Coronavirus will likely close schools for the rest of the school year, Newsom says

Israel’s health ministry said Wednesday that 90 more people have tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the country’s overall number to 427 and sparking fears of a further outbreak, a day after authorities issued a new series of guidelines that out Israelis in near-shutdown mode.

There have been no fatalities so far but with 15 patients in moderate to serious conditions and the number of those infected exponentially rising in recent days, authorities have taken severe measures to stem the spread, warning of catastrophic consequences and thousands of deaths if people don’t follow instructions.

“We have seen what is happening in other countries that did not take these steps. Thousands around the world have already died. As prime minister, I must tell you the truth. To my joy, we have not lost anyone. However, this will not continue,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Tuesday in his daily address to the nation. “This is a huge crisis. We are only at the start of the campaign.”

The new coronavirus has spread to more than 100 countries, infected more than 195,000 people worldwide and killed more than 7,800.

The imaginary barrier that separates the Lakers from the people who admire them has been breached.

LeBron James will be tested for COVID-19 on Wednesday as will Anthony Davis and every other player in Los Angeles’ signature sports franchise.

The gravity of the pandemic had started to set in over the previous few days as emergencies were declared, schools were closed and stores ran out of toilet paper.

Now this.

The medical experts were right. The disease spreads easily and doesn’t discriminate.

Like millions of other Americans, the Lakers might have been exposed to the virus at work, specifically in their last game before the NBA suspended its season.

Read more >>

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak has ordered the statewide shutdown of all casino and gambling operations as of midnight, another startling indication of the economic and cultural impact the coronavirus is exacting on American life.

Gambling ventures will be shuttered for 30 days, said Sisolak, who also ordered that other nonessential businesses, including bars and restaurants, will be forced to close as of noon Wednesday. Businesses such as hospitals, gas stations and grocery stores will remain open. Restaurants and bars that serve food will have to close or transition to delivery and takeout only.

“Today additional steps must be taken to slow the spread of the virus in our state,” the governor said.

Showing flashes of anger at times, Sisolak spoke of the need to protect medical professionals and first responders to the coronavirus pandemic. “You’re being told not to go out,” he said, and then repeated: “You’re being told not to go out. You owe it to them to listen to that directive.

Read more >>

WASHINGTON — President Trump’s proposal to send checks to virtually every American adult would probably be a godsend to millions of lower-income households threatened by nationwide shutdowns and social distancing in response to the coronavirus.

The lump-sum payments, the exact size of which has yet to be determined, are a key element in the administration’s latest effort to offset the cascading economic damage triggered by the pandemic.

Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin, who was in Capitol Hill discussing the proposal with lawmakers, said that the White House plan was to send the checks in the next two weeks.

Economists said that based on the $250-billion cost of the program, that would translate to about $1,000 per person if every American over 18 got a payment.

“It’s certainly a beginning. It’s necessary. It’s vitally important to put money into pockets of people who are likely to spend it,” said Robert Reich, the former Labor secretary in the Clinton administration and a public policy professor at UC Berkeley. “The more people who have this kind of economic security, the better off all of us would be.”

Read more >>>

Shelter in place counties/cities

Sonoma County

Marin County

San Francisco

Contra Costa County

Alameda County

San Mateo County

Santa Clara County

Santa Cruz County

Monterey County

San Benito County

City of Palm Springs

Ventura County has a shelter in place order for those 75 and older

California public schools are likely to be closed for the remainder of the school year in response to the escalating spread of coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday afternoon.

“I don’t want to mislead you,” he said to parents and educators during an afternoon press conference.

School districts serving about 85% of the students in California have closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic, including the top 25 largest districts, displacing millions of students.

Read more >>>

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — All 50 U.S. states now have confirmed cases of the new coronavirus as West Virginia’s governor announced the first positive test in his state on Tuesday evening.

Gov. Jim Justice said the person with the virus is in the state’s Eastern Panhandle, a region close to Washington, D.C., though he didn’t disclose the county where it was reported.

Justice used a televised address to announce new restrictions, ordering bars, restaurants and casinos to close with the exception of carry-out food services. He did not address delivery services.

“This is real and it’s really concerning,” the governor said.

×

There was word earlier in the day that they’d be shutting down the bars. Many braced for what seemed imminent: Restaurants were next.

When L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti made the announcement to shut down dine-in service at all city restaurants and bars, it was “a gut punch on a Sunday night,” said Sang Yoon, chef and owner of Father’s Office and Lukshon.

It was the latest body blow in a combination of hits L.A.’s dining scene has suffered in the past several weeks (for some, even longer). So much has been going wrong, at all times it seems. The coronavirus pandemic has ripped the city’s restaurants off their moorings, and there has been no time for anyone to adjust.

Read more >>>

In an unprecedented move, nearly all trials in Los Angeles County will be on hold for at least a month, but a broad swath of services will still be accessible to the public when courthouses reopen Friday, raising concerns about safety measures.

In an order filed Tuesday, Presiding Judge Kevin C. Brazile said several “essential functions” will continue to be processed, including civil and family restraining orders, emergency petitions for temporary conservatorships and guardianships, arraignments, search warrants, preliminary hearings, bail and bond processing, grand jury indictments and criminal jury trials where there is no agreement to delay the case.

Brazile’s order appeared to be a compromise between limiting the number of people in courthouses — no jurors or prospective jurors were to report to any of the county courthouses until at least April 16 — while maintaining core functions of the legal system.

“This order will allow us to comply with social distancing and to prevent the spread of the virus within our community,” Brazile said in the statement.

The Times has posted the full order online, and it lists new extended deadlines. For example, any temporary restraining order set to expire will be extended by 21 days. Whereas defendants charged with a felony previously had 48 hours to appear before a magistrate, that deadline has been lengthened to seven days.

Read more>>>

Orange County has executed new restrictions for its more than 3 million residents, county officials announced Monday afternoon.

“This prohibition applies to all professional, social and community gatherings, regardless of their sponsor, that are not engaged in essential activities,” the order states.

Read all the details of the order from Orange County officials.

Health officials directed the closure of bars and other alcohol-serving establishments that don’t serve food. The order also prohibits restaurants from provide on-site dining. Only curbside service and takeout are now allowed.

“Any person who violates or who refuses or willfully neglects to obey this regulation is subject to fine, imprisonment, or both,” the order states. It cites California’s Government Code, which provides for fines of up to $1,000, six months in jail or both.

“We are taking these mitigation steps in line with a directive issued by Governor Newsom to help slow the spread of COVID-19,” Orange County Health Officer Dr. Nichole Quick said in a statement. “We recognize community members may experience anxiety related to the social disruption caused by COVID-19, and want to encourage residents to reach out to loved ones using appropriate methods like telephone, video messaging, email and text.”

* An earlier story reported that Orange County issued a shelter-in-place order. This has been corrected to reflect new restrictions that fall short of a shelter-in-place order.

The Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas closed Monday night after hotel-casinos continued to take precautions over the coronavirus crisis. The dancing waters and namesake hotel as well as 14 other resorts were closed or planning to close as of Tuesday afternoon. The Venetian was the latest to decide to shut down for awhile.

