WSSN Stories

By Elizabeth Castillo, CalMatters

In what seems now like another lifetime, in the birthplace of California wine production, Angie Sanchez was tasked one day with census outreach in Sonoma. The Latino community organizer decided that standard presentations and handouts wouldn’t cut it. Instead, she reimagined Lotería, a Bingo-like game that’s a staple in many Latino households.

Her version, Censotería, received more than 300 Instagram likes and piqued the interest of census officials in Alabama, Illinois and Texas. The civic participation group that Sanchez works for, the La Luz Center, partnered with the Latino Community Foundation and printed about 500 copies and distributed them throughout the community. The Latino Community Foundation even made Sanchez’s game downloadable for free. 

Now, for all of Sanchez’s creativity, it’s unclear whether this colorful game, which is part of the state’s $187.2 million census effort, will move the needle even slightly. As the coronavirus pandemic upends every aspect of life as Californians know it, it is far from clear what, if anything, will help motivate 11 million hard-to-reach Californians to respond to their questionnaires.

In the next few weeks — between moments of panic — residents across the nation will be asked to respond to nine basic questions about their household as part of a decennial population count and respond largely online. State and community organizers are particularly concerned about this year’s survey. California faces powerful headwinds, not only from the mounting threat of COVID-19, the infection caused by the virus, but also from widespread distrust sowed by the Trump administration’s anti-immigration policies, including a failed push to include a citizenship question on the census. 

For California, the stakes have never been higher: A low turnout could jeopardize one of the state’s 53 congressional seats, along with billions in federal funding.

No one knows yet how much these developments will impact California’s count but they are widely expected to depress turnout.

“It’s been a challenge because we have to take precautions on how we conduct outreach,” said Melissa Vergara from the San Mateo County Office of Community Affairs.

A major census event the county planned for March 26 will now be a virtual one, she said. San Mateo County has been ordered to shelter in place, and census plans are changing by the day.

The county plans to do more social media outreach. And Vergara said San Mateo County will create a TikTok video to help inform the public.  

Nationally,  the U.S. Census Bureau has suspended field operations until at least April 1. “Any type of person-to-person contact, that’s what’s being eliminated,” said spokesperson Patricia Ramos.

Presentations from census workers at local churches and town-hall meetings have been suspended. The count of people experiencing homelessness has also been postponed a month. It will now take place from April 29 to May 1.

The bureau has also adjusted how it counts people living in group quarters such as on college campuses, in group homes and in nursing homes.

Census workers are still scheduled to visit homes in late May, and online census operations continue. Nationwide, more than 11 million households had responded to the census as of Wednesday morning. A map of response rates will be available to the public Friday.

Emilio Vaca, a spokesperson for California Complete Count, the state’s own census department, said the state is “shifting toward virtual phone banks, webinars and events where they can continue to give our state’s hard-to-reach communities the information and the support they need to participate in the census with confidence.”

He reiterated that the census can be completed online or over the phone. 

On the same day census notices began landing in people’s mailboxes, the governor clamped down on public gatherings in an effort to mitigate the coronavirus outbreak, disrupting months of planned outreach events and door-to-door appeals. 

And allies have unintentionally sent mixed signals. Civil rights activists, who spent last year training immigrants to ignore federal agents knocking on their door during nationwide raids, are now encouraging people to open the door to census workers, who are an extension of the federal government.

The Public Policy Institute of California characterizes 29 million Californians at risk of being undercounted. These can be people who are hard to reach because they are homeless, rent, or live in nonstandard housing, such as garages and trailers. They can also be young men who may not respond or children who aren’t properly counted in a questionnaire. Many often lack a reliable internet connection.

Moreover, it’s race and ethnicity. California is a majority minority state. Nearly 39% of California’s population identifies as Latino or Hispanic and there’s concern that government distrust will reduce responses — even among residents with legal status. This year, Jacqueline Martinez Garcel with the Latino Community Foundation said it has been difficult to assure people that census information will be kept private.

“I think historically we’ve thought about non-citizens or unauthorized immigrants as particularly hard to count,” said Sarah Bohn of the Public Policy Institute of California. “But I think there is concern about whether this environment we’re in right now with regard to immigrants, is going to dissuade even legal immigrants from responding — just because of fear or distrust of the government.”

That’s why the state has allocated more than $106 million on census outreach efforts to fund efforts like Sanchez’s Censotería game, according to state census reports. Mercury Public Affairs LLC won a $46 million contract to lead a media campaign. Overall, California is spending more than any other state. 

The state aims to make over 100 million “impressions” which will capture who is looking at the content and how they’re consuming it, whether that’s via mobile or desktop. It will assess its success by comparing targeted populations to live census returns. As completed forms come in, the state will allocate more funding to areas with low returns.

