A.M. Brief: Safer-At-Home Order Back on the Table

For today’s brief: Public Health gives us the magic number that would trigger another Safer-At-Home order, ATM crime is on the rise, and an expanded Downtown Disney draws eager fans. Finally, more stark numbers of the burden of infection among nursing home patients nationwide. Here is your news. Take it!

Morning News Rundown

If the rate at which COVID-19 is spreading in Los Angeles continues, the county is at serious risk of overwhelming hospital and intensive care capacity, according to a warning yesterday from Dr. Christina Ghaly, the county director of health services. The number of countywide hospitalizations for coronavirus has spiked more than 70% over the past month. [L.A. Times]

Due to the looming threat of overwhelmed hospitals, Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said yesterday that the county may reinstitute a three-week Safer-At-Home order, which would include a mandatory curfew for all non-essential workers. The threshold to trigger Safer-At-Home would be five-day averages of more than 4,500 cases per day or 2,000 hospitalizations per day. Yesterday, Public Health reported 3,944 new cases. [LAist]

Disneyland remains closed indefinitely, but the power of the mouse continues to draw fans, even if it’s just to buy merch. This morning, a smattering of fans lined up early to visit an expansion of the Downtown Disney shopping district that includes a portion of Buena Vista Street in California Adventure. Kind of makes you how wonder how crazy the line will be when the theme parks actually reopen. [ABC 7]

Crimes at ATMs in Los Angeles have increased dramatically during the pandemic, with reports of incidents up 70% year-over-year, according to data from the LAPD. [Crosstown LA]

Even as another lockdown looms, an estimated 750,000 Californias are expected to see unemployment benefits run out next month. [LAist]

The true burden of COVID-19 is perhaps most stark in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. Nationally, some 90,000 long-term care residents have died due to contracting COVID-19, but advocates for the elderly estimate there are tens of thousands more whose deaths arose from overburdened workers unable to provide adequate care. [NBC Los Angeles]