MGM Resorts turned off the fountains for operational reasons. But it also will deter the typically large crowds on the sidewalk along Las Vegas Boulevard each afternoon and evening. At present, large gatherings run contrary to social distancing recommendations made by public health officials.

The novel coronavirus has had a huge impact on Vegas’ big hotels. Roughly half the resorts along the Strip will be dark as of Tuesday evening. The Venetian, which includes Palazzo, announced Tuesday afternoon that it is closing the Strip resorts at least until April 1.

Read More >>>

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon said Tuesday it has mobilized 1,500 National Guard troops to help fight the coronavirus epidemic, but the top federal official for infectious diseases warned that it’s too soon to know whether a raft of strict restrictions on normal American life is slowing the infection rate.

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said it may take “several weeks and maybe longer” before it’s clear whether the closure of schools and businesses and other widespread disruptions to the U.S. society and economy are “having an effect” on the deadly COVID-19 disease caused by the virus.

Appearing at a White House briefing with members of the coronavirus task force, Fauci hesitated to say when he expected coronavirus cases to peak, although he suggested 45 days “is not unreasonable.”

Read more >>>

Hollywood Burbank Airport had its best performing year with nearly 6 million passengers in 2019, but the scene at the facility Tuesday morning suggests this year’s stats will look entirely different.

Airline employees stood behind their ticket counters, but there were few passengers waiting to check in. The valet parking section of the facility, which usually has at least 30 vehicles queued and waiting, was completely empty.

The restaurants within Terminal A were without customers, with only a handful of people getting drinks at a bar. Most of the passengers who were there waiting for their flights kept their distance from one another, and some wore masks and gloves.

Read more >>>

At an emergency city council meeting Monday morning, Palm Springs city leaders issued an order advising all residents to shelter-in-place and limit their activities.

The order comes as Riverside County officials confirm a third person has died as a result of COVID-19 in the Coachella Valley.

The emergency order directs all non-essential businesses to close to the public. Twenty-one “essential types of businesses,” including grocery stores, pharmacies, banks, gas stations and health services, will be allowed to stay open. The city plans to outline further details about which businesses can remain open later Monday on its website.

“40% of our residents are aged 60 and above. We also have many with underlying chronic health issues and compromised immune systems. The Coachella Valley has 17 individuals who have tested positive and three deaths in past 24 hours. We also had three firefighters quarantined due to exposure to someone who tested positive. These all resulted in my calling the emergency meeting and Council taking the action we did,” Palm Springs Mayor George Kors said.

“We are working with our senior center and the county to help our senior population and high risk populations and many organizations, businesses and residents are stepping up to help as well.”

The order goes into effect at 7 a.m. Wednesday and will remain in effect until April 2.

At the council meeting April 2, city leaders will consider whether they need to extend the measure.

Some Southern California supermarkets are establishing store hours exclusively for seniors, pregnant women and people with disabilities.

Northgate Market has already implemented its daily 7 to 8 a.m. window for “senior citizens and disabled customers.” Starting tomorrow, all 50 locations of Vallarta Supermarkets will follow suit with the same time frame and will include pregnant women as well. All Gelson’s locations will begin a seniors-only shopping hour tomorrow as well starting at 7 a.m.

The three markets define seniors as those 65 years and older and all recommend bringing identification, as it may be checked.

Orange County-based Mother’s Markets has established a “Safe Shop” program for “elderly, disabled, those with compromised immune systems, chemo patients, etc.” every Wednesday from 6 to 7 a.m. and free home delivery for the same population.

Store representatives from Whole Foods in Burbank and Beverly Hills said 7 to 8 a.m. would be for at-risk shoppers only. The store manager of the Beverly Hills location anticipated the same would be implemented chainwide in Southern California soon.

Ruoqui Lial, the marketing director of 99 Ranch, said all of its stores nationwide would begin a similar initiative starting Monday. The company is finalizing details now.

Most supermarkets across Southern California have modified hours generally; be sure to check their websites for updates.

Albertsons Companies family of more than 2,200 stores nationwide (including Vons, Albertsons and Pavilions in Southern California) are offering special hours every Tuesday and Thursday from 7-9 a.m. for vulnerable community members, including seniors.

Read more >>>

Really, Vanessa Hudgens? Some comments are so tacky that no context can excuse them.

Take, for example, flippant remarks about people dying from coronavirus.

The “High School Musical” actress landed in hot water when she did an Instagram Live on Monday night. We can’t embed the video because she cusses, so you’ll have to imagine Hudgens’ glassy eyes, occasionally squeaky voice and multiple hair fluffs.

Read more >>>

If Texas hospitals become overwhelmed by coronavirus patients, officials are preparing to offer alternatives, including medical tents, rehabilitation centers or re-opening shuttered medical facilities. So far, Texas has 64 confirmed coronavirus cases.

“For people who test positive who need to be in isolation but don’t need critical care, we are looking at the possibility of using hotels and motels in various regions across the entire state of Texas,” Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday after teleconferencing with hospital leaders from across the state.

Abbott said officials also discussed the need to staff and provide childcare for workers at any newly opened facilities as well as ways to increase capacity at existing hospitals. Abbott announced a temporary waiver that eliminated fees and paperwork for hospitals to increase unused bed capacity.

“Texas is ensuring our hospitals are able to care for those who contract COVID-19, while maintaining normal health care operations,” Abbott said.

As coronavirus cases continue to rise and government-ordered restrictions paralyze daily life across the state, juvenile justice advocates are urging officials to protect the mental and physical safety of California’s thousands of detained youth.

In recent days, defense attorneys have combed through their caseloads seeking to expedite the release of juveniles in custody. They point to the virus’ ability to spread quickly in congested areas and the risk that suspension of family visits could dangerously isolate children even further.

“Being in these facilities for these kids is really, really stressfu,l and the only time they have felt any type of letting down of their guard was when they were visiting with their friends and families,” said Ji Seon Song, president of the Pacific Juvenile Defender Center, an organization that provides guidance to juvenile defense attorneys in California. “It seems like a very harsh, counterproductive measure and just a really sad thing for our clients.”

In a letter Monday to state and local officials, Song’s group called for the immediate release of all youth held in county facilities who have not been convicted of their charge and all youth who have been convicted and are being held on technical probation violations. It also called for the state’s Division of Juvenile Justice facilities to release youth who would not pose a serious physical safety risk to the community.

Among a series of recommendations, the letter said that all arresting agencies should move to cite and release certain youth instead of booking them and potentially introducing to the virus to juvenile detention facilities.

Read more>>>

The Trump administration is considering mobilizing the National Guard to help amid the coronavirus crisis and is readying two hospital ships to treat patients, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday.

More than 1,500 Guard members have already been activated in 18 states to aid the anti-virus effort, Esper said. They are providing personnel for drive-through virus-testing sites and emergency operations centers, as well as sanitizing public areas and transporting healthcare workers.

The federal mobilization under consideration by the Pentagon would put reserve soldiers under control of the president and enable them to deploy outside their state to assist with planning, logistics and medical support. The deployment would be paid for by the federal government, rather than the states.

Esper briefed Vice President Mike Pence and other members of the coronavirus task force Monday.

