The Brief

Californians infected with COVID-19 may go about their lives without isolating or testing negative as long as their symptoms are improving, according to new and significantly loosened guidelines from the California Department of Public Health.

California’s top public health official, Dr. Tomás Aragón, last week quietly rescinded the state’s previous order, which encouraged people infected with COVID-19 to isolate for five days.

The new health order allows Californians with COVID-19 to return to work or school as long as their symptoms are improving and they are fever-free for 24 hours without medication. Asymptomatic individuals who test positive are not considered infectious and do not need to isolate, according to the order.

“Instead of staying home for a minimum of five days, individuals may return to work or school when they start to feel better,” state public health officials said in an unsigned statement.

The guidelines came down as California tipped over the edge of a major respiratory illness surge fueled by COVID-19, seasonal influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, also known as RSV. Flu and COVID-19 hospitalizations both peaked during the first week of January and have been trending downward since, according to state data.

Masking requirements have not changed, and people with COVID-19 should wear masks for 10 days whether or not they have symptoms. The new guidelines do not apply to employees at high-risk health care settings like hospitals and nursing homes, which may also have different policies for visitors.

It is unclear whether employers can require workers to return to work if they wish to isolate until they test negative. Cal/OSHA, the agency that enforces state workplace safety laws, did not respond to a request for clarification on the rule by deadline.

Some experts say the new guidelines represent a major shift in California’s COVID-19 strategy, but they are not necessarily an unexpected change.

“I think it’s reasonable, mainly for the amount of population immunity that we have including in kids, and for the fact that we have a menu of options to prevent and treat COVID,” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert with UCSF Health. “It does come with responsibility…we still have to wear masks and be cautious around people who are older or immunocompromised.”

A national study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in June estimated about 96% of people 16 and older had acquired COVID-19 immunity either through vaccination, previous infection or both. State data shows that while relatively few Californians are fully vaccinated with updated boosters — only about 12% — at least 82.5% of the population has gotten at least one COVID-19 shot.

The state’s move also signals a shift toward treating COVID-19 like all other endemic respiratory infections.

“Many people may be infected with COVID-19 or other respiratory infections and do not test or know what infection they may have. Updating our public health approach and recommendations incorporates our recommendations into a broader, multi-pronged approach to multiple respiratory viruses,” department officials said in a statement.

Dr. Noha Aboelata, chief executive of Roots Community Health Center in Oakland, is one of many community doctors who have expressed disappointment in the state’s new direction. COVID-19 does not necessarily behave like other respiratory viruses — hospitalizations and deaths have never dropped to zero the way flu does outside of the winter months — and it is still unpredictable, Aboelata said.

“We still believe that if there’s enough to detect (on a test), there’s enough to infect,” Aboelata said. “So I would recommend people test negative before going around others.”

California schools adjust to new COVID-19 rules

The state’s new strategy also seeks to minimize disruptions in school where long periods of quarantine and virtual instruction adversely impacted student learning and led to widespread mental health challenges for young people.

Some California school districts adopted the new guidelines immediately, while others said they were waiting for direction from their local public health agencies.

Oakland Unified was among those that notified parents of its new policy not long after the state released the guidelines. In an email to families, the district said students and staff can come to school if they test positive for COVID-19, as long as they’re asymptomatic, wear masks and avoid people who are at high risk of sickness, such as those who are immunocompromised.

In line with the state guidelines, those with COVID-19 symptoms should stay home but can return to school once the symptoms improve. The district said it will continue to stock masks and COVID-19 tests and keep air purifiers in classrooms.

Los Angeles Unified, the largest school district in the state, said it was waiting for direction from the county public health agency. In a note to families, Fresno Unified recommended that students and staff who test positive for COVID-19 stay home, regardless of their symptoms.

The mixed response mirrored schools’ earlier reactions to COVID-19 in 2020. While most districts closed in March that year, some started bringing back special education students as soon as late spring while others — mainly larger districts — didn’t reopen for in-person instruction until fall 2021.

Teachers and parents on board with COVID rules

For many districts, re-opening decisions hinged on negotiations with teacher unions. This week, California’s largest teacher union was generally supportive of the state’s update to COVID-19 guidelines, saying that schools have adopted enough safety measures to keep staff, students and families safe.

“We’re always concerned about individuals who are high-risk, and we’ll continue monitoring the situation and re-open (contracts) if necessary,” said Rachel Warino, a spokesman for the California Teachers Association. “But we’re confident that negotiations that happened at the height of the pandemic — over air filtration, testing, masks, reasonable accommodations — will be sufficient for now.”

Some parents were relieved at the new guidelines because they encourage students to be in school. Thousands of students statewide are still struggling to catch up academically after remote learning, and many suffered mental health challenges during quarantine.

