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COVID-19: Stress associated with alcohol consumption in the U.S.

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2020.12.17

COVID-19: Stress associated with alcohol consumption in the U.S.

Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].

The COVID-19 pandemic, which brought a first order of stay home last March, as well as other stressors for adults in the U.S., such as job loss, are associated with changes in heavy drinking.

According to research published in The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse , heavy drinking can be defined as having five or more drinks for men and four or more drinks for women within two hours.

Thus, the study notes that 34 percent of respondents reported heavy drinking during the pandemic, while binge drinkers were more likely to increase their alcohol consumption compared to pre-pandemic - 60% - than non-binge drinkers - 28%.

After adjusting for sociodemographic data, the report reports that for every week's increase in the time people spent at home during the pandemic, there was a 1.21 greater likelihood of heavy drinking.

In turn, households with children were 0.74 less likely to drink excessively during the pandemic compared to households without children

In addition, those who reported a previous diagnosis of depression or depressive symptoms during the pandemic were more likely to drink heavily, compared to those who reported no previous diagnosis or depression during the pandemic.

It should be noted that the study collected data on sociodemographic factors, alcohol consumption and COVID-19-related stressors - household composition, employment status, length of stay at home and depression - through a web survey in the United States.

The research, carried out on 1,982 participants from March to mid-April 2020, used multivariate logistic and multinomial regression models to evaluate the associations between VOC-19-related stressors and excessive alcohol consumption.

Thus, the study also points out that the socio-economic level - NSE - of the sample was relatively high, where more than 70 percent of the respondents reported an annual income of more than $80,000, potentially indicating more disposable income.

Hazardous alcohol consumption has been associated with higher incomes, since in April 2020, Forbes reported that wine and liquor sales had increased by 55 percent in the United States.

The research concludes that specific stressors related to VOC-19 are associated with increased alcohol consumption, so the unintended and side effects of the VOC-19 pandemic could have lasting consequences for the health of the population.

COVID-19: Home confinement statutes

Peninsula 360 Press

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2020.12.16

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Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].

Thursday, December 3rd, the California state government informed that regional orders would be issued as hospital occupancy dropped to less than 15 percent in the intensive care units.

After the San Mateo Emergency Operations Center announced that starting tomorrow, Thursday, December 17, at 11:59 p.m., the county will be subject to a mandatory regional "stay at home" order, questions arise as to what can and cannot be done, where to go and where not to go.

According to a statement, the regional stay-home order urges Californians to stay home as long as possible and to stop mixing between households that can cause the spread of VOCs-19.

However, it also allows access to critical services and outdoor activities to preserve the physical and mental health of residents.

According to the order, the following sectors can remain open with safety precautions:

Critical infrastructure (when remote option is not possible)
Schools
Non-emergency medical and dental care
Child and Maternal Care

Certain spaces may remain open, provided that 100 percent of the population attending must wear a mask and keep their physical distance.

But which ones?

Outdoor Recreational Facilities: Outdoor operation shall be permitted only for the purpose of facilitating personal health and well-being by physically distancing oneself through outdoor exercise, without the sale of food, drink or alcohol. In addition, overnight stays in camps are not permitted.

Retailers: Indoor operations will be allowed at 20 percent of capacity and 35 percent in those independent grocery stores, with entrance measurement and without eating and drinking in the stores.

In addition, special schedules should be established for older people and others with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems.

Malls: They will allow access as long as the capacity does not exceed 20 percent, there will be entrance meters and no food or beverages may be consumed; and likewise special hours will be established for seniors and other people with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems.

Hotels and housing: COVID-19 containment and mitigation measures, treatment measures, and housing for essential workers will be allowed and housing solutions, including measures to protect homeless populations, will be provided.

Restaurants: Only take-out or home delivery will be allowed.

Offices: Remote -virtual- procedures will be allowed, except for critical infrastructure sectors where working via Internet is not possible.

Places of worship and political expression: Meetings will be allowed, provided they are outdoors and at a distance.

Entertainment production: Industries, studios and other related establishments, such as those providing content for professional broadcast, can operate without live audiences.

What should you close?

Under the order to stay in the regional home, all operations in the following sectors must be closed - except insofar as their tasks are within the critical infrastructure:

Hairdressers and barber shops
Personal Care Services
Museums, zoos and aquariums
Cinemas -except drive-in theatres-
Wineries, pubs, breweries and distilleries - with the exception of production, manufacture, distribution and retail sale for off-site consumption
Family Entertainment Centers
Card rooms and satellite betting
Live Audience Sports
Amusement parks

COVID-19: San Mateo, with regional homebound order

Peninsula 360 Press

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2020.12.16

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COVID-19: San Mateo, with regional homebound order

Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].