The Navy is preparing its two hospital ships, the Comfort and the Mercy, for potential deployments along the East and West coasts to help support patients who aren’t suffering from the virus, easing the strain on civilian hospitals, Esper said.

Each ship has a 1,000-bed capacity, but it takes a week or more to mobilize active-duty and reserve personnel to staff the vessels. The military could also erect field hospitals in addition to the hospital ships, but those facilities are optimized for trauma cases, not for infectious patients, officials said.

“What I don’t want to do is take reservists from a hospital where they are needed just to put them on a ship to take them somewhere else where they’re needed,” Esper told reporters at a Pentagon news conference.

Mercy is based at Naval Station San Diego, and Comfort is at Naval Station Norfolk, Va.

The acceptance of national letters of intent for NCAA Division I and II sports has been suspended until at least April 15 as a result of the emergency recruiting dead period that began last week in response to the coronavirus outbreak, the Collegiate Commissioners Assn. announced Tuesday.

The suspension will be reevaluated on or before April 15.

Any letters of intent signed by prospective college athletes before Monday will be managed through the normal validation process with the conference office.

Read more >>>

(Olivier Anrigo / EPA)

Actor Idris Elba went live on Twitter to offer updates on his well-being and dispel a “weird myth” he’s noticed since revealing he tested positive for the coronavirus.

“Something that’s sort of scaring me when I read the comments and see some of the reactions is: my people — black people, black people — please, please understand that coronavirus ... you can get it, all right?” he said in the first of two lengthy video chats conducted Tuesday afternoon. “There are so many stupid, ridiculous conspiracy theories about black people not being able to get it. That’s dumb, stupid.

Read more >>>

The new coronavirus is here and it’s not going away soon. We want to hear your stories about how the outbreak has affected you. California has called for a ban on gatherings of 250 or more people, travel from Europe has been suspended by President Trump and the World Health Organization has called the disease caused by the coronavirus a pandemic.

Events around L.A. and the nation have been canceled or postponed, including conferences, concerts and sporting events. Companies are encouraging workers to stay home in hopes of protecting workers from the spreading coronavirus as doctors and health officials work to create a vaccine.

Social distancing and in some cases, extended quarantines, have upended daily routines. We want to hear from you on the unique ways that you are experiencing isolation.

Read more>>>

The reality is starting to set in: Coronavirus has a lot of people stuck at home. Sports are shut down. Some people are temporarily out of work or might be soon. Budgets for luxuries — like premium TV —are tightening.

So how do we stay entertained without breaking the bank with $20-a-pop movies on demand? Streaming services, of course.

It turns out that if you string together various streamers’ current free-trial offers just right, you can have a pandemic’s worth of entertainment without paying a dime.

Read more>>>

SAN FRANCISCO — Emergency orders further upended normal life across the greater San Francisco Bay Area on Tuesday, as businesses, schools and other institutions closed and the number of coronavirus cases continued to creep up.

Seven Bay Area counties on Monday ordered residents to “shelter in place” until at least April 7, going out only for essential needs, such as visiting grocery stores, pharmacies, doctors and relatives. Officials say the order seeks to prevent COVID-19 from overwhelming the healthcare system of a region where 7 million people live.

San Francisco opened at least 37 recreation sites as emergency child care centers, as did other cities wanting to serve families needing to work while their children are out of school. The Bay Area Rapid Transit system continued to operate, while ferry operators reduced services. Shelters remained open for the homeless, who, having no roofs over their heads, are exempt from the order to stay home.

Read more>>>

Four players on the Brooklyn Nets, whose last game was played against the Los Angeles Lakers, have tested positive for the coronavirus, the team announced on Tuesday.

The players haven’t been named.

The Nets beat the Lakers at Staples Center one week ago.

Of the four players, the team said, one is exhibiting symptoms. All four are currently in isolation and under the care of team doctors.

Read more>>>

The Los Angeles school district on Tuesday was ramping up “grab and go” food services to help feed more than half a million children displaced by the closing of schools due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Starting on Wednesday, parents and students can pick up food at 60 sites scattered throughout the nation’s second-largest school district. A complete list and map of locations in Los Angeles and information about other resources have been published on the district website.

More than 85% of school districts in California have been closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic, including the top 25 largest districts, serving millions of students. Teachers in most closed schools are trying to continue instruction through online coursework and extended homework assignments. L.A. Unified also has partnered with PBS SoCal to provide expanded educational programming.

Read more>>>

ROME — In parts of Italy, the coronavirus means the local cemetery keeps its crematorium running 24 hours, the newspaper adds far more obituary space than normal, and families yearn to touch loved ones in hospital isolation wards.

Hospital staffs often find themselves filling in where relatives and spiritual leaders cannot, even as they face their own risk of infection.

In some cases, doctors in overflowing hospitals are facing the toughest choice of their lives by determining which patient gets a lifesaving ventilator when there are not enough for everyone in need.

That is the kind of wartime decision-making that is now part of the shift at Bergamo’s Papa Giovanni XXIII hospital, where Dr. Fabiano di Marco has not had a day off since Feb. 21, the day the city realized the virus was in its midst.

Read more>>>

L.A. County announced 50 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus, bringing the county’s total to more than 140.

“We continue to see a huge increase in the number of cases,” public health director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said during a news conference Tuesday, adding that the rise in numbers is largely due to the increased capacity for testing.

Ferrer stressed the need for people to stay home, including anyone who is sick.

“If you’re sick and you’re an essential worker, please don’t come to work,” she said. “We cannot have people that are sick, even with mild illness, going about their business.”

Read more>>>

A Rolls Royce is parked on Rodeo Drive in 2013.

(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Beverly Hills is ordering Rodeo Drive retailers and most plastic surgeons’ offices shuttered amid the coronavirus crisis.

The Beverly Hills City Council approved the measure, joining many other California cities in closing down commerce in the short term, and declared a local emergency.

All nonessential retail businesses, including those on Rodeo Drive, will be closed except for pick-up, delivery and certain transactions by appointment, the city directed.

Also all bars and nightclubs in the city that do not serve food are to be closed to the public. Restaurants can offer food to customers via delivery service or takeout. Dine-in food service is prohibited.

Cinemas and gyms have also been shuttered, along with nail salons, hair salons and massage parlors. Beverly Hills’ array of plastic surgeons will see their doors shut as services are prohibited including “all elective medical and surgical procedures” as well as “all elective dental procedures.”

Read more>>>

On the day after Major League Baseball conceded the delay in its season could last months rather than weeks, each team has agreed to contribute $1 million to a fund to assist ballpark workers who suddenly have themselves out of work because of the coronavirus hiatus.

In a statement Tuesday, commissioner Rob Manfred said representatives of all 30 teams had reached out to him over the previous 48 hours about how to “help assist the thousands of ballpark employees” affected by the delay.

On Sunday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended sporting events and other large gatherings be called off through at least May 9. On Monday, Manfred said MLB would follow that recommendation.

Manfred said the owners were “motivated by desire to help some of the most valuable members of the baseball community.”

Manfred said each club would announce details particular to their community, and with respect for state and local laws as well as collective bargaining agreements.