Scott Davison, who’s part of a parent group in Carlsbad Unified near San Diego, said parents have been sending asymptomatic students to school for a year or more, regardless of state or local guidelines.

“This changes nothing for most parents,” Davison said. “We could have had these guidelines two years ago and the result would be the same. … we all know kids belong in school.”

Concern for vulnerable Californians

Disability and equity advocates are particularly critical of the new guidelines. They contend the change could increase risk of infection for vulnerable Californians.

“This policy is not based in science, equity or public health. It devalues the lives of immunocompromised and disabled people, and completely ignores the risk of long COVID,” said Lisa McCorkell, co-founder of the Patient-Led Research Collaborative, which studies the impacts of long COVID.

There is no treatment for long COVID, which can leave some patients debilitated for years, and increased transmission will disproportionately harm poor communities, McCorkell said.

California officials have made other significant changes to the state’s COVID-19 response strategy in recent months, including returning the majority of the state’s Paxlovid stockpile to the federal government in December, effectively ending California’s free antiviral program.

The free COVID-19 hotline where residents could get Paxlovid prescriptions and vaccine appointments will also shut down at the end of February, state public health officials told CalMatters in a statement. The state has spent $2.3 million on the hotline since July 2022.

These changes, too, are worrisome for equity advocates.

“Not everybody has a primary care doctor. If you don’t have a primary care provider or good access to a primary care provider that’s knowledgeable about treating, then you’re going to have a difficult time accessing it,” Aboelata said.

State-regulated health insurance plans are required to permanently cover in-network COVID-19 testing, vaccination and treatment free of charge, although about 6 million Californians are enrolled in federally regulated plans that are only required to cover vaccines. You can ask your employer what kind of coverage you have.

Supported by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), which works to ensure that people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit www.chcf.org to learn more.

The Los Angeles region’s troubled homeless services agency announced this month that it will no longer manage the region’s federal homelessness dollars, amid scrutiny from the Trump administration.

Now, a federal court must help determine who will manage roughly $240 million in annual federal funding after the L.A. Homeless Services Authority gives up that long-held job in the coming months.

At a hearing Wednesday, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter said most of his attention is on who will administer the round of federal money that will be awarded in December and distributed next year.

The only potential near-term successor discussed in court was L.A. County, which created a new homelessness department and applied for the role. County officials have promised much stronger accountability and transparency.

But the city of L.A., where most of the region’s unhoused people live, is also interested in taking over some of LAHSA’s duties. The city could eventually try to break off and form its own regional body to receive federal funds, Carter said.

“But that’s for the future,” Carter said. “For now, we have to focus on providing for people experiencing homelessness — and also fraud and corruption.”

‘The watchdog wasn’t watching’

LAHSA has been used as a punching bag, Carter said, but he blamed recent cases of alleged theft of taxpayer funds on a broader “failure of government” by both HUD and LAHSA.

“The watchdog wasn’t watching, and the money got distributed without accountability,” Carter said.

In the meantime, Carter said, LAHSA isn’t going anywhere. He said any transition must unfold gradually to avoid displacing people from housing and services.

“We’re going to have to live with LAHSA for at least some period of time,” Carter said. “The question might be how much?”

How soon could the county take over? 

Carter said he agreed with LAHSA’s decision to entrust another administrator to manage the money.

Attorneys for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) told Carter the next round of annual funding would be distributed over 2027.

Carter acknowledged HUD may be uneasy sending that money to LAHSA, the very agency it is investigating for fraud. Carter said he was struggling with the issue himself.

Carter signaled that he wants to see federal funding transferred to the county by January if it is chosen as LAHSA’s successor.

‘The devil is in the details’

At the hearing, federal prosecutor Bill Essayli said the Trump administration would rather reach an agreement than litigate. He said “the devil is in the details” when it comes to any transition away from LAHSA.

“We want assurances of anti-fraud measures,” Essayli said. “That way the money is never stolen again.”

Carter said he hoped a transition plan would keep the parties from spending millions of dollars on attorneys’ fees that could otherwise go toward housing and services.

How we got here

In June, the Trump administration suspended LAHSA from applying for federal funding, alleging years of financial mismanagement. LAHSA then sued, and Carter blocked the suspension in August. Carter’s decision has so far held up on appeal.

LAHSA’s governing commission voted this month to give up its federal roles next year, including managing federal homelessness dollars and conducting the region’s annual homeless count. Local officials have been taking applications from organizations that want to take over those duties in 2027.

Meanwhile, investigations into fraud have been widening. Prosecutors have so far charged six people connected to L.A. homeless service providers. LAHSA has said none of its staff are implicated.

When asked if LAHSA’s current or past leadership has been culpable, Essayli recently said, "It is not against federal law to be incompetent, unfortunately.”