“It’s really critical to get it right,” said Bohn. 

California residents benefit from dozens of federal programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, affordable housing and funding for roads, school lunches, early childhood education and foster care. Andrew Reamer, research professor at George Washington University, estimates California receives $172 billion in federal money based on its population.

County and state organizers are now pivoting to social media outreach and ramping up a digital ambassador program, a group of preselected online influencers including actor Danny Trejo, mixed martial artist Urijah Faber, and Sacramento Kings basketball player Harrison Barnes. Beyond celebrities, ambassadors include activists as well, such as Rian Buhacoff, who advocates for queer and disabled rights.

Advocates continue to urge people to respond online, by phone, or mail

WASHINGTON – The co-chairs of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights’ Census Task Force — Arturo Vargas, CEO of NALEO Educational Fund; John C. Yang, president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC; and Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference — issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Census Bureau’s extension of  2020 Census operations from July 31, 2020 to August 14, 2020:

“As all of us, including vulnerable communities, deal with the impact of COVID-19. This extension gives the Census Bureau and advocates the flexibility we need to expand and modify outreach. The Census Bureau understands the public health challenge it is up against and is properly adjusting in real-time. As the situation continues to evolve, we encourage the Census Bureau to make any necessary adjustments in coordination with community partners and stakeholders. We are not backing down in our efforts to ensure our communities are counted — in fact, we are doubling down. We all need to work together to ensure a full and accurate count. People can, and should, continue to respond online, by phone, or by paper form. Essential rights, funding, resources, and political power are still at stake.”
 

Background
 

The co-chairs of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights’ Census Task Force previously expressed support for shifts in timing of certain U.S. Census Bureau operations. That statement is availablehere.
 

Extending census operations is not the same as delaying the census or changing the statutory reporting deadlines. The co-chairs have also urged Congress to closely monitor the progress of the census to determine if the Census Bureau will be able to meet the statutory deadlines of December 31, 2020 for the reporting of the final apportionment counts, and April 1, 2021 for the transmission of the redistricting files to the states. Congress may well need to consider adjustments to those deadlines once it has sufficient information on the status of the 2020 Census operations. This issue has deep and broad implications, primarily political and conceivably partisan. It must be approached carefully and knowledgeably for those reasons.
 

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 220 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

Asian Americans Advancing Justice is a national affiliation of five leading organizations advocating for the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and other underserved communities to promote a fair and equitable society for all. The affiliation’s members are: Advancing Justice – AAJC (Washington, D.C.), Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus (San Francisco), Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, Advancing Justice – Atlanta, and Advancing Justice – Chicago.
 

NALEO Educational Fund is the leading non-profit, non-partisan organization that facilitates full Latino participation in the American political process, from citizenship to public service.

For all the things we touch throughout the day, we touch our phones more than anything else. And multiple studies have shown that our phones are germier than a toilet seat. Yuck. And on top of that, according to recent studies, Americans are checking their phones anywhere from about 50 to 100 times a day, and actually pressing and swiping more than 2,500 times per day.

Proper device hygiene has never been more important. Here are T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile’s tips for keeping the germs away:

1. Don’t use your phone in the restroom.When toilets flush, they can spread germs all over the place, including the surface of our phones. And as long as we’re having the bathroom talk, make sure to always wash your hands after visiting the facilities and, of course, throughout the day. The CDC recommends washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds — about the amount of time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” twice. We know, singing “Happy Birthday” several times a day can get annoying. Check out Seattle Times’ list of 10 awesome songs to sing while you wash your hands.

2. Sanitize, sanitize, sanitize. 
Hand sanitizer isn’t an exact substitute for washing your hands, but for general germ battling throughout the day, it’s a decent, reliable backup. Spend about the same 20 seconds covering your hands with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer until they’re dry. And here’s a bonus pro tip: avoid touching your face with your phone. Rather than sneezing or coughing into your screen when you’re sick — and turning your device into a germ breeding ground — think about using earbuds, AirPods or speakerphone.

3. Last but not least, clean your device.Different device manufacturers have different do’s and don’ts for cleaning your phone; check the booklet that came with your device or visit the manufacturer’s website for specifics. We suggest cleaning your device with a damp microfiber cloth, and wiping down your phone and case completely. Be cautious of using alcohol and household cleaners as they may damage your phone. (Some further information on that can be found here.)

Remember, if you want a relatively germ-free device, your phone can never be too clean.

By Rachel Becker, CalMatters

California still does not have enough capacity to test for coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Sunday, despite furious efforts by private, university and government laboratories to scale up to handle thousands of more patients. 

