Coronavirus updates: California details waiver process for in-person elementary classes

With a summer surge pushing California’s confirmed COVID-19 infection total beyond half a million, Gov. Gavin Newsom says the state is still in the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, and adds his administration is preparing for a second wave in the fall.

As summer gives way to autumn, schools continue to emerge as a focal point in the ongoing health crisis. K-12 districts and campuses across the nation’s most populous state are working to establish or finalize distance learning plans, which the vast majority will be required to use at least to start the coming academic year.

Newsom announced last month individual counties need to be off the California Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 watch list for more than two weeks before their schools can transition to in-person instruction. As of Tuesday morning, that list included 38 of the state’s 58 counties, combining for more than 38 million of California’s roughly 40 million residents.

The governor previously mentioned a waiver system, and CDPH on Monday evening unveiled the waiver application process that could let some elementary schools in hard-hit counties begin in-person instruction earlier, if they meet “stringent health requirements,” the state said in a news release.

“A district superintendent, private school principal or head of school, or executive director of a charter school may apply for a waiver from the local health officer to open an elementary school for in-person instruction in a county on the monitoring list,” the news release said.

School officials must consult with all applicable labor and parent organizations, and must also publish reopening plans on their website, prior to applying for a waiver. A local health officer needs to consult with CDPH before approving schools’ plans.

Those campus plans must address a number of key topics, including: sanitation; “entrance, egress, and movement within the school;” the use of face coverings; testing and contact tracing protocols; “triggers” for switching to distance learning; and the ability to educate elementary students in “small, stable cohorts,” the CDPH news release says. The waiver applies only for transitional kindergarten through sixth grade.

Additionally, CDPH says it is recommending schools in counties where the most recent 14-day case rates are more than double the threshold for the state watch list — which would be more than 200 cases per 100,000 residents — not be considered for waivers. State data show 14 counties were above that mark as of Monday, and three others were close with more than 190 cases per 100,000.

The state also on Monday released guidance for youth sports and physical education activities, which CDPH says “are permitted only when physical distancing of at least six feet and a stable cohort of participants, such as a class, can be maintained.” Tournaments and other competitions, “regardless of whether teams are from the same school,” are not permitted.

These activities should take place outside “to the maximum extent possible,” according to the state guidelines, and equipment sharing should be avoided as much as possible.

Cloth face coverings must be worn during indoor physical education, the state says.

California by the numbers: 519,000 infected, nearly 9,500 dead

California continues to report the highest overall COVID-19 infection total of any U.S. state, with about 519,000 lab-confirmed cases confirmed as of a Tuesday update from CDPH. Of those, a total of 9,501 have died.

The rate of new cases, percentage of diagnostic tests returning positive and hospitalization figures for COVID-19 have all declined slightly statewide in about the past week, state data show. CDPH on Monday reported just under 6,400 patients hospitalized with confirmed coronavirus cases, about 1,900 of whom were in intensive care units; those figures are down from mid-July peaks of about 7,200 hospitalized and 2,050 in the ICU.

CDPH confirmed Tuesday, though, that a technical issue involving CalREDIE, the system nearly all local health offices use to report data on infectious diseases, has resulted in an underreporting of new COVID-19 cases in the past few days. The scale of the undercounting is not yet clear, but counties’ health officials including in Placer County have called the glitch a “serious” issue. Hospitalization and ICU figures, which are reported using a separate system, are believed to be accurate.

California reported 219 deaths Friday, the most for the state in one day since the start of the pandemic.

The Newsom administration last month rolled back numerous economic reopenings, in response to surging coronavirus activity across many different parts of California starting around mid-June. A number of business sectors, including bars and restaurants, had gotten the green light to reopen for indoor service from May through early June, with some modifications required.

On July 13, the state ordered all bars as well as indoor dine-in restaurants, movie theaters, zoos, museums, card rooms and other entertainment venues to close across the entire state. Places of worship, nonessential office spaces, shopping malls, gyms, nail salons, barbershops and other personal care services were required to shut down in counties that have been on the CDPH watchlist for more than three consecutive days.

