California shuts down again as U.S. coronavirus crisis expands

[webfact]

California shuts down again as U.S. coronavirus crisis expands

By Sharon Bernstein and Dan Whitcomb

 

People wait for health assessment check-in before entering Jackson Memorial Hospital, as Miami-Dade County eases some of the lockdown measures put in place during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Miami, Florida, U.S., June 18, 2020. REUTERS/Marco Bello

 

SACRAMENTO (Reuters) - California's governor on Monday clamped new restrictions on businesses, and the state's two largest school districts, Los Angeles and San Diego, said children would not return to class for the new term as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations soared.

 

Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, ordered bars closed and restaurants, movie theaters, zoos and museums statewide to cease indoor operations. Newsom said churches, gyms and hair salons must close in the 30 hardest-hit counties.

 

"It's incumbent upon all of us to recognize soberly that COVID-19 is not going away anytime soon, until there is a vaccine and/or an effective therapy," Newsom said at a daily news briefing.

 

The governor called the move critical to stemming a new surge in COVID-19 cases that have strained hospitals in several of California's rural counties.

 

The public school districts for Los Angeles and San Diego, two of the country's largest with a combined 706,000 students and 88,000 employees, said in a joint statement they would hold online-only classes, citing "vague and contradictory" science and public health guidelines.

 

The districts said countries that have safely reopened their schools have done so only after establishing declining infection rates and on-demand coronavirus testing.

 

"California has neither," the statement said, adding, "The sky-rocketing infection rates of the past few weeks make it clear the pandemic is not under control."

 

The union representing Los Angeles teachers applauded the strategy, saying it was backed by 83% of its 18,000 rank-and-file members responding to an informal online poll last week.

 

'THREAT OF DEATH'

"In the face of the alarming spike in COVID cases, the lack of necessary funding from the government to open schools safely, and the outsized threat of death faced by working-class communities of color, there really is no other choice that doesn't put thousands of lives at risk,” United Teachers Los Angeles said in a separate statement.

 

The online-learning decision puts the two districts at odds with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has threatened to punish school systems that refuse to reopen classrooms by withholding federal funding or even removing their tax-exempt status.

 

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos kept up the pressure on Sunday in a televised appearance, saying children need to return to their classrooms both for the sake of their own educational development and so that their parents can more easily return to the workplace.

 

"We know that children get the virus at a far lower rate than any other part of the population," DeVos told CNN. "There is nothing in the data that would suggest kids being back in school is dangerous to them."

 

The decision to keep students home was also expected to be a blow for parents who have struggled to work from home during the pandemic while also caring and educating their children.

 

"I know that my kids need to go back to school," said Brenda Del Hierro, who has two children in Los Angeles schools. "For their social and emotional wellbeing they need to go back to school. But at the end of the day there is too much of a risk."

 

California, along with Florida, Arizona and Texas have emerged as the new U.S. epicenters of the pandemic. Infections have risen rapidly in about 40 of the 50 states over the last two weeks, according to a Reuters analysis.

 

Despite nearly 28,000 new COVID-19 cases in the last two days, Disney World in Orlando welcomed the public on Saturday for the first time since March with guests required to wear masks, undergo temperature checks and keep physically apart.

 

Walt Disney Co <DIS.N> faces a starkly different response in Hong Kong where the government has ordered the Disneyland theme park to close due to rising coronavirus cases.

 

(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles, Steve Gorman in Eureka, California, Rich McKay in Atlanta, Lisa Lambert and Doina Chiacu in Washington, and Nathan Layne in Wilton, Connecticut; Writing by Lisa Shumaker and Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Howard Goller and Bill Tarrant)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-07-14

 

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[4reaL]

Sad how this virus is ravaging USA, freedom really does have it's price.

 

 

[Tug]

Sad but not surprising we should have remained shutdown for another 2 weeks in the beginning and none of this I’m not gonna wear a mask bs 

[cmarshall]

3 hours ago, 4reaL said:

Sad how this virus is ravaging USA, freedom really does have it's price.

 

 

Or at least stupidity does.

[malibukid]

8 hours ago, 4reaL said:

Sad how this virus is ravaging USA, freedom really does have it's price.

 

 

evidently so does life in America

Edited July 14, 2020 by malibukid

[malibukid]

evidently so does life in America

[pineapple01]

Vermont's rather nice. No Walls to hold the Virus in.

[spidermike007]

A very sad and completely broken nation. No leadership from the top.

 

Masks needs to be compulsory. $1000 on the spot fine for not wearing one. Period. This is not about "freedom and liberty" and wearing a mask has nothing to do with either. This is about personal discipline and behaving like an adult. 

[Isaan sailor]

Very sad the Wuhan virus has hit California hard.  It’s a liberal state with some wacky politicians—but I take no pleasure in this.

[tribalfusion001]

34 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

A very sad and completely broken nation. No leadership from the top.

 

Masks needs to be compulsory. $1000 on the spot fine for not wearing one. Period. This is not about "freedom and liberty" and wearing a mask has nothing to do with either. This is about personal discipline and behaving like an adult. 

And masks for the flu and the common cold too.

[Tug]

48 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

A very sad and completely broken nation. No leadership from the top.

 

Masks needs to be compulsory. $1000 on the spot fine for not wearing one. Period. This is not about "freedom and liberty" and wearing a mask has nothing to do with either. This is about personal discipline and behaving like an adult. 

I agree with mike and second offense 2 days in jail + fine 3rd offense 1 week digging graves for the covid victims + fine 

[riclag]

Businesses  are suffering ! Hopefully people will be more responsible next time around!

