12-17: "You got really emotional today,” [Supervisor] Steel responded, with a laugh

✅ As Hospitals Get ‘Bombarded’ With Covid Patients, OC Health Director Pleads With Public 

Dr. Clayton Chau issued an emotional appeal for the public to wear masks and avoid gatherings. 

—Voice of OC 

     …“The emergency rooms have no capacity to triage people as quick as they can. We have people who are waiting to be seen when they get to the emergency room,” he added, noting his staff are deploying field hospital beds to local hospitals that requested them. 

     “Every day we break the record of the number of people who have [been] infected. So I’m pleading with the community: Please. Please. Do not gather. And make sure you follow the public health guidance.”…. 

     “The wearing [of] masks, the staying physically separate from people – that is the only thing that still works to stop the spread of the virus. Let’s make that very very clear. There’s no argument on the other side of it,” Chau said. 

     “We are now surpassing 16 million people infected, and over 300,000 people who died from this virus [in this country]. Okay? That is a fact. That number is not fake,” he added, raising his voice. 

     “And the reason why we have an increase in cases is because people have been gathering and not following public health guidance. Period. Let’s make that very clear. There’s no argument on that.”…. 

     “I apologize, I didn’t mean to raise my voice,” Chau said. 

     “You got really emotional today,” [Supervisor Michelle] Steel responded, with a laugh. “But you know, I understand that – that we are all very much concerned about this virus.” 

     “I know that you are working around the clock, and it has been a yeoman’s effort,” [Supervisor Don] Wagner told Chau.

     “I want to thank you for it. And I will also say for the public, I know you hear the voices of those who come here [to speak]. I know you hear the voices of the patients. And I know you hear the voices of the medical professionals…I thank you for your continued efforts.” 

     Wagner later said that while he supports Sheriff Don Barnes in not enforcing mask mandates, he’s also for the sheriff backing up businesses that do require masks. 

     “If you’re not going to wear a mask in a business that requires one, go down the street and find somebody else. Or better, put on the darned mask,” Wagner said…. 

✅ OC Sees Largest Single Day Hospitalization Increase as County Health Officials Build Field Hospitals

Coronavirus hospitalizations have been steadily climbing since November started, straining hospitals and their staff. 

—Voice of OC  

✅ More Southern California kids are killing themselves during coronavirus pandemic 

—OC Reg 

✅ California sets new daily record of 379 virus deaths -- California health authorities reported Thursday a record 379 coronavirus deaths and more than 52,000 new confirmed cases. The staggering new figures mean California has seen more than 1,000 deaths in the last five days and nearly 106,000 confirmed cases in just two days. John Antczak and Amy Taxin Associated Press -- 12/17/20 

✅ O.C. hospitals told not to divert ambulances despite influx of COVID-19 patients -- The order — the first of its kind in the region — went into effect at 7 p.m. Tuesday after 20 of the county’s 25 emergency medical centers became so overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients that they began diverting ambulances to other facilities in Orange County. As a result, ambulances were having difficulty finding a hospital that would take patients. Ruben Vives, Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/17/20 

✅ High-Poverty Neighborhoods Bear the Brunt of COVID’s Scourge -- Over the course of the pandemic, COVID-19 infections have battered high-poverty neighborhoods in California on a staggeringly different scale than more affluent areas, a trend that underscores the heightened risks for low-wage workers as the state endures a deadly late-autumn surge. Phillip Reese Capital Public Radio -- 12/17/20 

✅ Christmas singalong organized by Kirk Cameron draws hundreds of mostly maskless people — and criticism -- Summoned by the actor Kirk Cameron, hundreds of maskless people belted out Christmas carols in a Thousand Oaks parking lot Sunday night in a protest against coronavirus restrictions. Faith E. Pinho in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/17/20 

✅ Trump administration cuts off $200 million for California health care over abortions -- The Trump administration said Wednesday that it would withhold $200 million in federal health care funding from California because the state requires that insurance providers cover abortions, escalating a highly politicized battle just weeks before President Trump leaves office. Alexei Koseff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/17/20 

✅ How counseling aims to help CSU freshmen graduate in four years -- Right out of high school and not sure where the advising office is, let alone how to register for classes, freshmen need special care at California’s big public universities. Without it, they are at higher risk of not making it back for a second year. Larry Gordon EdSource -- 12/17/20 

✅ ‘We want them infected’: Trump appointee demanded ‘herd immunity’ strategy, emails reveal -- A top Trump appointee repeatedly urged top health officials to adopt a "herd immunity" approach to Covid-19 and allow millions of Americans to be infected by the virus, according to internal emails obtained by a House watchdog and shared with Politico. Dan Diamond Politico -- 12/17/20 

✅ Lopez: California’s ‘climate damn emergency’ can’t be ignored -- In California, 2020 would have gone down as an apocalyptic year even without COVID. It was the year when it became impossible to ignore that climate change is here, it’s accelerating, and it’s dramatically altering California in myriad ways. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/16/20 

✅ Arellano: The year Orange County reminded us it’s still Orange County -- When it comes to Orange County and crazy, I always paraphrase Michael Corleone’s memorable quote about his involvement with organized crime in “The Godfather Part III”: Just when I thought we were out, we pull ourselves back in. Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/16/20 

     ....Our gift to America this unfathomable year? A Murderers' Row of COVID-19 nitwits. 

     In the early days of the pandemic, cities and residents sought to keep coronavirus patients away from their paradises. In April, Supervisor Michelle Steel sent out a press release with a straight face that Orange County was “flattening the curve” on coronavirus cases and had kept hospitalization rates stable. A month later, both figures skyrocketed; right now, we’re even worse. 

     Next month, Steel will be sworn in as a member of Congress....

✅ Few Positives in Final Fall Enrollment Numbers 

Community colleges saw the largest enrollment declines this fall. Matriculation by first-time freshmen also fell sharply. 

—Inside Higher Ed 

✅ Fall’s Enrollment Decline Now Has a Final Tally. Here’s What’s Behind It. 

—CHE

Today's OC Covid numbers