In CA: The state's future is looking brighter, but only if we #StayHome
Stay in this Easter weekend, state officials plead, amid a decline in projected hospitalizations linked to coronavirus. And at one of San Francisco's biggest homeless shelters, 70 people test positive for COVID-19.
It's Arlene Martínez with news to bring you into the weekend.
But first, Thursday's high of 62 tied a record set April 9, 1965, for the coldest Palm Springs area day. In Los Padres National Forest, more than seven inches of rain fell, bringing what had been an unusually dry season to a nearly normal rain year.
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Don't give in to temptation and gather, state officials say
It's Good Friday, which for many people starts off a long weekend that culminates in a big family gathering on Sunday. Don't do it, state officials warned repeatedly during Friday's news briefing on COVID-19.
Numbers are tracking well below the worst-case projections when it comes to coronavirus hospitalizations, which correlates to data showing drops in movement, Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said.
“The difference between what we’re seeing today in our hospitals may not be that much different than where we are going to peak in the many weeks to come," Ghaly said during the briefing, adding that if Californians continue to stay at home and physically distance when out, the curve won't shift to exceed hospital capacity.
Also Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the USNS Mercy will, along with seven other sites, offer spaces for non-coronavirus patients from nursing homes and facilities.
There are 1,266 individuals who have tested positive for coronavirus throughout California's 1,224 skilled nursing facilities, Newsom said. The state is also working with FEMA to help deliver meals to more than a million seniors here isolating, he said.
There have been 541 deaths from the coronavirus, including 49 since Thursday, Newsom said.
Other coronavirus headlines:
Ventura County health officials ban gatherings of more than two people (with exceptions for families and funerals, for instance).
Los Angeles County health officials extended the stay-at-home order through at least May 15. Even with social distancing, up to 30% of residents could be infected by midsummer if people don't reduce outside contact even further, officials said.
At the federal level, President Trump said he plans to announce early next week a task force to determine how soon the country can "reopen."
Worries grow: A new poll shows over a quarter, 27.3%, of Californians report declining mental health over the past week. Women are more likely to be impacted, it shows.
As California mulls fishing restrictions, Oregon plans to ban Golden Staters (and other non-residents) from fishing and hunting in its territory.
Dispatches from the front lines
Meet Ventura County's Kimberly Wyss, one of the hospital corps members aboard the Mercy.
They are taking precautions in the fields, but many farmworkers here on a temporary visa live in unsanitary, overcrowded conditions, the perfect recipe for an outbreak during a pandemic.
- Farmworker advocates continue asking growers to provide those in the fields with benefits like hazard pay and better sick leave policies.
Many doctors and nurses are finding huge gaps in what they need to help stay protected against the coronavirus. But so are the janitors, food-service workers and clerks who work in the hospital and also worry about catching or passing along the virus.
An explainer: How ventilators work and why COVID-19 patients need them to survive coronavirus.
At S.F.'s biggest homeless shelter, 70 test positive for COVID-19
It's been a fear of homeless advocates and social service providers since the coronavirus outbreak began — that once in the population, the virus would spread quickly. Many living on the street can't wash their hands and practice other good hygiene habits regularly and have pre-existing health conditions.
On Friday, a major outbreak hit San Francisco's largest homeless shelter, with 68 homeless residents and two staff members testing positive for the coronavirus.
The Multi-Service Center South can hold 340 overnight guests, but it had fewer than 150 staying there when everyone got tested. There were also 71 negative cases and three results are still pending.
Those who tested negative will be moved to hotel rooms, and the others will remain quarantined at the shelter, where medical treatment will be provided, Mayor London Breed tweeted.
Last week, Newsom announced the state had obtained 7,000 hotel rooms for homeless people, with the eventual goal of obtaining 15,000 to get the vulnerable population off the street.
An empty animal shelter, Coachella, Trolls and going gray
There's a place in Riverside County where being empty was cause for applause: an animal shelter. And this week it reached a milestone in clearing all the adoptable animals.
Coachella has been postponed until October, but fans can settle in for "#Couchella" to watch the new documentary premiering on April 10 — the festival's original start date — through YouTube Premium.
The new Trolls movie is a "sugary-sweet cure for the coronavirus blues." And you can stream it now.
A pandemic choice: Do it yourself, wait until your hairstylist reopens or finally embrace your gray.
I'll leave you with this, which may not make up for that big family meal you may traditionally have had this holiday weekend, but it's not a bad second.
DIY: DoubleTree's chocolate chip cookie
For the first time, DoubleTree releases its recipe — you know the one you get when you check in or later when you nicely ask for another.
"I know this is an anxious time for everyone,” says Shawn McAteer, the company's senior vice president and global head. “A warm chocolate chip cookie can’t solve everything, but it can bring a moment of comfort and happiness."
So...it's the lemon juice.
Hope you have a safe, #StayHome weekend.
In California is a roundup of news from across Paste BN Network newsrooms. Also contributing: San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times.