California Coronavirus Updates: San Joaquin County Allows Outdoor Sports To Open Up

5:53 p.m.: San Joaquin County allows outdoor sports to open up 

San Joaquin County’s COVID-19 case rate of 11.6 fell to below 14 cases per 100,000 residents, allowing football and a few other outdoor sports to return. 

The guidance from the California Department of Public Health applies to all youth programs, including school-based, club, and recreational programs in the county.

Compliance includes that face coverings be worn when not participating in the activity. Coaches, support staff and observers must wear face coverings to be worn at all times. There must also be informed consent and testing when adjusted case rates are between 7-14 per 100,000.

5:37 p.m.: LA County could loosen virus restrictions later this month

Health officials say Los Angeles County could move into the next phase of reopening with fewer restrictions as early as next week, though any actual lifting of coronavirus-related constraints would not happen immediately. 

With 10 million residents, the county has recorded more than 1.9 million COVID-19 cases during the pandemic. It is currently in the most restrictive purple tier of California’s reopening system because of widespread transmission. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer says she expects the county to move into the less-restrictive tier as early as next week. 

The tiers are based on test positivity and adjusted case rate figures. Gov. Gavin Newsom says he’d like to add vaccination rates.

5:32 p.m.: Vaccine access rapidly expands across the country

Cities and states are rapidly expanding access to vaccines as the nation races to head off a resurgence in coronavirus infections and reopen schools and businesses battered by the pandemic. 

The efforts come as the federal government ramps up shipments, with President Joe Biden saying the U.S. should have enough shots for all adults by the end of May. It also comes as more states are lifting restrictions like mask-wearing and reopening businesses despite warnings from health officials that it’s too risky. 

Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and other states say teachers will get the first doses of the new one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Detroit is starting to vaccinate factory workers. And some states are vaccinating anyone 55 or older.

5:25 p.m.: Federal stimulus bill shrinks check eligibility 

President Joe Biden and Democrats have agreed to tighten eligibility limits for stimulus checks, according to the Associated Press.

This is a concession to party moderates, and it comes as leaders prepare to move their $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill through the Senate. Simultaneously, the White House and top Democrats are standing by progressives and say the Senate package will retain the $400 weekly emergency unemployment benefits included in the House-passed pandemic legislation.

The moves reflect a balancing act facing Biden and Democratic leaders as they try squeezing the massive relief bill through the evenly divided Senate, where they need the support of every single Democratic senator to pass basic bills.

5:23 p.m.: Las Vegas Sands sells Venetian casino due to pandemic changes

Las Vegas Sands is selling the iconic Venetian casino resort and its Sands Expo and Convention center for $6.25 billion, withdrawing from gambling operations on the Las Vegas Strip after the changing nature of the casino business there, and just about everywhere else.

The name of the Venetian, the expo center as well as the Palazzo, the Sand’s luxury casino and resort that’s part of the same complex, will remain, along with the company’s headquarters, according to the Associated Press.

Despite this, the company led by Sheldon Adelson until his death this year will effectively cease U.S. operations. Under Adelson, the company’s focus turned to Asia years ago, where revenue eventually outpaced even the operations on the Last Vegas Strip.

5:20 p.m.: Nonprofits in financial trouble due to pandemic

More than one-third of U.S. nonprofits are in jeopardy of closing within two years because of the financial harm inflicted by the pandemic. 

According to the Associated Press, a soon-to-be-released study by the philanthropy research group Candid and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy underscores the perils for nonprofits and charities whose financial needs have escalated over the past year. 

Even with the excess of donations that many nonprofits and charities received from individuals and foundations, it’s still not enough to stay solvent. The researchers analyzed how roughly 300,000 nonprofits would fare under 20 scenarios of varying severity. 

The worst-case scenario led to the closings of 38% of nonprofits. Even the scenarios seen as more realistic resulted in closures well into double-digit percentages.

