All tagged testing

There are 2,555 'surge' beds in LA County, and they are 11% occupied

There are 2,555 'surge' beds in LA County, and they are 11% occupied

Tatiana Prophet
Health Care

By Tatiana Prophet

LOS ANGELES — For the second time this year, beaches in the sprawling Los Angeles County show warning signs in blinking lights: “do not gather.” Swing sets are taped up high above parents’ heads. Outdoor dining is banned. Public schools are clearing out their teachers, who had been conducting zoom classes from their classrooms to the children at home. (And yet, unexpectedly, the L.A. County Parks and Recreation web site hasn’t updated its “Trails Closed” alerts since Sept. 9.)

Governor Newsom’s tweet above states that regions in the state that fall below 15 percent ICU capacity will impose stay-at-home orders for three weeks. Los Angeles County has had the brunt of cases, hospitalizations and deaths all year. But it’s being lumped together with other counties inland where existing ICU beds have filled up rapidly. So then why isn’t he telling us about the more than 2,500 beds that are currently not staffed, but are waiting to be brought online in L.A. County?

How a California woman went untested for coronavirus for 4 days

How a California woman went untested for coronavirus for 4 days

Tatiana Prophet
Health Care

By Anna Maria Berry-Jester and Rachel Bluth

Just weeks into the federal government’s efforts to contain the novel coronavirus, a new California case has exposed weaknesses in the testing procedures that could be masking more widespread reach of the disease.

A woman in Solano County, California, who hadn’t traveled abroad or had contact with another known patient with the illness was diagnosed with the virus Wednesday, raising concerns that cases are going undetected because of the federal government’s narrow testing protocols.

The patient sought care at a local hospital before being transferred to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento because of the severity of her case, according to a letter hospital officials sent to members of the campus community. Suspecting coronavirus, doctors at UC Davis asked public health officials about testing for COVID-19, the name given to the illness believed to have originated in Wuhan, China.