Read more>>>

With the travel industry staggered by the coronavirus outbreak, Marriott International said Tuesday it planned to furlough tens of thousands of workers in the face of unprecedented booking cancellations.

The world’s largest hotel company, with 30 hotel brands and more than 7,000 properties worldwide, confirmed reports that it would be forced by a surge in cancellations to either cut back work hours or issue furloughs to a large portion of its workforce. Marriott International employed 174,000 people around the world at the end of 2019, according to securities filings.

“We are adjusting global operations accordingly, which has meant either reduction in hours or a temporary leave for many of our associates at our properties,” the company said in a statement Tuesday. “Our associates will keep their health benefit during this difficult period and continue to be eligible for company-paid free short-term disability that provide income protection should they get sick.”

Read more>>>

Mattresses full of money, getting paid to take out a mortgage, surging demand for safe-deposit boxes — these are some of the ideas people have about what happens when interest rates turn negative.

Just a few months ago, such scenes — at least in the U.S. — seemed unthinkable. But with Treasury yields tumbling and the Federal Reserve abruptly slashing rates to near zero on Sunday, Americans may soon get a taste of them firsthand.

Panic over the coronavirus and its threat to the global economy has made the prospect of negative rates in the U.S. at once all too real. Americans are currently staring at Treasury yields closer to zero than they were during the 2008 financial crisis. JPMorgan Chase & Co. says the odds are rising that T-bills will go negative and hurt savers in the $3.8-trillion money-market-fund industry. Indeed, traders in Asia woke Monday to quotes below zero on some bills.

Read more>>>

It’s probable that not even the Atomic Clock has the ability to keep up with the speed with which major American corporations extended their hands for government bailouts in the novel coronavirus crisis.

So far, we’ve heard from the airline, hotel, casino and cruise ship industries, all of which assert that they’re facing immense losses and even bankruptcy as the lockdown of American and international economies take hold.

Surely there will be more, since the Trump administration has been signaling its willingness to listen.

Read more>>>

BEIRUT —The coronavirus has turned bustling Beirut into a timid capital: You can see it in the lone jogger on the city’s normally crowded seaside corniche; in the absence of gray-haired habitués from their haunts. You could also spot it in Abu Shadi, the outgoing neighborhood baker secretly handing a box of cheese-and-spinach pies to a customer as if it were something illicit.

“We’re supposed to be closed, but — quickly! — take this and go,” he said, looking down the street as a patrol car approached. The buyer hid the box under his arm, scurrying away. Abu Shadi looked sheepish as he lowered the bakery’s shutters moments before the police drove by.

Beirut residents often boast that even at the height of the 15-year civil war the city never shut down. They take pride in the Lebanese capital’s party-while-the-bombs-fall attitude. Yet there is decidedly less partying now, with the coronavirus bringing a calculus that conflict did not. For Lebanon and other Middle Eastern countries, the race to slow the spread of the disease — to “flatten the curve” — has turned desperate, as governments fear the pandemic will overwhelm health systems battered by instability and deal death blows to economies already on the brink.

Read more>>>

Los Angeles City Council meetings typically draw a feisty crowd ready to sound off about planned housing developments, lawsuit settlements and city contracts.

Tuesday’s meeting was held with new measures meant to curb the spread of COVID-19: Amid the unprecedented shutdown of Los Angeles businesses and schools amid the coronavirus crisis, city officials erected a tent outside City Hall so the public could watch the meeting on a video screen and comment remotely to the city’s 15 council members.

Several speakers complained about the setup, arguing it was unfair and disenfranchising. “Keeping the public outside of a public meeting in 52-degree weather with no heaters and no bathrooms is not a pandemic response, it’s oppression!” said Sabrina Johnson, a member of the homeless advocacy group KTown for All.

Rob Quan of the Unrig L.A. coalition also complained that there were no restrooms and questioned whether the site was accessible to people with disabilities. Shortly after he spoke, a city attorney said there was a wheelchair lift by the outdoor steps.

Read more>>>

Julie Carol was in good spirits Tuesday morning as she approached the front of Trader Joe’s in Monrovia. The 71-year-old would finally get that elusive carton of eggs.

As fear of the coronavirus continues to change people’s everyday lives, some grocery stores recently announced they’d host special shopping hours for senior citizens.

Word had gotten out that those 65 and older would have a special 30-minute time slot to purchase groceries at Trader Joe’s in Monrovia before it opened to the general public at 9:30 AM.

Very quickly, the mood went from hope to confusion and heartache. And anger.

A Trader Joe’s employee on site told those gathered that to his knowledge no such special shopping hours had been planned.

Read more>>>

MEXICO CITY —Amid mounting global dread about coronavirus, the 12 young airline passengers apparently stirred scrutiny because of their facial attire — they all donned protective masks.

According to Mexican authorities, that was the origin of suspicions that led El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele on Monday to air an incendiary accusation: Twelve travelers with COVID-19 were about to board an Avianca jet Monday afternoon from Mexico City to San Salvador.

“I ask all the people who are thinking of boarding that flight, DON’T DO IT,” tweeted Bukele, who denounced Mexican officials as “irresponsible” for allowing the dozen “confirmed positive” individuals to travel freely.

“Those who board the flight are putting their families’ lives at grave risk,” the Salvadoran president wrote. “The crew is also at risk. … These patients should be isolated, not circulating in the airport.”

Read more>>>

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Tuesday that his department was pushing back the April 15 deadline to pay taxes owed, giving individuals and many businesses 90 extra days to send checks to the government.

Individuals can defer up to $1 million of tax liability and corporations get an extension on up to $10 million, Mnuchin said.

“All you have to do is file your taxes,” he said. “You’ll automatically not get charged interest and penalties.”

The payment extension, which affects millions of taxpayers, is part of the Trump administration’s effort to curb the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Mnuchin said the delay would free up $300 billion of liquidity in the economy as individuals and businesses had more time to pay their taxes.

Read more>>>

NEW ORLEANS —Over the past 180 years, the family that runs Antoine’s, a bastion of the French Quarter, managed to keep the restaurant open despite the Civil War, two World Wars, Prohibition, the Great Depression and Hurricane Katrina — but not the coronavirus.

This week, with three deaths and 136 coronavirus cases statewide, most in the New Orleans area, Louisiana’s governor closed bars and restricted restaurants to takeout orders until April 13 to prevent the disease’s spread. Antoine’s shut indefinitely.

“Who’s going to come and get a pompano Pontchartrain takeout?” owner Lisa Blount said as she sipped her last wine Monday night. “I can’t give you Antoine’s on Grub Hub.”

Few U.S. cities are as dependent on fine dining and drinking to drive tourism and the local economy as is New Orleans. The coronavirus arrived during peak spring tourist season, forcing the postponement of a slew of events including the French Quarter Festival and leaving the fate of others like Jazz Fest in doubt. And this week’s sudden closures are likely a preview of what’s to come for other cities, imperiling culinary institutions and leaving hundreds of the chefs, bartenders, waiters and kitchen staff they rely on adrift.

Read more>>>

This is not a test. This is not a drill. This is the real thing. If only it weren’t.