To help triage the crush of Californians in the Bay Area who want to be tested for the novel coronavirus, Newsom announced a new website created in partnership with Alphabet’s subsidiary Verily that will provide screening and testing support.

Starting Monday, Californians with mild symptoms or who are concerned about exposure can take a questionnaire that will direct those especially at risk from the virus to two pilot testing sites in Santa Clara and San Mateo, according to a Verily news release.

As of Monday morning, however, the questionnaire did not ask about risk factors or exposure history, and did not direct people to testing. Verily did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Newsom called it “the next phase” for testing in California, which to date has conducted 8,316 tests for the virus — of which, 335 have come back positive for the novel coronavirus. “That’s a 14 percent increase from the prior day,” Newsom said. “Tragically, we now have six individuals that have passed away.” 

In the press briefing, Newsom said California has the capacity for just shy of 9,000 tests. But he alluded to issues surrounding the availability of supplies, saying he was worried now about access to adequate numbers of swabs for collecting patient samples. The governor’s office declined to elaborate further during the press briefing or afterward. 

“There’s still some capacity concerns not only on the diagnostic side on the back end with the labs — both private, public, commercial — but as it relates to supplies,” Newsom said. “And one must be honest about that.” 

Politicians and health officials across the country have criticized the slow rollout of U.S. testing relative to other countries. Until the end of February, labs were barred from using tests they created themselves without prior federal approval, even as labs across the country discovered flaws in the CDC’s early tests. 

Now, academic medical centers in California, as well as private companies, are racing to catch up to what is expected to be a dramatic increase in the spread of the virus.

The test itself is a standby of molecular biology called a reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, or RT-PCR. Clinicians collect samples by swabbing a patient’s nose and throat and send it to a lab to extract genetic material called RNA from the swab. 

The challenge is detecting the virus in the soup of human and microbial genetic material, so lab workers use probes that stick to parts of the virus’s genetic code and run a series of reactions to amplify the signal. That way, if the virus is there, they’ll be able to see it. 

“The PCR is the really easy part,” said Frances Sladek, a professor of cell biology and toxicology as well as the divisional dean of life sciences at UC Riverside. Freshmen who have never touched scientific instruments learn in a lab course how to run PCR well enough to identify species of fish from the filets at a store, Sladek said. That’s why it’s so incomprehensible to her, she said, “that there’s any problem at all with this.”  

In addition to bureaucratic slowdowns from the federal government, testing has been hampered by a series of technical failures. Many of the early tests sent out by the CDC had faulty components that made it impossible to tell if a positive result was real, according to Science. The CDC did not respond over the weekend to a request for more information about the flawed tests. 

Then, another hold-up: Politico first reported a shortage of key ingredients needed to extract genetic material from patient samples. “The availability of those reagents is obviously being looked at,” CDC Director Robert Redfield told Politico. “I’m confident of the actual test that we have, but as people begin to operationalize the test, they realize there’s other things they need to do the test.” 

Newsom publicly criticized the test kits Thursday, calling them incomplete. “You’re going to the store and purchasing a printer, but forgetting to purchase the ink,” he told reporters. “I’m surprised this is not more of the national conversation.”

But the governor’s office directed followup questions to California’s Department of Public Health, which said questions about RNA extraction kit supplies would need to be answered by the CDC.  Neither state public health officials nor the CDC responded to CalMatters’ questions about the number of extraction kits California expected, or how many it received.  

The bottleneck may be coming from the CDC itself: the CDC only names RNA extraction kits from two vendors — QIAGEN and Roche — on a webpage detailing the supplies sent to public health laboratories. And until Sunday, CDC’s instructions for the diagnostic test only listed QIAGEN’s kits for RNA extraction, saying that “names of vendors or manufacturers are provided as examples of suitable product sources. Inclusion does not imply endorsement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” 

Still, Yousef Haj-Ahmad, president and CEO of Norgen Biotek Corp, a Canadian Biotechnology Company that also makes RNA extraction kits, said Norgen’s kits should have made the cut. “CDC made an error by only recommending Qiagen; doing so created a bottle[neck] for testing,” he told CalMatters in an email. 

A Qiagen spokesperson told Reuters on Friday that Qiagen ramped up production of its extraction kits by 70 percent, and isn’t to blame for the testing delays in the US. Qiagen could not be reached for comment over the weekend.

But even as medical centers at UC San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego offer in-house tests for the novel coronavirus, they too are bracing for a shortage. 

