More Testing Needed In Southeast San Diego

Local beachgoers continued to keep their distance from each other over the weekend and followed other public health guidelines by only engaging in physical activities like jogging, walking, swimming and surfing. That’s according to San Diego lifeguard officials. This weekend was the first in which some beaches were open, with restrictions, since the area went on coronavirus lockdown in March. But, there is one beach area seeing crowds that are a little too close for comfort. The San Diego Police Department is encouraging people to avoid Sunset Cliffs because of congestion and safety concerns. SDPD posted the advisory on Facebook, encouraging visitors to steer clear of Sunset Cliffs. “No parking” signs have been posted. *** And for the latest local COVID count: San Diego County officials reported 85 new cases on Sunday and one new death. The county has now reported a total of 3,927 coronavirus cases and 139 deaths. County officials say in total, about 21 percent of cases have required hospitalization, with about 7 percent of patients being placed in intensive care. *** From KPBS, I’m Kinsee Morlan and you’re listening to San Diego News Matters. It’s Monday, May 4. Stay with me for more of the local news you need. A drive-by coronavirus testing center opened in Southeast San Diego over the weekend. Southeast San Diego is one of the county's hardest hit areas during the pandemic. But the limited amount of tests offered still doesn't meet demand. KPBS reporter Max Rivlin-Nadler was there. The drive-through test site outside of the Euclid Medical Center was open for six hours on Saturday. Each test took ten minutes -- meaning that only 24 people could be tested at the site on Saturday. The testing was by appointment-only. Those who wanted to be tested had to call 211 to be screened beforehand. Dr. Rodney Hood, a primary care physician at the Euclid Medical Center, reached out to the county to set up the testing today. Hood: Many folks in this community are frontline personnel, they have to work. Many are living in mutli-generational environment where there are other folks who might be sick. And they're getting exposed. This is a high-risk population, and more extensive testing needs to be done. Officials from the county say they're ramping up these types of drive-through sites in the coming days and weeks. After that story ran, County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher tweeted that more testing is on the way to Southeast San Diego. *** Hundreds of thousands in San Diego County have been laid off because of the pandemic and many of those out of work are looking for all the help they can get. KPBS Reporter Matt Hoffman was at a drive-thru food distribution site Sunday that was put on by a local church. We have 30 thousand pounds of food and drinks of toilet paper and 58-thousand diapers that we're giving out Ryan Mcfadden is the pastor at South Hills Church near Paradise Hills. We're small but we don't want our size to determine our impact So the church partnered with other community organizations to give away food and other essentials to hundreds of families. We got here at 7am and there was about a hundred cars lined up which blows my mind It just shows you that people are in need McFadden says more distributions are in the works. This is the start, this is going to be a continuous thing. We want everyone in our community to know that when that there is a need out there South Hills church is going to be at the front lines providing that. The San Diego Dream Center donated the more than 50-thousand diapers. An African fashion designer in City Heights had to close her doors because of the coronavirus pandemic. But, she's finding a new stream of revenue -- by making the now-mandatory face masks more fashionable. KPBS reporter Max Rivlin-Nadler has the story. LIli Klu had only moved into her new El Cajon Boulevard storefront a few months ago when she was forced to close her doors because of the pandemic. Klu had seen her business outgrow two other storefronts. Her stylish African fabrics and modern sensibility festoon her now-shuttered store, where she'd do fittings and custom-design outfits for her clients. But Klu, who's raising two teenagers, didn't let the pandemic stop her from being part of the bleeding edge of fashion. She's now using her fabrics to make a line of stylish facemasks. KLU: Everybody can't wear the hospital mask. // cut // But we always have African fabric in quantity. It's all cotton, it's comfortable. We can do that and still make it fashion. Even though it's a mask, it still has to be classy. She's selling the masks on her facebook page in the hope that by bringing a little style to grim times, she'll be able to weather the economic storm. Hundreds of protesters crowded downtown San Diego sidewalks Friday to let politicians know they are tired of COVID-19 restrictions. They carried signs, whistles, wore red, white