 

Back to Take out  at the restaurants in Bakersfield. They open briefly for inside seating,at my daughters establishment !

I like to give a special shout out (the finger) to the WHO and the Chinese Gov for sharing this with the whole world.    

Edited July 14, 2020 by riclag

[spidermike007]

15 minutes ago, tribalfusion001 said:

And masks for the flu and the common cold too.

Yes. If you have the flu or a cold you are doing alot of people a favor by wearing a mask. It is considered common courtesy in some nations. 

 

And comparing a cold to Covid 19 is a bit like comparing a blister to smallpox. Or the Thai army to a real government. 

 

[pineapple01]

So true, we had an awful smarmy thief before the new lot.

[spidermike007]

6 minutes ago, pineapple01 said:

So true, we had an awful smarmy thief before the new lot.

He may have been swarmy, but he actually managed to put into effect some programs of great benefit to the masses. Universal health care alone was an astonishing accomplishment. Millions still adore him for that.

 

Is there a single person in Thailand that feels the same way about Prayuth? Even one? What has he done for the people? And I am not referring to his cronies or the super rich. He and the army are universally despised here. 

Edited July 14, 2020 by spidermike007

[impulse]

Meanwhile, weekly deaths attributed to Covid19 in the USA are through the roof floor.

 

Must be an election year...  I just wish we could figure out who's lying.

 

Actual CDC graph.  Source:  https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm

[BadBouy]

10 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Yes. If you have the flu or a cold you are doing alot of people a favor by wearing a mask. It is considered common courtesy in some nations. 

 

And comparing a cold to Covid 19 is a bit like comparing a blister to smallpox. Or the Thai army to a real government. 

Not nearly as drastic a difference as you state 

 

[MaxYakov]

It's the democratic mob that put the Governor into office. I feel sorry for the minority in California that have to suffer his poor leadership.

[Road Warrior]

not doing mr trump image any good !!

[spidermike007]

8 hours ago, MaxYakov said:

It's the democratic mob that put the Governor into office. I feel sorry for the minority in California that have to suffer his poor leadership.

And the Republicans are do gooder saints? As if both parties are not corrupt to the core. Thinking otherwise is sheer delusion. 

[samsensam]

1 minute ago, spidermike007 said:

And the Republicans are do gooder saints? As if both parties are not corrupt to the core. Thinking otherwise is sheer delusion. 

 

i dont know much about us politics but i've been listening to brett weinstein who talks sense and is enlightening, apparently both major parties put the interests of their corporate backers well before the interests of the american people, looking at us society you can see that. just think about this; in a country the size of the us are trump and biden the best they can come up with to as leaders?

 

 

[spidermike007]

6 minutes ago, samsensam said:

 

i dont know much about us politics but i've been listening to brett weinstein who talks sense and is enlightening, apparently both major parties put the interests of their corporate backers well before the interests of the american people, looking at us society you can see that. just think about this; in a country the size of the us are trump and biden the best they can come up with to as leaders?

 

 

No. But noble people have little interest in the sewer of DC. From this point forward will only see mediocrity. 

 

Having said that, Biden is 100 times the man Trump is.  On every level imaginable. After Trump is unceremoniously dismissed in November, he will always be remembered as 44, not 45. The 44th worst in history. He is an abomination. 

[ericthai]

On 7/13/2020 at 7:48 PM, Tug said:

Sad but not surprising we should have remained shutdown for another 2 weeks in the beginning and none of this I’m not gonna wear a mask bs 

I agree, and I think the shut downs in the USA were half-ass.  It should have been stricter with all stores closed and only home delivery.  No protests allowed etc.  

 

Bars and restaurants were closed, but then people were jammed packed in stores fighting over toilet paper!

 

[thaibeachlovers]

On 7/15/2020 at 1:02 AM, spidermike007 said:

Yes. If you have the flu or a cold you are doing alot of people a favor by wearing a mask. It is considered common courtesy in some nations. 

 

And comparing a cold to Covid 19 is a bit like comparing a blister to smallpox. Or the Thai army to a real government. 

 

That's when a mask is a good idea- when someone is sneezing and coughing.

 

Wonder how the Terminator would have handled this as governor?

[thaibeachlovers]

8 hours ago, ericthai said:

It should have been stricter with all stores closed and only home delivery.

5555555555555555555555

Spoken by someone that apparently thinks everyone lives in a city. Home delivery when home is 30 miles from the nearest supermarket?

[spidermike007]

6 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

5555555555555555555555

Spoken by someone that apparently thinks everyone lives in a city. Home delivery when home is 30 miles from the nearest supermarket?

And also likely spoken by someone collecting a nice, fat pension. For people with little money in savings and no salary, not much of an alternative. 

 

So far, nearly all the people advocating lockdown are those with a nice monthly income or the rich folks who are nearly untouched by all of this. 

[ericthai]

6 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

And also likely spoken by someone collecting a nice, fat pension. For people with little money in savings and no salary, not much of an alternative. 

 

So far, nearly all the people advocating lockdown are those with a nice monthly income or the rich folks who are nearly untouched by all of this. 

I wish I was collecting a nice fat check, this shut down killed me lost 70% of my income! 

Where is it I'm advocating a shut down?? I said the USA did a half ass job at shutting down. 

[ericthai]

13 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

5555555555555555555555

Spoken by someone that apparently thinks everyone lives in a city. Home delivery when home is 30 miles from the nearest supermarket?

You're right didn't think about remote places, but I'm sure they still can buy online. I buy stuff for delivery all the (laundry soap, food products etc) But hey, I'm not an expert I just dont think the USA handle this properly.