California Coronavirus Updates: Roughly 30 Businesses Have Opened In downtown And Old Sacramento Waterfront Area During The Pandemic – Capital Public…

July 1, 2021

Find an updated count of COVID-19 cases in California and by county on our tracker here.

Roughly 30 businesses have opened in downtown and old Sacramento waterfront area during the pandemic

Nevada casinos set record winnings in May with $1.23 billion

More states reopen for business

US Supreme Court upholds eviction moratorium

5:30 p.m.: Roughly 30 businesses have opened in downtown and old Sacramento waterfront area during the pandemic

About 30 businesses have opened in downtown Sacramento and the old Sacramento waterfront area during the pandemic, according to the Downtown Business Partnership.

They include restaurants, coffee shops, beauty salons, an escape room, a tattoo parlor, and other storefronts selling ice cream and flip flops.

Its really exciting, said Emilie Cameron, district affairs and development director with the Downtown Sacramento Partnership. Its a variety of businesses, some who had already been working towards opening their doors, pre-pandemic, others who seized an opportunity.

The store openings were touted by Mayor Darrel Steinberg during his State of the City address Tuesday, as he described a local economy ready to take off.

However, dozens of businesses in the downtown area had also closed during the pandemic. Cameron says about 10% of the shops shuttered out of the 400 retailers the business partnership represents.

LIST OF BUSINESSES

4:03 p.m.: Nevada casinos set record winnings in May with $1.23 billion

Nevadas tourism and gambling industry has come roaring back after the pandemic shuttered casinos and drove tourists away last year, with casinos setting a record in May by winning $1.23 billion.

Its the highest single-month win in the states history, blowing past a $1.165 billion record set in October 2007, according to the Associated Press.

The record win came before tourist-reliant Nevada lifted basically all restrictions on crowds and business capacity on June 1. The casinos take has topped $1 billion for three months in a row. Even before restrictions were lifted in June, tourists were again flocking to Las Vegas casinos, and most casino resorts were allowed to return to 100% capacity.

3:27 p.m.: More states reopen for business

Oregon and Washington have lifted most of their COVID-19 restrictions to become two of the latest states to broadly ease virus orders that have been in place since the start of the pandemic.

According to the Associated Press, New Mexico is scheduled to reopen Thursday, marking a return to businesses throughout the entire mainland U.S. after 16 months of disruptions and lockdowns.

The last holdout Hawaii has loosened some travel rules but is slated to maintain other restrictions until 70% of its population is fully vaccinated.

The reopenings come as concern grows about a new coronavirus variant threatening to set the country back in the months ahead. In California, health officials in Los Angeles County this week strongly recommended that people wear masks indoors in public places regardless of vaccination status to prevent the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant. [link to yesterday post]

10:55 a.m.: US Supreme Court upholds eviction moratorium

The Supreme Court is leaving a pandemic-inspired nationwide ban on evictions in place over the votes of four objecting conservative justices.

According to the Associated Press, the court rejected a plea by landlords to end the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moratorium on evicting millions of tenants who arent paying rent during the coronavirus pandemic.

Last week, the Biden administration extended the moratorium by a month until the end of July, but said it didnt expect another extension.

U.S. Judge Dabney Friedrich in Washington, D.C. had struck down the moratorium as exceeding the CDCs authority, but put her ruling on hold.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and the courts three liberal members voted to keep the moratorium in place, while Justices Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas said they would have ended it.

9:42 a.m.: Boy and Girl Scouts facing unprecedented one-year drop in membership

Americas two most iconic youth organizations the Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of the USA have been jolted by an unprecedented one-year drop in membership.

According to the Associated Press, the decline is due partly to the pandemic and partly to social trends that have been shrinking their ranks for decades.

Combined membership in the Boy Scouts two flagship programs declined by more than 40% from 2019 to 2020 and is now well under 1 million. The Girl Scouts youth membership fell by close to 30%, to just over 1 million.

The Boy Scouts problems are compounded by their decision to seek bankruptcy protection to cope with sex abuse lawsuits. An eventual trust fund for victims will likely entail significant contributions from the Boy Scouts and its local councils.

