California Coronavirus: What To Know Tuesday, August 18

Kat Schuster
Updated ·5 min read

CALIFORNIA — California has cleared its backlog, adding 14,861 new cases, five new counties to the monitoring list and uncovering a new positivity rate of 6.5%, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday.
Santa Cruz county was also removed from that monitoring list and San Diego is expected to come off tomorrow. Despite the 42 out of 58 counties that remain on the monitoring list, Newsom said the state is "moving broadly in the right direction," given that the new positivity rate is down from 8% in late July.
The new counties added to the list are:

  • Amador

  • Mendocino

  • Inyo

  • Calaveras

  • Sierra

Newsom also announced a 21% decline in hospitalizations and a 16% decrease in ICU occupants over a two week period, but warned Californians not to adopt a false sense of security. He added that the Golden State is seeing 132 deaths a day on average from COVID-19.
"This disease is deadly," Newsom said. "Please take it seriously. If we do continue to, we'll be back in the modified world at least until we have a vaccine and higher quality therapeutics."

Thousands Could Be Forced Out Of Homes In CA As Eviction Ban Expires

CALIFORNIA — The California Judicial Council, headquartered in San Francisco, voted Thursday for temporary bans on evictions and some foreclosures to end on Sept. 1 — a move that could result people being forced out of their homes.

In April, the council adopted emergency rules temporarily prohibiting evictions and judicial foreclosure proceedings amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But council members say they still haven't received clear policy proposals or solutions to deal with evictions and foreclosures as the pandemic continues.

"The judicial branch cannot usurp the responsibility of the other two branches on a long-term basis to deal with the myriad impacts of the pandemic," state Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye said on Tuesday.

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There were more than 5,446,233 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the United States and 170,586 deaths as of Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University. At least 11,347 of those deaths were in California. The U.S. has the most confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths in the world.

Who has been diagnosed with coronavirus in California?

Total number of cases (Johns Hopkins University): 625,056 as of Monday

Total deaths reported (Johns Hopkins University): 11,246 as of Monday

Case breakdown by age, per the California Department of Health (totals may be outdated):

  • Age 0-17: 61,538 cases

  • Age 18-49: 378,186 cases

  • Age 50-64: 119,629 cases

  • Age 65 and older: 67,816 cases

  • Unknown/Missing: 866 cases

Gender of confirmed positive cases:

  • Female: 315,642 cases

  • Male: 305,562 cases

  • Unknown/Missing: 6,827 cases

The latest live updates from across California are as follows:

Tuesday, 8:24 a.m. Photo: Muscle Beach Still Closed, Caution Tape Waves In The Wind

Iconic Muscle Beach in Santa Monica remains closed during the pandemic.

Monday, 6:29 p.m. Trump Adds Controversial Stanford Doc To Coronavirus Task Force

Dr. Scott Atlas has no background in epidemiology and no expertise in public health or infectious diseases.

Monday, 4:58pm Orange County Coronavirus Counts: Hospitalizations, Deaths Down

Across the county, an estimated near 35,000 residents have recovered from Coronavirus. Over 550,000 COVID-19 tests have been conducted.

Monday, 2:25 p.m. More Indoor Services May Resume In Santa Cruz Co.; Latest Count

While another five counties were added to the monitoring list, Santa Cruz County was the only one to be removed from the list.

Monday, 2:08 p.m. Culver City Residents Can Apply For LA County Rent-Relief Program

Applications are available beginning Monday for Los Angeles County residents, including Culver City residents.

Monday, 1:55 p.m. How To Apply For The LA County Rent-Relief Program
Applications are available beginning Monday for Los Angeles County residents, including Santa Monica residents.

Monday, 1:48 p.m.: LA County Rent-Relief Program: Applications Open

Applications are available beginning Monday for Los Angeles County residents, including people in Redondo Beach.

Monday, 11:38 a.m.: Santa Monica Schools Push Back Start Date

Santa Monica schools will start two days later this August.

Monday, 10:11 a.m.: ZJ Boarding House Closing After 32 Years In Santa Monica

Santa Monica surf shop ZJ Boarding House will close Sunday after 32 years.

Monday, 11:25 a.m. Parking Enforcement Relaxed In Culver City Due To Pandemic

To encourage people to continue staying home during the pandemic, parking enforcement will be relaxed through Sept. 8 in Culver City.

Sunday, 3:13 a.m.: San Diego Sees Decline In Positive COVID-19 Tests

The county reported fewer than 100 positive coronavirus tests per 100,000 people for four days in a row.

Saturday, 4:18 p.m.: 2,103 New Coronavirus Cases In LA County; 35 More Deaths

Los Angeles County has now confirmed 220,762 cases of COVID-19, while at least 5,245 people have died. Catch up on the latest news.

Saturday, 12:40 p.m.: Judge Rules In Favor Of Grace Community Church's Indoor Services

The Sun Valley church can hold indoor services if attendees wear masks and stay at least six feet apart, a judge has ruled.

This article originally appeared on the Across California Patch