We are learning so much so fast about what we need to have in place when a pandemic happens, only it has happened and a lot of us weren’t prepared — or were prepared but for very different disasters, for the grab-your-most-important-papers fires and keep-your-shoes-by-your-bed earthquakes.

The coronavirus is requiring us to be ready in new ways — and we are trying, we’re adapting fast, but the pandemic may be spreading faster.

There are things we were supposed to have taken care of earlier for that long-expected guest that we’ve always called the Big One: stocking up on the basics — the water, the toilet paper, the batteries, the canned goods.

Read more>>>

Screen icon Tom Hanks stunned the world last week when he announced that he and wife and actress Rita Wilson had tested positive for the coronavirus — the first stars to go public with their diagnoses.

Since then, a handful of celebrities have revealed that they, too, have contracted the respiratory illness, with varying symptomatic effects.

From a Bond girl to a “Game of Thrones” wildling, here are all the known famous coronavirus patients so far.

Read more>>>

Activists who have been advocating for the rights of assistants in Hollywood’s film and television industry have created a relief fund to help these low paid workers during the Covid-19 crisis.

The three women who have been spearheading the movement know as #Payuphollywood — Liz Alper, Jamarah Hayner and Deidre Mangan — along with a group of leading TV writers and others, launched a GoFundMe site to raise money for assistants who face lost work as productions shut down.

The Junior Hollywood Radio & Television Society and YEA!, a nonprofit organization supporting activism in the entertainment industry, also are backing the fundraising effort.

Read more>>>

Soccer officials in Europe and South America voted Tuesday to postpone major international tournaments scheduled for this summer for one year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

UEFA, the governing body for soccer in Europe, will delay the quadrennial European Championships that was scheduled to kick off in Rome in June until June 2021.

Leaders of UEFA, the European club association, the European leagues and the players’ union — meeting via video conference — also committed to completing all domestic and European club competitions by the end of June “should the situation improve and resuming play be appropriate.”

Most of the world’s major leagues have halted play in an effort to slow the spread of the pandemic. Others are playing in front of limited crowds or in empty stadiums. The Euros were scheduled to be played in a dozen European countries before finishing in London.

Read more>>>

Like every show before it, this one began with a thrum of discordant strings, the singers, in costume, standing at attention, as they await their musical queues.

Unlike every other show before it, the seats are empty of spectators. For its final show, the Industry’s critically acclaimed new opera, “Sweet Land,” is being staged only for a trio of video cameras.

As the action unfolds, Derrell Acon, a bass-baritone singer dressed in red-and-white regalia in the role of Grandfather, presents a bowl of fruit to the open sky in the open-air theater in Los Angeles State Historic Park, where the opera is staged. On this evening, his deep melancholic notes sound especially mournful.

Read more>>>

Three members of the Los Angeles City Council called Tuesday for the city to temporarily stop enforcing a law requiring tents to come down during daytime hours, saying the change is needed to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Council members Mike Bonin, Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Gil Cedillo said they also want city sanitation workers to temporarily stop confiscating the possessions of homeless Angelenos unless those items are deemed to be hazardous.

The proposal also calls for city agencies to install portable toilets, hand-washing stations, dumpsters and vermin-proof trash cans at major homeless encampments. Those areas would also receive weekly shower service.

Homelessness is a “public health crisis that is ongoing, continuing and worsening,” the three council members wrote. “That crisis is made exponentially worse by the spread of COVID-19.”

Read more>>>

The French Open, traditionally the second of tennis’ four Grand Slam tournaments, has been postponed from May until September. The start was pushed back to Sept. 20, a week after the scheduled conclusion of the U.S. Open, making it the fourth Grand Slam of the year.

Playing two Grand Slam tournaments in quick succession will test players’ conditioning and test their adaptability in shifting from hard court to clay with little time to adjust. The change also causes a scheduling conflict with the Laver Cup, a men’s team event scheduled to be held in Boston from Sept. 25-27.

The Australian Open was played this year before the coronavirus pandemic began. Novak Djokovic won the men’s title and Sofia Kenin was the women’s winner, her first Slam singles title. The French Open was to have been played on the red clay of Roland-Garros Stadium from May 24-June 7.

Wimbledon officials said Tuesday, “At this time, we continue to plan for The Championships and the grass court season.” Wimbledon is scheduled to be played from June 29-July 12.

Read more>>>

On Sunday night, Mayor Eric Garcetti made an announcement that movie theaters in Los Angeles, along with other entertainment venues, bars and fitness centers, would all be closed until at least March 31 to slow the growing coronavirus pandemic. On Monday that shutdown was expanded to include all of Los Angeles County. National cinema chains such as AMC and Regal also closed all their venues.

For independent theaters in Los Angeles, the shutdown comes at an already perilous time, as they fight for audiences against the larger chains and studio blockbusters, as well as the increasing dominance of streaming platforms as part of audiences’ entertainment options.

“Frankly, we’ve already been in a fight to stay above water with streaming,” said Christian Meoli, owner and operator of Arena Cinelounge in Hollywood.

Initially, Meoli thought he would be able to stay open as the city encouraged social distancing and at first looked to merely limit the size of audiences.

Read more>>>

As the coronavirus outbreak ravaged a nursing home in Kirkland, Wash, it also hit the local fire department hard.

No firefighters tested positive for the virus. But nearly a third of the 95-member department had to go into quarantine after coming to the aid of coronavirus patients.

Faced with an escalating number of infected people, police and fire departments can quickly become overwhelmed as more first responders are taken out of commission, creating staffing nightmares. Masks and other protective equipment are in short supply worldwide and could potentially run out as first responders care for patients and then need a new set.

The toll is starting to be felt in Los Angeles County, with nearly 100 confirmed coronavirus cases and more announced each day.

Read more>>>

Tesla’s Fremont factory was up and running at 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday, despite the “shelter in place” lockdown issued by Alameda County and five other Bay Area counties the day before.

Workers leaving the plant after the night shift said the automobile plant was churning out cars as usual – the Model 3, the Model X, the Model S and the newest Model Y. The parking lot was packed to capacity of about 3,000 cars, as dozens of morning-shift workers searched for overlooked spaces. Workers even parked in fire lanes.

Dozens of shuttles and full-size buses ferried morning workers to the factory and took night-shift workers away. Departing workers packed shoulder to shoulder at the door of each bus, waiting to get on. The buses take workers to offsite lots and as far away as Tracy and Stockton.

Read more>>>

Many of Los Angeles’ top real estate brokerages — including Compass, Douglas Elliman, Hilton & Hyland and Deasy Penner Podley — are telling their agents to work from home as the area deals with the spread of coronavirus.

The office closures arrive after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday advised against gatherings of 50 people or more for the next eight weeks. As of Monday, there were 94 cases of the virus reported in Los Angeles County.

It will likely be a big adjustment for many agents, who usually rely on person-to-person interaction to show listings and close deals. Many open houses planned for this week have been canceled.

On Monday, Compass sent out a nationwide memo to its staffers offering advice on setting up virtual house tours, adding that it’s currently working on additional online tools to aid the process. It noted that agents can still decide to give in-person tours of their properties.