3:51 p.m.: LA County health officials recommend fully vaccinated people keep wearing masks indoors

Health officials in Los Angeles County are recommending, but not requiring, that people wear masks indoors in public places, regardless of their vaccination status.

According to the Associated Press, the recommendation in the nations most populous county is aimed at preventing the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus.

The county public health department suggests that people wear masks when inside grocery or retail stores, theaters, family entertainment centers, and workplaces when peoples vaccination statuses are unknown.

The county experienced a surge in cases and deaths over the winter. To date, the county has recorded a total of 1.2 million coronavirus cases and more than 24,000 deaths.

3:29 p.m.: The pandemics effect on mainstream religions in the U.S.

Churches, synagogues and mosques are returning to normal services as the pandemic recedes, but the looming question is, how many worshippers will return?

According to the Associated Press, religious leaders fear some of the millions who stayed home from places of worship during the pandemic wont be coming back, hastening a slide in attendance. Some houses of worship may not make it.

In the U.S. the latest challenge for places of worship comes against a backdrop of a decades-long trend of less of the population identifying as religious. Its too early to know the full impact of the pandemic on religion, but surveys do show signs of hopefulness and also cause for concern.

About three-quarters of Americans who attended religious services in person at least monthly before the pandemic say they are likely to do so again in the next few weeks, according to an AP-NORC poll. Thats slightly up from the about two-thirds who said in May 2020 that they would attend if allowed to do so. However, 7% said they definitely wont be attending.

10:17 a.m.: Disney Cruise delays test sail due to inconsistent virus results

After a handful of participants had inconsistent COVID-19 test results, the Disney Cruise Line is postponing its first test cruise since the pandemic brought the industry to a standstill, according to the Associated Press.

The Disney Dream had been scheduled to set sail Tuesday from Port Canaveral, Florida with 300 employees onboard who had volunteered for the simulation cruise. However, the trip was postponed until next month because a small number of employees had inconsistent COVID-19 test results.

The federal government is starting to allow cruises to sail again, but only if nearly all passengers and crew are vaccinated.

9:54 a.m.: Many merchant ship crews still stuck at sea due to pandemic

More than 15 months into the coronavirus pandemic, tens of thousands of seafarers vital to the global shipping industry remain stranded at sea or in ports, unable to leave their ships or get new assignments due to global travel restrictions.

Theyve been the forgotten heroes of this pandemic, and theyve really been collateral damage because it was so easy for countries to say well take nobody into our country, except, of course, they wanted the ships to come in and just discharge their cargo, International Chamber of Shipping Secretary-General Guy Platten said to the Associated Press.

This has been a problem since the start of the pandemic, but the Global Maritime Forum said the situation has worsened recently, primarily due to new travel restrictions countries have imposed in response to the Delta variant.

The forum found that the percentage of stranded seafarers jumped from 5.8% to 7.4% from May to June and the figures are expected to continue rising.

More than 80% of world trade is transported by sea, meaning seafarers play a critical role in global commerce. Its estimated that 200,000 crewmembers are either stuck at sea or unable to leave home to get to their ships.

Some have reported being stranded for as long as 20 months, which goes against the International Labor Organizations Maritime Labour Convention maximum of 11 months.

9:41 a.m.: Pandemic-related rental assistance may have failed in many states

A rental crisis spurred by the pandemic prompted many states to make bold promises to help renters, but most failed to deliver on them after Congress passed the sweeping CARES Act in March 2020.

According to the Associated Press, a handful of states, many led by Republicans, offered little to no help. State leaders set aside at least $2.6 billion from the CARES Acts Coronavirus Relief Fund in 2020 to prop up struggling renters. But more than $425 million of that or 16% never made it to tenants or landlords, according to an investigation by the Center for Public Integrity and the Associated Press.

A federal eviction moratorium, which was set to expire June 30, has been extended to July 31, threatening millions with losing their homes. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom extended the states moratorium to the end of September. You can find more information on what assistance is available to California renters here.

2:43 p.m.: Do I need to worry about COVID-19 variants if Im vaccinated? Experts say it depends.

If youre currently vaccinated against COVID-19, you may be wondering if you need to worry about the Delta variant or any others that may crop up.

Experts say that depends on a few things, including your personal risk tolerance.

