Morning Briefing: LA Gears Up For Another Month At Home

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Today's big news has us sitting right where we are -- all the way till May. In their daily coronavirus public briefing, officials from the L.A. County Department of Health said that our stay-at-home order will last until the 15th of next month.

Of course, this has a lot of repercussions. It means that families with members who have special needs will continue to face struggles. It means that folks dealing with unemployment must figure out how to cope for another month. And it means that frontline workers -- from health care providers to child care providers to grocery workers and delivery workers -- will continue to have all of us relying on them, thanking them and cheering them on.

For those of you celebrating Easter this Sunday, have a wonderful holiday. For those in the middle of their Passover observations, chag sameach. And for everyone else, have a great weekend, and I'll see you Monday.

The Past 24 Hours In LA

L.A., California, The World: There are 8,430 cases of coronavirus in L.A. County, and 241 people have died. In California, there are 20,398 confirmed cases 554 deaths, and the number of cases worldwide has almost reached 1.7 million.

Stay At Home... Till May: L.A. County's stay-at-home order will be extended to May 15. Meanwhile, California is doing well at flattening the coronavirus curve -- so well that the number of infections may not peak until May or later. Nearly half of the city's workforce has been cut or had their hours reduced.

Check Yo Self: Ice Cube announced this week that he's created T-shirts with the refrain: "Check Yo Self Before You Wreck Yo Self," the net proceeds of which will go to help underfinanced hospitals and nurses in inner cities and rural areas -- including Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital in South L.A. Researchers with USC and L.A. County launched a crucial study to test 1,000 Angelenos for COVID-19 antibodies.

On The Road And In The Streets: Candidates vying to win in November are facing a new reality: The COVID-19 threat means no in-person contact with volunteers, donors or potential voters. Carrie Berlin, who's part of Saban Community Health Clinic's street medicine team in Hollywood, treats patients where they live. "I find myself wondering how my patients are doing at night," she says.

New Day, New Struggles: Unemployment has hit virtually every corner of the entertainment business. The lifestyle changes forced on us by COVID-19 have been extra tough for people with a developmental disability and their families. Researchers at an L.A. nonprofit found that 43% of California workers are at high risk of unemployment.

The Best Laid Plans: President Trump plans to appoint a council to advise him on how best to reopen America after much of the nation went dormant to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.

First Person: "I'm parked outside a coronavirus test center. My heart is beating fast for some reason. Everyone here is sick with something. At least a few have it. Maybe I do too." Erick Galindo takes a drive-through COVID-19 test.

In Non-COVID-19 News

Activist Raad Ghantous, chair of the Arab American Civic Council, is part Lebanese and wants his fellow Arab Americans to check "other" on the Census rather than "white."

Gov. Gavin Newsom's ambitious proposals to get health care coverage for every Californian were unveiled in January. They're unlikely to happen now.

This week's storm has brought L.A.'s rainfall total for the year to above-average levels.

In what could be a tectonic shift in how big-budget studio films are released, Universal decided to bypass a theatrical release of its new film "Trolls World Tour" and bring it directly to home entertainment platforms.

Diane Rodriguez, an actor, playwright, producer and director who got her start with El Teatro Campesino, has died at 68. Among many honors, Rodriguez was appointed to the National Council on the Arts by former President Barack Obama. Oscar Garza, senior producer of our newsroom's entertainment show The Frame remembers his friend in a moving essay.

Your Moment Of Zen

After teaching us this week how to make some really easy DIY masks, our own Sharon McNary churned out more sophisticated versions for her colleagues. These freshly ironed masks make us grateful for how much this newsroom supports each other.

(Sharon McNary / LAist)

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