Read more>>>

After more than 30 years in advertising, Loretta and Roddy celebrated their retirement with a trip.

They left their home in Orlando, Fla., for the Philippines on Feb. 4. At one point, they traveled to Thailand. They had layovers in Seoul on the way to the Philippines and the way back to the U.S.

On March 8, they flew into Los Angeles International Airport. They planned to stay at Roddy’s sister’s house in Walnut for two nights and then fly back to Florida on March 10.

What happened next is a nightmarish and ultimately tragic tale of missed signals and bureaucratic stumbling blocks that have shattered the couple’s lives and family.

Read more>>>

The coronavirus pandemic is forcing us into a nationwide experiment with online education.

Until now, online education has largely held a supplemental and supporting role to traditional classroom learning.

But, as campuses across the country shut down in-person instruction and shift en masse to exclusively using distance learning in an effort to limit transmission of the virus, we suddenly find ourselves thrust into uncharted territory.

Read more>>>

Natalia Guzman, co-owner of OC Fit in Tustin, wipes down equipment with disinfectant wipes.

(Cindy Carcamo / Los Angeles Times)

Southern California gym chains, boutique fitness spots and personal trainers are scrambling to find alternative ways to sweat as their facilities are forced to close because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Some gym operators are taking their classes to the internet, and trainers are hustling to arrange travel times and new schedules to accommodate home visits or small outdoor classes.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Sunday night announced the shutdown of gyms, bars, nightclubs, entertainment venues and dine-in restaurant service through March 31 to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, a step taken in New York and several other cities around the nation. Los Angeles County supervisors issued a similar order Monday for the 88 cities under their jurisdiction, and Gov. Gavin Newsom asked all such businesses across California to close, and in the case of restaurants to switch to takeout only.

Some fitness chains are closing gyms even in cities that hadn’t yet ordered them.

Read more>>>

Kids, as we know, are notorious for bringing home bugs.

Colds, coughs, stomach viruses, contagious skin infections that flourish like red sores around tiny noses and mouths. With two children under 6, we’ve weathered it all.

Still, I dreaded the thought that one day a bug so mighty would come along and conquer one or both parents.

This month, of all months, we lived out that fear — just as the global coronavirus pandemic grabbed hold worldwide.

A day after the first U.S. death was announced in Washington state, my 3-year-old son began to struggle with a dry cough, runny nose and congestion. Then, just as a virus-struck cruise ship was held out at sea, my husband got hit with body aches, fatigue, headaches and a painful sore throat.

Read more>>>

A staff member who had “flu-like symptoms” at a Redondo Beach assisted-living community has been diagnosed with the coronavirus, and two residents were hospitalized “with fever and respiratory symptoms,” the company that runs the facility confirmed Tuesday.

A statement from the Kensington Redondo Beach assisted-living community said the staff member reported symptoms on March 6 and was sent home. The employee has since been hospitalized, placed on paid medical leave “and will not return to the community until after they have been cleared by a doctor,” the facility said.

The two residents who were hospitalized have not been confirmed with a diagnosis, and the statement said no other residents were showing any symptoms. The supervisor of the employee diagnosed with coronavirus was also displaying “flu-like” symptoms and was instructed to self-quarantine and refrain from returning to work for at least 14 days, the statement said.

Read more>>>

As much of the world shuts down, sheltering in place to contain the coronavirus outbreak, Olympic leaders said Tuesday their insistence on pushing ahead with the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo has nothing to do with money.

The International Olympic Committee has received billions of dollars from broadcasters and corporate sponsors wanting to be part of the massive sporting event. Organizers in Japan have spent billions on venue construction and other preparations.

“The IOC’s decision will not be determined by financial interests,” the committee said in a lengthy communique, adding that it is protected by “risk management policies and insurance.”

Tokyo 2020 organizers echoed this sentiment in announcing the torch relay — sponsored by a large soft-drink company, an auto manufacturer and other corporations — will begin as planned next week.

Read more>>>

Faced with the mass closure of movie theaters across the globe, Walt Disney Studios is indefinitely delaying the release of one of its biggest summer films, the Marvel superhero film “Black Widow.”

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to shake Hollywood to its core, the Scarlett Johansson film, which had been set to open May 1, follows Universal’s “A Quiet Place Part II” and “F9” and MGM’s Bond film “No Time to Die” in shifting from its planned release date as studios scramble to protect their most anticipated films from a rapidly cratering box office.

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala — Guatemala on Tuesday became the first Central American nation to block deportation flights from the United States in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, a dramatic turnabout on Trump administration policies barring entry to asylum seekers from the region.

Guatemala’s ministry of foreign affairs announced that all deportation flights would be paused “as a precautionary measure” to establish additional health checks. Ahead of the announcement, President Alejandro Giammattei said in a Monday news conference that Guatemala also would close its borders completely for 15 days.

“This virus can affect all of us, and my duty is to preserve the lives of Guatemalans at any cost,” he said.

Guatemala, a major source of migration to the United States as well as a primary transit country for people from other nations headed to the U.S.-Mexico border, in recent days has blocked travelers from the U.S., as well as arrivals from Canada and a few European and Asian countries.

Read more>>>

With schools closed across the country and millions of parents working from home for the foreseeable future because of the coronavirus outbreak, it’s inevitable that children will consume more television in the coming weeks.

And if your kids spend a lot of quality time with Elmo and friends during the middle of a global pandemic, that’s just fine, says Polly Conway, TV editor at Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization that reviews and evaluates children’s media.

“We’re all figuring it out in real time,” she says. “Our angle is that we just need to go easy on ourselves right now and kids are going to be OK if they get a little more screen time than normal — or a lot more than normal.”

The goal is to stick to age-appropriate media and, ideally, “to interact with them while they are watching and ask questions,” Conway says, “but we know full well that that might not be possible.”

Read more>>>

Huntington Beach said Tuesday morning that all of its five library branches would be closed to the public through April 15.

City officials met — several feet apart from one another — on Monday evening to unanimously declare a local emergency due to the coronavirus outbreak, approve a three-pronged emergency response plan and officially launch the next phase of that program.

The vote triggered the cancellation of all nonessential recreational services at city libraries and community centers. Library late fees and holds are suspended during the closure.

Huntington Beach already had suspended all library events through April 12.

Read more>>>

SINGAPORE — At the end of last month, thousands of Muslim missionaries from two dozen countries congregated at a sprawling mosque complex outside the Malaysian capital for a weekend of prayer.

Now authorities in multiple countries are searching for people who attended the event, a key driver of a surge in coronavirus cases across Southeast Asia that has prompted sweeping new travel restrictions and social distancing measures.

Malaysian health officials said Tuesday that they had traced more than 400 infections — and one death — to the four-day gathering at the Seri Petaling mosque outside Kuala Lumpur from Feb. 27 to March 1. The gathering is the source of more than half of the country’s nearly 700 recorded cases of COVID-19, the most in Southeast Asia.

Experts worry that many more infections could still emerge: As of Monday respiratory samples had been collected from fewer than one-quarter of the roughly 14,500 Malaysians who attended the event. Almost 6,000 people were yet to be located.

Read more>>>

A second minor league player in the New York Yankees organization has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to multiple media reports.

