We at California News Press hope you had a safe yet enjoyable Thanksgiving. If you took a much-needed break from the news cycle, here’s a roundup of statewide happenings you might have missed….
Los Angeles County Bans Outdoor Dining, Announces New Stay-at-Home Order
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors announced an order closing outdoor dining. The order began the next day, with all restaurants in the county forced to suspend outdoor dining and limit operations to pick-up, drive-thru and delivery. The California Restaurant Association sought a court order to overturn the ban, which was rejected by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge.
Today, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued a temporary safer-at-home order that will take effect on Monday and stay in place until December 20, 2020. The new order prohibits all public and private gatherings with individuals outside your household. Faith-based services and protests are exceptions to this rule. All residents are asked to stay home as much as possible, and to always wear a face covering while outside or around others. Businesses are subject to more restrictive occupancy limits. Beaches and outdoor recreational sites remain open, but gatherings with individuals outside your household are not allowed. The five-day average of new cases reported today in the county was 4,751, which exceeds the minimum figure established to warrant such additional action.
Thousands of Edison Customers Lost Power on Thanksgiving Day
Southern California Edison enacted a Public Safety Power Shutoff affecting more than 5,000 customers on Thanksgiving Day. The temporary shutoffs took place in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. A further 88,000 customers across Southern California still face the possibility of shutoffs in the event of worsening hazardous conditions. The Santa Ana winds in combination with dry conditions are posing an ongoing extreme fire danger throughout the region.
CDPH Announces Community Advisory Committee to Ensure Equity in Vaccine Access
The California Department of Public Health has announced membership in the Community Vaccine Advisory Committee to provide input into the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine. Membership will broadly represent organizations throughout the state, and will help to guide equitable decisions regarding vaccine allocation. Among dozens of represented organizations are the ACLU, California Area Indian Health Service, California Black Health Network, and Disability Rights California.
“While the Covid-19 vaccine is new, we are not starting our planning process from scratch. This is an area of expertise we have strong partnerships in, building on lessons learned from previous vaccination campaigns, including H1NI and seasonal flu,” said Governor Newsom. “We’ve been planning and thinking about this for months, and we are being guided by some of the world’s best experts in this field.”
Republican Flips Central California House Seat
Republican David Valadao has declared victory in the race for California’s 21st Congressional District, which includes Kings County and parts of Fresno, Kern and Tulare counties. He will take over the seat held by incumbent Democratic Rep. TJ Cox. The Secretary of State recorded 85,373 votes (50.5%) for Valadao, versus 83,619 (49.5%) for Cox. Results will be certified by December 11, 2020. Valadao previously held the seat from 2013 to 2019, when he was defeated by Rep. Cox. The seat is the third in California and 11th in the nation to be flipped by the Republican Party.
Covid-19 Update
Confirmed cases of Covid-19 in California have risen to 1,171,324, which includes 12,635 newly reported cases on Thursday. The number of Covid-19 deaths in California since the start of the pandemic has reached 19,033. The seven-day positivity rate is 6.2% and the 14-day positivity rate is 6.1%.
(Take a look at last week’s roundup to compare the stats.)
Remember that all Californians in the purple tier are subject to a limited stay-at-home order requiring non-essential work and activities outside the home to stop between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. The order will remain in effect until 5 a.m. on December 21, 2020.
