Los Angeles Times - 04.04.2020

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BUSINESS INSIDE:Flight attendants press airlines to reduce schedules to slow virus. A

Nurses, doctors and
thousands of medical work-
ers inside California hospi-
tals are already struggling
through intense days — and
intense emotions — as the
wave of expected COVID-
patients turns from a dis-
tant shadow to a roaring
peril.
Gov. Gavin Newsom says
more than 140,000 people in
the state might need a hospi-
tal bed by the end of May,
with about 26,000 requiring a
high level of care — a scenar-
io that predicts nearly two
months until a peak. As of
Friday, California had more

than 12,000 positive cases of

the novel coronavirus, with

nearly 2,200 people hospital-

ized and 900 in intensive

care.

So far, even as Los Ange-

les becomes a hot spot for

the highly infectious patho-

gen, the numberof serious

coronavirus patients at

most facilities in Southern

California has been in the

dozens. It’s a lull leaving

ominously empty wards and

frayed nerves.

“It’s like a pressure

cooker,” said a nurse at

UCLA. “Long on fear and

short of gear.”

The wait, many said,

verges on unbearable.

As those inside the va-

cant hospitals brace for

what’s next, there is a rush to

buy supplies, repurpose

MEDICAL staff stand at the San Bernardino County Fairgrounds in Victorville for drive-through coronavirus
tests. A lull of serious cases at most Southland facilities is fraying healthcare workers’ nerves.

Irfan KhanLos Angeles Times

‘It’s like a pressure cooker’

The wait for COVID-19 patients is verging on unbearable,

leaving hospital workers tense and fearful gear will run out

By Anita Chabria,
Soumya Karlamangla,
Matt Hamilton,
Harriet Ryan and
Kiera Feldman

[SeeHospitals,A12]

AWOMAN shows her notice from her doctor that

allows her to obtain a coronavirus test at a new drive-

up site at the South Bay Galleria in Redondo Beach.

Genaro MolinaLos Angeles Times

WASHINGTON —

Smallb-usiness owners

across the country woke up

early Friday morning, des-

perate to be among the first

to apply for a $349-billion

federal relief program — the

government’s largest effort

to date to keep Americans

employed through the pan-

demic. Instead, they con-

fronted problems, delays

and even rejections.

Some of the nation’s larg-

est banks said they weren’t

ready to participate, having

received information too

late from the Treasury De-

partment.

Others were over-

whelmed, hit with a deluge of

applications from millions of

business owners trying to

stay solvent amid the econo-

mic crisis caused by co-

ronavirus-related shut-

downs.

Tom Straus, the owner of

Straus Carpets in Oakland,

said that by late Friday he

had called or visited six

banks, some large, some

small. Although he had al-

ready filled out the loan ap-

plication, no banks were pre-

pared to accept it.

“Even though the plan is

supposed to be rolled out,

I’ve been not just unsuccess-

ful — I’ve been frustrated at

every turn,” he said.

In the meantime, he’s

dipping into his personal

savings to continue to pay

his 21 employees.

The loan program,

known as the Paycheck Pro-

tection Program, was as-

sembled by the Treasury

Department and the Small

Business Administration,

with funding from the $2-

trillion relief packageagreed

to by Congress and Presi-

dent Trump last week.

It depends on major

banks and other lenders to

provide small businesses

with forgivable loans, up to

$10 million, to cover their

payroll and rent.

But in the rush to get the

program up and running,

there was widespread confu-

sion about the terms of the

loans and what information

Frustration,

stress as small

businesses race

to apply for aid

Lenders are deluged

and unprepared for

virus relief rollout.

Applicants confront

delays and confusion.

By Anna M. Phillips

and Samantha

Masunaga

[SeeLoans,A10]

It’s a potential saving

grace salvaged from a pan-

demic: As people recover

from the coronavirus,they

may develop immunity that

could allow them to return

to school or work, helping

place the U.S. on the road to

recovery.

But tests to determine

whether a person is immune

are just being developed in

the U.S., and concern is

growing that the process

could be marred by the same

kind of widely criticized de-

lays and confusion that

plagued testing aimed at

detecting COVID-19, the

disease caused by the novel

coronavirus.

