Several gorillas at the San Diego zoo have tested positive for Covid-19, with the cases believed to be the first outbreak among primates in captivity.
After showing mild symptoms of the virus including coughing, the presence of Covid-19 was confirmed through faecal testing.
The animals will remain in their habitat in the park and have been quarantined together, with the zoo hopeful of a full recovery
Continue reading...Gorillas are thought to have been infected by wildlife worker in what is believed to be first outbreak among captive primates
Several gorillas at the San Diego zoo safari park have tested positive for coronavirus, with some experiencing symptoms, in what is believed to be the first outbreak among such primates in captivity.
The park’s executive director, Lisa Peterson, told the Associated Press on Monday that eight gorillas who live together at the park are believed to have the virus and several have been coughing. Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, confirmed at his Monday news briefing that at least two gorillas had tested positive while three were symptomatic.
Continue reading...Hospitals are overwhelmed with 22,000 patients as officials warn hospitalizations could reach 30,000 by February
As the coronavirus in California rages out of control, staff in the state’s overwhelmed medical centers are warning they are increasingly struggling to keep up and may need to ration care as intensive care beds dwindle.
Only Arizona tops California in cases per resident and, with nearly 40 million residents, the huge coastal state is seeing staggering caseloads: more than 2.5m confirmed infections.
Continue reading...The pedestrian pace of Covid-19 vaccinations in the US came under new scrutiny on Sunday, as the pandemic death toll passed 350,000 and experts warned of another surge in infections and deaths arising from gatherings at Christmas and New Year.
Related: Larry King, TV chatshow veteran, in hospital with coronavirus – reports
Continue reading...Two adult drivers also died when vehicle swerved into path of Ford carrying the children, authorities said
Seven children and two adult drivers were killed in a head-on collision between an SUV and a pickup truck in central California on New Year’s Day, authorities have said.
The children, who were between six and 15 years old, were part of two related families travelling in a 2007 Ford F-150 pickup when it was hit by a Dodge Journey on State Route 33 between Avenal and Coalinga around 8pm on Friday, the Fresno county coroner’s office and the California highway patrol said.
Continue reading...The Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, decried what he called a “radical tantrum” on Saturday after his home in Kentucky was vandalised with messages apparently protesting against his refusal to increase Covid aid payments from $600 to $2,000.
The attack followed a similar one on the home of Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House speaker, in San Francisco.
Continue reading...Actors are slowly returning to work after a long shutdown caused vast economic damage: ‘How many people gave up their dreams?’
For decades, the sound stages of Hollywood have built alternate universes in the middle of Los Angeles – fictional courtrooms, hospitals, homes and offices. Today, they all resemble the set of Contagion.
Make-up artists walk around in astronaut helmets. Actors take breaks inside plastic bubbles. And healthcare professionals swab everyone’s nose to test for a deadly infection before they’re allowed inside.
Continue reading...Christmas day sweet sighting in Corona Heights park attracted visitors who took pictures and even took a bite
Like the other monoliths that have mysteriously appeared across America and the world in the waning weeks of 2020, the one that popped up on a California hilltop on Christmas Day seemed to come out of nowhere.
Also like the others, it was tall, three-sided and it rapidly attracted crowds of curious visitors before an untimely destruction.
Continue reading...A monolith made of gingerbread appeared on a hill in San Francisco on 25 December.
The large biscuit is the latest in a series of mysterious monoliths that have appeared – and disappeared – in the US and Romania
Continue reading...Property sold for less than a quarter of its initial $100m asking price to billionaire investor Ron Burkle
Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch has reportedly sold for $22m, less than a quarter of its initial $100m asking price, to billionaire investor Ron Burkle in a deal described one LA real estate agent as a “steal”.
The property in Los Olivos, California, was home to the late popstar from 1987, when he was at the height of his fame, to the time of his death in June 2009. He died of a drug overdose at a different home in the Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Continue reading...More areas of England moved up into tiers 4 and 3; UK has highest recorded daily rise in cases; new variant discovered in travellers from South Africa
The European Union’s transport commissioner, Adina Valean has said that she is pleased stranded trucks are now moving “slowly across the Channel”, as restrictions between France and the UK were lifted.
