‘No’ to classrooms
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
Los Angeles and San Diego school districts, the two largest in California with a combined K-12 student population of about 720,000, announced Monday they won’t bring students back to classrooms next month because of rising coronavirus hospitalizations and infection rates.
School leaders said there is too much uncertainty surrounding the safety of students and staff to try to return pupils to classrooms right away so they will continue the distance learning that was employed for the final months of the spring semester.
July arrived Newsom took action. For counties on the state’s watch for rising virus cases, he ordered bars to close and indoor operations halted at restaurants, wineries, tasting rooms, zoos, museums and family entertainment centers like bowling alleys and miniature golf courses. On Monday, Newsom extended that order statewide.
In the last two weeks, the number of counties on the watch list has swelled from 19 to 30, covering roughly 80 percent of the state’s population. During that period coronavirus-related hospitalizations have risen 28 percent, including a 20 percent increase in patients requiring intensive care. The state’s death toll now is above 7,000.
Also Monday, Newsom imposed new restrictions for counties on the state’s watch list, ordering them to halt indoor operations for gyms, nail salons, tattoo parlors, hair salons and barbershops, shopping malls and offices for nonessential sectors. The affected counties include Los Angeles and virtually all of Southern California.
Step back ‘disheartening’
Francesca Schuler, advisory board member for the California Fitness Alliance, said her group appreciates the challenge Newsom is facing but is disappointed by the closures. She said fitness centers worked with the state to develop high standards and strict guidelines, including having people wear masks when theyworkout.
“We’re all in on supporting doing the right thing to flatten the curve, but we do believe physical and mental health is the second crisis that’s emerging right now,” she said. “Fitness is key to that, particularly to mental health.”
In Los Angeles County, where 10 million people live, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said she would update the county’s public health order to reflect Newsom’s new directives. She said data shows “everything is pointing toward an alarming trend,” noting that “every day thousands of people in our community are being infected.”
“I know this step back in our recovery journey is disheartening but we must do everything in our power to stop the virus from spreading, from making the people we love sick and from causing untimely deaths,” Ferrer said.
Other county leaders were frustrated. Butte County Supervisor Bill Connelly said he has not changed his behavior during the pandemic, except when he was forced to wear a mask while attending church on Sunday. He blamed Newsom for making the “cure worse than the disease.”
“He’s putting these small businesses under extreme strain, they are going to go under,” said Connelly, whose county is not on the state’s watch list. “We should have more discretionastowhattodoinour communities.”
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.