Los Angeles Times - 07.03.2020

$2.75DESIGNATED AREAS HIGHER © 2020 WST SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2020 latimes.com

As COVID-19 cases rise,

the testing needed to help

stem the spread of the dis-

ease remains below what is

needed to address the grow-

ing crisis, with healthcare

workers across the state re-

porting widespread failings

in the response by local and

federal government officials.

Federal officials said

nearly 1 million tests were

expected to be available by

the end of this week. But in

California, one of the coun-

try’s hardest-hit regions

with 60 cases, the total test-

ing capacity is limited to only

7,400 through the weekend,

according to the California

Department of Public

Health.

The inability to test

widely and swiftly for the

novel coronavirus has im-

peded the country’s ability

to beat back the spread of

the virus, experts say. With-

out testing, public health of-

ficials don’t know where the

virus is spreading and thus

where to target efforts to

contain it. Twelve Ameri-

cans have been killed so far

by the disease.

The shortages of test kits

as well as lab staffing to

screen for the virus are cre-

ating chaos for doctors and

nurses as their triage efforts

are complicated by testing

restrictions and shortfalls.

“Last night I had a pa-

tient with clear coronavirus

symptoms, but the health

department didn’t think he

should be tested,” said an

emergency room doctor in

Downey who spoke on con-

dition of anonymity. “I went

from that patient into the

next room, where I had an

80-year-old, immune-com-

promised, diabetic patient.

If I’m taking coronavirus in

there, it’s mild for me, but it’s

deadly for her.”

Though the Centers for

Disease Control and Preven-

tion on Wednesday lifted

some guidelines so anyone

with symptoms can be

tested by their physician,

L.A. County officials did not

immediately adopt that cri-

teria, because of a backlog at

the local health lab, and con-

tinued to limit tests to hospi-

talized patients. Lab staffers

were working at least 18-

hour days to keep up, county

officials said.

On Friday, L.A. County

officials, in a reversal, said

they would adopt the CDC

guidelines. Now doctors can

recommend testing for any-

one with symptoms.

Officials also announced

that two commercial labs

will be online by Monday to

test for the virus.

“We don’t have capacity

Test shortage breeds hospital chaos

Healthcare workers

across the state report

an inability to keep up

with the virus’ spread.

Limited lab staffing

encounters difficulties

amid triage efforts.

By Emily

Baumgaertner and

Soumya Karlamangla

[SeeCoronavirus,A7]

On a bright morning
early this week, Eugene
Seroka, executive director of
the Port of Los Angeles,
gazed through the big pic-
ture window of his office at
the sprawling docks below.
Where he would normally
see as many as a dozen ships
in the harbor with giant
cranes hoisting one con-
tainer of goods after anoth-
er, just four had docked.
“It’s very quiet,” he said.
The nation’s largest port
is hurting. That may be a
leading indicator of the pain
that’s in store for Southern
California and the U.S. econ-
omy as businesses hunker
down to deal with the rapidly
expanding coronavirus.
Many American compa-
nies had bulked up
inventories last year in ad-
vance of the Trump admin-
istration’s steep tariffs on
Chinese imports, and have
plenty of goods on hand. But
they could soon face serious
consequences: a dearth of
crucial parts for American
factories, shortages of con-
sumer products on store
shelves and less demand for
U.S. exports.
Trade with China nor-
mally accounts for roughly
half of the containerized
goods flowing through the
twin ports of Los Angeles
and Long Beach. Now, with
Chinese factories operating
at about 40% of capacity,
business at the San Pedro
Bay complex is dwindling.
The two ports project a 15%
[SeePorts, A7]

WORKERS

SUFFER AS

TRAFFIC

AT P O RTS

DROPS

Coronavirus shutters

Chinese factories and

effects are felt with

fewer goods at docks

in L.A., Long Beach.

By Margot Roosevelt

At Disneyland,

visitors carry on

Parkgoers take reason-
able precautions but are
determined not to let
fear stop the good times.
CALIFORNIA, B

SINGAPORE — Things felt

bleak in Hong Kong for Kathy Mak.

The city had just reported its first

death from the coronavirus, store

shelves were being cleared of basic

supplies, and the outbreak was giv-

ing a months-old protest move-

ment another troubling dimension.

“Life had just stopped,” said the

30-year-old dance instructor and

performer, who like other people in

Hong Kong has been confined

mostly to her apartment. “People

were being hysterical, grabbing toi-

let paper.”

Then, in a fit of inspiration, Mak

started jotting down lyrics to a song

— a parody she hoped would lighten

the mood at an upcoming charity

event.

