Globally: A second wave of Covid-19 cases in Europe is tearing into countries that escaped the first, with health systems running short of the one resource they can’t run without: staff.
One of Poland’s largest hospitals, in the city of Krakow, installed enough beds and ventilators to treat a surge of Covid-19 patients, but has started to run out of workers in recent weeks as the number of national cases has doubled roughly every three days. Orthopedists, urologists, surgeons, neurosurgeons and gynecologists have donned scrubs to help treat those sick with the coronavirus.
In the US: There have been 7,918,636 cases as of Friday with 818 new deaths for a total of 216,862. The New York Times reports that new daily coronavirus cases have reached their highest point yet in 17 states, including Minnesota, Montana and Wisconsin. In no state are cases clearly on the decline.
According to The Wall Street Journal this year’s outlook for holiday sales is so unpredictable that some forecasters aren’t even making predictions, but a number of economists are predicting little growth or none whatsoever this year compared with 2019. Still, households that have paid down debt and boosted savings might have a financial cushion to spend on goods, which have been a bright spot for the economy recently. Some of the largest carriers, such as FedEx and UPS, have already booked most of their shipping capacity in anticipation of holiday surges.
They also reported that enrollment at child-care centers slumped in the spring and never fully recovered. Extra expenses, such as protective gear and deep cleaning, are piling up, lacking the public resources the K-12 system receives. By some estimates, some 40% of U.S. day cares are closed. Many of those that are open have half the number of children, or less, that they did in February. Lawmakers and economists are warning that many child-care providers will fail without aid, which will in turn stifle efforts to restart the workforce.
Congressional Democrats and the White House remain at an impasse over a fresh package of coronavirus economic relief, as time runs out to get a bill passed before the election, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday. Pelosi said on the ABC program “This Week” that she was still in negotiations with the Treasur y secretary, Steven Mnuchin, but that “we don’t have agreement on the language yet.” She said a deal would have to be struck within 48 hours for a package to be enacted by Election Day.
But even if she and Mnuchin reach a deal, Senate Republicans are not expected to accept it. The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said he does not believe he can sell a package of more than $1 trillion to conservative Senate Republicans, which is less than half the size of the bill House Democrats have proposed. The Democrats have proposed a $2.4 trillion package, named the Heroes Act, that would provide aid to families, schools, restaurants, businesses and airline workers; it includes about $500 billion for state and local governments. Mnuchin, negotiating on behalf of President Donald Trump, has countered with a number of proposed alterations to scale back the package.
California: California reprted an additional 3022 new cases on Friday for a total of 868,404. There have been 16,830 deaths, with 71 reorted Friday. 3,134 remained hoispitalized on Friday.
LA County: As of Sunday, Los Angeles County reported 358 new cases of COVID-19 and 13 additional deaths on Sunday bringing the county’s totals to 288,451 cases with 6,876 fatalities. Officials said the lower number of cases and deaths reflects reporting delays over the weekend and problems with the state’s data feed. Hospitalizations rose slightly for the second straight day after dropping for four consecutive days. A total of 752 people were hospitalized due to the virus as of Sunday, up from 746 on Saturday, 735 on Friday, 723 on Thursday, 720 on Wednesday and 692 on Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
This is useful for Pasadena businesses as well as those in LA County Public Health Department areas: COVID-19 Safety Compliance Certificate Program for business owners and employees in Los Angeles County. A program for Los Angeles County businesses currently permitted to operate to voluntarily self-certify that they are fully implementing the required COVID-19 Protocols from the Los Angeles Department of Public Health (Public Health). This process will help business owners follow the required Protocols and maintain their operations with as much safety as possible for their staff, customers, and visitors. The COVID-19 Safety Compliance Certificate is not required, but it is recommended. It will demonstrate to the public that your business is complying with required Protocols. Read More
Many families are starting to plan for the upcoming holiday season - beginning with Halloween. LA County and the Department of Public Health (DPH) want to help you take part in this holiday, while reducing your risk of developing COVID-19, and have prepared guidance to help make this year's Halloween celebrations as safe as can be. Here are some fun ideas to keep spooky and safe this Halloween season: Online pumpkin carving or costume contest; A car parade; Watch your favorite movie at a drive-in; Decorate your haunted house. Ready to celebrate? Check out LA County's Halloween Guidance for more suggestions!
We are less than a month away from election day, and LA County wants you to safely exercise your right to vote during the pandemic. We’re really lucky to take advantage of the fact that everyone in California gets a ballot by mail to fill out in the privacy of their own home and send in at no cost. This is one of the safest ways to cast your vote this November.
If you prefer or need to go and vote at a voting site, our voting sites will be implementing protocols to create as much safety as possible for voters and poll workers. We’re working closely with the registrar recorder to put in place all of the safeguards that are needed so that people who want to vote at one of the sites can do so and feel safe going to the sites. Some of the sites in LA County will be open 10 days before the election day and almost all the other sites will be open 5 days before election day.
