In response to increasing COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU patients due to the highly contagious Delta variant, and to further protect vulnerable Californians and health care workers, the California Department of Public Health on Thursday issued two new public health orders.
The first order requires workers in health care settings to be fully vaccinated or receive their second dose by Sept. 30.
This order builds on Gov. Newsom’s recent announcement requiring state workers and workers in health care and high-risk congregate settings to either demonstrate proof of full vaccination or be tested at least once per week.
Following the governor’s announcement, businesses and local governments have implemented similar measures for their employees.
“As we continue to see an increase in cases and hospitalizations due to the Delta variant of COVID-19, it’s important that we protect the vulnerable patients in these settings,” said Dr. Tomás J. Aragón, CDPH director and State Public Health officer, said Thursday. “Today’s action will also ensure that health care workers themselves are protected. Vaccines are how we end this pandemic.”
This order applies to workers in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and in most other health care settings.
The second public health order directs hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities to verify that visitors are fully vaccinated or have tested negative for COVID-19 in the prior 72 hours before indoor visits.
Updates to guidance for visitors to other long-term care facilities is expected in the near future.
Health care facilities are high-risk settings where COVID-19 outbreaks can have severe consequences for vulnerable populations including hospitalization, severe illness, and death. By requiring health care workers to be fully vaccinated and visitors to acute care facilities to demonstrate they are fully vaccinated or have tested negative for COVID-19, California is protecting the most vulnerable individuals, while also protecting workers in these settings.
Employees may have options for compensated time off to get vaccinated, including COVID Supplemental Paid Sick Leave.
Access to PPE, worker training and education, and other infection control policies are still important tools in preventing transmission.
The state encourages facilities to make available resources that can help answer questions about vaccines and provide culturally sensitive advice.
The state’s goal is to ensure that vaccine sites are easily accessible for these workers.
California is leading the nation in vaccinations, with more than 45 million doses administered and 76.7% of the eligible population having received at least one dose.
However, the state is seeing increasing numbers of individuals — overwhelmingly unvaccinated — contracting COVID-19 and being admitted to the hospital and ICU. This increase is primarily due to the Delta variant.
California remains committed to increasing vaccination rates and urges businesses and local communities to encourage vaccination.
Health officials said COVID-19 vaccines are safe, effective and free. Unvaccinated Californians age 12 and up can go to http://myturn.ca.gov or call 833-422-4255 to schedule an appointment or go to http://myturn.ca.gov/clinic to find a walk-in clinic in their county.
Gov. Gavin Newsom meets a Caltrans cleanup crew in Stockton, California, on Thursday, August 5, 2021. Photo courtesy of the Governor’s Office.
During a visit to a Clean California site in Long Beach on Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom outlined his plan for record investments in mental health services and behavioral health housing as part of a comprehensive approach to tackling the state’s homelessness crisis.
Earlier in the day, the governor met with residents, outreach workers and Caltrans clean-up crew members at an encampment in Stockton where unhoused individuals were offered options to move out of tents and into safer, more stable shelter and housing.
“We have to get to the root issues of why people end up on the street in the first place – and for many, that’s due to deteriorating mental health conditions,” said Newsom. “For too long, California has had a piecemeal response to homelessness. When officials shut one site down, another one was likely to pop up. We’re changing that mindset and working to remove encampments by treating the root causes — lack of housing and lack of mental health resources — by investing $3 billion for behavioral health and conservatorship housing.”
The plan includes a $12 billion investment over two years to confront the homelessness crisis, helping the most unwell individuals move off the streets and into housing with wrap-around services.
As part of this investment, Gov. Newsom led the charge for a $3 billion behavioral health housing initiative — the largest investment in California history for rebuilding the behavioral health pipeline.
The $3 billion plan is expected to create 22,000 new beds and treatment slots, a component of the 42,000 new homeless housing units that will be created under the California Comeback Plan.
Newsom last year signed legislation to strengthen Laura’s Law and expand funding for the treatment of substance abuse.
AB 1976 makes county participation in Assisted Outpatient Treatment (i.e. Laura’s Law) automatic unless a county opts out.
