Politics Rundown: Omicron cases rise, testing sites are overwhelmed and California creates a relief fund

Californians scramble to stay safe amid rising coronavirus cases.

Caleb Jonker and Hannah Larson • January 10, 2022

Politics Rundown: Omicron cases rise, testing sites are overwhelmed and California creates a relief fund

This holiday season marked the rise of the omicron COVID-19 variant. Omicron cases already surpassed previous coronavirus positive tests, according to an article from the Wall Street Journal. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, coronavirus cases climbed over the last two weeks, with 950,000 new cases in one day on Jan. 3.

As more information is becoming available about the virus the CDC changed its quarantine recommendation to five days after developing symptoms.

TESTING SITES OVERWHELMED

On Jan. 7, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in a tweet that the National Guard will deploy to testing sites across the state. According to ABC10, about 200 members of the California National Guard are headed to over 50 testing sites across the state. People have experienced wait times as high as six hours to get tested and reduced access to at-home tests, according to the Los Angeles Times.

NEWSOM ANNOUNCES CALIFORNIA RELIEF

On Jan. 8 Newsom announced a $2.7 billion COVID-19 Emergency Response Package. The initiative includes $1.2 billion to increase testing across the state. This money expands the hours and capacity of California’s testing sites, in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. Newsom outlined a public campaign using additional funding to combat misinformation about the virus and the vaccine. Initiatives to improve vaccination rates will continue, including increased funding for at-home vaccination and transportation to and from vaccination sites.

Additional goals of the package include funding for support of front-line workers, state operations and supporting coronavirus mitigation in the most vulnerable communities.

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About the Contributors

Caleb Jonker, News Editor

Caleb Jonker is a Senior Journalism major, he loves skateboarding, his little brothers and denim. Not necessarily in that order. [email protected] Caleb Jonker was born in Denver, Colorado, he was raised in a house of four boys. He lived in Denver until he graduated high school, after which he took a year off to join a bike trip raising funds for a non profit organization and to work. Caleb entered Biola University undeclared and avoided declaring a major at all cost, eventually though, through words of encouragement and invitation he declared journalism. Today he works at the Chimes as one of the News Editors. When he is not writing Caleb can be found skateboarding or working on one of his numerous side projects.

Hannah Larson, Editor-in-Chief

Hannah Larson is a junior journalism major who loves novels, California redwoods and strawberry smoothies. I was born and raised in San Marcos, a small town in southern California where horses graze in fenced pastures and fields of sunflowers burst into bloom every spring. As much as I love SoCal, there is something special about taking a road trip to see the redwoods up north—you just can’t beat camping along the gorgeous Pacific coast. I started writing for my high school paper when I was a junior and discovered a passion for reporting local news and crafting feature pieces, which drove me to pursue journalism in college. I took a staff writer position with the Chimes news section my sophomore year at Biola and loved seeing an article come together from initial interviews to final edits. The following semester, I joined the team as a news editor and dove into a new world of tight deadlines and investigative research. I look forward to leading The Chimes this year as we move into a new season of print media.