Starting tomorrow, Thursday, at 11:59 p.m., St. Matthew and 10 other counties will be subject to a mandatory regional "stay at home" order, due to the significant increase in positive cases of VIDOC-19 that have caused the Intensive Care Units to become overcrowded.

In a statement, the county's Emergency Operations Center recalled that the order, which will be in effect for at least three weeks, prohibits private meetings of any size, except for outdoor religious services and political demonstrations.

Also, restaurants must stop offering food for consumption on site, and may only offer take-out and home delivery.

Under the new order, many businesses and activities will have to close, including salons and hairdressers, while retail trade may remain open at 20% of capacity.

It should be noted that in this new paradigm, non-essential travel and the use of hotels or short-term rentals for leisure are prohibited.

The request by the State of California was due to the fact that the bed capacity in the Intensive Care Units (ICU) in the region has fallen below 15%, a situation that triggers the protocol.

Thus, the order is designed to avoid overcrowding and mixing among people outside the home and not to overwhelm the health care system.

While the order may be strong, it is less radical than the orderly closures in the spring, as people can continue with essential activities such as going to the doctor, buying food, and picking up take-out.

This new closure does not restrict outdoor activities such as hiking, biking and outdoor religious ceremonies, however, schools that have already reopened for in-person classes under a plan reviewed by the San Mateo Health Department and the San Mateo County Office of Education may remain open.

The document issued this afternoon details that all retail operations and shopping centers are limited to 20% of their capacity, and 35% in the case of independent grocery stores with entrance meters, in addition to not allowing eating or drinking in the stores.

Cases grow in San Mateo

As of Tuesday, Dec. 15, the county reported an accumulation of 18,907 positive cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, while deaths due to this virus now total 183.

This month, the county recorded new highs of positive cases in a single day, as during the period of Dec. 9-15, the county recorded 2,602 new laboratory-confirmed cases, a daily average of 372 cases.

The county's average 14-day positive test has increased to 8.0% from 2.1% in early November.

However, throughout the Bay Area region, ICU capacity was reduced today to 12.9%, according to the state's COVID-19 data panel.

With the Bay Area ICU's capacity below the 15 percent activation threshold, 39.4 million Californians, approximately 98 percent of the population, are now subject to the Regional Stay-At-Home Order.

The order, where approximately 98 percent of the Bay Area population will be subject to the rule, will be in effect in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano and Sonoma counties.

After three weeks, the order may be lifted if the projected ICU capacity of the region reaches or exceeds 15%.

COVID-19: San Mateo officials hopeful after vaccine arrival

Peninsula 360 Press

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2020.12.16

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COVID-19: San Mateo officials hopeful after vaccine arrival

Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].

Bay Area health officials see hope in the fight against one of the deadliest viruses in modern history as nurses, doctors and other health care workers caring for patients with COVID-19 receive the first batches of a rigorously tested vaccine.

"We now have a critical tool to help fight this pandemic," officials said in a statement issued Tuesday by the San Mateo County Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

Such vaccinations, they said, in acute-care hospital settings follow a locally adopted federal and state framework that will soon also protect those in skilled nursing facilities, such as older adults, who are more likely to acquire the virus.

The document also notes that the 12 county health officials in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sonoma and the city of Berkeley support the state's vaccine distribution guidelines, which currently prioritize health care workers in acute care settings.

For his part, San Mateo County Health Officer Dr. Scott Morrow reminded that the vaccines are still months away from reaching the general public, which is why he called to avoid social gatherings, as it is the most common source of infections at home. "The virus is transmissible without and before any symptoms. Please do not hold gatherings outside nearby homes, wear a mask and, if you know or think you have been exposed to the virus, isolate yourself immediately, even if you have no symptoms," he urged.

San Mateo: vaccination plan by COVID-19

Peninsula 360 Press

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2020.12.15

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Christian Carlos. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].

Today, the San Mateo County Health Department issued a vaccination plan for COVID-19 after the arrival of 5,820 initial doses of Pfizer-BioNTech's new coronavirus vaccine, SARS-CoV-2, was confirmed.

Five to six more doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccine are expected to arrive soon.