The initial restrictions were imposed after the UK discovered a new variant of the Covid-19 virus, which, reportedly has a faster transmission rate.
Around 10.000 truck drivers are seeking to get back in the EU. Other thousands are already in the Dover area in their vehicles.
We worked hard these days to unblock a crisis between two European countries, France and the UK.
We issued a communication appealing for proportional, non-discriminatory measures and the lift of any restrictions for transport workers.
I am pleased that at this moment, we have trucks slowly crossing the channel, and I want to thank UK authorities that they started testing the drivers at a capacity of 300 tests per hour.
Continue reading...The US set yet another record for new coronavirus cases on Friday, at almost 250,000, even as a second vaccine, from Moderna, was approved.
Related: FDA authorizes Moderna coronavirus vaccine for emergency use across the US
Continue reading...The Australian mathematician Samuel Blake describes how he and and two other cryptologists finally solved an encrypted message written by the unnamed serial killer 51 years ago.
The FBI confirmed the code, cracked with help from a supercomputer called Spartan, is accurate, but they said it did not help with identification
Continue reading...Message from still unidentified killer reads: ‘I hope you are having lots of fun in trying to catch me’
It took 51 years and a team of experts from three countries to crack the code to a cipher left by the still unidentified Zodiac Killer, who haunted northern California communities in the 1960s and 70s. But, on Friday, the code-breaker David Oranchak revealed for the first time, the ominous message sent by the murderer.
Continue reading...The pandemic has devastated small businesses across the US, and San Francisco’s Chinatown has been particularly hard-hit
Iron gates and metal doors appeared to shutter the fronts of every other shop, their once-bustling entrances overflowing with brightly colored knickknacks now quiet and tightly contained. Some art stores still had ornate sculptures visible, collecting dust in the dark behind the gates. Others were completely empty, cavernous and blank.
Related: Fatigued Californians are back in lockdown. Will it work?
Continue reading...A deadly surge in coronavirus cases has sent large swathes of the state back under strict lockdown rules
California’s Lake Tahoe is temporarily shutting down to outside tourists, the latest economic blow as a deadly surge in coronavirus cases is forcing millions in America’s most populous state back under lockdown restrictions.
Continue reading...Party was one of many such events in recent months in direct violation of LA county and state mandated social distancing orders
Nearly 160 people were arrested when authorities in Los Angeles county raided an underground house party over the weekend, officials reported on Monday.
Continue reading...The Desert Oracle, the former Wonkette owner’s pocket-sized magazine, has proven a cult hit while refusing to establish an online presence
UFOs, doomed hikers, William Burroughs, singing sand dunes, Elvis, ghosts, roadrunners and rattlesnakes – the Desert Oracle packs a lot of weird, dark matter between its bright yellow covers.
The pocket-sized magazine, which looks like a cross between a guide book and a punk zine, explores the stranger side of desert life. Created in the arid beauty of Joshua Tree in California, it has proven a cult hit devoured by readers from Los Angeles to London.
Continue reading...If confirmed by the Senate, Becerra will be the first Latino to head the federal health department
President-elect Joe Biden has reportedly picked California attorney general Xavier Becerra to be his health secretary, putting a defender of the Affordable Care Act in a leading role to oversee his administration’s coronavirus response.
If confirmed by the Senate, Becerra, 62, will be the first Latino to head the Department of Health and Human Services, a $1-trillion-plus agency with 80,000 employees and a portfolio that includes drugs and vaccines, leading-edge medical research and health insurance programs covering more than 130 million Americans.
Continue reading...Stay-at-home order will stay in place through Christmas after hospital intensive care beds filled almost to capacity
More than 23 million people in Southern California have been placed under the harshest lockdowns in the United States, as Covid-19 cases hit record levels in the country’s most populous state.
The restrictions require people to stay at home and minimise contact with other households. They came into effect at 11.59pm on Sunday (02:59 ET/06:59 GMT) and will remain in place for at least three weeks, covering the Christmas holiday.
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