As with all activities we do through the pandemic, it is always best to plan early and take the maximum amount of precautions you and your family needs. If you’re a person with an underlying health condition, this is the time to think through how to reduce the risk to yourself and minimize your exposures by either using that mail-in ballot or going to one of the voting sites at a time when it’s not crowded.
For more information, please visit lavote.net.
Pasadena: Pasadena reported one new case of COVID on Sunday, bringing its total to 2,681. Pasadena’s total infections climbed to 2,672, according to city data. The death toll remained at 129. City officials last reported a COVID-19-related fatality on Oct. 8.
This week, the state updated its guidance to allow private gatherings of three or fewer households, as long as the private gathering is outdoors, everyone wears a cloth face covering and keeps at least six feet of physical distance, food is in single-serve disposable containers, and the duration of the gathering is short (two hours or less).
The City of Pasadena has updated its Health officer Order to align with the change in the state guidance. Private gatherings with people from different households increases the risk of COVID-19 transmission, with the risk increasing the longer the gathering. If you do gather, do so with no more than two other households and the same households each time, creating a stable cohort. A single household or living unit does not include institutional group living situations, such as dormitories, fraternities, sororities or residential care facilities. Nor does it include commercial group living arrangements, such as boarding houses, hotels or motels.
COVID continues to impact our families and our traditions as we move into the fall season. It is difficult to think of Halloween without the block parties, gatherings and many of the other activities that we and our children look forward to every year. Many traditions, including Halloween, have become “high risk” activities that can spread this disease. The state and county, along with local health departments, have provided guidance for celebrating the holiday safely, including safer alternatives that still promote as festive an environment as possible amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a reminder, large public events and gatherings in general remain prohibited by the Health Officer Order, even when held outdoors, and all industry sector guidance still applies to those sectors. Read the City’s updated Health Officer Order. California Department of Public Health guidance has also been posted to the City website for reference.
Young and Healthy will bring FREE Covid Testing to our community. The Covid Testing clinic begins next Monday. Please circulate this information as widely, as possible. The more testing we do—the more data we will have about how the pandemic is effecting our neighborhoods. We hope that the testing will eventually be a factor in opening in opening our schools. Some fast facts: To start, the clinic will be held on Mondays and Tuesdays until the end of October. While you may be asked to provide an insurance card (including Medi-Cal or Medi-Care) there will be no out of pocket costs for anyone. If you have no insurance---no worries, it will be free for those folks as well. These will be mouth swab tests. Young children can be tested as long as the can cough when asked. Test results will be back within 24-48 hours. There will be an ability to pre-register but it is not necessary----walk ups are just fine. Please call Young & Healthy @ 626 795-5166 if you have questions.
MORE:
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Los Angeles County decreased over the month to 15.1 percent in September 2020, from a revised 16.4 percent in August 2020, and was above the rate of 4.3 percent one year ago. Civilian employment increased by 43,000 to 4,171,000 in September 2020, while unemployment decreased by 65,000 to 743,000. The civilian labor force decreased by 21,000 over the month to 4,915,000 in September 2020. (All of the above figures are seasonally adjusted.) The unadjusted unemployment rate for the county was 15.1 percent in September 2020. The California seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 11.0 percent in September 2020, 11.2 percent in August 2020, and 3.9 percent a year ago in September 2019. The comparable estimates for the nation were 7.9 percent in September 2020, 8.4 percent in August 2020, and 3.5 percent a year ago. Between August 2020 and September 2020, total nonfarm employment in Los Angeles County increased by 37,600 to 4,129,300.
The Wall Street Journal reports that The Treasury Department privately encouraged lenders to prioritize existing customers when issuing loans for the federal government’s small-business coro- navirus aid program, according to a report by a Democratic- led congressional oversight subcommittee.
Also: Senate Republicans and the White House are on a collision course over the price tag of a possible coro- navirus relief package ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
President Trump said in recent days he would support another aid package with a cost approaching $2 trillion, narrowing the distance with House Democrats’ $2.2 trillion bill. But Senate Republicans plan to vote next week on an aid bill worth roughly a quarter of that size, arguing a much larger package would be wasteful and demoralize vot- ers concerned about deeper deficit spending.
And: A multicountry study funded by the World Health Organiza- tion found that the antiviral drug remdesivir, developed by Gilead Sciences Inc., didn’t re- duce deaths from Covid-19 in hospitalized patients, a result that adds to debate over the medicine’s utility in treating the new coronavirus.
WILDFIRES:
The Trump administration reversed its decision refusing California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request for relief funds following major wild- fires that sparked in early September and have since burned through nearly 1.9 million acres.