Right now UCSF is only testing hospitalized patients, not the general public, spokeswoman Laura Kurtzman said. And while UCSF is not currently hurting for RNA extraction supplies, it “may encounter this as testing continues to ramp up,” Kurtzman said. “In parallel, we are developing tests that may potentially bypass the extraction step so would not need these chemicals.” 

Farther south, UCLA Health is testing hospitalized patients with the same test that the CDC and California Department of Public Health are using, according to spokesman Enrique Rivero. Citing the shortage of RNA extraction kits, Rivero said, “UCLA’s laboratory is working to modify the CDC kits to work with other reagents.” 

It’s a near-universal challenge, Nam Tran, associate professor and senior director of clinical pathology at UC Davis, told CalMatters on Sunday. “When every hospital is competing for the same thing, that’s what happens — you end up being in very short supply.” 

UC Davis’s strategy is to bring not one but three different types of tests online over the next several weeks. One is a CDC-type test. Another runs cartridges containing samples on a more automated device that Tran compared to working like a video game: “You put the cartridge in, or device in, and press start. And in an hour and a half, you get a result.” The test can run samples from 12 patients at a time, and Tran expects it to be ready in the next week. 

The third test will take longer to be up and running; it’s a home-grown assay that runs on an SUV-sized piece of equipment called the cobas 6800 made by biotech company Roche. The instrument can run 1400 tests in a day, according to Tran, which he called a “game changer.” 

Stanford, which recently announced drive-through testing, has been running in-house tests through its clinical virology laboratory since March 4, according to Benjamin Pinsky, associate professor of pathology and medicine. He couldn’t say how many tests but said the number is increasing. The lab is testing samples from a number of hospitals including Stanford Hospital, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, and Kaiser Northern California. 

“At this point, the demand for testing and need for testing outpaces the availability of testing,” Pinsky said. His team has also experienced shortages in key components, including some of the Qiagen extraction kits, and is now working to validate other kits and enzyme mixes. 

“I’m really proud of Stanford that we were a little bit ahead of the game here and we’re able to provide this testing for the Bay Area,” Pinsky said. “I think that has really helped patients in this area get the right care.” 

Companies also are stepping up. Quest Diagnostics has been running a lab-developed test for the novel coronavirus at its infectious disease laboratory in Juan Capistrano since March 9. The company is rolling out the test nationally and expects to be performing 10,000 tests per day by the end of this week, according to a news release. 

While Quest’s test does include a step to extract genetic material from patient samples, spokeswoman Rachel Carr told CalMatters the company has the supplies needed to perform the tests.“It’s the largest laboratory in the world, and we have continuous access to the reagents we need, and so right now we’re not experiencing any shortages,” she said. “However, we’re closely monitoring our supply continuously.” 

Quest CEO Stephen Rusckowski announced the company also would incorporate a newly approved diagnostic test from biotech company Roche. The test can run on the same cobas 6800 instrument the team at UC Davis uses, which Roche said can turn around results in about three-and-a-half hours. “Upon authorisation Roche will have millions of tests a month available for use on the cobas 6800 and 8800 systems,” the release said. 

Of course, all the tests in the world won’t help if healthcare workers can’t safely collect samples from patients. Carmela Coyle, president of the California Hospital Association, said in a state Senate budget subcommittee meeting on Thursday that more test kits may not widen the bottleneck if another shortage isn’t addressed, and quickly: personal protective equipment. 

“We’re already short,” she told lawmakers. Without equipment like face shields and masks that protect health workers from infectious droplets, she’s concerned about a backlog. “That will very quickly become a rate-limiting factor, and we’re concerned most of the testing, as a result, will end up back in hospitals.”

In the hearing, Kat DeBurgh, executive director of the Health Officers Association of California, asked for help addressing yet another shortage: staff, to help track down people who might have been exposed and follow through with quarantine orders.  

Over the past 15 years, 11 public health labs have closed in California, according to DeBurgh. And last year, the Health Officers Association of California and the County Health Executives Association of California requested $50 million in ongoing funding to shore up the state’s infrastructure to address infectious diseases, she said. “We got $40 million in one-time funding. And we can’t hire staff with one-time funding — and staff is our greatest need.”

---

CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

By Joe W. Bowers Jr. | California Black Media

By Sunday evening, more than 720 of the state’s 1,000 school districts announced they were closing beginning Monday. They made the decision out of an abundance of caution for the health and safety of students, parents and staff and with the intent of sharing responsibility with the broader community in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Then, on Monday, county health officials put more than 6.7 million Californians in six Bay Area counties under a “shelter in place” order that instructed residents to stay isolated in their homes and away from public places and human interaction as much as possible.

The directive, which took effect Tuesday at 12:01 am and lasts at least through April 7, affects San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Marin, Contra Costa and Alameda counties.

