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California Gov. Gavin Newsom was out front nationally when he ordered nearly all Californians to stay at home to stem the spread of COVID-19. But local officials warn it won鈥檛 work without tougher enforcement.
In an interview with California Healthline, the state鈥檚 Senate leader, Toni Atkins, makes clear that with social-distancing measures in force it will be difficult to debate and pass complicated budget measures 鈥 but public health, education and public safety will be priorities.
Californians are under orders to stay home to slow the spread of the coronavirus 鈥 and the result is that some of Southern California鈥檚 best-known spots are shuttered or deserted, from Santa Monica Pier to Olvera Street.
Even as many states put a moratorium on elective surgeries in a desperate effort to preserve dwindling stocks of protective gear, hospitals in other pockets of the country continue to perform a range of elective procedures. Some staff members and ethicists are voicing concerns.
As California ramps up capacity at hospitals in response to the coronavirus pandemic, health care workers face an inadequate supply of masks.
As schools shutter to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, many districts are still offering free meals to their most vulnerable students. In two Southern California districts, families roll through school lunch drive-thrus to grab hot meals.
A law signed by Trump on Wednesday will provide financial help for self-employed workers, who generally don鈥檛 have paid leave. Some states also have family and medical leave programs that can be helpful.
California physicians dealing with COVID-19 offer a sobering portrait of a health care system bracing for the worst of a pandemic that could be months from peaking.
About 7 million people across the San Francisco Bay Area began to 鈥渟helter in place鈥 Tuesday to limit the spread of the new coronavirus. Although public health officials acknowledged the orders were drastic, they also agreed they were necessary.
Hospitals and nursing homes say they are acting to protect students and patients, but nursing educators worry the pipeline of new nurses could be slowed at a time when they may be needed most. Some doctors in training have also seen their clinical rotations canceled.
Closing K-12 schools is part of a broad strategy to limit public interactions and slow the spread of COVID-19 cases. But the decision is far from easy, with conflicting science about how effective such closures are weighed against the massive disruption to families鈥 lives.
The ongoing feud between President Donald Trump and California鈥檚 Democratic leaders is costing the Golden State hundreds of millions of health care dollars 鈥 with billions more at stake.
California鈥檚 capital region is among the areas that have had to shift response to the coronavirus outbreak because of a shortage of test kits in the U.S.
As the coronavirus threat rises, prisons are grappling with the possibility of nationwide lockdowns and calls for prisoner releases.
Most hospitals must offer free or reduced-cost care to certain patients, based on income, even if they have insurance. But some hospitals erect barriers to charity care, so it鈥檚 up to patients to advocate for themselves.
The number of U.S. health care workers who have been ordered to self-quarantine because of potential exposure to the new coronavirus is rising at an exponential pace. Many experts say something has to change.
In advance of the Super Tuesday primary, California's Los Angeles County is rotating new touch-screen voting machines among 41 locations, including adult day care centers and jails, to increase voting among populations with historically low turnout.
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Even in the event of an outbreak, employers have to follow certain rules in their efforts to protect employees from this virus.
Disease experts say a new coronavirus case in California underscores the need for more widespread community testing for the illness, as well as problems caused by the delays in getting functional coronavirus test kits to state and local public health agencies.聽
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