California coronavirus: 5 deaths, 247 cases: Here is what you need to know

A shopper is among the first to exit Costco in Burbank after hundreds of customers lined up before doors opened, most looking for water, toilet paper, paper towels and cleaning supplies on Friday. Water and other necessities were out of stock within 20 minutes after the store opened.

, Colleen Shalby, Rong-Gong Lin II and Richard Winton

March 13, 2020 6:13 PM PT

With schools closing, people staying home and supermarkets mobbed, the coronavirus is dramatically changing life in California.

The state now reports 247 confirmed cases and five deaths. But officials say many more have the virus but have not yet been tested.

There is now a concerted effort across the state toward social distancing — staying at least 6 feet apart to help avoid transmission.

Regional view

LOS ANGELES: County Public Health Department officials confirmed eight new cases of the virus, bringing the total to 40, as community spread intensified. Three of those cases are thought to be the result of community transmission, as the source of exposure is unknown. Two of the individuals are hospitalized, public health director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said. Officials say they expect those cases to expand significantly as more people get tested. Ferrer said L.A. County got more test kits this week, and noted that initial testing limitations have made estimates difficult to gather.

SANTA CLARA COUNTY: Calling the outbreak “one of the most historic public health challenges of our time,” the health officer for Silicon Valley has issued a new aggressive ban on public gatherings — restricting gatherings of 35 or more unless organizers warn attendees that it poses a heightened risk of infection and banning all public and private gatherings of 100 or more. The number of cases approached 100.

SAN FRANCISCO: The city’s health officer has issued a public health order banning all non-essential events of 100 or more people. Restaurants that have a capacity of more than 100 people can continue operating if they reduce their occupancy in half. For instance, a restaurant with an occupancy of 150 can continue operating if it reduces its occupancy in half to 75.

ORANGE COUNTY: Orange County on Friday reported three suspected coronavirus cases, bringing its total to nine. The new tally came as the Orange County superintendent of schools said he supported suspending all school operations for at least two weeks.

Cases

5 Deaths (including one non-California resident)
247 Positive cases (not including the Grand Princess cruise ship)

Age breakdown

0- 17 4
18-64 143
65+ 98
Unknown: 2

Details

24 Cases of positive tests related to federal repatriation flights
223 Cases not related to repatriation flights
65 Travel related
52 Person to person
56 Community transmission
50 Under investigation
11,400+ Number of people self-monitoring who returned to the U.S. through SFO or LAX

More to Read

California

Alex Wigglesworth

Alex Wigglesworth is a reporter who covers the Inland Empire, Mojave Desert communities and the environment for the Los Angeles Times.

Colleen Shalby

Colleen Shalby is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times. She has covered education, the pandemic, the vaccine rollout and breaking news throughout California. She was part of the team that was a 2020 Pulitzer Prize finalist for coverage of a dive-boat fire off the Santa Barbara coast. Shalby grew up in Southern California and graduated from George Washington University. She previously worked for PBS NewsHour and joined The Times in 2015.

Rong-Gong Lin II

Rong-Gong Lin II is a Metro reporter based in San Francisco who specializes in covering statewide earthquake safety issues and the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bay Area native is a graduate of UC Berkeley and started at the Los Angeles Times in 2004.

Richard Winton

Richard Winton is an investigative crime writer for the Los Angeles Times and part of the team that won the Pulitzer Prize for public service in 2011. Known as @lacrimes on Twitter, during almost 30 years at The Times he also has been part of the breaking news staff that won Pulitzers in 1998, 2004 and 2016.