The closures are scheduled to last between two to four weeks.

In all, more than 95 percent of public school students in 41 of 58 counties will be impacted. Many of the school districts that California’s 334,652 African-American students attend have announced they will be closed.

Outside California, more than 33 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, have announced plans to close schools for two or three weeks.

Most of the announcements of school district closings happened on Friday, closely following the closure announcement by the two largest school districts in the state – Los Angeles Unified and San Diego Unified.

Los Angeles superintendent Austin Buetner and Cindy Marten, San Diego superintendent, issued a joint statement that read, “California has now entered a critical new phase in the fight to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is evidence the virus is already present in the communities we serve, and our efforts now must be aimed at preventing its spread. We believe closing the state’s two largest school districts will make an important contribution to this effort.”

Before deciding to close their schools, the districts consulted with their county offices of education and their public health departments. Many school leaders were concerned about interrupting student learning and the negative effect closures would have on the families that depend on schools to provide meals and other essential social services.

Inglewood Unified was one of the school districts making the decision to close on Friday. With a student body that is 40 percent African American, among districts with over 2,000 students, Inglewood has the largest percentage of Black students in the state. Los Angeles Unified with 8.4 percent and Oakland Unified with 24 percent respectively have the largest number of African-American students.

Dr. Erika Torres, Inglewood’s County Administrator, said she decided to close the district’s schools because, “We are concerned about the health, safety and well being of our students and families.”

“I wanted to make sure that we were very proactive in this decision,” she said.

Like many of the school districts that are closing, Inglewood has no reported cases of coronavirus among students or staff.

Even as California banned large public gatherings, Governor Newsom resisted taking steps at the state level to close schools.  On Sunday, Newsom defended his approach saying, “I know for a fact that not all these districts have planned for the needs of these kids next week, and I’m deeply concerned about their health and I’m deeply concerned about their safety and I’m deeply concerned about their parents’ inability to go to work and many of those parents work in hospitals, work as firefighters, work as paramedics, work as the people that would get in gear to help us advance the mobile testing (for the virus) throughout the state.” 

While school leaders were deciding to close schools last Friday, the U.S. Department of Education said it would consider waiving requirements for statewide tests that are mandated for grades 3-8 and high school. With testing set to start during the spring, it may not be feasible for districts to administer the tests if school closures are extended.

On Friday, Newsom signed an executive order announcing that California schools that close due to the coronavirus outbreak will continue to receive funding, on condition that dollars are directed toward remote learning opportunities and childcare options during workday hours. For school districts like Inglewood Unified and Oakland Unified that are paying off state loans and Los Angeles Unified, which is experiencing budget issues, the governor’s action relieves some of the fiscal strain of closing schools.

Given the rapidly changing nature of the coronavirus outbreak and CDC’s guidance, what school districts decide to do after closing for two to four weeks is in flux. It is important for all parents and students to check their District websites for updated information and follow directives from the California Department of Public Health. 

By Nigel Duara, Ana B. Ibarra and Jackie Botts, CalMatters

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday called for seniors and people with chronic conditions to isolate themselves during the coronavirus pandemic, raising questions about the state’s capacity to ensure delivery of food, medicine and services to some of its most vulnerable residents.

Newsom pledged that his office would address specific issues related to this directive in a plan to be released on Tuesday, after state officials and private industry collaborate and work out the details. He did not say how long he expected that people would have to isolate themselves since no one knows how long the pandemic will last or how bad it will get.

The governor’s advisory does not carry the force of law, but Newsom said he would not hesitate to sign an executive order making it mandatory if the directive is not followed.

“If you want to establish a framework of martial law which is ultimate authority and enforcement, we have the capacity to do that, but we are not at this moment thinking that is a necessity,” Newsom said.

It’s unclear how the government will help coordinate the delivery of meals to an estimated 5.7 million California seniors and millions of other Californians who suffer from heart, respiratory, kidney and immune system disorders.

“We are doing so with our eyes wide open at the magnitude of what that means and the need to provide wraparound services to support our seniors in need of medical supplies, in need of meals and the like,” Newsom said Sunday at a press conference.

The traditional method of delivering food to seniors is through “access points” like a senior center, said Los Angeles Regional Food Bank Chief Executive Officer Michael Flood. But dozens of seniors congregating in a small space is no longer feasible, so other options will have to be considered.

Newsom emphasized multiple times on Sunday that the state will partner with private industry to respond to the pandemic, whether that means feeding children with free or reduced-price lunches from shuttered school districts or seniors who are isolating themselves. Flood said the LA Regional Food Bank envisions something similar to feed the 28,000 seniors it serves each month. 