Gov. Gavin Newsom visits a homeless encampment in Stockton, California, on Thursday, August 5, 2021. Photo courtesy of the Governor’s Office. As of June 2021, a total of 31 counties in California have not opted out and will implement Laura’s Law, covering 80 percent of the state’s population. AB 2265 expands the kinds of services Mental Health Services Act funds can pay for, specifically addiction treatment.
In addition, the Department of Health Care Services has leveraged over $260 million in federal opioid funding to support the Medication Assisted Treatment Expansion Project, allowing easy access to opioid addiction treatment in emergency departments and hospitals, primary care clinics, drug treatment programs, jails and prisons, and other health care settings.
“Let me be blunt: it is unacceptable to not provide proper care to those struggling the most, who’ve found themselves homeless due to mental health and addiction challenges,” said Newsom. “We cannot continue to tolerate the open drug use on our streets — we can no longer just look the other way.”
The governor’s plan also advances CalAIM, a once-in-a-generation reform of our Medi-Cal system that will better manage risk and improve outcomes through whole person care approaches and addressing social determinants of health. This will better serve California’s most vulnerable residents: the homeless, our children and people cycling in and out of the criminal justice system.
To ensure that local governments fulfill their obligation to provide services to people experiencing homelessness and to create safe and clean streets for all Californians, the California Comeback Plan includes $147 million for encampment resolution and clean-up efforts.
In addition, the governor has launched the $1.1 billion Clean California initiative to hire people exiting homelessness, at-risk youth, formerly incarcerated individuals and others to support state and local litter abatement efforts, providing them with a steady income to get back on their feet and lower the rate of recidivism.
Caltrans will match local investments, focusing on the needs of more severely underserved communities, with the goal of funding 300 local projects throughout California over the three-year program.
Gov. Gavin Newsom visits a Clean California site in Long Beach, California, on Thursday, August 5, 2021. Photo courtesy of the Governor’s Office.
“Cleo.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Cleo’
“Cleo” is a female Doberman pinscher mix with a short gray coat who is new to the shelter.
She has been spayed.
She is dog No. 4865.
“Dusty.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Dusty’
“Dusty” is a male American Pit Bull Terrier with a tan and white coat.
He is dog No. 4750.
“Gizmo.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Gizmo’
“Gizmo” is a senior male Chihuahua mix with a short tan and white coat.
He is dog No. 4902.
“Mara.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Mara’
“Mara” is a female Rottweiler mix.
She has a short black and tan coat.
He is house-trained.
She is dog No. 4628.
“Mary J.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Mary J’
“Mary J” is a female pit bull terrier mix.
She has a white and tan coat.
She is house-trained.
She is dog No. 4927.
“Mitzy.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Mitzy’
“Mitzy” is a female shepherd mix with a medium-length black and white coat.
She is dog No. 4648.
“Mojo.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Mojo’
“Mojo” is a male Chihuahua mix with a short black and tan coat.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 4881.
“Oakley.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Oakley’
“Oakley” is a male pit bull terrier mix.
He has a short red and white coat.
He is dog No. 4934.
“Patches.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Patches’
“Patches” is a male Chihuahua mix with a short tricolor coat.
He is dog No. 4903.
“Petey.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Petey’
“Petey” is a male American Staffordshire terrier mix with a black and white coat.
He is dog No. 4963.
“Sassy.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Sassy’
“Sassy” is a female American bully mix with a short black coat.
She has been spayed.
She is dog No. 4602.
“Sissy.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Sissy’
“Sissy” is a female American Staffordshire terrier mix with a black coat.
She is dog No. 4964.
“Tanisha.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Tanisha’
“Tanisha” is a female shepherd mix with a short orange and white coat.
She is dog No. 4647.
“Terry.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Terry’
“Terry” is a male Dutch shepherd mix with a smooth brindle coat.
He is dog No. 4880.
“Tinsel.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Tinsel’
“Tinsel” is a female American pit bull terrier mix with a short brindle and brown coat.
She is dog No. 4433.
“Yule.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Yule’
“Yule” is a male husky with a medium-length black and white coat.
He is dog No. 4432.
Call the Clearlake Animal Control shelter at 707-273-9440, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to inquire about adoptions and schedule a visit to the shelter.
Visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or on the city’s website.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen presents a new badge to K-9 Olin and his handler, Officer Kaylene Strugnell at the Lakeport City Council meeting on Tuesday, August 3, 2021, in Lakeport, California. Photo by Nick Walker. LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Lakeport City Council on Tuesday welcomed the city’s first police K-9 in more than a decade.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen introduced K-9 Olin to the council at the start of the Tuesday night meeting.
Olin is a year-and-a-half-old sable German shepherd born in Europe, where Rasmussen said most police dogs come from now.
In June, he was paired with his handler, Officer Kaylene Strugnell.
The Lakeport Police Department hasn’t had a K-9 since Max, a Belgian Malinois, retired in 2009.
It’s long been a goal of Rasmussen’s to reestablish a K-9 program.
In 2018, Rasmussen and his department received the council’s approval to apply to the United States Department of Agriculture for $38,000 through its Community Facilities Grant to start the K-9 Unit.
The city received those funds, which paid for a state-of-the-art K-9 patrol vehicle with protection for the dog built into it.
Lakeport Police Officer Kaylene Strugnell and her K-9 partner, Olin, at the Lakeport City Council meeting on Tuesday, August 3, 2021, in Lakeport, California. Photo by Nick Walker. Rasmussen said Lakeport Police needed community partnerships to satisfy the USDA grant guidelines, and it took time to put it all together, with Strugnell selected to be the handler before they had the program.
One of the key partnerships was with the Lucerne Area Revitalization Association, or LARA, which offered to be the fiscal sponsor, Rasmussen said.
LARA was created by the founders of Lake County News to work on community projects. The organization stepped forward in 2020 to take on the fiscal sponsor role when the group originally set to be the fiscal sponsor did not end up forming.
Rasmussen also recognized the critical partnership of the Sean M. Walsh K-9 Memorial Foundation, which awarded Lakeport Police $10,000 to purchase Olin.
The organization was created in 2012 by Cheryl Walsh in memory of her son, Sean Walsh, a military police soldier in the California National Guard serving in Operation Enduring Freedom who was killed in action in the Khost province of Afghanistan on Nov. 16, 2011.
He had wanted to be a K-9 handler when he left the military, a dream inspired in part by his adoption of an abandoned German shepherd named Lena when he was 12 years old.
Olin is the 32nd dog the organization has purchased for law enforcement in the United States, Rasmussen said.
He acknowledged many other businesses that have stepped up to help with the ongoing fundraising that will be needed to support the program. That includes Bruno’s Shop Smart, whose All Access Rewards program allows customers to choose a local charity or nonprofit to receive 1% of qualified purchases. That program already has contributed several hundred dollars toward the K-9 program.
Susie Q’s Donuts & Espresso in Lakeport also is working on a fundraiser for the program, Rasmussen said.
“We’ve gotten a lot of community support,” and that’s what a program like this takes, said Rasmussen.
“So far it’s been pretty phenomenal,” he said, adding they’ve not started serious outreach yet.
K-9 Olin’s new badge, which is just like a human officer wears. Photo courtesy of Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen. Rasmussen presented Olin with his badge, which is just like his human counterparts wear. As K-9 badge No. 1 was presented to Strugnell, Rasmussen asked the young shepherd if he was going to be a good dog and catch a lot of bad guys.
“Olin loves his work. He’s super excited to be here,” said Strugnell, who had scratched his ears and given him head pats during the presentation. She noted he is very happy.
Cheryl Walsh spoke during the meeting via Zoom, thanking Rasmussen for his hard work over two years to raise the $117,000 necessary to put the K-9 program together.
“A lot of times we step in and we’re the tipping point,” Walsh said, explaining that the dog is often a K-9 program’s first piece.
She thanked the community for understanding the dog’s value. It has nothing to do with bite, it’s the sense of smell and ability to understand people, she explained.
While Olin is the 32nd dog the organization has placed, Strugnell is only the fifth female handler their efforts have supported, with Walsh noting that only a very small percentage of K-9 handlers are female.
Walsh noted her organization has assisted several other law enforcement agencies around the region with their K-9 programs, including Sonoma County, Cotati, San Rafael and St. Helena.
She congratulated the city for the new program.
Mayor Kenny Parlet, also attending via Zoom, in turn thanked Walsh. “We’re the ones who should be grateful,” he said.