Latest in Sacramento region: 219 total deaths, July was deadliest month

The six-county region of Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer, Yolo, Sutter and Yuba counties has reported 219 coronavirus deaths among more than 15,000 lab-confirmed infections.

Sacramento County passed 10,000 cases in Saturday’s update and as of Monday reached 10,174 over the course of the pandemic. At least 148 residents have died: 95 in the capital city, 21 in unincorporated areas of the county, 10 in Citrus Heights, eight in Elk Grove, seven in Rancho Cordova, four in Galt and three in Folsom.

The county health department as of Monday confirmed the deaths of 65 residents between July 1-29. The month’s total is likely to grow in the coming days as more deaths from late July are officially designated as being caused by COVID-19, but July is already by far the deadliest month of the pandemic in Sacramento County. The virus killed 18 in June, 18 in May and 34 in April, the county’s data dashboard shows.

Placer County has reported 1,953 cases and 18 deaths, reporting 15 new infections Tuesday and one new death each on Monday and Tuesday. There are 68 people hospitalized in the county and 16 in the ICU.

Yolo County health officials have reported a total of 1,614 cases and 42 deaths as of Tuesday, with 31 new cases and no new fatalities. The county has seen outbreaks at several long-term care facilities, which account for 118 of the total number of cases and 21 of the deaths.

Woodland’s Stollwood Convalescent Hospital reported an outbreak in April and it is still the most severe outbreak in the county. There, 66 people connected to the facility have been infected with coronavirus and 17 have died. The facility will close permanently in September.

El Dorado County has reported a total of 668 cases and just one death from COVID-19. On Tuesday, nine new cases were reported by county health officials. There are three people in county hospitals, with one being treated in an ICU. The county has 14 ICU beds available. El Dorado County, despite reporting its first death last month, remains the only county in the greater Sacramento area to have not been placed onto the state’s regional coronavirus watchlist, reflecting its relatively low number of cases.

Sutter County has reported a total of 812 cases and six deaths. On Monday health officials added 15 new cases, after last week reporting two deaths. Thirteen are hospitalized with the virus. County health officials reported one of the highest single-day infections last Tuesday, adding 34 more confirmed cases to the total. The last record was set July 23, when 35 infections were reported.

In neighboring Yuba County, 512 people have been infected and four have died. The county added 13 cases Saturday, 16 more Sunday and 11 Monday. Last Wednesday, 26 people tested positive for coronavirus, which set a daily infection record, and one death was reported. Nine people in Yuba County were hospitalized as of Monday evening.

World numbers: Over 18 million infected, 698,000 dead

Over 18.4 million people worldwide have tested positive for COVID-19, and more than 698,000 of them have died, according to data maintained by Johns Hopkins University.

The U.S. accounts for more than 156,000 coronavirus fatalities and over 4.76 million cases as of Tuesday evening, according to Johns Hopkins. Next in terms of death toll are Brazil at nearly 96,000, Mexico at 48,000, the United Kingdom at 46,000, India at nearly 39,000, Italy at 35,000, France with just over 30,000 and Spain at more than 28,000.

Reported at just over 523,000 cases on the Johns Hopkins map, California has confirmed more coronavirus infections than any country outside of the United States except for Brazil, India and Russia. The state’s death toll is higher than Germany (9,163 dead) and Canada (9,005) as of Tuesday evening, according to Johns Hopkins data.

What is COVID-19? How is the coronavirus spread?

Coronavirus is spread through contact between people within 6 feet of each other, especially through coughing and sneezing that expels respiratory droplets that land in the mouths or noses of people nearby.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it’s possible to catch the disease COVID-19 by touching something that has the virus on it, and then touching your own face, “but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.”

Symptoms of the virus that causes COVID-19 include fever, cough and shortness of breath, which may occur two days to two weeks after exposure.

Most people develop only mild symptoms, but some people develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia, which can be fatal. The disease is especially dangerous to the elderly and others with weaker immune systems.

Sacramento Bee reporters Sophia Bollag and Molly Burke contributed to this report.