According to the California Department of Public Health's manual, it is established that

San Mateo County has created a Planning Group that includes the Emergency Medical Services division, the Family Health Services division where the County's Immunization Program is located, the Public Health Policy and Planning division, Health Communications, and the County Health Department (DOC) Operations Center. The document states that this group is ready for COVID-19 vaccination.

The vaccine will be provided to first-line medical personnel, who are the ones who directly treat patients who are sick with the new coronavirus, which also includes paramedics and first-aid personnel; that is, a population of about 38 thousand people.

Then to residents of long-term care facilities; about 8,000 in San Mateo County.

In addition, it is noted that equitable distribution is a key priority in the immunization schedule for San Mateo and for the state of California. It explains that this distribution in the application of the initial doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, is directed to people with greater risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 or their level of vulnerability, whether they are paid or unpaid, as reported by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices -ACIP.

This first phase includes cleaning staff, patient transport staff, administrative staff and any other sector of the population that may fall into the category of workers in the front line of exposure to COVID-19.

It notes that the San Mateo County Health Department will coordinate the distribution of the vaccine because of its storage complexity and says the department "has partnered with hospitals, clinics and care facilities throughout the county to make sure they are in a position to administer the vaccine to their staff.

In the event that, for whatever reason, qualified personnel are not available to administer the vaccine, this partnership will serve as a substitute for this work. Kaiser, Sutter, and the Department of Veterans Affairs will receive the vaccine directly from providers.

It is important to note that after the initial dose of COVID-19 vaccine is completed for frontline workers, more detailed information on vaccine distribution for the rest of the population will be provided, and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the California Department of Public Health.

In addition, the San Mateo County Health Department is expected to collect quantitative information on: the number of doses distributed; as well as the number of people receiving the vaccine by group, ensuring that key groups are not left out; the number of unused or discarded doses; and the number of clinics administering the vaccine in large quantities.

COVID-19: 2,000 doses of vaccine arriving in San Francisco

Peninsula 360 Press

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2020.12.15

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Christian Carlos. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].

This morning it was announced that 2,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine against the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19, whose origin was recorded more than 1 year ago in a market in the Wuhan region of China, have been received.

Those doses will be administered to staff and health care professionals at San Francisco General Hospital, which serves as the testing site for COVID-19, said Dr. Grant Colfax of the San Francisco Health Department. In addition, he said, more doses of Pfizer's vaccine will arrive and be administered in the coming weeks in addition to the doses arriving this week.

"The fight is happening at the same time we are facing a historic moment for our city and for our nation," Colfax said.

Unfortunately, San Francisco is among the cities reporting the highest number of daily COVID-19 cases with an average of 200 cases every 24 hours and, in California as a whole, more than 20,000 cases are reported every 24 hours on average, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

If this trend continues, it is expected that the occupancy of intensive care units will exceed 90 percent availability, which could create a health crisis by not being able to care for COVID-19 patients.

San Mateo Superior Court suspends jury trials until January 2021

Peninsula 360 Press

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2020.12.15

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San Mateo Superior Court suspends jury trials until January 2021

Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].

Following a significant increase in COVID-19 positive cases throughout California, the San Mateo Superior Court has ordered a suspension of jury trials beginning this Monday, December 14 and ending Friday, January 8, 2021.

The emergency order issued by the Chief Justice of the California State Supreme Court details that the San Mateo Superior Court has also closed most of its clerk's offices to the public and all walk-in transactions to minimize foot traffic on the premises.

The court is also suspending certain types of in-person hearings, the county said in a statement.

The document states that the Court will continue to accept and process documents filed electronically, delivered to on-site drop boxes and sent by mail.

At the same time, he said, restraining orders will continue to be accepted by the clerk's offices, while telephone inquiries will only be answered on a limited basis.

For its part, the Self-Help Centre will maintain remote services for self-represented litigants through the Tribunal's LiveChat program at http://www.sanmateocourt.org/self_help/.

It should be noted that the Juvenile Clerk's Office at the Youth Services Center will remain open to the public.

Neal Taniguchi, executive officer of the San Mateo Court, stated that "the closures and suspension of services are unfortunate, but necessary to minimize public interaction and contact, the primary risks of community spread of the coronavirus."

However, the official also noted that staff shortages due to the state's budget crisis also necessitated the suspension and reduction of services in the secretary's office.

For more information on court closings and adjournments of hearings, please see the Court's website at www.sanmateocourt.orgor call (650) 261-5016.