“We’ve never had this type of discussion, how we can possibly leverage [private industry] logistics to deliver for a nonprofit,” Flood said. “We‘re going to have to figure this out.”

Here are a half-dozen questions raised by the governor’s announcement: 

How many people are we talking about here? 

California is getting grayer. Newsom said his self-isolation guidance would apply to the approximate 5.3 million seniors age 65 or older who live in the state. However, according to 2019 Census numbers, that number may be closer to 5.7 million.

And it’s not just the elderly who are being advised to stay home. So are people with underlying chronic health conditions. That means people with heart and respiratory diseases, diabetics and asthmatics. That’s a lot of people. 

In California, about one in three adults— more than 8 million people — live with cardiovascular disease, which includes heart failure, artery disease, hypertension, strokes and other disorders, according to 2016 state data. 

Also, about 2.5 million adults in the state have been diagnosed with diabetes, while 2.3 million adults have asthma and another estimated 1.5 million have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Why the elderly?

“We are prioritizing their safety because of their unique vulnerabilities to this virus,” Newsom said. 

Health officials say that older adults, as well as people with compromised immune systems and those with underlying chronic medical conditions, seem to be at higher risk of developing serious, life-threatening complications from the coronavirus. 

Out of California’s 335 positive cases as of Sunday, 116 were among people 65 and older.

In China, where the virus was first detected, the majority of deaths have been among older adults, who tend to have weaker immune systems and have a higher rate of chronic disease. While the mortality rate for COVID-19 remains low — about 2.3 percent —  it increases with age or when combined with a chronic illness. 

For example, the COVID-19 mortality rate in China for people with heart disease jumped to 10.7 percent, and to 7.3 percent for patients with diabetes. The mortality rate for those with respiratory illnesses was 6.3 percent.

Similarly in Italy, a national analysis earlier this month found that the average age of 105 people who died in relation to COVID-19 was 81. Most of those patients were men and two-thirds of them had three or more existing conditions. 

So, what does self-isolation mean anyway? Can they go to the grocery store or pharmacy?

The idea of Newsom’s plan is to keep people who may be sick away from seniors and people with compromised immune systems or weakened hearts, kidneys and lungs.

Newsom did not give any specific advice, but his plan likely would mean people staying home from work and other public places as much as possible, and not meeting with friends, even at home.

Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say people should restrict activities outside their homes except for seeking medical care. On Sunday, the CDC advised that all gatherings of 50 people or more be cancelled for the next eight weeks, from weddings to sporting events.

In New Zealand, self-isolation protocol allows for others to drop off food and supplies to those in isolation. 

Until recently, only people who were infected or believed to be infected by the coronavirus but didn’t require hospitalization had been asked to home isolate for 14 days. 

Newsom recognized that asking millions of seniors to stay home was bound to create anxiety. 

“We are doing so with our eyes wide open at the magnitude of what that means,” he said. He added that his team is working on services to help these seniors with food and medication. 

If these people can’t go to the grocery store, how are they going to eat? 

Good question. Newsom said that the state has “been working for days” to answer this question, but he did not provide specifics.

Newsom did allude to “strike teams that will support the social safety net and those services for our seniors” run by Mark S. Ghilarducci, director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

“What is really important is to understand what a massive logistics operation it would be to take a formerly pretty self-sustaining group of people and expand an already stretched safety net to cover that group of people too,” said Ashley McCumber, executive director of Meals on Wheels San Francisco, which serves hot meals to 3,600 people who are over 60 or disabled each week. 

McCumber said that the need for home-delivered boxes of groceries will grow dramatically, as will the need for hot meals for those who rely on senior day centers and other facilities because they can’t prepare their own meals at home. 

Food banks across California are already facing shortages of volunteers and closures of their distributions sites due to coronavirus concerns. 

Partnering with private home delivery companies could bridge the gap. McCumber said the food delivery company DoorDash called last week to explore how it could support Meals on Wheels San Francisco. 

Newsom said that he is not ordering restaurants to close, in part, because they could be part of the state’s plan to deliver food to people in self-isolation. Instead, restaurants were asked to cut their number of customers in half, keep them separated and stress take-out meals.

“We want to expand the points of access to get those deliveries. Restaurants by definition provide those points of access,” Newsom said. “So having an organized construct that allows delivery of hot, prepared and nutritious food within an existing infrastructure we think is appropriate to this moment.”

What if you’re homeless and you’re also a senior or have a health condition? 

Newsom included the homeless, along with seniors and those suffering from chronic conditions, among the three most vulnerable groups in the state. But the governor’s directive was short on details for those who are seeking to self-isolate while they are unhoused. 

