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- Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
The guidance does not require people to wear face coverings – and is not a substitute for the state’s current guidance regarding social distancing and hand washing.
The state also does not recommend Californians use N-95 or surgical masks, which are needed for health care workers and first responders who will be there for when lives are at risk.
“Face coverings are not a substitute for physical distancing or frequent hand washing, which we know are amongst the most effective ways to reduce the spread of COVID-19,” said Dr. Sonia Angell, director of the California Department of Public Health and State Health officer.
“Wearing a cloth face covering could provide some additional benefit by acting as a reminder for other people to keep their distance, and it could help reduce the spread of infectious particles from those who could be infected but don’t have symptoms,” Angell said.
“Face coverings could provide some additional protection against COVID-19, but Californians should not have a false sense of security if they choose to wear them. Make sure you’re also staying 6 feet away from other people if you have to leave your home to get groceries or prescriptions,” said California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly.
The new guidance reminds Californians that the best defense against COVID-19 continues to be:
– Staying at home and physical distancing;
– Washing hands frequently;
– Avoiding touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands; and
– Avoiding being around sick people.
The use of cloth face coverings could reduce the transmission of COVID-19 by individuals who do not have symptoms and may reinforce physical distancing.
Public health officials also caution that face coverings may increase risk if users reduce their use of strong defenses such as physical distancing and frequent hand washing.
A link to the new guidance is on the California Department of Public Health’s website.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials, assisted by Cal Fire, the California Highway Patrol and local law enforcement agencies are continuing efforts to locate a minimum-security inmate who walked away from Alder Conservation Camp in Del Norte County early Tuesday morning.
Lester Jackson, 30, who was assigned as a firefighter, was last seen at Alder Conservation Camp in Klamath on March 31 wearing gray sweat pants, officials said.
Jackson is a black male, 6 feet 1 inch tall, weighing 170 pounds with brown eyes, long black hair worn in dreadlocks, a mustache and a short beard.
He has a tattoo on his outer right forearm that says “GRIMY” and another on his inner right forearm with a picture of a prison tower and a lit candle below it. Jackson has several tattoos on his torso; one reads “trippin 4 life.”
Jackson was received from Solano County in May 2011 with an 11-year, 10-month sentence for second-degree robbery, false imprisonment and carjacking. He was scheduled to parole in June 2020.
Jackson has associates in Oakland. Anyone who sees him should call 911 or contact law enforcement authorities immediately. Anyone having knowledge of Jackson’s whereabouts should contact the California Correctional Center watch commander at 530-257-2181, Extension 4173.
Since 1977, 99 percent of all offenders who have left an adult institution, camp or community-based program without permission have been apprehended.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The shelter in place order went into effect countywide on March 19. It’s meant to protect the community against COVID-19.
It requires people to stay at home unless conducting essential business – a list of activities that includes grocery shopping, traveling to and from work, and picking up prescriptions, among others – and not to congregate in public areas.
The city subsequently closed its facilities, including its parks.
In the weeks since, the department reported that it has worked to inform nonessential businesses of the need to close and has educated community members about the requirements to stay at home and practice social distancing.
However, on Wednesday, it gave out its first citation to 61-year-old Lakeport resident Robin Gonsalves, according to Lt. Dale Stoebe.
Stoebe said they responded to the area near the Lake County Courthouse on N. Forbes Street on a report of a woman in an argument with someone in the street.
He said when he arrived on the scene, Gonsalves was sitting in the parking lot of the courthouse, drinking wine out of a plastic cup.
“I took her wine away from her,” said Stoebe, who added that he then explained the shelter in place order to Gonsalves.
Gonsalves told Stoebe she knew about the order and wasn’t leaving. He said she continued to be uncooperative after she was given several opportunities to get her things and leave.
As a result, Stoebe said he issued a criminal citation for violation of the shelter in place order, Health and Safety Code 120295, to Gonsalves.
Gonsalves continued to refuse to leave the property, and so Stoebe issued two more citations to her for delaying a peace officer and trespassing, releasing her on the citations to appear in court at a later date, he said.
“This was kind of surprising,” said Stoebe, who noted that for the most part community members have understood the need for the order. “At this point, it’s been predominantly cooperative.”