Arts and entertainment nonprofits are the most at danger. The most vulnerable nonprofits may try to reduce costs this year by narrowing their focus or by furloughing workers. Some nonprofits may have to turn to mergers to bolster their finances, but several would still vanish even if those particular nonprofits survive.

11:56 a.m.: California vaccinations most often going to rich over at-risk

California Gov. Gavin Newsom says a commitment to equity drives his administration’s centralized approach to vaccinating residents.

But community health centers say they’ve watched as initial shipments of the coronavirus vaccine went to larger hospitals, leaving their high-risk patients to wait, according to the Associated Press.

Community health centers in California care for more than 7 million mostly low-income people whom Newsom and others say they want to reach. The centers are often in areas with higher concentrations of poverty and fewer providers who accept Medicaid.

Dr. Efrain Talamantes is the chief operating officer for AltaMed Health Services in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. He says his patients and staff are often an afterthought despite the emphasis on equity from the state.

11:47 a.m.: Nevada to let some sports games, sports competitions to resume

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak has reclassified lacrosse from a full-contact to a minimal-contact sport in Nevada’s coronavirus playbook, according to the Associated Press.

This follows other moves to let indoor and outdoor game practices and competitions to resume with social distancing and other requirements. On Tuesday, the governor said he followed medical advisors in also classifying ice hockey as a full-contact sport and field hockey as a minimal-contact sport.

Sisolak signed new guidelines to let tournaments begin March 15 for Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association sports that get approval for a COVID-19 safety plan. Close-contact club sports and private leagues remain prohibited — including rugby, basketball, boxing, dance and cheer, and martial arts.

6:05 p.m.: Steep decline in child-abuse related ER visits and hospitalizations during the pandemic 

Natural disasters typically result in an uptick in child abuse, but a new study published today suggests this pandemic appears to be an exception.

Instead of going up, over the first few months of the pandemic, UCSF researchers found a steep decline in the number of ER visits and hospital admissions.

The decline started in mid-March — around the time most states issued shelter-in-place orders — according to the study, which tracked child abuse at 52 children’s hospitals nationwide.

Lead researcher Dr. Suni Kaiser says it doesn’t appear to be underreporting. She says  government interventions may be having a positive impact.

“Some of the policies like the CARES act and protection of eviction that were in place pretty early in the pandemic perhaps shielded families from some of the stresses that we’ve seen in prior events,” Kaiser said.

Another possible explanation: parents working from home meant fewer caregivers were home alone with small children. 

4:11 p.m.: El Dorado County moves to red tier

El Dorado County will soon be able to restart indoor dining and other businesses at reduced capacity after moving to the less restrictive red tier in California’s COVID-19 reopening system Tuesday, according to state health officials.

With the move, restaurants and movie theaters will be able to reopen indoors at 25% capacity, while gyms can reopen indoors at 10% capacity. Museums may also resume indoor operations at 25% capacity.

Bars and breweries must remain closed, while wineries will still be limited to outdoor service.

In addition to El Dorado, moving to the red tier Tuesday are Lassen, Modoc, Napa, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo and Santa Clara counties. Sacramento health officials say the county could potentially move to the red tier in mid to late March. Yolo County joined the red tier last month.

3:09 p.m.: City of San Francisco leaders cheer over reopening

An upbeat Mayor London Breed said San Francisco will reopen indoor dining, movie theaters, and gyms with reduced capacity starting Wednesday, as more counties in California open up for business, according to the Associated Press.

Much of California’s population remains in the most restrictive reopening phase, with Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties still limited to outdoor dining. San Francisco’s mayor urged residents to wear their masks while enjoying the city.

Her Tuesday announcement came as Gov. Gavin Newsom continued to press educators to return to the classroom as more vaccines are administ

12:49 p.m.: Texas lifts mask mandate

Texas is lifting a COVID-19 mask mandate that was imposed last summer but has only been lightly enforced.

According to the Associated Press, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s Tuesday announcement makes Texas the largest state to do away with a face-covering order. The new rule takes effect on March 10.

