California coronavirus cases surge to 2,200 as L.A. County hospitals await wave of patients

The number of coronavirus cases in California surged to more than 2,200 as officials issued urgent warnings about the need for more hospital beds and equipment as medical facilities begin to fill up.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said he believes California will need 50,000 hospital beds for COVID-19 patients, a significant increase from the 20,000 beds his administration had forecast last week. The Democratic governor said the state’s 416 hospitals were doubling so-called surge plans to 40% of their capacity, which includes providing 30,000 new beds across the system.

San Francisco officials warned that a surge in coronavirus is expected to come within a week or two, and voiced dismay over images of the public crowding at beaches and parks across California.

“The worst is yet to come,” San Francisco Director of Public Health Dr. Grant Colfax said at a news conference Monday.

San Francisco has already taken steps to decompress the healthcare system — banning almost all visitors to hospitals and long-term care facilities, canceling elective surgeries and routine medical visits, ordering that appointments be done by phone or video if possible, and opening up tents to care for mild coronavirus patients to keep hospital beds free.

A steep rise in people being hospitalized with COVID-19 in Los Angeles County likely signals the approach of a wave of extremely sick patients that could overwhelm hospitals in the coming weeks, experts say.

As of March 6, five people in the county had been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19. Two weeks later, on Friday, that figure had jumped to 48. By Monday, the total had climbed to 90.

Though the raw numbers remain relatively low, the rate of increase has set many doctors and nurses on edge after watching the disease’s alarming trajectory in China, Italy and, most recently, New York City.

https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2020-03-22/coronavirus-outbreak-nobel-laureate

Across California, the death toll surpassed 40, with two new deaths reported in Los Angeles County on Monday. Both state and local numbers show it’s not just the old getting sick. Of those who have tested positive in Los Angeles County, for example, 80% are people ages 18 to 65, and 42% are in the 18-40 age group.

“This virus can infect people from across the board,” Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of the L.A. County Public Health Department, said Monday.

The increase in cases comes as the state remains largely shut down after state and local orders requiring social distancing. Officials have closed beach parking lots, parks and hiking trials amid concerns some people were not staying at least 6 feet apart while in public. Laguna Beach took the restrictions a step further and closed its beaches entirely on Monday.

Criminal and civil trials were discontinued in California for at least two months after a sweeping order was issued late Monday by the state’s chief justice that aims to sharply cut down public traffic in state courthouses.

Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye said in her order that court facilities were “ill-equipped to effectively allow the social distancing and other public health requirements” that have been imposed across California to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

“Even if court facilities could allow for sufficient social distancing, the closure of schools means that many court employees, litigants, witnesses, and potential jurors cannot leave their homes to attend court proceedings because they must stay home to supervise their children,” Cantil-Sakauye said in the order.

The 60-day delay — which puts the courts in California’s 58 counties on a uniform trial delay schedule — came the same day that the presiding judge of Los Angeles County Superior Court, Kevin C. Brazile, blocked public access to county courthouses except for attorneys, staff, defendants and “authorized persons,” a vague category that includes news reporters. The clerk’s office will still be available to accept filings and assist people by phone or electronically.

The California National Guard on Monday provided details about how personnel would be deployed across the state to assist in coronavirus aid. Officials said the Guard is being used purely for humanitarian purposes, such as distributing food and medical supplies as well as helping at food banks and working with officials on the Grand Princess cruise ship, which docked in California after an outbreak of the virus on board.

With the coronavirus pandemic further stifling the efforts of California and other states to issue Real ID licenses, President Trump on Monday said he will extend the Oct. 1 deadline for people to apply for the identification cards to board domestic flights in the United States.

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