But first off, having gotten your vaccination is quite valuable. The World Health Organization says COVID-19 vaccines are expected to be protective against the new virus variants.

However, exactly how much the various vaccines protect against the Delta variant is still somewhat of a guessing game. About two weeks after youre vaccinated, the odds are highly favorable that you wont get a breakthrough infection. Even if youre one of the unfortunate few, you likely wont get a severe case.

At least for those vaccines approved in Europe and North America, in the case of the variants, these seem to be effective in preventing severe disease, hospitalization and death, says Dr. Jerome Kim, director-general of the International Vaccine Institute.

One important thing to note is that the Delta variant is about 60% more transmissible than the Alpha variant first discovered in the United Kingdom. Alpha is already 50% more contagious than the original virus form.

The Delta variant is likely what people in the U.S. will be at the highest risk of soon, which is part of the reason the CDC upgraded Delta from a variant of interest to a variant of concern.

An even newer mutation was just discovered in India, Delta plus, so experts are saying if it happens to crop up in your area, its time to go back to masking up, physical distancing, and getting tested when traveling.

2:25 p.m.: Las Vegas airport saw over 3.5 million passengers in May

More than 3.5 million passengers came through McCarran International Airport in May, an indicator that Las Vegas is inching toward a post-pandemic comeback, according to the Associated Press.

Airport officials on Friday released data from last month showing a significant increase in foot traffic at Las Vegas main airport. According to the Clark County Department of Aviation, the total number of travelers was 600,000 more than in April.

However, the 3.5 million travelers in May is still a roughly 23% decrease from the more than 4.5 million seen in May 2019. For the year-to-date, McCarran has seen more than 12 million passengers a 41% drop from 2019s 20.7 million travelers.

10:41 a.m.: White House working on vaccinating the movable middle

Thrown off-stride to reach its July 4 COVID-19 vaccination goal, the Biden administration is sending A-list officials across the country, devising ads for niche markets, and enlisting community organizations to persuade unvaccinated people to get their shots.

According to the Associated Press, the strategy has the trappings of a political campaign, complete with data crunching to identify groups that can be won over except the message is about public health, not ideology.

The focus is on a group health officials have named the movable middle some 55 million unvaccinated adults seen as persuadable, many of them under 30.

The effort comes as the White House acknowledges it will miss President Joe Bidens goal of 70% of Americans getting at least one COVID-19 shot by July 4.

9:58 a.m.: States weighing COVID-19 vaccine card checks

As states end their coronavirus restrictions, very few are creating systems to help businesses verify whether customers have been vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the Associated Press.

Instead, far more states are actually banning vaccine checks by public entities and, in some cases, prohibiting businesses from denying service to those who arent vaccinated. About 18 states led by Republican governors or legislatures prohibit creating so-called vaccine passports or ban public entities from requiring proof of vaccination.

The prohibition doesnt apply to the demands employers make on their employees. Earlier this month, a federal judge in Texas threw out a lawsuit from 117 Houston hospital employees who challenged a workplace requirement that they get vaccinated.

For now, Hawaii is currently the only state with some form of vaccine passport for travelers. California, Louisiana, and New York have voluntary programs that let people download digital proof of vaccination.

The programs let people download digital proof of vaccination that can be shown on smartphones or printed as QR codes for others to scan. Still, many businesses are hesitant about asking customers for vaccine proof.

9:37 a.m.: End to COVID-19 hotel housing projects nationally causes worry

Tens of thousands of people experiencing homelessness have been staying in hotels across the U.S. paid for by federal programs aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19.

But, according to the Associated Press, as hotels re-open to tourists and federal pandemic funding wanes, many face uncertainty as hotel programs end. Many emergency shelters are already full or near capacity, too.

In California, the states motel-housing program, Project Roomkey, has also been winding down, but only 20% of recipients have secured permanent housing to enter in after the program sunsets.

While billions of additional federal dollars to secure housing have been approved, experts warn there will likely be a lag.

12:33 p.m.: Some places around the world are back under lockdown

Some governments have been forced to reimplement lockdown measures to control the spread of the coronavirus as infections increaseincluding Australia, Israel and Portugal.

This is in sharp contrast to the U.S. where many places are still reopening despite warnings from officials.

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