The serology tests use

blood samples, rather than

secretions taken from

throats and noses, to check

whether a person has devel-

oped antibodies against the

coronavirus. Germany may

begin widespread serology

testing this month, and the

U.K. has ordered millions of

at-home antibody tests.

The U.S., by comparison,

hasn’t come up with a cohe-

sive plan for large-scale anti-

body testing,which health

experts say could dash

chances for a return to pub-

lic life and leave health offi-

cials with few options for

managing the pandemic

other than severe social re-

strictions until a vaccine or

drug therapy is available.

“If I were emperor and

U.S. LACKS

COHESIVE

PLAN TO

FIND THE

IMMUNE

Antibody tests may be

next step in fighting

coronavirus, but can

the nation conduct

them on a large scale?

By Anita Chabria and

Emily Baumgaertner

[SeeImmunity,A6]

I

t was the third Wednesday of Lent,

and the Rev. Michael Sahdev

couldn’t sleep.

This was supposed to be one of

the most important times of the year,

when he’d join his flock each day to relive

the 40 days Jesus fasted in the desert

before they celebrated his resurrection.

Instead, he was stuck in his apartment

in khaki shorts and an untucked black

clergy shirt with the white collar missing.

He stress-ate through a big bag of salt and

vinegar chips. He tossed in bed. He scrol-

led through the news.

“Can y’all not sleep either?” he tweeted

at 3:50 a.m. to the other Episcopal priests

who followed him.

There was too much on his mind.

The parishioner dying of leukemia

whom he couldn’t anoint. The 98-year-old

who came each week to receive the Eucha-

rist from his hands. His mom, who greeted

customers at the kids clothing store in the

mall to make ends meet.

“I’m supposed to be there with the

people,” he thought to himself. “What am I

doing here?”

Social distancing has different mean-

ings. In California, Oregon and many

other states, everything “unessential” —

THE REV. MICHAEL SAHDEVof St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Coral

Gables, Fla., makes videos from his apartment to connect with parishioners.

Patrick FarrellFor The Times

COLUMN ONE

A priest struggles to reach

his flock in a time of need

[SeePriest, A8]

His church is closed, but his heart remains wide open

By Jaweed Kaleem

reporting from coral gables, fla.

From her bakery in the
Gold Rush town of Quincy,
Calif., Amy Carey said the
last few weeks have felt like
the great wait.
On Tuesday afternoon,
no confirmed cases of
COVID-19 had been an-
nounced in rural Plumas
County. But it was getting
closer: a few cases in neigh-
boring Butte County, the
first deathjust announced
in Reno — the nearest city, at
82 winding-mountain-road
miles away.
“We’re just waiting to

hear when the first case will

be,” said Carey, co-owner of

Quincy Provisions.

A few hours later, her

nephew broke the news:

Plumas County had just an-

nounced its first confirmed

case.On Facebook, locals

were already sleuthing, try-

ing to figure out who the sick

person was. The tension in

this Sierra Nevada town

rose.

“I think it shocked some

people because maybe they

didn’t think it would come,”

Carey said. “But it’s here.”

In Northern California,

the COVID-19 pandemichas

felt both real and surreal. It

has shut down schools,

Denial, dread as

virus creeps north

In far reaches of California, distrust of

government coexists with foreboding

By Hailey
Branson-Potts
and Andrew J. Campa

[SeeVirus,A7]

Folk-soul singer

Bill Withers dies

Withers, 81, who came

to music late and left it

early, created emo-

tional, feel-good hits

including “Ain’t No

Sunshine,” “Lean on

Me” and “Just the

Two of Us.”

CALIFORNIA, B

Skateboard legend

Jeff Grosso dies

Grosso, 51, from Arca-

dia, rose to the top in

the 1980s before falling

into despair and making

a comeback. SPORTS, D

Weather

Mostly sunny.

L.A. Basin: 71/58. B

Rebecca SappGetty Images

High school sports

will remain idle

Governing body makes it

official: Competitive

sports in California will

not restart this school

year. SPORTS, D

MORE COVERAGE

A ‘critically

important’ time

L.A. County’s top health

official says the public

has a key role in slowing

rise in cases over next

weeks. CALIFORNIA, B