators, the U.S. attorney’s office said Friday. LA Times — 4/11/20

• California’s early coronavirus efforts will cost $7 billion, Gov. Gavin Newsom says — The estimate, contained in a letter to the Legislature’s joint budget committee, is the first comprehensive look at the fiscal impact of responding to the pandemic. It does not include substantial costs already borne by city and county governments across the state. LA Times — 4/10/20

• Wildlife is reclaiming Yosemite National Park: ‘The bear population has quadrupled’ — “It’s not like they aren’t usually here,” he said of the bears, bobcats and coyotes that he and other employees now see congregating outside their cabins and apartments. “It’s that they usually hang back at the edges, or move in the shadows.” LA Times — 4/13/20

• Food bank demand soars, while many San Joaquin Valley farmers forced to let crops rot — Much of the food grown for restaurants, which constitutes about half the market for produce, is nearing the end of its perishable life cycle. Researchers expect to see a $688.7 million decline in sales for farmers from March to May 2020. Lettuce growers have been among those hardest hit in Fresno County as the economy grinds to a near halt. Fresno Bee — 4/11/20

• Lost wages and jobs haven’t dented support for coronavirus stay-at-home orders, poll finds — Nearly half of households in Los Angeles County have lost a job or had their work hours cut, and another 10% have lost other sources of income because of the coronavirus pandemic, but those hardships have not diminished support for the severe social distancing measures imposed by government, a new poll has found. LA Times — 4/10/20

• 6 people shot at a California party held despite state’s stay-at-home order — Deputies found six victims — including a juvenile — at the scene and learned that a large party was going on before the shooting. CNN4/12/20

• UCSF study investigates coronavirus impact on pregnancy — The Pregnancy Coronavirus Outcomes Registry began enrolling pregnant women across the country with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 on March 24. It will track participants for a year to learn how the virus impacts maternal health, fetal development, preterm delivery, newborn health and outcomes for underserved women at higher risk of mortality during pregnancy. The study also will address transmission: whether a mother can pass the infection on to her child during pregnancy and birth or through breast milk. SF Chronicle — 4/10/20

• Santa Ana freezes rent increases; adds to its closure list — City Manager Kristine Ridge signed an executive order on Tuesday that prevents landlords in Santa Ana from raising residential rents, at least through May 31. Officials also recently instituted a moratorium on residential and commercial evictions, from March 19 through May 31. Meanwhile, city officials are tightening what’s available at parks after some people disobeyed state orders to keep away from each other. Orange County Register –4/10/20

• Coronavirus workers: Stater Bros. extends $2 hourly raises through May 3 — The San Bernardino-based chain said the wage incentive is for all of the company’s hourly employees who work in the stores, distribution, transportation, corporate offices and construction. Supermarket employees are among those deemed essential workers amid the coronavirus pandemic, putting them in a vulnerable position and more likely to be exposed to COVID-19. Stater Bros. operates 169 supermarkets in Southern California staffed by more than 18,000 employees. Orange County Register –4/10/20

• Here’s how San Diego scientists are mounting a counterattack against the coronavirus — From the research towers at UC San Diego to the pharmaceutical companies in Carlsbad, the region’s huge science community has joined the fight against COVID-19, which has killed more than 100,000 people worldwide. San Diego Union-Tribune  — 4/12/20

• The ultimate guide to birthdays at every age during coronavirus — Tiny moments of joy, like blowing out birthday candles with family and friends, are not only important, but they may be critical to holding on to any sense of normalcy right now. COVID-19 may make it impossible to see one another in person, but, that’s where the internet’s real power comes into play. Los Angeles Times –4/10/20

• As Californians stay at home, air quality improves – for now — The global coronavirus pandemic has inadvertently achieved what state officials have sought to do for decades: Californians have parked their cars. Freeways and highways are clear. And the constant burn of fossil fuels has been markedly diminished. Calmatters — 4/12/20

• Food bank demand soars, while many San Joaquin Valley farmers forced to let crops rot — With restaurants closing or reshaping business models around slimmed-down take-out menus, the dominoes are starting to fall on farmers who suddenly have nowhere to take their food. And as more people find themselves out of work, food banks are teeming with hungry families. Merced Sun-Star — 4/12/20

• Another 100+ sailors on carrier test positive for coronavirus — The number of U.S. aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt crew members with COVID-19 has reached 550, with another 103 reportedly testing positive for coronavirus. The San Diego-based carrier, which has a total crew of roughly 4,845 service members, pulled into Guam March 26 after several sailors on board tested positive for COVID-19. San Diego Union-Tribune — 4/12/20

• 80 inmates, 55 sheriff’s workers in Riverside County have coronavirus — At least 80 inmates and 55 Sheriff’s Department employees have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said on Saturday, April 11, a stunning jump in figures provided a little more than a week ago. Riverside Press Enterprise — 4/12/20

