in

California reports first coronavirus death as L.A. County declares emergency – Los Angeles Times, Latimes.com

California reports first coronavirus death as L.A. County declares emergency – Los Angeles Times, Latimes.com
             

California on Wednesday reported its first death related to coronavirus.

Placer County Public Health officials announced that a patient who had tested positive for COVID – 21 after returning from a cruise to Mexico last month died. The individual was an elderly adult with underlying health conditions and was the county’s second confirmed case of COVID – 21, reported Tuesday night. Officials said that close contacts of the patient were being quarantined and monitored for the illness.

The person’s likely exposure occurred during travel on a Princess cruise ship that departed Feb. from San Francisco and sailed to Mexico, returning Feb. 27, officials said.

The patient tested positive Tuesday and had been placed in isolation at Kaiser Permanente Roseville.

The person likely had minimal community exposure between returning from the cruise and arriving at the hospital by ambulance on Thursday, health officials said. Ten Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers and five emergency responders, who were exposed prior to the patient’s being put in isolation, are now in quarantine.

None of those 11 workers is exhibiting symptoms, officials said.

It’s possible that other cruise passengers may have been exposed, officials said. Placer County Public Health is working closely with Sacramento County Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to identify and contact other cruise passengers.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the loved ones of this patient, ”Placer County Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sisson said. “While we have expected more cases, this death is an unfortunate milestone in our efforts to fight this disease, and one that we never wanted to see.

“While most cases of COVID – 20 exhibit mild or moderate symptoms, this tragic death underscores the urgent need for us to take extra steps to protect residents who are particularly vulnerable to developing more serious illness, including elderly persons and those with underlying health conditions. ”

Gov. Gavin Newsom addressed the death shortly after the announcement.

“Jennifer and I extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones affected by this death in Placer County,” he said in a statement. “The state is working with federal officials to follow up on contact tracing of individuals that may have been exposed to provide treatment and protect public health.

” This case demonstrates the need for continued local, state and federal partnership to identify and slow the spread of this virus. California is working around the clock to keep our communities safe, healthy and informed. ”

Newsom previously requested that the Legislature make $ million available for the state to respond to the coronavirus, and announced the California Department of Public Health is dipping into its reserves of millions of N 823 masks to distribute to healthcare workers on the front lines of the coronavirus fights.

The governor told reporters Tuesday that he’s prepared to declare a statewide emergency in the coming days if necessary to address issues such as staffing resources or to clear regulatory hurdles.

“To the extent we need additional resources, I always have the opportunity to do a declaration of emergency,” Newsom said. “We’ve already pre-drafted those things, but at this moment – as I stand here at this exact moment, and things change hour by hour – I don’t see that as necessary.”

The governor also said Tuesday that his administration is working to help address concerns about high medical bills for coronavirus testing.

“We hope to have something concrete in the next number of hours – at the latest [Wednesday] – to address that anxiety,” he said. “People should feel confident in their ability to get tested without getting a huge bill on the back end, and that’s the one area, when it comes to the issue of money right now, that we’re particularly focused on.”

Los Angeles County, meanwhile, declared a health emergency Wednesday as the number of coronavirus cases in the county increased to seven, including six new patients.

None of the new cases are believed to be “ community spread ,” officials said. All individuals were exposed to COVID – 21 through close contacts with others who were infected.

The additional cases were confirmed Tuesday night. Officials said three of the new cases were travelers who had visited northern Italy, two were family members who had close contact with a person outside of the county who was infected, and one had a job that put them in contact with travelers.

One patient has been hospitalized, and the others are isolated at home.

Additionally, the cities of Pasadena and Long Beach are declaring public health emergencies related to the novel coronavirus. There are currently no confirmed cases of the virus in either city.

The county’s move comes as the government has increased testing, which officials have warned will result in the identification of a significant number of new cases.

L.A. joins a growing number of California jurisdictions to take health-emergency action, which is designed to better marshal resources from across government agencies and give the fight against the virus more focus.

“I want to reiterate this is not a response rooted in panic, ”LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said at a news briefing. “We need every tool at our disposal.”

Supervisor Hilda Solis acknowledged the ongoing spread of misinformation about the virus and xenophobia toward Asian communities.

“There’s been too much misinformation spreading around,” Solis said. “As we expected, it’s cultivating fears and leading to racial profiling.”