and blue, and complained about a loss of freedom. KPBS Reporter Erik Anderson says people were asking to get their lives back. There were plenty of protesters jamming the sidewalks in front of the Hall of Justice. People are upset about the limitations put on them because of COVID-19. Local radio host Bob Segall says government has tightened the screws on people’s lives. Bob Segall, Radio Host 12:23:40 – 12:23:54 “It started out with, if you shake hands with people wash your hands. Then it turned into the elbow bump. Then it turned into six feet apart. Then a mask. Then six feet apart even if you have a mask. Thank kind of thing. The “We Have Rights” protesters worked with San Diego Police to make sure the event happened without problems and there were plenty of police officer’s watching the protest. But they were not arresting or ticketing people who violated social distancing rules. Last Friday was also the day the county debuted its new policy requiring people in public to wear masks if they are near others. About a third of the protesters were not wearing masks. Meanwhile, nurses at the San Diego VA were part of a different nationwide rally Friday, this one asking for more masks. Nurses rallied at the VA Hospital in La Jolla. Marie Jamito is a nurse there on the COVID-19 Unit. She says nurses feel they have to ration N-95 masks and personal protective wear. She says nurses accept the risk of treating patients. "We're definitely taught and well prepared how to manage that. But supplies definitely help with reassurances because this is such a novel virus and it's scary." National Nurses United point to lack of personal protective equipment at VA's around the country. The San Diego VA has had 34 cases of COVID-19 among patients. Three people are hospitalized and 18 staff members have tested positive. Every day we see San Diegans helping in their own way with simple gestures to lift spirits. One of those comes from a small donut shop in East County. KPBS producer Ben Lacy has the story. 19:37-19:40 - from Faulconer Presser April 28 (3 seconds) "Our continued efforts to highlight San Diegans stepping up in a great time of need." It's become a point of pride for San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer. During daily updates on COVID-19… focusing on the good during a difficult time. 19:44-19:47 - from Faulconer Presser April 28 (3 seconds) "One local bakery that wanted to bring smiles to peoples faces." 1:09-1:15 - from IMG 2223 (6 seconds) "As long as you know we are doing a good for the community, that's all we need." That's Eduardo Martinez of Holey Donuts. Every day, he and co-owner Tim Ovies bring unsold donuts from their shop in El Cajon, to Father Joe's Villages in downtown San Diego. That connection led to the Convention Center, now a home for San Diego's unsheltered people or population.. 35:49-35:54 - from Holey Donuts Zoom Interview (5 seconds) "Well we took about 2,000 donut holes packaged four in a box individually." 37:11-37:19 - from Holey Donuts Zoom Interview (8 seconds) "They were ecstatic. It was so nice to meet the people down there. There are so many groups doing wonderful things down there." A sweet example of San Diego County coming together. 41:30-41:37 - from Holey Donuts Zoom Interview (7 seconds) "Even though we're in El Cajon and he's the mayor of the city of San Diego it doesn't matter. Oslo Sardine Bar was on an exciting trajectory before the pandemic hit. First, it was a pop-up interactive art installation in an art gallery in Logan Heights. On nights where there were exhibition openings, you could drop by the whimsical pop-up sardine bar and order some canned sardines and crackers. And Max Daily, the artist who runs it, would stay in character the whole time as an eccentric seaman. He and His buddy Ryan Severance would just make the whole experience magical by transporting visitors to a parallel universe where everyone is jolly and united around their shared love of canned fish. Here’s Max answering questions about Oslo’s at an event a while back. Next, Oslo’s took up residence in a vacant space at Seaport Village. The sardine bar has been gaining hardcore fans and followers since it first opened in that art gallery a few years back. And yes, it’s simply a strange little restaurant where you can order sardines and crackers, but Max and his buddy Ryan really do make the place magical. My husband is a huge fan of the spot. Both he and I really, really hope it comes back. In the meantime, Oslo’s is weathering the COVID storm by going online. Sardine diehards can order their canned fish and Max will often make the delivery himself. Check out instagram dot com slash oslosardinebar for details. That audio, by the way, is from the Seaport Sessions podcast. Check it out. Ok That’s it. Thanks for listening. Today and tomorrow are important fundraising days for KPBS, so if you can, please support this show by going to kpbs dot org slash donate. Thanks.