California saw a rise Saturday in coronavirus cases, with Los Angeles County reporting 13 more and Long Beach reporting one, bringing the county's total to 54.
Two of the people among the most recent cases reported are hospitalized, the L.A. County Department of Public Health said in a news release. Two cases are suspected to be related to travel, and four had close contact with another confirmed case, officials said. Two of the cases have an unidentified source of exposure, meaning they could be more evidence of community spread, officials said.
In Long Beach, a woman in her 60s who was diagnosed with the virus was hospitalized in stable condition, the city said in a statement. She did not have contact with another known COVID-19 case and did not travel to an area where the virus is widespread, meaning her diagnosis may be the first instance of community spread in Long Beach, officials said.
"This case highlights the need for continued vigilance and preparation, especially for those at higher risk of severe illness and those with underlying health conditions," said Dr. Anissa Davis, the city health officer, in a statement.
San Francisco reported 28 cases Saturday, up from 23 the day before; in San Mateo County, the number increased from 20 to 26. Contra Costa County reported four new cases, bringing its total to 29, and in Sacramento County, the number of cases rose from 17 to 29. Santa Clara County announced 17 additional cases, bringing the total there to 91.
Marin County announced two new cases Saturday, bringing its total to five. Neither had exposure to another known case, and both are believed to be the result of community spread, officials said.
"The first cases of community transmission of COVID-19 in Marin means we're in a new stage of working to mitigate spread," said Dr. Matt Willis, the county public health officer, in a statement. "We've been anticipating this.
The two people were both tested at the county's field-testing site, which launched earlier in the week, the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services said in a news release. There, people referred by their physicians who may be at risk for COVID-19 can complete drive-through testing without getting out of their vehicle, the department said. Both people were quarantined at home, officials said.
With supermarkets overrun, workplaces clearing out and coronavirus spreading deeper into communities, California officials desperately attempted to slow the virus with new restrictions and a unified message: social distancing.
"COVID-19 LESS IS MORE," electronic signs over the 405 and 105 freeways in Los Angeles read Saturday morning. "AVOID GATHERINGS." Similar messages were displayed on all 700 of the state's digital highway signs, Caltrans said.
Calling the outbreak "one of the most historic public health challenges of our time," the health officer for Silicon Valley has issued an aggressive new ban, restricting public gatherings of 35 or more unless organizers warn attendees that it poses a heightened risk of infection, and banning all public and private gatherings of 100 or more.
On Saturday, Contra Costa County announced similar restrictions, with the county's health officer issuing an order prohibiting gatherings of 100 people or more in a single room or enclosed space. Those who violate the order, which is in effect from midnight Sunday through March 31, could be charged with a misdemeanor and face a fine or imprisonment in county jail, officials said. Other counties canceled events and introduced new restrictions.
The Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks announced that it would close all recreation and senior centers and cancel all activities there through at least April 4. All events that involve 50 people or more scheduled at Recreation and Parks locations are canceled, and new reservations for facilities or permits are suspended, the department said.
The Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control department said Saturday that its animal control officers would continue to respond to public safety and animal welfare calls, such as dangerous dogs, dead animal reports and animal cruelty investigations, but that the department is deferring less urgent calls until further notice.
Pet owners who want to surrender their pets are asked to delay doing so, those who have found lost pets are asked to foster them temporarily instead of bringing them in, and those who seek to surrender healthy stray cats are asked to release them where they were trapped and bring them in after there is no longer a public health recommendation for social distancing, the department said.
Animal care centers are suspending the sale of pet licenses, and pet owners will be given a 30-day grace period for late license submissions.
The state now reports 247 confirmed cases and five deaths, with new cases being tallied every few hours. But officials say many more have the virus but have not yet been tested.
In Riverside County, officials announced that a former patient at the Coachella Valley nursing home has the coronavirus, prompting them to test workers and patients at the facility.
The county public health department said the patient spent time at Rancho Mirage Health and Rehabilitation Center before being transferred to a hospital.
The source of the virus remains unclear, but officials said the testing will occur as quickly as possible and that anyone who is infected will be isolated and treated.
"Quick action is required when we are dealing with a vulnerable population like this," said Dr. Cameron Kaiser, Riverside County's public health officer, in a statement.
Riverside County declared a state of emergency last week. As of Saturday, it had 14 confirmed cases, four of which are believed to be related to travel, and 10 to have been acquired locally.
Amid the steady increase in cases in Santa Clara County, Stanford University announced a wave of changes to campus operations after an undergraduate student there tested positive for the virus.
The student is self-isolating, and university teams are working to reach out to the person's close contacts, University President Marc Tessier-Lavigne announced in a letter to students Friday night.
As a result, during spring break and the spring quarter, the school "will only be able to provide on-campus undergraduate housing and dining for a very limited number of students _ those who have no other option than to be here," the letter said. They will prioritize international and homeless students, and those who "have known severe health or safety risks."
Students who do not fall into these categories must leave the campus by 5 p.m. Wednesday at the latest, the school said. Those who remain are expected to stay on campus and not bring off-campus guests. Social events will be canceled, dining options will be limited, and gyms and recreational areas will be closed, the school said.
Major school districts throughout California, including Los Angeles Unified, announced shutdowns Friday, joining at least 12 states that have ordered complete closures amid escalating attempts to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The closure initially is scheduled to last two weeks, but a firm reopen date will depend on the status of the outbreak, which President Donald Trump on Friday declared a national emergency
Speaking at a White House news conference on Saturday, Trump said he was considering domestic travel restrictions "specifically from certain areas," although he didn't mention any particular spots.
