San Diego, LA schools to be online this fall

In a joint statement issued Monday, the Los Angeles and San Diego unified school districts, the two largest in California, announced that their academic calendars will begin with online instruction.

Classes will begin as scheduled, Aug. 18 for Los Angeles and Aug. 31 for San Diego. Both districts will continue to plan for in-person classes “as soon as public health conditions allow.”

The districts said they planned on providing additional training for teachers and students to ease the transition. Online support will be offered for parents “to make it easier for them to participate in the education of their students” and free meals will continue to be provided at distribution centers.

Los Angeles is the second-largest school district in the United States.

California orders closures including gyms and churches

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday a list of business sectors that will be required to close as the number of coronavirus cases increases substantially across the state.

All counties will be required to close indoor operations of restaurants, wineries, tasting rooms, movie theaters, family entertainment centers, zoos, museums, card rooms and all bars.

The 30 counties that are on the state’s targeted engagement list are ordered to close indoor operations of fitness centers, places of worship, offices for non-critical sectors, personal hair services and indoor malls.

California’s average daily new cases hit 8,211 over the past week. Nicole Hayden, Palm Springs Desert Sun

Travelers to NY must provide contact information or face a fine

New York will require air travelers from states with high rates of COVID-19 to provide their local contact information or face a penalty of up to $2,000, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday.

The shift in policy comes nearly three weeks after New York issued an order in late June requiring many outof-state travelers to quarantine for two weeks upon entering the state.

The quarantine order, which came as COVID-19 rates increased across the country while dropping in New York, now applies to travelers coming from 19 states.

Travelers to New York from the states on the quarantine list will be required to fill out a form documenting where they’re coming from and their local contact information after they exit the plane. Jon Campbell, Democrat and Chronicle

Florida logs second largest number of cases in a single day

One day after setting a record for most new confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in a single day for any state, Florida’s figures ticked down but still represented the second-highest single-day total seen since the start of the pandemic. The state’s Department of Health reported 12,343 new cases Monday, down about 20% from the previous day’s total of 15,283. Before the weekend began, New York state had held the previous mark for most single-day new confirmed COVID-19 cases with 12,274, reached on April 4.

NYC officials: No deaths due to virus for 1st time since March 11

Initial data released Sunday by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reported that no one died from the virus in the city on July 11, exactly four months after the state’s first official death was recorded on March 11.

The news comes after a harrowing four-month stretch in the nation’s most populated city. The peak in confirmed daily deaths was April 7, at 597. All told, New York City has reported 18,670 deaths from COVID-19 and 4,613 probable fatalities.