In other business during Tuesday’s three-and-a-half-hour-long meeting, the council received a report on the first phase of a study on a possible recreation center and voted in support of moving forward with the study’s second phase, which will look more closely at possible locations, design, the capital cost estimate and funding sources.
The estimated price tag of about $22 million gave Parlet pause, but community members urged the council to continue studying the proposal.
Ultimately the council voted unanimously to conduct the study’s phase two, also approving the necessary $31,000 budget adjustment.
The Clearlake City Council agreed to move forward on the study’s second phase at its July 15 meeting and the Board of Supervisors is set to get an update on the study on Aug. 10. The three governments had shared the costs of the first study phase and it’s anticipated they will do the same with the next phase.
Also on Tuesday, Jeff Warrenburg, representing the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, and Carlos Fagundes, manager of Bruno’s Shop Smart, presented checks to the city to go toward the July 4 fireworks show. The chamber’s check was for $3,275, while Bruno’s presented a $2,243.51 raised from customers.
The council also received updates on the All Children Thrive Youth Governance Council and on cyanobacteria from Lake County Health Services; held a public hearing and adopted the resolution to confirm and approve the utility billing delinquency list and the associated resolution and direct staff to submit the list to the Lake County auditor-controller for inclusion on the property tax roll; and discussed with Rasmussen the council current procedures for release of a vicious animal after an abatement order and seizure by the Animal Care and Control director.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Local hospitals are dealing with an influx of patients due to the COVID-19 delta variant, and in one case it has resulted in a new employee vaccination policy.
To help protect its patients, workforce and communities from the highly contagious COVID-19 delta variant, not-for-profit Sutter Health — the parent organization of Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport — on Wednesday announced a new policy requiring its workforce to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Sept. 30.
“Our integrated network has a shared commitment to protecting the health and safety of our patients and the communities we serve,” said Sarah Krevans, president and CEO of Sutter Health. “I am grateful the majority of our workforce and allied physicians have already demonstrated their leadership and their confidence in the COVID-19 vaccines by getting fully vaccinated.”
Sutter joins a growing number of leading organizations across the country who are requiring employees to get vaccinated to help protect against the virus.
The new policy at Sutter comes as the highly infectious delta variant is rapidly increasing the number of COVID-19 cases.
“Our rigorous COVID-19 infection prevention protocols have so far helped protect the health and safety of our patients and our workforce,” said William Isenberg, M.D., Ph.D., Sutter Health’s chief quality and safety officer. “However, these measures alone are not enough against the increasing threat of highly infectious variants like delta.”
Isenberg said the only way to get ahead of this virus once and for all is for everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated as soon as possible. “The unfortunate reality is that the delta variant is driving a surge in hospitalizations throughout our network and around the country, mostly among unvaccinated people.”
Lake County Public Health officials have reported in recent weeks that both Adventist Health Clear Lake and Sutter Lakeside Hospital have had more COVID-19 patients than ER beds.
That’s because Lake County’s case rate per 100,000 over a seven-day average has remained the highest in the state for the past month. On Wednesday, it was 57 per 100,000, according to the California Department of Public Health.
Over the weekend, Charlie Evans, MD, Lake County’s acting Public Health officer, had reported that the critically high county case rate had been putting the two hospitals under strain for the previous two weeks.
The situation prompted Evans to ask people not to overuse the county’s limited intensive care and emergency medicine resources, but to seek testing, vaccination and care for mild symptoms through other health care facilities and clinics.
Kim Lewis,a spokesperson for Adventist Health, told Lake County News that Lake County is currently at a positivity rate of 17%, where the rest of the state is around 6%.
“We are seeing an influx of patients with COVID-19 related symptoms and are providing them with appropriate care,” said Lewis.
Lewis said that because patients’ needs change daily, the hospital isn’t able to provide an exact count. “We have a 25 bed in-patient capacity, but can expand as needed.”
Lewis added, “As we continue to treat patients with COVID-19, we would like to remind our community and neighbors of the important role we all must play. Getting vaccinated and following CDC and state guidelines supports the health and well-being of community members and the physicians and nurses on the front lines.”