"If you don't have to travel, I wouldn't do it," he said. "We want this thing to end," he said.
In addition, his administration is extending the ban on travel from Europe to the United Kingdom and Ireland. The restriction goes into effect on Monday at midnight, but U.S. citizens will be allowed to return home.
Trump also said that he took a test for the coronavirus the night before after days of mixed messages over whether he would do so and the test came back negative.
"I took the test last night," he said. "I decided I should based on the press conference last night."
In California, Orange County on Friday reported new suspected coronavirus cases, bringing its total to 13. The new tally came as the Orange County superintendent of schools said he supported suspending all operations for at least two weeks.
Courts across California, including Los Angeles, began grinding to a halt as well. Santa Clara County, where the coronavirus outbreak has hit particularly hard, announced delays Friday in many traffic, family, civil and probate trials, as well as some criminal trials.
In San Diego County, all new civil trials were suspended for the next month. Orange County will not start new civil trials until May 1. In Ventura County, courts will be closed early next week, then reopen on a limited basis for matters such as urgent criminal cases and temporary restraining orders. Contra Costa Superior Court was closed for two weeks.
Fears over the virus were evident at L.A. tourist attractions on Saturday. Few are as popular with visitors from throughout the world as the TCL Chinese Theatre forecourt, where nearly 200 celebrities have immortalized their handprints in concrete.
Many visitors get a thrill from pressing their own hands into the exact places where their screen idols cast theirs. The coronavirus pandemic has dampened enthusiasm for that kind of interactive experience.
Looking down at the slab impressed with the prints of Marilyn Monroe, Giulia Ragusa, 27, of San Francisco, hesitated, then got down on her knees, smiled and plunged her hands into the hallowed depressions.
"I'm not afraid! I'm young and strong!" she said, as her friend Carolina Benetti, 19, snapped photos.
Mission accomplished, Ragusa sprang to her feet and asked, "Hey, Carolina, get the hand sanitizer out of my backpack, please."
On any other Saturday, hundreds of visitors would crowd the theater courtyard, pivoting on their heels as they snapped selfies or aimed video cameras in all directions. Tour buses would be disgorging throngs of visitors like clockwork. Costumed movie figures would be parading up and the boulevard in search of tips in exchange for photos.
But Hollywood souvenir salesman Nick Brooks, 34, was having to face up to grim views he did not think were possible.
Standing forlornly on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, holding an umbrella in one hand and a large sign that read "Everything's $5" in the other, he said, "I've worked this corner seven years and I've never seen it this slow. Business is down nearly 100%."
"On a normal Saturday, without rain or coronavirus, I shout the sales pitch 'Everything's $5!" 200 times a day in perfect Chinese," he said, shaking his head. "Now, I say it four times a week because the place is almost empty.
"Usually, this sidewalk is a river of people, 30 persons deep," he added. "But right now, for the first time, I've got a clear view all the way down to Highland Avenue, a quarter-mile away."
Perhaps the greatest symbol of concern over the virus was at supermarkets, where many shelves were empty amid panic buying.
A Ralphs parking lot in Koreatown on Friday morning looked like a crowded DMV office.
Although parking spots were available, gridlock reigned as motorists drove in the wrong direction, blocked pathways and eased slowly around pedestrians walking every which way.
Inside, the supermarket was a hive of activity.
As three cashiers rang up purchases, dozens of customers waited in long queues that snaked through the market, past the fruit and vegetables displays and down the condiment and milk aisles. Many of them pushed shopping carts loaded with gallon jugs of water, stacks of frozen meat and cases of ramen noodles.
One overflowing cart was being pushed by two friends preparing to have their kids home from school for the rest of the month.
"I've been here, to Vons across the street, we've been to Target," said Monica Boyd, 30, whose teenage son will be one of thousands across the county staying home Monday. "I had friends ask me to get them food because they're in the Valley and they're saying everything is kind of cleaned out down there. So this is a combination of me getting groceries for friends and mostly for my kid."
Boyd's friend, Shulanda Rush, 28, joined her for the trip. A property manager in Koreatown, Rush said her 5-year-old daughter may have to stay with the girl's father for the next few weeks because he has more family support to care for her during the workweek.
The friends knew that people were cleaning out store shelves, but it still surprised them to see it in person.
Most of the ramen in the store was gone. So was the powdered milk, most of the water, toilet paper, dried pasta, rice and allergy medication. It was more packed than a pre-Super Bowl, Cinco de Mayo, Thanksgiving or Fourth of July shopping rush.
"I'm not really worried about what's going on, I think it scares me more that people are panicking, so it's not business as usual," Boyd said. "They're just like, 'Let's come and buy every ... thing.'"
"I walked here last night to get allergy medicine and it was all gone. Allergy medicine does not block viruses. What is happening here?" she said in exasperation. "I just think it's ridiculous in a general sense. The fact that there's no toilet paper is insane. I don't understand how that is going to save you from anything."
More cases were announced nationally, including 100 new ones in New York on Saturday.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Saturday that there are 2,226 coronavirus cases in the United States, including repatriations, and 50 deaths. He said there are 532 new cases and nine new deaths.
"We have not reached our peak," Fauci said. "We will see more cases, and we will see more suffering and death."
However, the country still has an opportunity to influence how fast and far the virus spreads, he said.
