Good morning. It’s Thursday, April 2.
| • | Mounting evidence of flattening curve in Bay Area. |
| • | Sacramento County infections are linked to churches. |
| • | And Devin Nunes calls school closures “way overkill.” |
Coronavirus
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A mostly empty California Street in San Francisco on March 18.
Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images
As of Tuesday, the number of confirmed infections per capita in New York City was 15 times that of the Bay Area. Compared to Boston, the Bay Area has about a third of the cases per capita. Testing data doesn’t give the full picture, but it’s become clear that the disease is spreading at different speeds, and analyses suggest mandatory social distancing is working — the earlier the better. Washington Post
Gov. Gavin Newsom to states without lockdowns: “What are you waiting for?” HuffPost
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“Welcome again to a Sunday civil disobedience act. We were told to stay home. ‘Don’t go to church. You might get sick.’ I’ve never seen such a bunch of fear mongering in my life.”
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A first case in Tehama County, a first homeless patient in Fresno, an L.A. County juvenile hall officer, and an outbreak at a Visalia nursing home. Here are the latest coronavirus totals, according to tallies by the S.F. Chronicle and N.Y. Times:
Confirmed cases:
214,461 in U.S.
9,944 in California
2,658 in Bay Area
6,179 in Southern California
Deaths:
4,841 in U.S.
213 in California
Cumulative cases and deaths in California:
| • | The N.Y. Times published some illuminating tables that depict the case growth rate by California county. |
| • | See trackers of cases in California, the U.S., and worldwide. |
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A couple weeks ago, Rep. Devin Nunes urged Californians to go out to bars and restaurants during a prime-time television appearance. Now the Central Valley Republican has weighed in on California’s school closures, which he told Fox News host Laura Ingraham was “way overkill.” He added: “It’s possible kids could have gone back to school in two weeks, four weeks.” McClatchy | N.Y. Times
The toll if social distancing is eased too soon? A Bay Area health official predicted up to 5,000 deaths a week. L.A. Times
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The N.Y. Times investigated how two very different Los Angeles hospitals are facing the coronavirus pandemic. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center draws celebrities and royalty; Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital serves the city’s most vulnerable communities. Yet both face being overwhelmed, doctors said. “It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from — this isn’t a matter of wealth,” one said. N.Y. Times
L.A.’s richest enclaves appear to have the densest clusters of COVID-19. Uneven testing is driving the disparity, a USC professor said. Crosstown
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One America News correspondent Chanel Rion asked a question during a press briefing by President Trump on Wednesday.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
“Boy, that’s a nice question.”
One America News, an obscure conservative outlet in San Diego, has emerged as a safety net for President Trump during his coronavirus press briefings, teeing up his favorite talking points. On Tuesday, OAN’s correspondent attended a briefing in defiance of rules designed to limit attendance. Asked to leave, she refused, saying she was “a guest” of the press secretary. L.A. Times
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A train engineer was arrested, officials said, after he admitted to intentionally running a train off the end of the tracks near the Navy’s hospital ship Mercy, which is docked at the Port of Los Angeles to help with the coronavirus crisis. Eduardo Moreno told FBI agents that he believed the ship had nefarious intentions, such as a government takeover, according to an affidavit. “People don’t know what’s going on here,” Moreno told an officer. “Now they will.” Daily Breeze | Justice.gov
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The University of California is temporarily suspending its admission testing requirements for prospective freshmen, a dramatic step prompted by doubts over whether SAT testing could happen as scheduled in June. Critics of standardized testing hope it will amount to a trial run for making the change permanent. EdSource | S.F. Chronicle
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A quiet Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Other coronavirus developments:
| • | Coronado decided to keep its beaches open on weekdays. Dissenting official: “Why do we think we are smarter than every other beach in San Diego County?” Fox 5 |
| • | Google plans to distribute 4,000 Chromebooks and make broadband internet available to 100,000 rural California households to facilitate distance learning. EdSource |
| • | Mayor Eric Garcetti authorized Los Angeles utilities to shut off service to nonessential businesses that continue to defy shutdown orders. L.A. Times |
| • | Not long ago, government officials said masks were unnecessary for healthy people. Now officials are increasingly calling for everyone to use them. Garcetti is the latest. Mercury News |
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Yo-Yo Ma, Miley Cyrus, and Phish’s Trey Anastasio.
Craig F. Walker/Denver Post via Getty Images; Armend Nimani/AFP; Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images
No longer able to play physical venues, musicians have been transitioning en masse to live performances on platforms like Twitch, Twitter, and Instagram. “It’s nutso,” one streaming provider told Rolling Stone. “It’s totally nuts.” Here are a few continually updated lists of upcoming shows. NPR | CNET | Vulture
Also: Comedians. On Saturday, Patton Oswalt, Bill Burr, Dave Attell and others will perform via livestream for charity. Variety | ComedyGivesBack.com
Statewide
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“This year we’re probably going to have one of the 10 worst snowpacks in California history.”
Despite a handful of big snows in March, the Sierra snowpack is at 53 percent of normal for the start of April. That’s a distressing measurement in a state that depends on snowmelt to replenish reservoirs through the spring and summer. KQED | S.F. Chronicle
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Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park.
Our seclusion won’t last forever. Take a moment to daydream with “Redwood,” a visually stunning short film by the photographer brothers Will Pattiz and Jim Pattiz. A winner of several awards, it’s essentially a highlight reel of the North Coast’s most scenic locations. Vimeo (~4 mins) | More Than Just Parks
Here’s another Pattiz joint on Joshua Tree.
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