Shelter-in-place ordered for entire state
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a shelter-inplace mandate over the entire state Thursday to slow the spread of the COVID-19 disease.
Newsom said the new statewide mandate would take effect starting Friday and mirror the Bay Area’s mandate that took effect on Tuesday.
“This is a moment in time, and it’s a challenging moment, and it may be many moments in the foreseeable future, but nonetheless we will process, we will work together through this moment of challenge and we will triumph over fear, anxiety and this disease,” Newsom said.
Under the shelter- inplace mandate, “non- essential” businesses across the state will be required to close, and residents will be limited to leaving their homes only for “essential” reasons, such as to obtain medications, shop for groceries and supplies, care for family members and exercise outdoors.
The governor’s announcement came the same day as he asked the federal government for more than $1 billion to aid ailing residents and to increase supplies to accommodate a surge in patients expected in the state.
Newsom said the state had secured Seton Medical Center in Daly City — a hospital that in recent months faced possible closure — and a hospital in Southern California.
About a week ago, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted to spend $20 million — $5 million over the next four years — to support a buyer to acquire and operate Seton hospitals. It is unclear with the state’s acquisition of the center, where that devoted county funding stands.
By Thursday, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in California totaled more than 800, rising 21 percent overnight, the governor said, and the state’s coronavirus-related deaths had reached 16. Newsom and health officials have said the numbers will continue to rise as testing expands. As of Wednesday evening, about 17,000 tests had been conducted within the state, according to the state, with 10,000 results still pending.
As the coronavirus hammers the economy, Californians are losing their jobs and boosting the pace of unemployment claims as much as 40-fold.
The latest U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report shows that in the week ended March 14 Californians filed 58,208 initial claims for jobless benefits — an increase of 34 percent in a week and up 42 percent vs. a year earlier.
The state’s no outlier. Nationwide, 250,892 claims were filed in the same period — up 25 percent in a week and an increase of 29 percent in a year.
These increases are the tip of the iceberg. In a speech Wednesday evening, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state had received 80,000 unemployment applications just on Tuesday alone.
“We average about 2,000 unemployment insurance claims a day,” Newsom said. “Two days ago or three days, we saw about 40,000 applications. After that 70,000 applications. Yesterday, 80,000 unemployment applications.”
In the latest official count for the week ended March 14, California topped all states for claims.
The state’s 58,208 claims led the nation followed by the District of Columbia at 16,120; Washington state, hard hit by coronavirus, at 14,846 and North Carolina at 14,413.
California’s one- week jump of 14,823 was also a national high. Next was Washington state at 8,230, then New Hampshire at 4,192 and Michigan at 2,696.
Even accounting for California’s huge job market, the 34 percent one-week jump was big on a percentage basis, ranking No. 12. Tops? New Hampshire up 182 percent; Washington at 124 percent; Florida at 120 percent; and Nevada at 59 percent.
Initial claims are seen as a good early indicator of job losses. But it’s by no means a perfect measure of folks out of work.
Not everyone who’s out of work qualifies for lost-job benefits, such as freelancers and sole proprietors. Not everyone who qualifies applies quickly for these benefits. Not every applicant qualifies for aid.
That means filing tallies can vary widely week to week. Plus, the stats have seasonal influences, such as the ups and downs of holiday staffing.
Still, it may serve as the best real-time pulse we have on unemployment. March data on California’s overall employment picture — the unemployment rate and job growth — is scheduled to be released in mid-April.
“We average about 2,000 unemployment insurance claims a day. Two days ago or three days, we saw about 40,000 applications. After that 70,000 applications. Yesterday, 80,000 unemployment applications.”
— Gov. Gavin Newsom