The Yankees provided the update to their minor league players in a recent memo, ESPN reported. The two players have not been identified. They are the only known such cases in baseball.

The first player was tested after notifying his club of a fever Friday morning. The team’s minor league complex was shut down after his test came back positive, and all Yankees minor leaguers were told to self-quarantine in their hotel rooms for two weeks.

That player had not come into contact with anyone at the major league facility, the team said.

Read more>>>

Amazon is prioritizing the stocking of household staples and medical supplies as it struggles to deal with a surge in demand for online orders from customers avoiding stores during the coronavirus pandemic. The world’s biggest online retailer said in a blog post updated on Tuesday morning that it was making the move “so we can more quickly receive, restock, and ship these products to customers.” The aim is to keep warehouses stocked with the items people are buying now — toilet paper, bleach and sanitizing wipes — so Amazon is temporarily not accepting shipments of nonessential goods such as flat-screen televisions and toys.

The Seattle-based company wants to be seen as an indispensable service, which is hard to do when items are out of stock and customers have to wait days for orders to be delivered. The company is fine-tuning its operation to quickly deliver things people need right now, sacrificing sales from its deep inventory for the time being.

As online orders spike, Amazon also is looking to hire 100,000 people willing to pick, pack and deliver orders amid the outbreak. Already, at least five workers at warehouses in Spain and Italy have contracted the coronavirus, and those numbers could rise in the coming months as the disease spreads in Europe and the U.S. If enough workers get sick, Amazon may have to close some of its fulfillment centers, potentially putting its vaunted delivery machine in peril.

Read more>>>

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott activated the state’s National Guard on Tuesday to be prepared to assist with the coronavirus response. Guard members who are healthcare workers and first responders are excluded from activation so they can stay on the job.

“We are ensuring Texas is prepared as we continue to mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” Abbott said. “This is a precautionary measure to make sure the Texas National Guard has the capability to serve at a moment’s notice where they are needed most.”

As of Tuesday, Texas had confirmed 64 cases of the coronavirus, Abbott said.

“As of this moment,” Abbott said, 1,264 Texans have been tested. “That number will continue to increase dramatically.”

Abbott reiterated that he’s confident Texas would be able to test 10,000 people per week by the end of this week.

The Kern County Public Health Department has confirmed its first case of the coronavirus as an individual, not a resident of the county, tested positive there for the coronavirus.

Officials are working to identify potential contacts of the person and will monitor the health of those contacts in an attempt to prevent spread of the virus.

Drone video captured by the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday morning showed a line of customers at the Costco in Los Feliz. An hour before the store opened, the line snaked along the side of the building, next to the parking lot and along the edge of the property.

As the the coronavirus pandemic continues to cancel concert events worldwide, John Legend, Pink, Keith Urban, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and more artists are taking to social media to deliver live performances to their fans.

Martin was among the first to kick off the trend, addressing followers from his home on Monday before launching into a 30-minute mini-set that included acoustic renditions of Coldplay hits such as “Trouble” and “A Sky Full of Stars,” as well as a David Bowie cover.

“I was supposed to be with the band, Coldplay, today,” said Martin, in beanie and sweater, at the top of the livestream, which drew more than 300,000 viewers. “But... we’re stuck in different countries, so we can’t play together. So I thought what would be nice would be to check in with some of you out there and see how you’re doing and where you are and what I can do for you. Had an idea that we could call this thing ‘Together at Home.’ And who knows — maybe tomorrow someone else will take it over.”

Read more>>>

WASHINGTON —The Trump administration is proposing $850 billion in economic stimulus to contain the effects of the coronavirus, including relief for small businesses and the airline industry, and sizable checks for American workers.

Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin is expected to outline the request to Senate Republicans at a closed-door lunch on Capitol Hill and will be discussing the plan with House Democrats as well.

“We’re looking at sending checks to Americans immediately,” Mnuchin said in a press conference at the White House, adding that the checks would go out in the next two weeks.

“We look forward to having bipartisan support... to pass this legislation very quickly,” he added.

Read more>>>

Sheriff Don Barnes, shown in 2019, aims to have deputies spend less time in close proximity with the public.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes on Tuesday moved to decrease deputies’ contact with the public, closing front lobbies of stations, reducing in-person police reports, and suspending visits to the jails.

“Our foremost responsibility is to keep the community safe, while implementing precautionary measures to safeguard the health of the public who rely on our service and the members of the department who respond to their call,” Barnes said.

In addition to closing front lobbies and substations, all volunteer programs are suspended; this includes senior programs in contract cities and those provided by jail volunteers.

Barnes is directing patrol deputies to utilize discretion in responding to calls for service that require social contact. Where possible, deputies will call reporting parties and take necessary reports over the phone.

Community service officers and motor deputies will not respond to non-injury traffic collisions unless vehicles are disabled in the roadway or creating a hazard.

Public jail visits are suspended, and inmates are provided two free five-minute phone calls per week.

Inmates are also being screening for jail intake with the County Health Care Agency’s Correctional Health Services.

All training at the Sheriff’s Regional Training Academy has been suspended.

“We are being proactive in limiting our actions to mission-critical activities at this unprecedented time,” said Barnes. “We will constantly reevaluate these measures and intend to return to full service as soon as it is reasonably safe.

“These temporary changes are necessary, enabling us to provide those services that are critical to keep the community safe. We are here, and will continue to be here for you.”

Read more>>>

The expanding list of closures aimed to stem the tide of the coronavirus outbreak now includes Orange County Superior Court and many movie theaters.

The outbreak also spurred postponement of the 21st annual Newport Beach Film Festival, which was scheduled for April. Instead, it is set to be held Aug. 6-13.

Superior Court officials announced Monday night that all county courthouses — in Newport Beach, Santa Ana, Fullerton, Orange and Westminster — would be closed to the public through March 27.

Officials are working out details on how to handle arraignments and other legally required hearings, said Kostas Kalaitzidis, the Superior Court’s public information officer.

People called for jury duty do not have to appear. Jurors already doing service were advised to call the courtrooms where they were assigned for further instructions.

Employees are still expected to report to work, according to a court statement.

Read more>>>

As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Orange County rose to 22, ongoing fears over the disease’s spread shuttered one of the nation’s busiest malls and continued to hammer local businesses.

The county’s total as of Monday— up five from the day before — included four cases believed to have been spread through the community, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.

Eight of the county’s COVID-19 patients are women, and the rest are men, health officials say. Eleven are between the ages of 18 and 49; seven are 50 to 64 years old; and four are at least 65.

So far, 300 people have been tested in Orange County, officials said. No deaths have been reported.

Fears surrounding the coronavirus outbreak have hit the local business community hard in recent days, particularly as Gov. Gavin Newsom and other elected and health officials have called for stringent social distancing, for restaurants no longer to allow dine-in customers and for the closure of communal venues such as gyms, health clubs and movie theaters.

Read more>>>

As fallout from the coronavirus pandemic hits the economy, it’s slamming the American workforce: Some 18% of adults reported that they had been laid off or that their work hours had been cut, a new poll found.

