LYNWOOD — California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has given his conditional approval to the sale of St. Francis Medical Center to Prime Healthcare. The announcement came July 18, about a week after a health care workers union filed a formal objection with Becerra — whose office must approve the sale — calling for him to reject the offer, saying the sale is “not in the public interest” and is likely to have a “negative impact on the availability and accessibility of health care in the community.” Becerra said his approval seeks to “protect access to care for the Los Angeles communities serve ..read more

LOS ANGELES — For the fourth time in the past week, Los Angeles County reported a record number of COVID-19 patients in area hospitals July 20, while health officials said the recent spike in cases can be attributed to people failing to adhere to social distancing and other infection-control measures. According to the county Department of Public Health, 2,232 people were hospitalized due to the coronavirus July 20, up from a record number of 2,216 the day before. Health officials said 26% of those patients were in intensive care. The county announced another nine deaths due to the virus. Fatal ..read more

LOS ANGELES — For the second time in three days, Los Angeles County set a daily record July 16 for new coronavirus cases and announced more than 50 additional deaths, while the county’s top health officer warned that workplaces have become a major source of virus transmission. The county Department of Public Health announced 4,592 cases of the virus, topping the single-day record of 4,244 set July 14. The county also announced 59 new deaths, lifting the countywide total to 3,989. The number of people hospitalized due to the virus dipped slightly to 2,173 — still one of the highest levels of th ..read more

LYNWOOD — Hundreds of cars lined up July 11 to receive boxes of fresh and packaged food from the city of Lynwood, which organized a food giveaway to help struggling families during the COVID-19 pandemic. The city handed out approximately 240,000 pounds of food to families in partnership with the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood). The food drive was open to all county residents, with identification checks taking place at the event. City workers and volunteers gave out 80 pounds of food per family, making up four boxes filled with fruits, vegetables ..read more

LOS ANGELES — On a day that saw the governor order a renewed round of business restrictions due to spiking coronavirus cases, Los Angeles County’s public health director said the pandemic is on an “alarming” path locally, but widespread adherence to infection-control measures can again slow the virus’ spread. “I know this step back in our recovery journey is disheartening, but we must do everything in our power to stop the virus from spreading, from making the people we love sick and from causing untimely deaths,” Barbara Ferrer said. “These steps are taken in hopes that we get back to slowing ..read more

LOS ANGELES — A proposal to close Men’s Central Jail within one year drew fire July 7 from residents worried about the public safety ramifications and cheers from advocates of diversion for people accused of low-level crimes or suffering from mental illness. The board voted unanimously in favor of a proposal co-authored by Supervisors Hilda Solis and Sheila Kuehl directing an existing task force to map out what would be required to close an antiquated and dilapidated facility that even Sheriff Alex Villanueva called a dungeon. The original vote was 4-0 because of technical problems that preven ..read more

LOS ANGELES — Warning that Los Angeles County is at a “critical juncture” in the coronavirus pandemic, with hospitalizations and community spread rising, health officials announced more than 60 deaths from COVID-19 July 8 and warned that fatalities could continue rising in the coming weeks. The county Department of Public Health announced 65 new coronavirus deaths, bringing the countywide total to 3,642. Public health director Barbara Ferrer said that despite the relatively high number of deaths, the rolling seven-day average of daily fatalities has been trending downward in recent weeks. But ..read more

LOS ANLEGES — Los Angeles County has dismissed a lawsuit against the cities of Lynwood and Bell Gardens that blocked the cities from prohibiting the use of their hotels in a statewide program to shelter the homeless during the COVID-19 pandemic. The dismissal came after Lynwood rescinded its moratorium against leasing its vacant hotel rooms for Project Roomkey, and after Bell Gardens allowed its moratorium to lapse, according to a press release from the L.A. County Office of Emergency Management. The lawsuit is still in place for the city of Norwalk, whose moratorium remains in effect. Califor ..read more

LOS ANGELES — The coronavirus has impacted everyone, some more than others. One issue is clear: advocates for survivors of domestic violence remain concerned about isolating victims with their abusers and further compromising their safety.  “Staying home may not be the safest option,” according to officials at the National Domestic Violence Hotline. In May, the organization released a special report tracking the impact of COVID-19 on victims and survivors.   One hotline contact said, “The abuser was using the virus as a scare tactic to keep the survivor away from their kids.”  A ..read more

LOS ANGELES — As a pandemic loomed, local health officials and government leaders scrambled to set up an accessible testing system, devising a series of drive-through coronavirus testing sites around Los Angeles County. In early May, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti made his city the first in America to offer widespread free testing to all county residents, regardless of whether they have symptoms. With only a few sites initially, testing has since been expanded to 90 locations, many of them drive-through. That setup, combined with fewer sites in lower-income areas, has limited access for many who nee ..read more