LA County reports 11,000 new cases, nearly 9,000 total deaths due to COVID-19

Gov. Gavin Newsom held a news conference updating California’s response to COVID-19. It comes before the Christmas holiday and as the vaccine began to be launched. Watch the full press conference above or read the most important moments below.

LAST CORONAVIRUS ISSUES

The new seven-day COVID-19 average is 43,901 per day. Were 37,892 new cases in the most recent 24-hour reporting period. Newsom said it was too early to know if the spread rate was starting to slow and warned not to read too much in the weekend issues due to delays in reporting data.

Were 83 deaths from COVID-19 yesterday, with an average of 233 deaths per day in the last week. In the last two weeks, there have been 2,741 deaths in COVID-19 in California.

The positivity rate of the state is 12% in the last two weeks – it has increased by 3.3% in the last two weeks. COVID-19-positive hospitalizations have increased by 63% in the last two weeks, with 17,190 currently hospitalized, while COVID-19 ICU hospitalizations have increased by 51% in the last two weeks.

Southern California continues to have 0% ICU capacity, which means that the region is based on its growth capacity, which represents an additional capacity of about 20% – the state has 2.5% capacity overall. Northern California has 28.7% available capacity in the ICU, Greater Sacramento has 16.2%, the Bay Area has 13.7%, and the San Joaquin Valley has 0%.

GOV. NEWSOM QUARRY

The governor mentioned that he had been holding the press conference at home since Monday, because he had been in another 10-day COVID-19 quarantine. He is kept separate from his family in a small room, apart from his wife and their four children, and will be quarantined until Christmas. Newsom said he would work.

This is the second time Newsom has had to quarantine during this pandemic. Newsom was exposed to close contact that tested positive for COVID-19, but continued to test negative for the virus.

ORDERS Stay home, they will probably be expanded

Currently, 98% of the state is under a residence order, including Southern California. These orders are likely to be extended, Newsom said – the Southern California order will currently expire on December 30, but is unlikely to happen. Current projections show no region that could be exempted from these orders, said California Secretary of Health Dr. Mark Ghaly.

Decisions to pick up residence orders will be based on projections four weeks before the current date on which those orders expire, Ghaly said. Factors that the state takes into account include the current capacity of the ICU, the seven-day average of new cases and transmission rates and how fast they accelerate or decelerate.

CALIFORNIA DOES NOT SEEK TO RETURN SHIPS TO USNS MISERICOR HOSPITAL, SEEKS MORE PERSONALLY

Newsom stressed the continuing difficulties of the medical staff. The state has asked for more federal staff to help California as well.

Currently, the state is not looking for the Mercy hospital ship to return to California, but Newsom said the state is looking at the type of personnel used by ships like the Mercy.

MORE DOSES OF PFIZER VACCINE COME

Newsom said 21 of the 30 places set to receive doses of vaccine from Moderna have begun to receive them. So far, the state has received 110,000 of the 672,000 doses scheduled to come from Moderna.

The Moderna vaccine is easier to store, Newsom said, adding that it is the equivalent of freezer storage, rather than the ultra-low temperatures required for the Pfizer vaccine. Easier storage means the Moderna vaccine will be more affordable in rural California.

70,258 doses of vaccine were given in the first week. There are 560,625 doses received so far from Pfizer, with 327,600 received in the first allocation.

The second allocation is estimated to be 233,025 doses – 40% below the original amount, Newsom said, but he thanked the federal government for clarifying the reasons for the wrong communication with the state and praised all those working with Operation Warp Speed. The Pfizer vaccine has reached 50 locations, Newsom said.

WHO IS VACCINATED THEN?

The state working group for the development of vaccine guidelines is meeting today. The Community Vaccine Advisory Committee will hold a public meeting Wednesday at 2-4 p.m., which you can watch at COVID19.ca.gov.

WHAT CALIFORNIA OBTAINS FROM FEDERAL COVID-19 RELIEF MANUFACTURE

Newsom expressed appreciation for the $ 900 billion total federal government’s COVID-19 aid bill. Newsom said the government will have to do more in the future.

In addition to the $ 600 in direct stimulus checks, which includes about $ 17 billion for Californians, it also includes $ 300 a week for 11 weeks of unemployment, which is expected to be about $ 20 billion for Californians. .

It also extended CARES Act funding until the end of December 2021. The California CARES Act recorded $ 15.3 billion for California.

The new bill has a $ 325 billion cut for small businesses, which includes $ 284 billion for the Wage Protection Program.

Some of the other project funding includes:

  • $ 25 billion in rental assistance, with about $ 2 billion for California
  • $ 69 billion for testing, surveillance and vaccines; about $ 1.3 billion for California
  • $ 82 billion for education; about $ 8.5 billion for California
  • $ 10 billion for child care; about $ 1 billion for California
  • $ 7 billion in broadband support, including $ 3.2 billion for low-income families
  • $ 45 billion for sextor transportation; about $ 2 billion for California
  • $ 26 billion for nutrition and agricultural assistance, including $ 13 billion to increase SNAP benefits

The state will also have additional support for small businesses in the proposed budget. Newsom is set to be introduced in the new year.

VIEWING FOR THE NEW COVID COT IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

Governor Newsom said the state had talks with airlines and other stakeholders across the state about potential quarantine protocols for visitors to the UK. Newsom said he hopes the federal government will take action in this area, but that the state will take action in his absence.

The state’s entire SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing initiative tests between 5,000 and 10,000 samples a day for any new strains in California. There is no evidence yet of this strain arriving in California, according to Newsom. However, there have been reports in South Africa and other European countries near the United Kingdom

Dr. Ghaly described this variant as “stickier” than the COVID-19 we saw earlier, which seems to bind and enter cells more easily than the virus seen in California and the rest of the country. Exposure to someone with the new strain may mean you’re more likely to be infected – “that’s why we’re worried,” Ghaly said. It doesn’t seem to make people sick, but the increased ease of transmission is worrying, according to Dr. Ghaly.

CALIFORNIA EXPOSURE NOTIFICATION APPLICATION

To date, 7.35 million people have activated COVID-19 exposure notifications on their phones. Newsom encouraged others to sign up, either by activating exposure notifications in iPhone settings or by downloading the CA Notify app from Android phones in the Google Play Store.

SOME HOSPITAL CAPACITIES MAY BE EXERCISED By the end of the month

Ghaly reminded viewers that about 12% of current cases will be hospitalized in 12 days, and about 12% of them will have to go to the ICU. Some hospitals may even exceed their current growth capacity, according to current projections. Some hospitals may exceed their normal hospital capacity by the end of the month or early January, Ghaly said.

CRISIS PLANNING FOR CARE RATIONALIZATION

While hospitals are preparing for the potential need for rational care due to the large number of cases and patients with COVID-19, Dr. Ghaly said the state is working to avoid the need for these plans to take effect.

ROSE BOWL DOES NOT HAPPEN IN PASADENA THIS YEAR

Newsom said that although he is a big fan of the sport and loves the Rose Bowl, the state could not make exceptions to allow the game from January 1 to go on with Southern California with a capacity of 0% ICU.

MORE PRESS CONFERENCES IN A WEEK

Newsom said it will provide new updates on both Tuesday and Wednesday, but will not provide a Christmas update.

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