New signs suggest COVID-19 was in California far earlier than anyone knew
LA Times's PAGE ST JOHN: "A man found dead in his house in early March. A woman who fell sick in mid-February and later died.
These early COVID-19 deaths in the San Francisco Bay Area suggest that the novel coronavirus had established itself in the community long before health officials started looking for it. The lag time has had dire consequences, allowing the virus to spread unchecked before social distancing rules went into effect.
“The virus was freewheeling in our community and probably has been here for quite some time,” Dr. Jeff Smith, a physician who is the chief executive of Santa Clara County government, told county leaders in a recent briefing."
READ MORE related to COVID-19 Pandemic: The Bay Area's poor bear the brunt of the shutdown -- The Chronicle's LIZZIE JOHNSON/KEVIN FAGAN; The social etiquette of social distancing: How to say 'back off,' politely -- LA Times's JESSICA ROY; Do I need to wear a mask when walking outside? In my car? Does my pet need one? -- LA Times's PRISCELLA VEGA; From Black Death to AIDS, pandemics have shaped human history. COVID-19 will too. -- LA Times's JOE MOZINGO; 'Mom, I feel like I'm dying': Sailors describe life on virus-stricken carrier -- The Chronicle's MATTHIAS GAFNI; One model predicts California virus deaths will peak this Wednesday. But it';s more complex -- The Chronicle's ERIN ALLDAY
Newsom hints at California path to 'some semblance of normalcy' on COVID-19
The Chronicle's ALEXEI KOSEFF: "Gov. Gavin Newsom pointed ahead for the first time Friday to the next phase of California’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, saying his administration is developing plans to get “back to some semblance of normalcy” as the disease appears to spread more slowly than the state projected.
“We have detailed strategies that we’re working on that we’re very close to making public,” Newsom said at a news conference.
But he pleaded for a “few more weeks” of patience for the state to assess the pandemic before easing up on social distancing guidelines, ahead of a holiday weekend in which Californians would ordinarily pack churches, visit families and attend egg hunts for Easter."
Amid pandemic, California unemployment agency to increase hotline hours for claims
LA Times's PATRICK MCGREEVY: "Facing public outcry over limited hours for jobless claim processing help by phone, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday that he directed California’s unemployment agency to keep lines open until 5 p.m. or longer.
In response, the state Employment Development Department said that it is shifting workers from other jobs and has set a target date of April 20 to change its call center hours from 8 a.m. to noon to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Californians out of work following the state’s implementation of a stay-at-home order to fight the coronavirus have flooded the Capitol and social media in the last week with complaints of having to make dozens of calls to the state Employment Development Department and failing to connect to a service representative."
READ MORE related to Economy: California dairies dump milk, crops may be left to wither as pandemic disrupts food system -- The Chronicle's KURTIS ALEXANDER; California faces two years of high unemployment from virus, UCLA predicts -- LA Times's MARGOT ROOSEVELT; Pandemic disrupts job market for soon-to-be college graduates -- The Chronicle's RON KROICHICK
'It doesn't really feel like Easter.' For black churches, virus changed everything
LA Times's ANGEL JENNINGS: "In times of crisis, First African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Los Angeles is known for springing into action — a reflex embodied in its motto, “First to Serve.”
It provided shelter during the 1992 riots. It offered healing after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. And for decades, it has filled in gaps in the social safety net when government has been absent or slow to respond.
That’s one reason the coronavirus pandemic has so pained its pastor, J. Edgar Boyd. Even as reports have shown that the deadly virus is hitting black Americans with a particular vengeance, he has had to close the doors to his church — the oldest black church in Los Angeles — in the midst of the biggest crisis of the past century. And he had to do it for Easter Sunday."
READ MORE related to Easter Sunday: For churchgoers, virtual Easter in era of pandemic is bittersweet -- The Chronicle's SAM WHITING
They did everything right to get into college. The Pandemic changes things, students say
LA Times's NINA AGRAWAL/TERESA WATANABE: "For college-bound high school seniors and transfer students, one of the most consequential decisions of their young lives is riddled with uncertainties over affordability, safety, family obligations and “choosing blind” without campus visits, as one student put it.
Here’s how students said they are making their college decisions amid the coronavirus emergency:"
READ MORE related to Education: Bay Area parents blkast the lack of teaching at many schools during lockdown -- The Chronicle's JILL TUCKER
How a stockpile of 39 million masks was exposed as a fraud
LA Times's MELODY GUTIERREZ: "A powerful California union that claimed to have discovered 39 million masks for healthcare workers fighting the novel coronavirus was duped in an elaborate scam uncovered by FBI investigators, the U.S. attorney’s office said Friday.
U.S. Atty. Scott Brady of the Western District of Pennsylvania said FBI agents and prosecutors stumbled onto the arrangement while looking into whether they could intercept the masks for the Federal Emergency Management Agency under the Defense Production Act.
The federal government has been quietly seizing supplies across the country, taking the orders placed by hospitals and clinics and not publicly reporting where the products are being routed."
A beach virus warning meets a tidal wave of controversy, and the test of science
LA Times's ROSANNA XIA: "For weeks, a debate has been raging over whether going to the beach or swimming in the ocean increases your risk of catching or transmitting the coronavirus. The issue has rankled surfers, overwhelmed runners and bikers and confused anyone seeking the fresh air and freedom of California’s coast.
So when a scientist last week suggested sea spray could possibly expose people to the virus, the controversy just exploded.
Now, after virulent criticism as well as new and rapidly developing information about the pathogen, the researcher is reassessing this hypothesis."
READ MORE related to Environment: Hiking alone during pandemic + shelter in place -- The Chronicle's TOM STIENSTRA
COVID-19 upends Putin's political agenda in Russia
AP: "Spring is not turning out the way Russian President Vladimir Putin might have planned it.
A nationwide vote on April 22 was supposed to finalize sweeping constitutional reforms that would allow him to stay in power until 2036, if he wished. But after the coronavirus spread in Russia, that plebiscite had to be postponed — an action so abrupt that billboards promoting it already had been erected in Moscow and other big cities.
Now under threat is a pomp-filled celebration of Victory Day on May 9, marking the 1945 defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II."
Oil price war ends with historic OPEC+ deal to cut output
Bloomberg's JAVIER BLAS/SALMA ELWARDANY/GRANT SMITH: "The world’s top oil producers pulled off a historic deal to cut global petroleum output by nearly 10%, putting an end to the devastating price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.
After a weeklong marathon of bilateral calls and video conferences of ministers from the OPEC+ alliance and the Group of 20 nations, an agreement finally emerged to tackle the impact of the pandemic on oil demand.
Prices rose more than 4% to almost $33 a barrel in London after swinging wildly in the first few minutes of trading following the deal. Investors are trying to establish whether the cut will be enough to dent the massive glut that keeps growing as the virus shuts down the global economy."
