In California: Deaths hit a new record from pandemic; more aid for low-income workers
Plus: State considers stimulus checks, most GOP representatives vote against certifying election, and San Diego woman killed in Washington
Greetings from Palm Springs. I’m Robert Hopwood, online producer for The Desert Sun, bringing you a daily roundup of the top news from across California.
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Deaths hit new record from pandemic
California health authorities reported Thursday a record two-day total of 1,042 coronavirus deaths. The state Department of Public Health’s website listed 583 new deaths, a day after 459 deaths. The previous two-day record total was 1,013 deaths at the end of December.
California’s death toll since the start of the pandemic rose to 28,045.
A travel advisory issued Wednesday “strongly discouraged” people from out of state from entering California. It also said Californians should avoid traveling more than 120 miles from home except for essential purposes.
California this week ordered hospitals in the hardest-hit areas to delay many elective surgeries in order to free up space.
Hospitals statewide with room have been told to accept patients from others that have exhausted their ICU beds, but in fact, most of the state is reporting struggling to provide ICU beds, with non-COVID-19 patients spilling into corridors, tents and cafeterias.
L.A. County, which is recording more than 200 deaths a day, has seen a rate of new COVID-19 cases nearly double that of December, health officials said. More than 8,000 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 — with a fifth of them in intensive care — and more than a third of adult hospital beds are occupied by virus patients, said Barbara Ferrer, the county public health director.
Providing oxygen to Southern California
A temporary oxygen supply center has been set up in western Riverside County to provide the dwindling resource used to treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
The state worked with the Riverside County Emergency Management Department to establish the oxygen depot to assist oxygen suppliers, which are "having a difficult time meeting the high demand of area hospitals," department Director Bruce Barton said.
The depot comprises two large oxygen generators that will fill large tanks used by hospitals. The state will staff the depot 24 hours a day to fill oxygen tanks. The oxygen generator is slated to remain until typical oxygen suppliers can catch up with the current demand. While located in Riverside County, the depot is meant to help neighboring counties as well.
Fighting unemployment fraud
California has frozen 1.4 million unemployment claims as it battles fraud in its massive coronavirus unemployment relief program.
The state Employment Development Department said it had examined existing claims from people who said they lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic and found about 3.5 million claims were “potentially fraudulent,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Nearly 2 million of those claims already have been disqualified and payment was suspended for about 1.4 million until they could be verified. The EDD said it would contact claimants to tell them how to prove their identities, the paper said.
State aid for low-income residents
Millions of low-income Californians would get a $600 payment from the state under a budget proposal by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The proposed payment, announced Wednesday, would go to people with annual incomes of less than $30,000, including undocumented immigrants who file taxes with the state. Roughly 4 million people would be eligible for the payment, for a total state cost of $2.4 billion. Newsom is also asking the Legislature to extend a moratorium on evictions.
Newsom hopes payments of the state stimulus go out to Californians in February and March.
The governor will announce his full budget proposal on Friday, but he’s already revealed other pieces aimed at aiding people financially harmed by coronavirus. On Tuesday he proposed $4 billion in spending aimed at aiding small businesses and creating jobs. He also proposed $2 billion to help schools reopen for in-person learning.
California Republicans dispute Biden’s election win
The majority of California Republican U.S. House of Representatives cast votes to dispute President-elect Joe Biden’s November election win.
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) challenged the election results in Arizona and Pennsylvania. Other Republican congressman voting to object were:
- Devin Nunes, R-Tulare
- Doug LaMalfa, R-Oroville
- Jay Obernolte, R-Hesperia
- Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita
- Ken Calvert, R-Corona
- Darrell Issa, R-San Marcos
Reps. Young Kim (R-Fullerton) and Tom McClintock (R-Elk Grove) voted to certify the election results of both contested states.
Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) and Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Seal Beach) did not vote because of COVID-19 diagnoses. Valadao said in a statement he would have voted to certify the results.
San Diego woman killed during insurrection
U.S. Capitol Police identified military veteran Ashli Babbitt as the woman who was shot Wednesday amid a riot inside the Capitol.
“As protesters were forcing their way toward the House Chamber where Members of Congress were sheltering in place, a sworn (U.S. Capitol Police) employee discharged their service weapon, striking an adult female," police said in a statement Thursday. "Medical assistance was rendered immediately, and the female was transported to the hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries. She has been identified as Ashli Babbitt."
Graphic videos of the shooting show Babbitt, a 35-year-old San Diego woman, wearing a Trump flag as a cape as she tried to crawl through a broken window, flanked by other protesters. A single shot rang out, and she fell to the floor bleeding from an apparent neck wound.
Police officers screamed for the crowd to make room and a voice heard on video declared, "Ladies and gentlemen, a lady was just shot. She might be dying right now."
That's all for this Tuesday. We'll be back in your inbox tomorrow with more headlines from the Golden State.
In California is a roundup of news from across USA Today network newsrooms. Also contributing: The Associated Press and San Francisco Chronicle.