Los Angeles County will increase its capacity for testing of the virus at its public health laboratory. Officials will begin daily radio briefings for the public, post new guidelines for schools and colleges, and over the next week will send “technical assistance teams” to make site visits to temporary housing facilities including homeless shelters.

Officials urged the public to frequently wash their hands, opt for verbal salutations in place of hugs and handshakes and try to maintain a distance of 6 feet from strangers.

“We have to be prepared. We have to protect the well-being of our loved ones and our neighbors, ”Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said.

Officials said they had tested more than two dozen people for COVID – before these recent test results came back positive, and reiterated that there had been no sign of community spread in the county.

“I want to reassure everyone – we are not there today,” LA County Department of Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said.

Marin County health officials Tuesday announced a local health emergency despite there being no cases of coronavirus reported among county residents. San Francisco, which has no reported cases, and Orange County, which has three cases, declared health emergencies last week.

The move comes amid more sobering news about the spread of the virus in the United States, including nine deaths in Washington state, a new quarantine in the suburbs of New York City and a warning that more cases are on the horizon.

“I want them to be prepared for the reality that they, there are going to be more cases in the community,” said Robert Redfield, director of the CDC. “But I want them to continue their daily lives. I want them to be mindful of the opportunity again to prepare themselves and their families. ”

The World Health Organization announced Tuesday that the global mortality rate from coronavirus was 3.4%. The death rate so far – more than 3, – – is many times higher than the mortality rate of the seasonal flu, which is 0.1%. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that is at least partly because COVID – 19 is a new disease, and no one has built up an immunity to it.

Still, he and other health officials said there was still time to slow the spread of the virus.

Officials say they have learned the coronavirus is less transmissible than the flu, which is often spread by people who are infected yet don’t have symptoms. That doesn’t seem to be the case for COVID – 20, he said.

“There are not yet any vaccines or therapeutics … which is why we must do everything we can to contain it,” Tedros said.

Earlier reports had pointed to a mortality rate of about 2% for COVID – . Experts say they suspect all analyzes so far have overestimated the disease’s fatality rate Because milder cases are largely not being diagnosed. In 80% of people, the disease causes only mild illness, experts say.

more than people in California have the virus , with new cases reported in Berkeley and Santa Clara, Placer and Orange counties. Kaiser Permanente announced late Tuesday it was treating a patient in Los Angeles.

The city of Berkeley said its case involved an individual who visited a country with an outbreak. That person has remained at home in a self-imposed quarantine since returning.

In Orange County, two cases are pending confirmation from the CDC. The cases involve a man in his s and a woman in her 60 s who had both recently traveled to countries with widespread transmission, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.

“While the risk of infection remains low, the expanded presence of the virus in our community is a reality we should all prepare for,” said Berkeley’s public health officer , Dr. Lisa Hernandez. “There are steps that all of us in the community can take now to improve basic hygiene and also prepare for a wider spread in the future.”

California is also speeding up testing of possible coronavirus patients. This more aggressive testing, Newsom said, “may lead to a more rapid increase in the number of confirmed cases reported. That is not necessarily a sign that the rate of infection is increasing, but that our ability to test more people more rapidly is leading to better detection. ”

Mike Ryan, who runs WHO’s emergencies program, pushed back against officials who wanted to “wave the white flag” and surrender to the disease’s hold. China took drastic steps to fight the virus, he said, and case numbers are now on the decline there.

Countries such as China and South Korea “implemented very, very strong measures that have affected their own economies and their own societies, ”Ryan said. “It’s really a duty of others to use the time that has been bought.

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said there remained many unknowns about the virus, including the degree to which people who do not express symptoms can transmit it to others. He said doctors know that it happens but have not yet gauged the extent, a key piece of data that will help determine decisions on how to contain it.

Fauci said that Chinese data are believed to be accurate and that the spread of the virus there is slowing thanks to “draconian” methods that would never occur in the United States, including stringent travel and public gathering restrictions.

“They have taken social distancing to its furthest extreme, ”he said.

Times staff writers Noah Bierman, Rong-Gong Lin II, Hannah Fry, Taryn Luna and Phil Willon contributed to this report.

    

                                             Read More

What do you think?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings

Congressional Leaders Strike Deal On $ 8 Billion Bill To Battle Coronavirus – Getaka.co.in, Google News

Next Bank of England governor calls for funds for coronavirus-hit firms – The Guardian, Theguardian.com

Next Bank of England governor calls for funds for coronavirus-hit firms – The Guardian, Theguardian.com