The decision comes as governors across the U.S. have eased coronavirus restrictions, despite warnings from health experts that the outbreak is far from over.

Texas has seen a sharp plunge in cases and hospitalizations in recent weeks. More than 42,000 people have died from the virus in Texas, which translates to 148 deaths per 100,000, placing Texas 25th among the 50 states.

10:01 a.m.: San Francisco plans to reopen indoor dining, gyms, soon

San Francisco is poised to allow indoor dining, movie teachers and gyms with reduced capacity, as the most recent coronavirus surge continues to decline.

According to the Associated Press, it’s expected that the county will join several other counties on Tuesday in moving to the less restrictive red tier — down from their current level, the purple tier. More of California’s economy is opening back up for business throughout the state as more residents are vaccinated.

Several counties in the San Francisco Bay Area issued a strict-stay-at-home order nearly a year ago, in advance of a statewide shutdown. Public health officials in the Bay Area, for the most part, have been more cautious than peers in Southern California and other states about reopening the economy.

9:47 a.m.: Asian Americans reflect on anti-Asian attacks a year into pandemic

Asian Americans have faced a dangerous climate since the coronavirus entered the U.S. a year ago, according to the Associated Press.

Instances of verbal harassment and physical assaults have occurred from coast to coast. Now, just over a year and thousands of incidents later, some of the earliest victims find moving forward has been difficult, or, at best, bittersweet.

A recent wave of attacks on older Asian Americans has reignited attention and fueled worries that hostilities have only worsened. They include the death last month of an 84-year-old San Francisco man. More than 3,000 incidents have been reported to Stop AAPI Hate, a California-based reporting center, since March 2020.

9:45 a.m.: COVID-19-based fear fuels attacks on health care workers globally

A recent report by the Geneva-based Insecurity Insight and the University of California, Berkeley’s Human Rights Center, has identified more than 1,000 threats or acts of violence against health care workers and facilities last year.

According to the Associated Press, the report says about 400 of those attacks were linked to the coronavirus, underscoring the dangers surrounding health care workers at a time when they’re needed most. Researchers saw the most attacks last spring and summer as the virus swept across the globe.

Many attacks may have gone undetected because they’re never reported to the police or media. In the U.S., researchers counted about a dozen threats to health care workers just last year. Several incidents involved the injury or arrest of street medics during Black Lives Matter protests.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, hospital employees in the U.S. are nearly six times as likely as the average worker to be a victim of an intentional injury. Last month, a Minnesota medical assistant was killed during a clinic shooting by a former patient unhappy with his treatment.

5:30 p.m.: Tax filers facing unemployment fraud should request corrected forms, says IRS

With six weeks to go until tax day, many people are looking at the forms and discovering someone else got unemployment benefits using their identity and they owe federal taxes on that income.

The form that would show that is called a 1099-G. IRS spokesman David Tucker says you should get in touch with the state right away and request a corrected 1099-G. And don’t worry if you don’t get it before the April 15 tax deadline. 

“If for some reason they’re finding challenges in terms of being able to receive that corrected form on a timely basis, what they should do is still file an accurate federal tax return and report only the income that they actually received,” Tucker said. 

The state will automatically update the IRS with a corrected form, but you should keep an eye for your copy of that form when it arrives. Tucker says it, like all tax documents, should be kept for at least seven years.

3:25 p.m.: California reaches deal to get children back to in-person learning

Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders struck a deal on Monday to encourage schools to reopen for California’s youngest students by April.

Lawmakers hope the $2 billion plan will incentivize districts to reopen classrooms for students in transitional kindergarten through second grade by March 31. Vulnerable students like homeless, disabled, foster youth, English language learners, those without internet access, and disengaged students must all return to school — regardless of grade level — for the school to receive funding.

Once a county moves into the red tier of the state’s COVID-19 reopening system, counties will have to bring students through sixth grade back to classes to receive money. Districts that have already reopened can access the $2 billion to continue operating safely.