Major shifts happening

For decades, county, city and federal dollars have been managed mainly by LAHSA. But those funding streams are now being redirected in the wake of repeated findings of mismanagement.

L.A. County pulled roughly $300 million of its annual homelessness funding in July and gave it to its new in-house Department of Homeless Services and Housing.

That leaves the city as LAHSA’s last major funder. The City Council has explored leaving, but hasn't reached a decision yet. City staff has estimated that building a city homeless services department would take up to two years.

On the campaign trail, Councilmember Nithya Raman has pledged to exit LAHSA within her first year if elected mayor, while incumbent Mayor Karen Bass has said it would take "a couple of years."

What’s next

Carter did not rule Wednesday on federal funding. He scheduled a hearing for Oct. 27 and described it as “our decision-making day on so many matters.”

Before then, local officials are expected to select a replacement to take over LAHSA’s federal administrative roles.

Los Angeles city officials are asking LA28 to hand over a list of its contracts, saying the Olympics organizing committee could be in violation of its agreement with the city.

LA28’s annual financial report released last week included a broad review of the organization’s deals with contractors hired to help put on the event, but no names or detailed breakdowns of spending.

The Games Agreement between the city and LA28 requires the committee to submit the name, type, amount, term and purpose of each contract it has entered into worth more than $1 million.

No such list was provided in LA28’s report.

“It's inadequate, what we've been provided, and that's not acceptable,” City Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky said at a committee meeting on the 2028 Olympics Wednesday afternoon.

Chief Legislative Analyst Sharon Tso said she has requested a full list from LA28 and is waiting to hear back.

Jacie Prieto Lopez, a spokesperson for LA28, said in an emailed statement to LAist that LA28 had received the request.

“We are working through those requests now and remain committed to meeting our obligations," she said.

Tso told the council committee she had seen a more detailed list of LA28’s contracts, but only when it was “flashed on the screen very quickly” at a meeting with her, Olympics organizers, the city administrative officer and the mayor’s office.

“So we don't have a list,” Tso said. “We don't have the names of the folks. We don't have the dollar amounts.”

Tso told the council that Olympics organizers were wary about making contracts public, due to concerns that public disclosure could harm negotiations over competitive event sponsor deals.

City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez said that did not satisfy LA28’s obligations to the city.

“They can just be like, ‘Flash it, we're done, and we did our requirement,’” Soto-Martinez said.

The federal financial aid process opened this past week for students applying to college for next year. But for many California students, a source of state financial help remains untapped.

In 2022, the state launched the California Kids Investment and Development Savings Program, also known as CalKIDS, and began creating investment accounts for more than 6 million children in the state to use for higher education.

Babies born on or after July 1, 2022, can get up to $175 in their accounts, while low-income public school students can claim up to $1500.

In Los Angeles County, about 1.1 million public school students are eligible for the accounts, but fewer than 20% of kids have claimed them, said Cassandra DiBenedetto, executive director of California’s ScholarShare Investment Board. The claim rate is even less for babies — about 11%.

“The money itself, it has a long trajectory. So you have these newborns, and there's not a sense of urgency among some parents; they know the account's there, it’s been created. Parents are busy,” DiBenedetto said.

There is no deadline to claim the money, which is already growing in the investment accounts. (You do have to use the money by age 26). But DiBenedetto says kids are more likely to see themselves as college-bound if they have it — and will be able to watch the account grow over time.

“ You talk to second-and third graders who are like, ‘I'm gonna go to UC Santa Barbara,’ ‘I'm gonna go to Cal Berkeley,’” she said.

The state is working with the Los Angeles Unified School District and other school districts to get students signed up.

The city’s top financial adviser is recommending that the Los Angeles City Council deny a police department request to procure 300 additional vehicles for the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics.

The report, submitted to the council Monday by City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo, found that the L.A. Police Department would have enough vehicles to temporarily expand its fleet during the Games without the additional cars.

LAPD officials had previously requested around $31 million, arguing the additional officers deployed for the Games will need additional vehicles for their police work.

But Szabo disagreed in his report, finding instead that the department would soon have a large enough fleet.

“Given the current available vehicles and new vehicle procurements which have already been funded, it is not recommended to authorize the procurement of any additional police vehicles for the 2028 Games deployment,” Szabo wrote.

An LAPD spokesperson declined to comment on the city administrative officer’s report. Previously, the department has emphasized that its request seeks only to temporarily expand its fleet, with plans to retire old vehicles after the Games.

The police department has offered different estimates of how many additional vehicles it will need to patrol the Olympics. Two months after the LAPD asked for an additional 300 vehicles, the department released another report estimating an even higher need: 576 police vehicles.

Either way, Szabo’s report found that more than 1,100 police vehicles not yet in use by the department were funded in the past three budget cycles. He said those should be sufficient for the Olympics.