Today on AirTalk, we take a look at the latest COVID-19 updates for California. Also on the show, we learn more about the theories behind COVID-19's origins; discuss how LA County's current finances will impact services; and more.
COVID-19: Antiviral Drug Remdesivir Looks Promising, Newsom Expected To Close All Beaches
Californians are still under orders to stay home unless working essential jobs or seeking essential services. Businesses are closed, a staggering number of people are out of work, and if you're not sure what day it is, we can relate.
The U.S. still has the highest number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the world, with local numbers continuing to rise. According to the L.A. Times, the state of California has confirmed nearly 49,000 cases of the virus at least 1,900 residents have died. L.A. County alone has reported just over 1,000 deaths. State officials have continued urging residents to follow social distancing guidelines, wear a mask when entering an essential business and stay home if possible. Gov. Gavin Newsom previously announced a road map with specific phases for reopening the state’s economy, but Newsom is expected to announce that all beaches and state parks will be closed effective May 1. Officials in Newport Beach had previously decided to keep beaches open. Meanwhile, researchers now say the antiviral medication known as remdesivir could help COVID-19 patients recover from the virus more quickly. As the L.A. Times reports, large clinical trials sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases show promising results. Today on AirTalk, we discuss the antiviral therapy and get the latest on the virus. A medical expert will also answer your questions. What questions do you have as we continue navigating through this pandemic? Join the conversation by calling 866-893-5722.
With files from LAist
Guest:
Dean Blumberg, M.D., professor of medicine and chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UC Davis Children’s Hospital; he tweets
AirTalk Checks In With LA County CEO Sachi Hamai: County Finances, County Reopening, Homelessness, Health Services, Child Protection, And More
Los Angeles County CEO Sachi Hamai joins Larry Mantle for a conversation about the impacts of the COVID-19 emergency on the recommended L.A. County Budget for 2020-2021.
As revenue declines and costs rise as a result of the novel coronavirus, what will be the impact on L.A. County’s public health, safety, transportation and infrastructure programs? How extensive will the changes be to the county’s $35.5 billion spending plan, written before COVID-19 became a global pandemic?
Topics include:
Dipping into the rainy day fund to cover the $1.3 billion shortfall for the current fiscal year, primarily due to a drop in sales tax revenue, and what budget revisions might come in June
Possible cuts to social services, mental health and/or housing programs
What the county’s current financial outlook means for priorities like child protection and criminal justice reform
How homeless services will be impacted with Measure H bringing in less revenue
Whether the affordable housing trust fund will face cuts
The additional power she was granted to coordinate the county’s emergency operations when the Board of Supervisors removed Sheriff Alex Villanueva as the head of emergency operations
Whether layoffs are on the horizon for L.A. County
Guest:
Sachi Hamai, chief executive officer of Los Angeles County; tweets at
Governor Newsom Expected To Close All Beaches In California. What Does That Mean For Orange County?
Today, California Governor Gavin Newsom is expected to announce the closure of all beaches and state parks in California. This comes after last weekend's heat wave drew thousands to Newport Beach and Huntington Beach, which remained open. The Governor made it clear that he was displeased to see the images of crowded beaches. "We can't see the images like we saw, particularly on Saturday in Newport Beach and elsewhere in the state of California," Newsom said on Monday.
Because of concerns about the crowds, the Newport Beach City Council held a special meeting on Tuesday to vote on whether to temporarily close beaches in Newport for the next three weekends. After a nearly 4-hour-long meeting that included 90 minutes of public comment, the council voted 5-2 to keep the beaches open. City officials still advised people to stay close to home when getting outdoors and said they would close parking lots to limit the number of visitors and increase police and lifeguard presence to "more actively enforce social distancing directives."
Also on Tuesday, the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on a set of guidelines for businesses to follow when stay-at-home rules designed to slow the spread of COVID-19 begin to ease up. The guidelines were written with the help of an ad hoc committee of local business leaders. Saying that "Orange County has effectively flattened the curve," the supervisors added that the guidelines would not supersede any more restrictive orders from local governments, the state or the federal government. But they did create some confusion, as some took the announcement to mean that Orange County was voting to reopen.
Then during Governor Newsom's daily press conference yesterday, a reporter from Good Day L.A. asked the Governor about the guidelines that Orange County approved and then put Orange County Supervisor Donald Wagner on the line with Newsom. "The Orange County order satisfies Orange County — the sheriff will not come and ticket you — but the state orders and any local city orders remain in place," Wagner said to the governor. Newsom responded, noting that conditions are different in various parts of California: "I will say, about Orange County, it's important — the supervisor is well aware of this — Orange County is the fourth highest number of people, of all 58 counties, hospitalized in the state of California. I'm concerned about that."
We’d like to hear from you, do you think beaches should be able to remain open? Should cities and counties or the state decide? Join the conversation by calling 866-893-5722.
Guest:
Donald Wagner, Orange County Supervisor, 3rd District, which includes Anaheim Hills, Irvine, Orange, Tustin, and the unincorporated canyons; former Mayor of Irvine (2016-2019); tweets
Diving Into The Prevailing Theories Behind The Origins Of COVID-19
We know that the geographic origins of COVID-19 are in Wuhan, China -- but the precise cause and method of transmission aren’t known.
The U.S. intelligence community is looking into theories that the virus leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan. Meanwhile, the prevailing theory in the scientific community is that the virus was a result of natural spillover from bats to humans, either in a wet market or somewhere else.
We get the latest on the U.S. government’s investigations and dive into the scientific evidence for the prevailing origin theories.
Guests:
Warren Strobel, reporter covering intelligence and national security for the Wall Street Journal; he tweets @wstrobel
Dennis Carroll, head of the Global Virome Project, a non-profit partnership that’s building a global atlas of viruses circulating in wildlife; he is the former director of the emerging threats division at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
What Are The Best and Worst Decisions in Modern Baseball?
In his new book, "The Inside Game: Bad Calls, Strange Moves, and What Baseball Behavior Teaches Us About Ourselves," baseball writer Keith Law ("Smart Baseball") argues that baseball is a sport of decisions, big and small. As those decisions have become increasingly data-driven and less tied to conventional wisdom, figuring out what’s behind them has become ever more critical to understanding the game.
By applying behavioral science to the sport, and using the principles laid out in psychologist Daniel Kahneman’s book “Thinking, Fast and Slow” as a guide, Law examines what was going through the heads of players, managers and executives as they made some of the biggest decision-making successes and failures in modern baseball.
Law weighs in on some of baseball’s longest-running debates (Does throwing harder really increase a player’s risk of serious injury? Do teams overvalue trade prospects?) and explains how calculated risks, bad calls and head-scratching moves have shaped the game.
Guest:
Keith Law, senior baseball writer for online sports publication, The Athletic; his new book is “The Inside Game: Bad Calls, Strange Moves, and What Baseball Behavior Teaches Us About Ourselves” (William Morrow, April 2020); he tweets