3:05 p.m.: Nevada expecting shipment of Johnson & Johnson vaccines

Nevada expects to get 24,000 doses of the newly authorized Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine this week, but state officials have not yet detailed whether the single-shot vaccine will be targeted for use in any particular community.

According to the Associated Press, some health officials around the U.S. have deliberated prioritizing the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in mobile clinics or for homeless shelters or other communities where it can be harder to ensure someone returns weeks later for a second shot.

Nevada health officials said they are waiting for more guidance from a federal advisory group. The state has seen reports of new cases and hospitalizations drop since mid-January.

2:57 p.m.: San Diego Comic-Con virtual this year again due to pandemic

While the San Diego Comic-Con will remain virtual for the July event, organizers are planning for a smaller-scale gathering later this year, according to the Associated Press.

Comic-Con announced Monday that the annual pop-culture confab will be virtual again for a second-straight year, running on July 23-25.

The in-person experience was canceled again due to coronavirus-related cautions around large gatherings. Organizers said postponements and other challenges caused by the pandemic left them with limited financial resources.

As a result, the virtual convention in July was reduced from four to three days. The smaller in-person event in the works will be in San Diego in November.

12:16 p.m.: California’s MyTurn vaccine appointment website may not be accessible to those without broadband

California’s vaccine appointment system is built around a website called MyTurn, but it may not be accessible for some Californians without broadband — especially seniors.

Public Policy Institute of California research associate Joe Hayes says that lack of proper access to the internet could lead to Californians not getting signed for their vaccination.

“Statewide, 20% of seniors don’t have access to broadband at home,” Hayes said. “By demographics, for instance, access we found is lower among Latino seniors. And in rural areas, it’s 30% that lack access to broadband at home.”

Hayes said that the state might be able to use the recently allocated federal funding to bridge the digital divide among its seniors. California is also offering a telephone hotline for appointments — in multiple languages — to help reach Californians without internet access at (833) 442-4255.

12:09 p.m.: States continue to open despite WHO saying it is ‘unrealistic’ COVID-19 will end soon

With the U.S. vaccination drive picking up speed and a third formula on the way, states are eager to reopen for business, despite warnings from health experts that the outbreak is far from over.

According to the Associated Press, experts have also said that moving too quickly to reopen could prolong the pandemic’s misery. The push to reopen comes as nearly 20% of the nation’s adults have gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, with 10% fully inoculated. The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urgently warning state officials and ordinary Americans not to let their guard down.

Dr. Michael Ryan, the World Health Organization’s emergency chief, says that it’s “premature” and “unrealistic” to think that the pandemic might be stopped by the end of the year. However, he said that the recent arrival of effective vaccines could dramatically reduce hospitalizations and death.

Ryan said that the world’s focus right now should be to keep the COVID-19 transmission as low as possible. WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was “regrettable” that younger and healthier people in rich countries are being vaccinated before at-risk health workers in the developing world. He warned against complacency, noting a recent increase in cases.

11:50 a.m.: Sacramento Regional Transit offers free rides to vaccine appointments

Starting on Monday, if you have a COVID-19 vaccine appointment, you can get a free ride on Sacramento Regional Transit buses and light rail trains.

The transit agency is offering free rides for people getting their coronavirus shots for the next three months, but SacRT Director of Marketing, Communications, and Public Relations Jessica Gonzalez said that the program might be extended past the end of May if there’s a need.

“To ride for free, customers just need to show their COVID-19 vaccine appointment confirmation,” Gonzalez said. The proof could be something like an email, a text, or even a vaccine card.

“So you can either print that out or show that right there on your smartphone, and that will serve as valid fare on the date of your appointment,” Gonzalez said.

Riders are required to wear a mask or face covering before boarding. SacRT isn’t the only transit agency offering free rides in the area — Yolobus will be implementing a similar plan. Their free rides will last through June.