• LA County announces 25 more coronavirus deaths; total fatalities now 265 — Los Angeles County officials announced Saturday, April 11, that 25 more people have died from the coronavirus, bringing the death toll so far to 265. The deaths included two people from Pasadena, which the city reported Friday. The county tally did not include the two most recent deaths in Long Beach, which were reported Friday and Saturday. Los Angeles Daily News — 4/12/20

• Orange County records 18th coronavirus death, 85 more cases on Saturday — Orange County’s Health Care Agency has recorded one more death and 85 new coronavirus cases since Friday, bringing the total by Saturday, April 11, to 1,221 cases countywide. So far, 18 residents have died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Orange County Register — 4/12/20

• Judge rules ICE must allow detainees free, private calls with attorneys during pandemic — A federal judge ruled Saturday that immigration enforcement officials must allow confidential telephone calls between detainees at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center and their attorneys in light of the coronavirus outbreak. Los Angeles Times — 4/12/20

• One model projects California coronavirus deaths will peak Wednesday. But it’s more complex — If the country’s most popular coronavirus model proves accurate, California will reach the peak of its outbreak this Wednesday, on what would have been tax day if the pandemic hadn’t uprooted nearly all of the United States’ social and financial structures. SF Chronicle — 4/12/20

National:

• ‘National security issue’: What Congress wants to give farmers for coronavirus downturn — They’re seriously hurting if their main income came from selling products to schools, restaurants, amusement parks, sports arenas or any other enterprise that shut down to slow the spread of the virus. Dairy farmers, for instance, have seen a 30 to 40 percent decrease in the prices they receive as huge buyers of milk and milk products shut their doors. Sac Bee — 4/13/20

• North America’s Oil Industry Is Shutting Off the Spigot — “We’ve always been able to sell the oil, even at a crappy price.” Now there are no buyers for the crude coming from its wells and no choice but to shut them in. Texland told state regulators its plans and applied for a loan through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program to keep its 73 employees on payroll. WSJ — 4/13/20

• Supreme Court to Break Tradition, Hold Oral Arguments by Teleconference — The Supreme Court, breaking with longstanding tradition because of the coronavirus pandemic, said Monday it will hear oral arguments by teleconference in May, including in cases about the potential disclosure of President Trump’s financial records. WSJ — 4/13/20

• The farmworkers putting food on America’s tables are facing their own coronavirus crisis — But workers and groups who represent them are sounding an alarm. Their warning: As the virus spreads, many farmworkers are living and working in conditions that put their health particularly at risk. And if outbreaks hit farmworker communities hard, they say, that could put the nation’s food supply at risk, too. CNN — 4/11/20

• Multibillion-Dollar Tax Muddle Hovers Behind Small-Business Loan Program — A tax ambiguity that could amount to tens of billions of dollars or more is lurking in the small-business loan forgiveness program the government is using to combat the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. WSJ — 4/11/20

• Most Americans Like How Their Governor Is Handling The Coronavirus Outbreak — Recent state-level polling shows that a majority of Americans in each state approve of the way their governor has handled the COVID-19 crisis so far. For comparison, just under half of Americans approve of Trump’s response to the novel coronavirus. And the three national polls we found in April that asked about this — one from Morning Consult, one from Monmouth University and one Quinnipiac University — also found people were much more likely to approve of their governor’s response than Trump’s. FiveThirtyEight — 4/10/20

• RNC launches digital ads praising Trump on coronavirus — The Republican National Committee is launching a seven-figure advertising campaign lavishing praise on President Donald Trump for his handling of the coronavirus outbreak, as the president confronts a sustained assault from liberal groups over his response to the crisis. Politico –4/10/20

• Almost 300 inmates at Chicago jail test positive for coronavirus — In addition to the nearly 300 inmates, 115 prison staff have also tested positive for the virus. The Times reported that the family of a detainee who died in custody filed suit against Cook County and Sheriff Tom Dart on Thursday, claiming he remained shackled while dying of the virus. The Hill–4/10/20

• XFL Suspends Operations, All Employees Laid Off — The upstart league canceled its season on March 12, joining the NBA, MLB, NHL and nearly all sports leagues across the globe. “All players will be paid their base pay and benefits for the 2020 regular season,” the XFL said in a statement on March 12. “The XFL is committed to playing a full season in 2021 and future years.” Sports Illustrated –4/10/20

• I’m using my pizza oven to toss masks for nurses — After consulting with a couple of his engineer friends and procuring large sheets of acrylic, Syrkin-Nikolau and his staff have started making face shields for healthcare workers. The industrial pizza oven heats the acrylic up until it’s soft enough to bend into the right shape, and then it is attached to a foam strip and straps. While he says he can’t afford to give the shields away, by selling them for $3 a piece he can keep his workers employed and make supplies available during the Chicago coronavirus case surge. BBC News –4/10/20

