Otay Detention Center Employee Tests Positive For COVID-19

Speaker 1: 00:00 A person who works at the OTI Mesa detention center tested positive for coven 19 that announcement came from core civic that's the private prison company that runs the detention center for immigration and customs enforcement and the U S Marshall service. The detention center holds migrant detainees for ice, but ice has yet to comment publicly on the case. Since the COBIT 19 pandemic hit our region, local migrant advocates have been calling for the release of detainees from OTI Mesa and other detention centers. They say particularly for those who are at higher risk for serious symptoms, they should be released immediately. Speaker 2: 00:50 On Tuesday, dozens of cars participated in a rally organized by a group called Oh Mesa detention resistance not rally had already been planned before. News of the positive case broke dozens of cars with passengers inside holding protest signs calling for the release of detainees drove from bell ball park to the ice office in downtown San Diego. Rally participants drove single file with their hazard lights on honking their horns the whole time Speaker 1: 01:29 in other local headlines. In an attempt to decrease crowding in state prisons. The California department of corrections and rehabilitation announced Tuesday that it is granting release to 3,500 inmates and all of those inmates were scheduled to be released in the next 60 days. And health officials confirmed Tuesday that a passenger aboard the celebrity eclipse cruise ship that docked in San Diego Harbor this week has tested positive for the virus. Three crew members also tested positive and in response to the coronavirus pandemic covered California is expanding its special enrollment period through June 30th and the coven 19 numbers today. Well, they aren't good on Tuesday. County health officials reported two more deaths and 131 new coven. 19 cases in San Diego County health officials said we can all expect to continue to see both of these numbers rise in the foreseeable future. I'm Kenzie Morlan and you're listening to San Diego news matters. It's Wednesday, April 1st stay with me for more of the local news you need. So here's a little non-covered. 19 local news for you. A large haul of drugs including opioids, methamphetamine and cocaine was seized from a cross border tunnel here Tuesday and the tunnel was super sophisticated. It was equipped with ventilation, lighting and an underground rail system. The 2000 foot long tunnel connected warehouses in Tijuana and San Diego Speaker 3: 03:32 [inaudible] Speaker 1: 03:32 right back to the Corona virus bead. Empty UC San Diego dorms may be converted into a care center to help with a looming hospital bed shortage. County supervisor, Nathan Fletcher said at a news conference that the dorm would be staffed with doctors and nurses. Speaker 4: 03:48 This would be for individuals presently in the hospital who are too sick to go home but don't need to stay in the hospital. If we can create new rooms, we can transfer those folks there. Speaker 1: 03:58 San Diego state hasn't said yet if it storms might also be used. The California department of health is coming under fire for ordering nursing homes to accept people with the Corona virus. KPBS reporter Amita Sharma has more the department. Speaker 5: 04:16 Well, if health has instructed California, some 1500 nursing homes to ban non-essential visitors to protect its elderly residents from coven 19 but Monday night it issued a different kind of order. The department directed nursing homes to accept people suspected or diagnosed with Covin 19 while taking appropriate precautions to prevent the spread of the infection. Dr Carl Steinberg and nursing home and hospice medical director in North County called the order reckless Speaker 6: 04:45 Constable healthcare provider would willingly make a decision to put somebody who has this deadly contagious illness into a place where it doesn't already exist. I mean, to me that's essentially being an accessory to homicide. Speaker 5: 04:56 The department of health did not respond to a request for comment. Speaker 7: 05:03 Amika Sharma KPBS knees Speaker 1: 05:05 as cases of Corona virus continue to rise. So do the amount of people who are panic buying and hoarding supplies. That's why many stores have turned to special hours for those most at risk for the virus, including seniors. KPBS reporter Matt Hoffman says, while some seniors can go shopping themselves, others can't. Speaker 4: 05:30 7:00 AM and CNA Maria, we Dobro of st Paul's pace is out shopping. She's not shopping for herself, but for a senior. Speaker 1: 05:38 So right now she's asking for a lot of um, basic needs, but unfortunately it's going to be those like toilet paper and hand sanitizer, Lysol wipes, which are not very much available right now that they need to store. That's Speaker 4: 05:49 why grocery stores, including the North park Vons, are holding special early hours where only seniors can shop. St Paul's pace is an all inclusive for seniors Speaker 8: 05:58 and one of the services they offer is grocery shopping. But that's not so easy right now with empty shelves. Speaker 1: 06:03 I'm not complaining about my shopping, I figure my own things out. But when you're trying to shop for someone that needs it, it's very sad to not be able to find certain things that they need for their everyday lives. Speaker 8: 06:15 We dope, bro was able to get nearly all the food on her senior shopping list, but was not able to get any cleaning supplies. Matt Hoffman, K PBS news. Speaker 1: 06:24 If you know a senior who needs help during this time, please call two one one Speaker 9: 06:31 [inaudible]. Speaker 1: 06:33 The coronal virus has led more than a dozen States to postpone their presidential primaries. It's clear the pandemic is reshaping the 2020 elections and that includes right here in San Diego and the race for San Diego mayor that Kaiser is chair of the department of political science at UC San Diego. He told midday addition that this pandemic will change both how voters cast a ballot and how candidates campaign. Speaker 8: 07:02 Instead of talking about building new large programs and taking on big policy challenges, the question becomes where do these candidates see the as as cutting city spending in order to manage what will likely be a a deficit for one or more years. Speaker 1: 07:22 Couser says that there will be more voting by mail, which means it will take longer to tally the results to hear the complete interview with cows or subscribed to the midday edition podcast wherever you get your podcasts. The Marines continue to take new recruits into bootcamp in San Diego and that's even after the command in order to pause on the East coast due to Cove at 19 in fact, another class of recruits arrived Monday evening in San Diego. Captain Martin Harris, say Marine spokesman says they are taking extra precautions including extra medical testing and keeping new recruits in their own area. For the first 14 days Speaker 10: 08:02 we have had zero positive tests improvement up to this point. There's a little bit of luck involved in that. Right. And so a lot of it, a lot of training and a lot of planning, a little bit of luck. Um, it's got us where we are today. Speaker 1: 08:24 Okay. So it's April 1st and for a lot of us that means rent or a mortgage payment is due. And for San Diego residents who are experiencing financial hardships right now due to the coven 19 pandemic, there is some relief. In March, the San Diego city council passed a temporary ban on evictions in the city of San Diego and that basically means that landlords cannot take action to evict a tenant for not paying rent that was due on or after March 12th if the tenant can't pay because of the financial effects of COBA 19 so you will have to provide your landlord with a letter on the day rent is due and you can get further information about that at S. D. H. C. dot. O. R. G, the temporary ban on evictions last until May 31st unless the city council decides to extend it. California governor Gavin Newsom also ordered a statewide temporary ban on evictions and he announced similar relief for people who own their homes but won't be able to make a mortgage payment because of the pandemic. Four of the five major national banks have agreed to a 90 day for barons on mortgage payments for those affected by the pandemic. There's no income requirement for that mortgage relief, but there does need to be evidence that the homeowners have been affected by COBA 19 okay. That's all for this. First day of April. Thanks for listening, and if you have some time on your hands, consider taking a minute to rate and review this podcast on Apple podcast. Thanks in advance.