Sung to the tune of 1990s pop hit

“Torn” by Australian singer Natalie

Imbruglia, Mak’s live performance

recorded on her cellphone has

racked up more than 270,000 views

on YouTube and sparked a minor

sensation in a city worn down by

numbing headlines and despair.

She sings:

There’s nothing left at the gro-

cery store

I can’t find bok choy no more

There’s just white people things

Like pasta, cheese and corn

Where the hell’s the rice?

Why’s it three times the price?

The United States is just now en-

countering the realities and insecu-

rities of the coronavirus, but in Asia,

the deadly illness, with its quaran-

tines and dystopian eeriness, has

When the virus goes ... viral

Asians turn to memes, parodies and political art to cope

KATHY MAK’Sparody of Natalie Imbruglia’s song “Torn” is an online sensation in Hong Kong.

Marcus YamLos Angeles Times

By David Pierson

[SeeCreativity,A4]

Trump replaces ■■■ ELECTION 2020■■■

Mick Mulvaney

Rep. Mark Meadows,

a close ally of the

president, will take

over as the White

House chief of staff.

NATION, A

Timely reminder

Daylight saving time

begins Sunday

at 2 a.m.

Weather

Morning drizzle.

L.A. Basin: 63/51. B

Printed with soy inks on

partially recycled paper.

3

1

2

12

Behind the tap-of-your-
phone convenience of hail-
ing an Uber or Lyft lies an in-
convenient truth: Such rides
generate more carbon emis-
sions than simply driving
yourself.
The increased pollution
comes primarily from “dead-
heading,” that is, drivers
traveling to pick up a pas-
senger or cruising the
streets while waiting for a
ride request. Deadheading
accounts for about 40% of
the miles logged by Uber and
Lyft vehicles in California,
according to recent analysis

by state air quality regula-

tors.

“That means that for a

one-mile trip, on average

there’s about another 0.

miles of driving around to

deliver that trip,” said Don

Anair, clean vehicles pro-

gram research director for

the Union of Concerned Sci-

entists, an environmental

group that recently released

its own report backing up

some of the state’s findings.

“People don’t see that. They

only see the vehicle pull up

and they take their trip.”

But the status quo may

not hold for long. The Cali-

fornia Air Resources Board

is now developing the

world’s first regulations to

reduce the climate impacts

of ride hailing. The rules, ex-

pected by year’s end, seek to

rein in traffic and pollution

Ride hailing’s big

climate footprint

Taking Uber or Lyft

produces more carbon

emissions, data show.

By Tony Barboza

[SeeRide hailing,A6]

The view Wednesday

night from the impeccably

landscaped backyard of

Sherry Lansing’s estate in

Bel-Air, with its enormous

pool and towering birds of

paradise, suggested the old

order of financing cam-

paigns was fast reemerging

in the race for the Demo-

cratic presidential nomina-

tion.

Scores of well-to-do

Angelenos shelled out $2,

each for the privilege of

getting a photo with Joe Bid-

en. They caught glimpses

of Leonardo DiCaprio and

mega-millionaire financier

Richard C. Blum, and

hung on every word as Sen.

Dianne Feinstein, Blum’s

wife, patched in from Wash-

ington to fete the former vice

president.

Soon after, Biden would

be boasting that his cam-

paign had raised $22 million

in less than a week.

The scene at the home of

the former Paramount Stu-

dios chief, though, hardly

captured the reality on the

ground in this race. This pri-

mary campaign upended

virtually all the old axioms

about how money — and

proximity to it — influences

races.

Biden dominated Super

Tuesday despite not spend-

ing a dollar — or even show-

ing up — in some of the big

states he won handily.

A billionaire from New

York, Michael R. Bloomberg,

spent an unprecedented

Biden surged without much

cash — but now it’s pouring in

By Evan Halper

and Seema Mehta

JOE BIDENspent no

money in some of the big

states he won Tuesday.

Mario TamaGetty Images

[SeeBiden,A10]

Delegate math

After his huge comeback,

Biden is closing in on the

Democratic nomination,

numbers say. NATION, A

Some schools shut

in Seattle area

But health officials say
the move to contain the
region’s COVID-19 out-
break may have the op-
posite effect.NATION, A

SXSW festival

among casualties

South by Southwest has
been canceled because of
the spread of the virus,
officials in Austin, Texas,
announced. CALENDAR, E

21 ABOARD CRUISE SHIP TEST POSITIVE

Chief Master Sgt. Seth ZwebenCalifornia Air National Guard

Members of the Guardian Angels, a group of medical personnel, work with staffers from the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday on the Grand Princess off San Francisco. CALIFORNIA, B