• Groups used to serving desperately poor nations now help US — In Santa Barbara, forklifts chug through the warehouse of Direct Relief, hustling pallets of much-needed medical supplies into waiting FedEx trucks. Normally those gloves, masks and medicines would go to desperately poor clinics in Haiti or Sudan, but now they’re racing off to Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto, California and the Robert Wood Johnson Hospitals in New Jersey. AP News –4/10/20

• Schumer sees quick coronavirus aid deal — Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said Friday that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has agreed to bipartisan talks on a new coronavirus economic aid package, which the New York Democrat said could lead to a deal by early next week. A stalemate emerged Thursday over next steps for Congress to provide financial relief for the COVID-19 pandemic. Roll Call –4/10/20

• Dozens buried on NY Hart Island a day as coronavirus deaths surge —New York City officials have hired contract labourers to help bury the dead in its potter’s field on Hart Island as the city’s daily death rate from the coronavirus epidemic has reached grim new records in each of the last three days. The city has used Hart Island to bury New Yorkers with no known next of kin or whose family are unable to arrange a funeral since the 19th century. Al Jazeera –4/10/20

• Next potential shortage: Drugs needed to run ventilators — As hospitals scour the country for scarce ventilators to treat critically ill patients stricken by the new coronavirus, pharmacists are beginning to sound an alarm that could become just as urgent: Drugs that go hand in hand with ventilators are running low even as demand is surging. AP News –4/10/20

• ‘He needs to let his experts speak’: Haley offers Trump messaging advice amid pandemic — Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley suggested Friday that President Donald Trump should “let his experts speak” at the White House’s daily coronavirus briefings. Haley also suggested that the president take steps to make sure the briefings are not “too long.” Haley praised the president’s willingness to “over-communicate” and ability to “show vision of what it is going to look like on the other side” of the deadly outbreak. Politico –4/10/20

Global:

• U.S. Weighs When to Restart Economy as Europe Looks to Ease Lockdowns — The U.S. is weighing when to reopen the economy as coronavirus infection rates showed signs of stabilizing, but officials in the country and elsewhere voiced concern that moves to ease lockdowns that have crippled the global economy could spur new outbreaks of the disease, which has claimed more than 115,000 lives world-wide. WSJ — 4/13/20

• How Thousands of Chinese Gently Mourn a Virus Whistle-Blower — After his passing, people began to gather, virtually, at his last post on Weibo, the Chinese social media platform. In the comments section, they grieve and seek solace. Some call it China’s Wailing Wall, a reference to the Western Wall in Jerusalem where people leave written prayers in the cracks. NY Times — 4/13/20

• Apple and Google are building coronavirus tracking tech into iOS and Android — Two of the tech industry’s biggest players are working together to fight the coronavirus, announcing a new set of tools that could come to a majority of smartphones around the world. The new technology, outlined in white papers published by Apple and Google Friday, relies on Bluetooth wireless radio technology to help phones communicate with one another, ultimately warning people about people they’d come in contact with who are infected with the coronavirus. CNET –4/10/20

• Coronavirus deaths pass 100,000 globally — The worldwide death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic passed 100,000 on Friday, and the United States was on the brink of surpassing Italy as the nation with the highest number of fatalities. The number of confirmed deaths globally hit 100,375 Friday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University. The true number of lives lost is believed be much higher because of limited testing, different rules for counting the dead and incomplete reporting by some governments. Los Angeles Times –4/10/20

• U.S. allies, encouraged by Washington, said goodbye to their Cuban doctors. As coronavirus surges, some are arguing for their return —Ecuador is one of a handful of U.S. allies that fell in step with the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy on Cuba, bringing an end to agreements that filled understaffed clinics and hospitals from the snow-capped Andes to the sweltering Amazon with thousands of doctors and nurses trained by the communist state. Now that country is struggling to cope with outbreaks of the coronavirus that have overwhelmed hospitals and left bodies in the streets. Washington Post –4/10/20

• Boris Johnson ‘able to do short walks’ after moving out of ICU — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is “able to do short walks” after he was moved out of intensive care at a London hospital where he has been receiving treatment for the coronavirus, a spokesman said Friday. The Prime Minister’s pregnant partner, Carrie Symonds, also experienced Covid-19 symptoms but said over the weekend she was “on the mend.” Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will continue to deputize for him. CNN –4/10/20

For more resources and information on COVID-19:

• CA COVID-19 Response Website: link
• California Department of Public Health: link
• Centers for Disease Control: link
• California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services: link
• Employment Development Department (EDD) link
• Labor Workforce and Development Agency: link
• Tips for prevention: English | Spanish