California

As the Golden State faces a triple threat of respiratory risks — destructive wildfires, toxic air quality and a deadly pandemic — there is a faint glimmer of hope. Over the last seven days, just 3.5% of COVID-19 tests in California came back positive, the lowest rate since the state began reporting the data in…

Environment 25 August 2020 By Adam Vaughan The Hennessey fire in Napa, California on 18 AugustCredit: JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images More than 1.1 million acres have burned across California in the past 10 days, as firefighters continue to battle some of the state’s worst wildfires, which have left seven people dead, and more than…

In the Middle Ages, the plague caused tens of millions of deaths in Europe in a series of outbreaks known as the Black Death. And while it's extremely rare in modern times, the deadly bacterial infection is still around today — but how likely are you to catch it? This week, California reported its first…

July 30, 2020Updated 10:03 a.m. ETImageThe North Central neighborhood of San Mateo, Calif. Credit...Jim McAuley for The New York TimesFirst, I wanted to ask what you thought about Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new focus on the Central Valley.If you look at transmission rates in the Central Valley, they’re super high.One of the biggest challenges, especially among our…

California reached another bleak coronavirus milestone this week, recording more than 150 daily deaths in the worst fatality numbers since the pandemic began.But just as troubling, health officials and experts say, is how COVID-19 is stalking certain groups, such as essential workers, and those in institutions including nursing homes and prisons, at much greater rates…