Newsom said the state would prioritize getting homeless people indoors as soon as possible, either in hotel and motel rooms or in one of the state’s 450 newly-purchased trailers. In an executive order issued Thursday, Newsom directed the state health agency and its office of emergency services to be prepared to make available accommodations “suitable for use as a temporary residence” and to commandeer those sites, if necessary. 

The U.S. Office of Housing and Urban Development says there were more than 108,000 unsheltered homeless people in California on any given day in January 2019. Those numbers are concentrated in the Bay Area and Los Angeles, and the counts have been found to dramatically underestimate the real numbers. 

HUD issued guidance last week to homeless service providers regarding the coronavirus. 

“Individuals experiencing homelessness have an increased likelihood of chronic medical conditions (such as diabetes, asthma, and hypertension) as well as coinciding mental health diagnoses or histories of substance use,” according to the HUD document. “During crisis situations, health conditions can be exacerbated if health care regimens are not

maintained, or if histories of trauma trigger high-risk behaviors.”

What about seniors who work but can’t work from home? Is the state going to help? 

More than one million seniors, or about 19 percent of Californians ages 65 and older, are in the labor force, according to 2018 Census data. Many continue to work because they don’t have enough retirement savings or social security to cover expenses.

For seniors who can’t take their work home — for example, those who work in retail, the service industry, manufacturing or as drivers — self-isolation could mean losing wages or even jobs. 

Newsom made it clear that seniors working on the medical frontlines of the coronavirus response — such as nurses, doctors and pharmacists — are not exempt from the directive to self-isolate. A 70-year-old emergency room doctor in New Jersey contracted the virus and is in intensive care. He led his hospital’s emergency preparedness.

The Governor’s office did not immediately respond to questions about whether the state would provide financial aid to low-income seniors who are forced to miss work due to the coronavirus.

On Thursday, Newsom signed an executive order waiving the one-week wait time for those seeking unemployment insurance or disability benefits due to COVID-19.

On Saturday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a legislative package that would provide emergency leave, including two weeks of paid sick leave and up to three months of paid family and medical leave. The Senate will consider the package early this week. 

The state’s public health department recommends that all people keep their distance from each other, disinfect their homes, wash their hands frequently and avoid touching their faces. 

---

CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

By Anthony Thigpenn; Convener, Black Census and Redistricting Hub; President, California Calls

Throughout the history of the United States, the Black community’s consistent fight for recognition has been an unfortunate and inescapable reality.

History is not a precise science, nor an impartial one. Take a glance at a history textbook from past decades, and you will quickly understand that American history was written from the viewpoint of white men.

In so many ways, the history of Black Americans IS the history of America. Slavery, the Civil Rights Movement, and, in the modern era, the preeminence of Black popular culture, have all shaped and still define this country.  

This year we have an opportunity to set a positive trajectory for the future of Black communities in the nation’s most economically and socially powerful state. A chance to be counted, to ensure our voices are heard, and to secure the resources we deserve for the next generation – through participating in the 2020 Census.

History hasn’t been kind or accurate when it comes to counting Black neighborhoods. In Census after Census, the supposedly straightforward act of counting everyone in America has dismissed and disregarded millions across the country.

Nationally, the last Census in 2010 undercounted Black people by 2.1 percent — a total of 800,000 people missing from the record, rendered invisible. Black children were twice as likely to be missed as white children, affecting federal funding allocations to programs to provide support to children in schools.

The reasons many in the Black community wind up overlooked by the count are complex and pervasive. Complex housing issues, including renting, instability and living in unique arrangements make them even more likely to be missed in the Census.

There are also strong cultural and political headwinds. Decades of segregation, legal discrimination, and police brutality mean that many Black communities understandably reject the federal government as an agent for positive change. Wary of providing information, many fear it will be used against them.

California is leading a collaborative effort to educate and motivate the hardest-to-count Californians to fill out the Census form. We have the power to change the course of our history.

Across California, which has the fifth largest Black population in the country, Black activists and organizations are once again stepping up. This time to partner with the state to conduct the most comprehensive and diverse outreach campaign in state history. 

As such, California Calls, a growing alliance of 31 grassroots, community-based organizations spanning urban, rural and suburban counties across the state, is reaching out to communities in California to make the case for being counted. As one of California’s outreach partners for the 2020 Census, California Calls has done outreach to Black populations throughout the State using door-to-door canvassing, phone banking, and digital communication strategies.

My Black Counts is an education and awareness initiative convened by California Calls as part of The California Black Census and Redistricting Hub Project. This is our chance in California to right historical wrongs and for communities to claim what is rightfully theirs.