The proportion affected grew for lower-income households, with 25% of those making less than $50,000 a year reporting that they had been let go or had their hours reduced, according to a survey by NPR, PBS NewsHour and Marist of 835 working adults in the contiguous United States.

The poll was conducted Friday and Saturday, just after stocks began their steep plunge and normal life started grinding to a halt, with schools and places of worship closing, concerts and conferences being canceled and sports leagues suspending their seasons. In recent days, state and local officials have banned large gatherings and ordered bars and theaters to close in an effort to slow the spread of the virus.

The same poll found that about 56% of Americans considered the coronavirus outbreak a “real threat,” while 38% said it was “blown out of proportion.”

Read more>>>

A substitute teacher who worked in the Sacramento City Unified School District died on Sunday of complications related to the coronavirus, the district announced Monday.

The district previously reported that the substitute, who worked at Sutterville Elementary School in February, tested positive for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. The teacher was not identified. It was unclear how long the person worked for the district.

Cases continue to skyrocket across the state. As of Tuesday, there have been 392 confirmed cases of the virus and 11 deaths statewide.

The teacher is the second person in Sacramento County to die from the virus. Both were older than 70 and suffered underlying health conditions, according to county health officials.

Read more>>>

The coronavirus crisis has closed 20 of California’s 21 biggest museums, raising the question of what happens to all those box office attendants, visitor services associates and other part-time and hourly employees who risk losing their pay when they lose their shifts.

The Los Angeles Times surveyed eight L.A. institutions including the Getty, the Broad, the Hammer, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art, as well as museums in New York and San Francisco. All but one museum said it had not laid off part-time or hourly staff and would pay those employees through the end of March.

The Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, which announced its temporary closure Friday, laid off its part-time tour guides and two full-time ticket booth attendants but gave those employees two weeks’ pay. The museum said it planned to reevaluate the situation after March 31 and hoped to bring back employees when the museum was able to reopen.

Read more>>>

The coronavirus hampered efforts by voters to get to the polls in some states on Tuesday as the global pandemic left the Democratic presidential primary consumed with uncertainty.

Leaders in Ohio called off their primary just hours before polls were set to open, citing the need to combat the coronavirus. Voting moved forward in Florida, Illinois and Arizona, but challenges emerged as some poll workers didn’t show up and those who did tried to create distance among voters to comply with new health guidelines limiting large gatherings.

In Florida, at least five polling stations in Palm Beach County couldn’t open because workers didn’t report for duty, the county elections department said. The county had 800 volunteers back out as of Monday, with 100 new volunteers offering to take their place.

In Illinois, Cook County Clerk Karen A. Yarbrough took to Twitter on Tuesday morning to encourage poll workers to mark space on the floor at polling sites to keep voters a safe distance apart and avoid spreading the virus. The tweet included a photo of a roll of blue tape, a piece of string and a tape measure along with a note that concluded: “THIS PICTURE CAN SAVE LIVES.”

Read more>>>

The coronavirus has thrust a host of unfamiliar terms into our everyday discourse. Some are brand new; others aren’t but are being used in unexpected ways.

Here are some definitions to help you keep up with the latest on the global pandemic.

Read more>>>

The Federal Reserve says it will buy short-term loans from banks and companies to support the flow of credit as the coronavirus outbreak drags on the economy.

The Fed is reviving a program that it first used during the 2008 financial crisis to unclog a short-term lending market for what is known as commercial paper. Large businesses issue commercial paper to raise cash to meet payrolls and cover other short-term costs.

For the last few years, my morning ritual has included visiting the World Concert Hall website hen I first turn on my computer, cappuccino in hand. I do it before I look at the L.A. Times print edition or anything else. This site, from Barcelona, Spain, is a terrific resource that claims to offer “every online concert in this world.”

They’re not all there, but you will find listings for an average of two dozen concerts broadcast from around the world on any given day. A few are live events; the rest tend to be recordings of performances that took place in recent weeks. Most come from Europe, because a number of radio stations in capitals overseas broadcast concerts daily. American stations do so to a lesser extent and are included.

Read more>>>

Horse racing’s Triple Crown has been moved to the fall this year in the hope that the effects of COVID-19 have subsided enough to run the sport’s signature races before large crowds.

Churchill Downs announced on Tuesday that the sport’s most well-known race, the Kentucky Derby, was rescheduled for Sept. 5, the start of Labor Day weekend. Bill Carstanjen, chief executive of Churchill Downs Inc., said details were being worked out to move the Preakness, at Pimlico in Baltimore, and the Belmont Stakes in New York to fall dates following the Derby.

“For the second time in the 145-year history of the event, the first time being at the end of World War II, we will move the date of the Kentucky Derby,” Carstanjen said. “We sincerely regret any inconvenience this creates for our outstanding fans, whom I’m sure will understand that there is no doubt that this must be done.”

Read more>>>

The coronavirus has claimed 11 lives in California as officials take extraordinary measures to try to slow the spread of the virus by shuttering businesses, demanding that older individuals stay home and trying to increase virus testing.

Nearly 400 people from across the state have tested positive for the coronavirus, but officials admit that is just a fraction of the real number. A lack of tests have made it impossible for officials to get a clear handle on the numbers or the spread.

L.A. County officials announced the closure of all bars, fitness centers and movie theaters and directed restaurants to move to takeout only. The directive applies to all 88 cities and unincorporated regions of the county, including Los Angeles, which issued a similar directive Sunday.

Gov. Gavin Newsom made a similar announcement Monday evening, asking all California restaurants to close their doors to dine-in customers and that gyms, health clubs and movie theaters should also shutter their operations.

Read more>>>

In my home library, “De Chirico,” the slim but invaluable catalog to the Museum of Modern Art’s marvelous 1982 survey of the perplexing Italian metaphysical painter Giorgio de Chirico (1888-1978), had been shelved upside down.

I wasn’t surprised. My art-book library is not disorganized, but neither is it as shipshape as it should be.

When I pulled the catalog down the other day to turn it right side up, I wondered for a moment: Should I leave the book filed here, right between Spain’s Eduardo Chillida and Bulgarian American Christo, with the artists whose names begin with C? The single-artist monographs that make up the lion’s share of my library, whether catalogs, biographies or art history books, are lined up in basic alphabetical order.

Or, should De Chirico be shelved under D, the way the four books on Jay DeFeo and the five on Willem De Kooning are?

Read more>>>

The LAPD, while shifting half its detectives at each of its 21 stations, is also changing how it handles some of it services and shifting many online to keep the staff healthy.

“This deployment is not a response to any specific heightened criminal activity,” a statement said. “To date, we have experienced very few isolated non-medical calls for service throughout the entire region related to the health emergency.”

There is no indication that there will be any change to this posture.

“We have seen Angelenos rise to the occasion by social distancing, good hygiene and sheltering with loved ones.”

On Wednesday, all the community police stations will be closing their front desks and walk-up service. Officials said the move was an effort to ensure social distancing and slow the spread of the coronavirus.

“Instead of going to your local area station, we are asking the public to use unique email addresses assigned to each of our 21 area front desks. Those emails will be monitored 24/7 and routed to the proper channels.”

The department said it would continue to answer and send officers on patrol calls.

Read more>>>