Ahead of its vaccination policy announcement, Sutter Health earlier this week said it was having challenges with growing numbers of COVID-19 patients.
“As much as we’re all ready to be done with the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s not yet done with us. The highly contagious delta variant is driving an increase in hospitalizations throughout our network and around the country, mostly among unvaccinated people,” the organization said in a statement.
Sutter Health urged people to get vaccinated, to be tested if necessary and informed them that they will need to wear masks at all of the organization's facilities.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The state reported this week that all nine properties in Lake County whose owners enrolled in California's statewide Consolidated Debris Removal Program have cleared the entire debris removal process and been returned to county officials to begin the permitting process for reconstruction.
Those Lake County properties were burned in last year’s LNU Lightning Complex.
The return to county officials of the final outstanding property by state debris officials makes Lake County the second Bay Area county with every participating property returned as ready for the start of the permitting process.
Earlier, state debris officials returned the last of 28 participating properties in Mendocino County to county officials.
Properties are returned to officials in their respective county after the abatement of bulk quantities of asbestos containing materials; the removal of burned metal, concrete, ash and contaminated soils; confirmation by a certified laboratory that soil samples taken from the property meet state health and environmental standards; the implementation of erosion control measures; the removal of hazardous trees; and a final walk-through by state debris officials to make sure debris removal operations on the property meet the standards of the program.
To date, debris officials have returned an additional 471 properties to officials in four other Bay Area counties as ready to start the permitting process.
State debris officials have returned 227 participating properties to officials in Napa County. The 227 returned properties represent 70.5% of the 322 properties whose owners chose to take part in either the full debris removal program or the program's hazardous trees only element.
The state also has returned 160 or 65.6%, of 244 participating properties in Sonoma County as well as 75, or 98.7%, of 76 participating properties in Santa Clara County to local officials.
In addition, state officials have sent back nine, or 30%, of the 30 participating properties in San Mateo County to local officials.
As of Aug. 4, 2,254, or 50.1%, of the 4,497 properties statewide participating in either the full debris removal program or the hazardous trees only element of the program have been returned to their respective county to begin the permitting process.
In 2020, more than 8,000 climate-induced wildfires burned 4.2 million acres of California, destroying more than 5,700 homes.
Property owners incur no direct costs for participation in the state-managed clean up and recovery program, administered by the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, or CalRecycle, and the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, or Cal OES, in collaboration with 25 participating counties.
Major clearing work: 98% complete
To date, the remains of 2020 wildfire survivors’ homes and property — burned metal, concrete, ash, and contaminated soil — have now been cleared from 98.3% of the properties enrolled in California’s statewide Consolidated Debris Removal Program.
Most properties still need critical soil testing, erosion control, and hazard tree removal to ensure the lots are safe for families to rebuild.
Wildfire survivors had the option to either use their own contractor or enroll in the state-managed program. Of the 5,991 properties with damage from the 2020 fires, 3,842 signed up to have the remains of their homes and other structures cleared by the state.
An additional 655 property owners signed up to participate in the Hazardous Trees Only element of the program.
As of Aug. 4, state-managed crews cleared burned metal, concrete, ash and contaminated soil from 3,775 of the properties throughout the state participating in the full debris removal program.
In Napa County, crews have removed eligible debris from 310, or 99.4%, of the 312 properties taking part in the full program.
Earlier, crews have cleared debris from the last of 214 Sonoma County properties participating in the full program, as well as from all 72 Santa Clara County participating in the full program.
State contractors also have cleared eligible debris from all 28 Mendocino County properties participating in the full program; as well as all 13 San Mateo County and all nine Lake County properties participating in the full program.
Before homeowners can begin rebuilding, cleared properties need additional work including:
— Separate contractors collect soil samples for verification at a state certified laboratory that they meet state environmental health and safety standards.
— Contractors next may install erosion control measures.
— Certified arborists or professional foresters assess wildfire-damaged trees in danger of falling on the public or public infrastructure for removal by separate contractors.
— Finally, state officials inspect the property to verify all completed work meets state standards. Debris officials submit a final inspection report to local officials to approve the property for reconstruction.
Property owners can track the above data on the Debris Operations Dashboard for the 2020 statewide wildfires. The dashboard is updated every hour and provides users with the ability to search by county or address.
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