Tag: California

California could start new school year as early as July

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — California may start the new school year as early as July to make up for some of the “learning loss” due to the pandemic, the state’s Governor Gavin Newsom said Tuesday. “We recognize there’s been a learning loss because of this disruption,” Newsom told reporters. “And so we are considering an even earlier school year into the fall, as early as late July, early August.” Schools in California, the […]

California governor admonishes crowds who flocked to beaches

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday admonished Californians who flocked to beaches at the weekend, warning that their behavior could reverse progress made in combating the coronavirus pandemic. “We can’t see images like we saw, particularly on Saturday, in Newport Beach and elsewhere,” Newsom said, referring to photos showing thousands of people packing several beaches in southern California amid a heatwave. “The virus doesn’t take the weekend off because it’s […]

LA mayor announces free COVID-19 testing for essential, frontline workers showing no symptoms

EAGLE NEWS — As the coronavirus continues to spread across the country, Los Angeles county accounts for 19,133 confirmed cases of coronavirus. Nearly half of the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the state of California, at 42,810. In an effort to flatten the curve more quickly, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, coordinated with nonprofit emergency response organization, Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE) and LA Fire and Personnel departments (LAFPD), to expand free testing […]

Far more COVID-19 cases in Silicon Valley than official figure: study

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The true number of COVID-19 cases in California’s Silicon Valley is at least 50 times higher than the official figure, according to a preliminary study that took blood samples from a group of residents and tested them for viral antibodies. Stanford researchers used Facebook to recruit 3,300 volunteers from Santa Clara County and estimated that between 2.5 to 4.1 percent of the population had been infected, which is 50 […]

In California, early coronavirus action ‘makes a difference’

by Laurent BANGUET Agence France-Presse Los Angeles, United States (AFP) — Swift and strict containment measures in California appear to have succeeded in reducing hospital overcrowding and mass deaths from coronavirus, according to health experts in the country’s most populous state. California, one of the first states struck by the deadly disease, has been under lockdown for nearly four weeks. During that time its confirmed case and death tolls have been rapidly overtaken by various eastern […]

California governor eyes lockdown end but refuses to set date

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday set out conditions for lifting California’s coronavirus lockdown, but warned it would be at least two weeks before any timeline for reopening the state could be announced. Newsom said stay-at-home orders had “bent the curve” in the nation’s most populous state, but warned against moving too quickly and insisted decisions should be based on science not politics. Hospital cases would need to decline over […]

California to release 3,500 non-violent prison inmates

  LOS ANGELES, United State (AFP) — The prison system in the largest US state of California plans to release about 3,500 non-violent inmates early to help mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 illness, officials said Tuesday. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) said the first group of inmates released will be those with less then 30 days to serve, followed by those with fewer than 60 days of their sentences left. Other […]

California warns youths on virus after teen tests positive, dies

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — California officials on Tuesday pleaded for young people to heed safety warnings over the new coronavirus after a teen tested positive and died. It would be the first known juvenile death from the COVID-19 illness in the United States. A statement by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health warned the cause of death “will require further evaluation.” “Though earlier tests indicated a positive result for COVID-19, the […]

Trump says US on top as outbreak shuts largest cities

  by Peter HUTCHISON with Sebastian SMITH in Washington Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — New York and Illinois followed California Friday in locking down to stem the coronavirus pandemic as President Donald Trump declared the United States was already “winning” the war despite a rapid rise in confirmed cases and deaths. The move effectively seals off America’s largest cities — New York, Los Angeles and Chicago — with the states of […]

California’s Yosemite National Park shuts down over coronavirus fears

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — California’s Yosemite National Park, one of the most visited parks in the nation, shut down to visitors on Friday because of the coronavirus crisis. “Yosemite National Park is announcing modifications to operations at the request of the local health department,” park officials said in a statement. Beginning at 3:00 pm local time (2200 GMT), they said, the grounds would be “closed to all park visitors until further notice.” The […]

Italy virus toll tops 4,000, New York joins California in lockdown

by Peter Hutchison with Chris Lefkow in Washington NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — The grim toll of coronavirus deaths in Italy, the world’s worst-hit nation, surged past 4,000 on Friday as New York and other US states joined California in ordering a lockdown to try to bring the pandemic under control. While new infections were being detected around the planet, there was a glimmer of hope in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where […]