More on the El Cajon plane crash

Good Morning, I’m Annica Colbert….it’s Thursday December 30th>>>>

More on the El Cajon plane crash

That’s next. But first... let’s do the headlines….######

The demand for coronavirus testing is on the rise, but many are having trouble finding tests. The county is partnering with local libraries – especially in areas where testing isn’t readily available – to give out free rapid tests.

Each rapid test box given out has two tests inside and they are designed to be taken at home with results in about 15 minutes…

But test kits are going quickly and some libraries have already run out. Before going to a library a good tip is to call ahead and see if they still have tests available.

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San Diego county has recorded its first flu death for this season. The county health and human services says it was a 42 year old man who died on december 9th. He had underlying health conditions but he was not vaccinated against the flu. He also tested negative for covid-19.

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Four storms have rolled into San Diego since Christmas Eve… and the latest hit us on Wednesday night. National Weather Service Meteorologist Alex Tardy spoke with KPBS’ Midday Edition and says this weather could affect a lot of people’s upcoming plans.

“So the nuisances are outdoor activities, the roadways will be slick. You really need good tires, otherwise you’ll hydroplane, which can be dangerous and your yard. Your pool might be filling up. Your rain gutters might be spilling over if you have them or they’re not even working.”

A winter storm warning is still in effect for several areas of the mountains until 4 am on friday. A flood watch is still in effect for most of the greater San Diego region through Thursday afternoon.

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From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now. Stay with me for more of the local news you need.

KPBS Reporter M.G. Perez has more on the identities of the people on board the Lear jet that crashed in El Cajon and the investigation into what went wrong.

The San Diego County Medical Examiner has identified the lost pilots as 45 year old Douglas James Grande and 55 year old Julian Jorge Bugaj. The air ambulance Learjet was on approach to Gillespie Field Monday night when it crashed into a nearby El Cajon neighborhood. Onboard were also two critical care nurses identified as Tina Ward and Laurie Gentz. Mariana Aliano is vice president of the local International Association of EMTs and Paramedics…she’s also a personal friend of the crew.

SOT: “It’s a huge loss for their families…they had a lot of friends…long careers…they took care of a lot of people and they helped a lot of people.”

Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board remained at the site Wednesday searching for clues to the crash. MGP KPBS News

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the pandemic shut down gyms everywhere for months. But now with the reopening of many t gyms, some are seeing an increase in clients. KPBS North County reporter Tania Thorne says that’s in part because COVID made people realize how important health is.

When the pandemic forced gyms to close, it worried gym owners like Alvin Brand.

But the need for good health worried him more.

“I realized that during this time its a huge necessity to be healthy.I kept training because many people were dying, were getting sick and the main reason is because they're not in good health.”

Brand says that COVID deaths made him realize how important good health is…that people were dying of COVID because they weren’t healthy.

So he opened his gym as soon as he could…. And immediately he saw an increase in clients.

Roberto Fuentes started training with Brand about a year ago.

He says COVID was one of the reasons why he wanted to get healthier.

It was one of the factors that motivated me, I would watch the news and hear doctors say we have to be healthy, exercise, move and I said to myself now is the time.

He says he saw on the news that exercise would help, and told himself now is the time. Fuentes has lost more than 70 lbs, has never had COVID, and says he feels great.

TT KPBS News.

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California recently crossed a grim milestone: 5 million COVID-19 cases. That number comes as hospitalizations increase statewide. CapRadio’s Kris Hooks has more.

Fueled by holiday travel and the highly contagious omicron and delta variants, the state’s COVID-19 rates are surging. In just the last week, the number of Californians hospitalized has swelled by nearly 25-percent.

The state has more than 43-hundred patients hospitalized with the virus, the highest total since October 9th.

And cases are increasing too. As of this week, the 7-day statewide average is well over 15-thousand.

These numbers come as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed its recommendations for people who test positive but are asymptomatic… from 10 days of isolation to 5. SOC

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Uninsured Californians have until Friday to enroll in the state's health insurance market… if they want coverage starting January 1st. CapRadio’s Scott Rodd reports.

Covered California runs the state’s insurance exchange and says the winter surge in COVID-19 underscores the need for quality health coverage.

Hospitals are already reporting increased admissions due to the omicron variant…now the most dominant strain of the coronavirus.

A recent study from FAIR Health…a nonprofit that analyzes health care costs…found the average ICU COVID patient paid over $100,000 in medical bills.

Without adequate health coverage, the state warns COVID patients could face a mountain of debt.

Uninsured Californians can enroll in the state’s health insurance market in January…but coverage won’t start until February 1st.

Covered California is urging people not to wait.

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Coming up....The U.S. Surgeon General issued a public health advisory earlier this month, warning about a growing mental health crisis among children, citing the impacts of the pandemic. But the pandemic has also affected parents' mental health. We’ll have more on that next, just after the break.