We hope –– no, we will make certain – this time around there will be a difference. We are telling communities that the Census is safe and secure. Not only is the U.S. Census Bureau required by law to keep any personal information it collects confidential, but that information also cannot be used for law enforcement purposes or to determine eligibility for government benefits. 

Starting in mid-March, the U.S. Census Bureau will invite all Californians to complete the Census. It’s a short form – 9 questions per person – and households can participate by phone, mail or online. In May, Census enumerators will visit homes in person to count those who don’t respond.

The 2020 Census is an opportunity for Black Californians to correct the record and chart a better way forward. But for that to happen, we must all stand up and be counted.

We have a big task ahead, but we know Black Californians are up to meeting the challenge. It’s our time to show we aren’t invisible.

SACRAMENTO, CA— This week, under the direction of Governor Gavin Newsom, the Department of Managed Health Care directed all commercial and Medi-Cal health plans regulated by the Department to immediately reduce cost-sharing to zero for all medically necessary screening and testing for the COVID-19. This includes waiving cost-sharing for emergency room, urgent care or provider office visits when the purpose of the visit is to be screened and tested for COVID-19. The need for COVID-19 testing is based on medical necessity, a clinical determination made on a case by case basis by medical professionals.

“Californians shouldn’t have to fear a big medical bill just because they took a test for COVID-19,” said Governor Newsom. “This action means that Californians who fit the testing requirements can receive the test at no cost. We’re all in this together, and I’m grateful to those health providers who have already stepped up and heeded our call.”

“This action will ensure that Californians who need a test will receive one at no cost,” said Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency.

“This doesn’t mean every Californians should be seeking a test. If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and may have had contact with a person with COVID-19 or recently traveled to countries with apparent community spread, call your health care provider or local public health department first before seeking medical care.”

The California Department of Insurance issued similar direction providing cost free medically necessary testing for an additional 2 million Californians. Combined these announcements ensure that 24 million more Californians are eligible to receive testing, should their health care provider deem it medically necessary.

By California Black Media

Assemblymember Shirley Weber (D-San Diego), chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus, has introduced, a new bill, AB 3121. It calls for setting up a task force to study and develop reparation proposals for African Americans.

“Existing law,” the language of the legislation reads, “requests the Regents of the University of California to assemble a colloquium of scholars to draft a research proposal to analyze the economic benefits of slavery that accrued to owners and the businesses, including insurance companies and their subsidiaries.”

AB 3121 requires eight members appointed to the task force.

The proposal would empower the group to “identify, compile, and synthesize the relevant corpus of evidentiary documentation of the institution of slavery that existed within the United States and the colonies,” the language goes on. “ The bill would require the Task Force to recommend, among other things, the form of compensation that should be awarded, the instrumentalities through which it should be awarded, and who should be eligible for this compensation.”

Other members of the CLBC are co-authors of AB 3121, including Senators Steven Bradford (D-Los Angeles) and Holly J. Mitchell (D-Los Angeles); Assemblymembers include Autumn Burke (D-South Bay, Los Angeles), Jim Cooper (D-Sacramento), Mike Gipson (D-Carson), Chris R. Holden (D-Pasadena), Reginald Jones-Sawyer (D-Los Angeles), Sydney Kamlager (D-Los Angeles), and Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento).

The Assembly has not yet assigned the bill to a policy committee for review.

LOS ANGELES, CA— The UCLA Black Alumni Association (UBAA) will recognize Black Lives Matter co-founder and Yes on R founder and chair, Patrisse Cullors, at its prestigious Winston C. Doby Legacy Scholarship Gala honoring prominent UCLA alumni and Los Angeles community members for their career achievements and contributions to the overall African American community.  The awards dinner and ceremony will take at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza located at 251 South Olive Street in Downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, March 14, 2020 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

“UCLA has a long history of being at the forefront of social justice issues and Patrice Cullors continues that tradition as an influencer and agent of global change in the unapologetic demand that Black Lives be valued,” said Michelle Johnson, UCLA Black Alumni Association President.  “Patrice embodies Black Bruin Excellence.”

The Ralph Bunche Humanitarian of the Year Award is being presented to artist, activist, educator, public speaker, and Los Angeles-native Patrisse Cullors.  Patrisse has been on the frontlines of criminal justice reform for the past 20 years like the Los Angeles-based grassroots organization she founded, Dignity and Power Now, and through her role as co-founder of the Black Lives Matter Global Network.  She continues her social activism work through ongoing work leading Reform LA Jails and the “Yes on R” campaign, a ballot initiative that passed with 71% of votes during the March 2020 primary election.

Individual tickets for the event are on sale now and can be purchased at www.uclablackalumni.org.