Morning Briefing: A Steep Learning Curve For ‘Stay At Home’

Angelenos of all stripes are scrambling to understand what, exactly, "stay at home" means. L.A.’s child welfare workers want to be sure they’re looking out for little ones who aren’t in school, traffic is backed up in Orange County even as it’s almost nonexistent in other parts of Southern California, and sewing groups are trying to lessen the face mask shortage.

How are you holding up? Got any questions we can help with? Let us know. Meanwhile...

Here’s what we’re covering today:

• Unlike everywhere else, traffic was snarled around the Honda Center on Saturday morning as thousands of cars lined up to get food from Second Harvest Food Bank, reports Josie Huang.
• Sewing groups and individual LA residents are sewing masks for health care workers to use in the face of a potential major shortage. Huang asks, Do hospitals want them?

Here’s what happened in the past 24 hours:

• The U.S. now has the third highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the world, behind only China and Italy. Two new deaths in L.A. County were announced by public health officials. Check out the map.
• There seems to be some confusion about differences between state and local “stay at home” orders.
• Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the rapid expansion of hospital beds and housing for the homeless, as well as hundreds of thousands more masks for health care workers.
• In his daily briefing, President Trump said that if Newsom or other governors can order masks, gowns, or other supplies faster than the federal government, they should do so.
• Here are answers to your questions about getting health insurance if you lose your job, missing a health insurance payment and more.
• The Kroger Co. – which recently announced 10,000 open positions – will give one-time bonuses for all hourly employees.
• L.A.’s child welfare department is trying to stay vigilant with families while kids are home from school, parents may be out of work and anxiety is up, and District Attorney Jackie Lacey is working with the Sheriff’s Department to reduce L.A.’s jail population during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Here’s some more L.A. history for you to dig into:

• 40 years ago, the Hollywood sign was torn down and completely replaced.
• The Railway to the Clouds once brought visitors 4,000 feet up into the San Gabriel Mountains, it must have felt otherworldly.
• Rufus Estes, who spent many years living in Los Angeles, wrote what is widely believed to be one of the first cookbooks written by a black chef.

And now, your moment of Zen:

Mary Hawley, who heads our underwriting department, snapped this shot looking north from Torrance Beach during her long, social-distance appropriate Saturday bike ride.

(Mary Hawley / LAist)

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The news cycle moves fast. Some stories don't pan out. Others get added. Consider this today's first draft.