The U.S. Surgeon General issued a public health advisory earlier this month about children’s mental health, and how pandemic-hardships have played a role in an emerging crisis. The advisory underscores the increased rate of depression and anxiety being diagnosed in children. We’ve seen schools go back and forth between virtual and in-person learning, child mask requirements, extracurricular activities canceled, and much more during this pandemic. So how has all of this change in routine affected parents who are juggling work, home life, and trying to keep their children safe and healthy?

Dr. Jenny Yip is a parenting expert. She’s an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the Keck School of Medicine at USC. She is also the founder of Renewed Freedom Center. She spoke with KPBS Midday Edition host Jade Hindmon.

Speaker 1: (01:01)

what are you seeing in your clinic? I mean, have more parents reported mental and physical health declines since the start of this pandemic?

Speaker 2: (01:09)

Absolutely. Both parents and children alike. We have been inundated with more patients than what we can handle and I'm sure this is true for all mental health professionals in a entire country, or even perhaps the world, but yes, anxiety, depression, suicide though. Ideation are all skyrocketing for both parents and children alike.

Speaker 1: (01:33)

So has the approach to addressing those issues changed during this pandemic?

Speaker 2: (01:38)

Well, the treatment hasn't changed, the treatment is still this same. I think what has changed is helping parents navigate the stressors from the pandemic and helping them to regain some level of sanity with all of the uncertainties that exist in the world. So what

Speaker 1: (01:57)

Are some of the negative impacts the pandemic has had on parents over the past two years?

Speaker 2: (02:03)

Oh my well , I am a parent myself, so I certainly know what that is like and not knowing how to handle the, the stressors on school's closing or your children being ill and infected or not having the social opportunities that they would have at school. And then most importantly, it's juggling your children being at home, trying to get them on, you know, zoom classes, which doesn't help very much. And isn't a very effective, it is a huge challenge and most parents they're still working and they're working from home. So imagine trying to do this a again, after having been through this for the last, uh, 20 months, it's definitely a struggle.

Speaker 1: (02:50)

How have pandemic stressors had a different impact on parents with younger children versus parents with teens and young adults? For example,

Speaker 2: (02:59)

There's definitely different stressors for families with younger children versus those with teenagers or older children, for families with younger children, you know, the stressors surrounds more of juggling, juggling multiple tasks and trying to keep your screaming children in front of a computer for eight hours a day, while you're trying to run errands, get household tasks done, uh, perhaps even continue working from home. And that juggle adds a huge stressor because it limits your available time to attend to the things that you need to get done. Now that's, uh, different than parents with older children where some of the complaints that we've been getting at the renewed freedom center from these families is that they cannot get their kids to practice safety protocols

Speaker 1: (03:49)

Such as wearing masks or limiting social engagements or keeping, you know, a distance, um, not being indoors so much. Um, so it's a constant battle and the stressors are different, but the more important thing is being able to find creative ways to tackle these problems. So maybe for the older children, it's, you know, asking your, your kids to find three friends that they trust. And these are the three friends that, that they maintain the social engagements with. And then for the younger families, um, it might be sharing some of these tasks with other families who are in a similar situation. So perhaps one family, you know, gets all the kids together for zoom class, uh, one day and we switch and what are resources you can give to help parents feeling overwhelmed during these times?

Speaker 2: (04:45)

The most important thing is self care. I know this is a huge topic in the last 20 months though, when you are experiencing this high level of stress for such a prolonged period of time, it is so easy to burn and out. So taking the little things that matter whether it is, you know, taking a bath or even giving yourself five minutes to just breathe, just finding those little things that you can do to get a breather. And then if you really feel like you are breaking apart, you feel like, know you're at your ins of what you have available. You don't have any more bandwidth available, then perhaps it's time to find additional help. Now additional help could be family members. It could be friends, um, but it could also be professional help. So, you know, finding a therapist and making sure that the therapist that you find is, is someone who has dealt with anxiety or depression. So some resources I direct parents to is the anxiety and depression association of America. I also direct parents to the international OCD foundation because during the pandemic, the rates of obsessive compulsive disorder has just magnified and has become a lot more, uh, excessive. So those are the two resources that I always direct parents to.

Speaker 1: (06:13)

I've been speaking with Dr. G yip and assisted and clinical professor of psychiatry at the ke school of medicine at USC. Also founder of renewed freedom center. She is a parenting expert doctor. Yip. Thank you so much for joining us.

Speaker 2: (06:29)

Thanks for having me.

That’s it for the podcast today. Be sure to catch KPBS Midday Edition At Noon on KPBS radio, or check out the Midday podcast. You can also watch KPBS Evening Edition at 5 O’clock on KPBS Television, and as always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. I’m Annica Colbert. Thanks for listening and have a great day.