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Mayor Garcetti speaks with LA’s leading therapist Michelle Cauley to discuss mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic
COVID-19HealthLocal

Mayor Garcetti speaks with LA’s leading therapist Michelle Cauley to discuss mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic

Betti Halsell, Contributing WriterApril 22, 2020

Tuesday, April 21. Mayor Eric Garcetti provided an update on the COVID-19 pandemic surrounding the Los Angeles region. The L.A. City Mayor was joined by licensed therapist, Michelle Cauley to share news regarding the response to coronavirus. COVID-19 has played a major role in the increase of mental strain. Loss of jobs, death, isolation, and worry of what is to come has all contributed to the cases of stress that are escalating.

Mayor Garcetti Foresees Extreme Budget cuts in the future; L.A. faces one of the worst Fiscal seasons due to COVID-19
COVID-19EconomyNews (Business)

Mayor Garcetti Foresees Extreme Budget cuts in the future; L.A. faces one of the worst Fiscal seasons due to COVID-19

Betti Halsell, Contributing WriterApril 21, 2020

Monday, April 20. The Mayor of Los Angeles provided an update surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Mayor Eric Garcetti outlined city structures that were directly affected by coronavirus. From a fiscal perspective, L.A. is in its worst economic shape since the recession. Eric Garcetti put a budget in place to stabilize the city’s economy. Within the Annual State of the City Address, Eric Garcetti confirmed a second wave of the virus. The second wave will factor into decisions made around lifting the Stay at Home Order. Mayor Garcetti covered the CARES Corps. He stated it would help with testing, that focuses on contact tracing of the virus. The CARE Corps. Is looking to be a long-term solution for the current systematic disparities that Los Angeles is facing.

State Officials Announce Latest COVID-19 Facts
COVID-19HealthLocal

State Officials Announce Latest COVID-19 Facts

Sentinel News ServiceApril 18, 2020

As of April 16, data on race and ethnicity is complete for 66 percent of COVID-19 cases and 90 percent of deaths reported to the California Department of Public Health. As testing expands and our work to get more complete information by race and ethnicity advances, the distribution by race and ethnicity for cases may change. As information on race and ethnicity is becoming more complete on reported deaths, our data shows that African Americans/Blacks represent a disproportionately higher number of deaths compared to their representation in California’s population. Another group of heightened concern are Native Hawaiians or Pacific Islanders, although the number of deaths in this population are small and therefore limits statistical comparison.

L.A. COVID-19 Update on testing; Now Accessible for Vast Majority. Over 11,000 tests available per day.
COVID-19HealthLocalNews

L.A. COVID-19 Update on testing; Now Accessible for Vast Majority. Over 11,000 tests available per day.

Betti Halsell, Contributing WriterApril 18, 2020

Friday, April 17. The Emergency Operations Center announced a partnership with Airbnb, this private factor has partnered with L.A. county to service frontline workers. The Director of Public Health provided an update behind the statistics surrounding the coronavirus. Medical Director, Clayton Kazan shared news around the progress on testing.

Los Angeles City Mayor Speaks with Experts from Medical and First Response Industries about COVID-19 Pandemic
COVID-19HealthLocalSafety

Los Angeles City Mayor Speaks with Experts from Medical and First Response Industries about COVID-19 Pandemic

Betti Halsell, Contributing WriterApril 17, 2020

According to her years of study in the HIV Pandemic, Cynthia Davis stressed the differences in behavior between the two viruses. HIV took over 40 years to reach 1.5 million cases globally, coronavirus took 2-3 months to reach 500,000 positive cases within the U.S. alone. Dr. Davis stressed the physical guidelines and the importance in testing to combat the spread of COVID-19. Cynthia Davis declared, “…You want to use what is called, Universal Precautions, which means you treat everyone as if they have been infected with COVID-19 and take the appropriate precautions.” This includes hand washing, wearing a mask, and practicing social distancing.

Black Los Angeles Makes Demands in Light of COVID-19 and Rates of Black Death
COVID-19Daily BriefsLocalNews

Black Los Angeles Makes Demands in Light of COVID-19 and Rates of Black Death

Sentinel News WireApril 16, 2020

In response to community pressure, last week, Los Angeles County released initial racial data on who is contracting and dying from COVID-19. The rate of Black death is twice the Black population share. Black people constitute 9% of the population, but 17% of the County’s COVID-19 deaths. While trillions of dollars are being spent on the crisis and there is no shortage of local, state, and federal initiatives, resources are not being directed to meet the particular needs of the Black community. The disproportionate and deadly impact of COVID-19 on the Black community magnifies what we have known, that “underlying conditions” result from an enduring system of racial apartheid and oppression.

L.A. County Gathering Additional Data on COVID-19 Impact by Race, Ethnicity
COVID-19HealthLocalPolitical

L.A. County Gathering Additional Data on COVID-19 Impact by Race, Ethnicity

ELIZABETH MARCELLINO City News ServiceApril 16, 2020

“The fact that many communities of color fare poorly in health outcomes, and are more susceptible to COVID-19, is not an accident,” Solis said. “Decades of institutional racism have made our communities more vulnerable, so we must consider this reality in our policy solutions. We need our public health experts to keep robust data collection on COVID-19 patients to ensure resources are distributed equitably to high-need areas.”

Black Businesses Matter, But Will They Get Fair Share of COVID-19 Aid Money?
BusinessCOVID-19NationalNews

Black Businesses Matter, But Will They Get Fair Share of COVID-19 Aid Money?

Barrington M. Salmon, The Final CallApril 16, 2020

The pandemic has cut a wide and deadly swathe through communities across the country, overwhelmed the medical infrastructures of places like New York City, Detroit and New Orleans, and brought much of America’s economic activity to a standstill. At press time, the grisly tally in the U.S. stood at 356,942 confirmed cases and more than 10,524 deaths. New York is still the epicenter with more than 122,031 confirmed cases and almost 4,159 deaths.