Two small earthquakes shook Morgan Hill this morning

Peninsula 360 Press

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2020.12.15

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Two small earthquakes shook Morgan Hill this morning

Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].

On Tuesday morning, the Morgan Hill area was surprised by two low-intensity earthquakes just a minute apart, reported the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

The first telluric movement was registered at 6:58 a.m., magnitude 3.7, a minute later another earthquake M3.6 was registered. So far there are no reports of damage or injured people.

Given the seismicity of the Bay Area, it is important to be alert for possible movements that may occur in the near future, as well as to always have a contingency plan that allows you to keep yourself and your family and pets safe.

The San Francisco Bay Area has had and will continue to have earthquakes because there are at least eight earthquake faults that can cause very serious damage, according to the USGS, which added that several major earthquakes occurred in 1868, 1906 and 1989, while smaller quakes occur more often.

Scientific research indicates that a strong earthquake is very likely to occur in this region within the next 30 years.

The Geological Survey also notes that the most severe damage will be caused by intense ground shaking, with most of the Bay Area experiencing the strongest shaking.

Unlike undersea earthquakes, Bay Area earthquakes are not expected to produce tsunamis or violent waves. However, some distant earthquakes around the Pacific Ocean can generate tsunamis or huge waves that can damage the state's coastline.

Stanford uses AI and macro data to analyze water consumption

Peninsula 360 Press

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2020.12.15

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Stanford uses AI and macro data to analyze water consumption

Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].

Researchers from Stanford University analyzed water consumption, with the help of Macrodata and Artificial Intelligence tools, which could change the urbanization strategy, as well as provide a better understanding of the use and supply of water in cities.

Notably, the research, published in Environmental Research Letters, is the first to demonstrate how real estate platforms can be used to obtain data on water use for city planning, drought management and sustainability.

The report uses data from Zillow and other real estate websites to compile information on single-family homes, including lot size, home value and number of bedrooms in Redwood City, California, a fast-growing and economically diverse city with various home styles, lots and neighborhoods.

Then, using demographic information from the city's Census Bureau, they analyzed factors including average household size and income, along with the percentage occupied by renters, non-family, college-educated, and seniors.

By combining the data and applying machine learning methods, the researchers were able to identify five clusters of communities, which they also compared to billing data from the city's public works department, to identify water use trends, seasonal patterns, and conservation rates during California's 2014-2017 drought.

"Evolving development patterns may be the key to our success in becoming wiser in our use of water and building long-term water security," said the study's lead author, Newsha Ajami, director of urban water policy for Stanford's Water in the West program.

Researcher Kim Quesnel, for her part, said that with this method "we were able to develop more precise community groupings, beyond simply grouping clients based on income and other socioeconomic qualities," which resulted in some unexpected findings.

Contrary to previous studies, the researchers found that the two lowest income groups scored average on water use, despite having a greater number of people living in each household.

The middle-income group had high outdoor but low indoor water use, indicating the use of efficient appliances, such as low-flow faucets and toilets.

While, of the two highest income groups, younger residents with smaller lots, as well as newer homes in dense, compact developments, had the lowest water use citywide.

While the other high-income group, consisting of older homes built on larger lots and with fewer people, turned out to be the biggest water consumers.

"The finding runs counter to most previous research linking income and water use, and suggests that changing the way communities are built and developed. It may also change patterns of water use, even for the wealthiest customers," the report adds.

Thus, this research sets the framework for integrating big data and artificial intelligence into urban planning, providing more accurate usage expectations for different community configurations.

Collaboration agreement between Peninsula 360 Press and News for Chinese

Peninsula 360 Press

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2020.12.14

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Collaboration agreement between Peninsula 360 Press and News for Chinese

Editorial office. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].

Redwood City. In order to create an informative, cultural and economic bridge between the Chinese community and the Latino community in the San Francisco Peninsula, News for Chinese and Peninsula 360 Press presented a partnership agreement between the two digital media outlets.

The directors of News for Chinese -an online news platform with a large audience in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as the coordinators of Peninsula 360 Pressexpressed their interest in sharing content about culture, food and festivities between the two media, so that the Latino community, the Chinese community, the Anglo-Saxon community and others, know more about each other and this will lead to greater understanding and multicultural support.

Therefore, soon, through our website and social networks, we will include local news and information on the enormous diversity and cultural richness of the Chinese community in San Francisco and the Peninsula.

https://newsforchinese.com/