He said the department has let Lake County Environmental Health take the lead on determining which businesses are essential and worked to educate those that weren’t, which have since closed.
Overall, between businesses and individuals, “We feel compliance is good,” said Stoebe, adding that they are encouraging people to stay the course.
Stoebe said calls for service aren’t necessarily down, as the bulk of them relate to the shelter in place order.
However, actual case numbers are down significantly – by more than half, he said.
“It gives us the time to contact people that appear to be violating the shelter in place order,” he said.
It also gives officers the opportunity to increase patrols. With many businesses closed, Stoebe said officers are doing security checks.
For the five-day period ending on Wednesday, Stoebe said Lakeport Police officers had patrolled more than 1,700 miles and done several hours of foot patrol per shift.
“They are spending a lot of their time out looking for violators and trying to be there to support the businesses when they can’t be in their buildings,” said Stoebe.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
“Due to the current safety concerns and needs for ongoing social distancing it currently appears that our students will not be able to return to school campuses before the end of the school year. This is in no way to suggest that school is over for the year, but rather we should put all efforts into strengthening our delivery of education through distance learning,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond wrote in his Tuesday letter.
Thurmond continued, “We acknowledge that students only being able to be served through distance learning creates hardships for some students, families, and educators. However, we are urging a safety first approach out of an abundance of caution.”
Thurmond said all school districts in California are urged to move towards and/or continue to strengthen their distance learning programs and opportunities for students.
“We believe this sustains the safety of our students and families, provides consistency across schools in the state, and provides our districts and educators with clarity and the ability to plan for delivering education for the rest of this school year through a distance learning model,” Thurmond said.
He said the California Department of Education is prepared to assist the distance learning efforts of school districts, has provided guidance and resources on distance learning and will continue to enhance that guidance.
Thurmond said the agency also will provide webinars and training “and is forging public-private partnerships with leaders in technology and the philanthropic sector to help expand home devices and internet access where possible and where available resources and donations allow.”
He added, “We know that we are dealing with a never seen before health crisis that challenges us in many ways. But we also believe that as it relates to educating California students we must rise to meet that challenge, that we are stronger together, and that if we work together we can do more together for all of our students.”
Last week, the county’s district superintendents – in consultation with Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg and Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace – decided to extend student dismissals from regular school attendance from their original April 10 date through May 1 as part of the effort to slow the spread of novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, as Lake County News has reported.
Although students are dismissed from attendance on campuses, Falkenberg said schools aren’t closed.
“They have dismissed students from regular attendance and have begun the transition to distance learning,” he said.
Falkenberg said what is best for Los Angeles or Sacramento may not be appropriate for Lake County.
“I am confident that the school districts of Lake County, in consultation with Public Health, will proceed in a manner that meets the needs of local communities and Lake County as a whole,” he said.
Thurmond’s Tuesday letter was followed on Wednesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement of a major agreement between teachers, classified employees, school boards, superintendents and principals to work together to provide distance learning to California’s students as a result of school closures due to mitigation efforts against the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Governor’s Office said the agreement means more children will be able to get school resources, such as quality distance instruction, and empowers teachers to create lessons within clear parameters.
“While schools might be physically closed, class is still in session,” said Gov. Newsom. “This agreement is good news for students and parents, and the announcement means that more California kids will have tools to learn at home during this crisis.”
“The labor and management groups understand the importance of all of us working together during this unprecedented time. The framework for this collaboration created jointly, models how we can all come together to better serve our students,” said Thurmond in response to the agreement.
The Governor’s Office said the agreement includes a collaboration framework for school employers and employees to work together on matters of labor and management to minimize any impact to students – including direction on implementation and delivery of distance learning, special education, and meals through the end of the school year.
On Wednesday the Governor also announced a partnership with Google to provide mobile hotspots and Chromebooks to students in rural areas to facilitate distance learning.
Google will be donating Chromebooks and will fund the use of 100,000 donated mobile hotspots to provide free and unlimited high-speed Internet connectivity for the remainder of the school year.
The California Department of Education will be distributing these resources, prioritizing rural communities, the Governor’s Office said.
Falkenberg said the funding and philanthropy to support online learning, as identified by the governor, will help Lake County.
Email Elizabeth Larson at