enterprise THE DAVIS
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2020
Skillednursing facilities get UCD test BY ANNE TERNUS-BELLAMY Enterprise staff writer
A crowd gathers near the cliffs as the sun sets in Isla Vista on Dec. 8. MAX ABRAMS/ CALMATTERS
To spring break or not? Colleges weigh their options BY MEGHAN BOBROWSKY, MATTHEW REAGAN AND EMILY FORSCHEN CalMatters Carlos Acosta’s fall semester at the University of Southern California was a lot more grueling than he expected — and it wasn’t just because of the Zoom classes. In an effort to minimize travel during the coronavirus pandemic, the university shortened the semester so it ended before Thanksgiving, and didn’t include any multi-day breaks. But the condensed schedule, Acosta said, came
with consequences. “Having no breaks did not allow me to catch up with any of my assignments nor responsibilities nor my mental health; they just kept piling up,” the senior industrial and systems engineering major said. “I felt incredibly overwhelmed, so much so that my hair started falling out.” That challenging semester may be over. But now Acosta, currently recovering at his family’s home in Miami, is worried about the next one. Like a number of colleges across California, USC is swapping its traditional spring break for five single-day breaks scattered throughout the semester, in hopes of cutting down on the spread of COVID19.
Other California colleges canceling spring break include San Diego State University, Pepperdine University and California Lutheran University — Sacramento State University is considering doing it, too — in what’s becoming a national trend. University administrators who’ve scrapped the breaks say the spread of COVID-19 among students living on and around campus shows that encouraging travel — as a longer break would do — is just too risky. But some students and mental health advocates argue spring break is not just about partying and, unlike single-day breaks, would provide a needed respite in what has been an unusually stressful year.
Some students are protesting and signing petitions asking their colleges to reconsider. USC’s chief health officer, Sarah Van Orman, said that while she understands the mental health benefits of a spring break, the risks outweigh them. Even with online classes, an estimated 50 to 60 percent of students moved into housing near campus in the fall, she said. “We saw some of the same surges in cases, outbreaks in the areas around USC that institutions that were sort of ‘open’ did. So from my perspective, even if we don’t have in-person instruction, we know that students will do that again,” she
SEE BREAK, BACK PAGE
State’s stay-at-home order in effect for Yolo County BY ANNE TERNUS-BELLAMY Enterprise staff writer Yolo County came under the state’s stay-at-home order beginning late Thursday night as intensive care unit capacity in the Sacramento region has dropped to less than 15 percent. ICU capacity in Yolo County itself has been near zero for much of the week, county officials said. Under the state order, hair and nail salons will have to close and restaurants will be limited
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to take-out and delivery. Other restrictions under the order — including a 20 percent customer capacity SISSON limit at all nongrocery retail County health officer businesses — were already in place locally under an order issued Friday by Yolo County’s heath officer. Since issuing the regional
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stay-at-home order last week, the state has amended it twice — increasing grocery store capacity to 35 percent from 20 percent on Sunday and allowing outdoor playgrounds to reopen as of Wednesday. Both will apply in Yolo County as well. The regional stay-at-home order took effect at 11:59 p.m. Thursday and will remain in place for at least three weeks. In addition to restrictions on specific businesses, the order also asks all residents to remain at home, leaving only for
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Sat Saturday: Chance of showers. Hi High 55. Low 47.
The heavy toll that COVID-19 has taken on some of Yolo County’s oldest and most vulnerable residents continues, with cases — and deaths — mounting in skilled nursing facilities. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 51 nursing home residents and staff members have died of COVID-19, more than half of all the deaths that have occurred countywide. On Monday alone, the county reported 72 more cases and two more deaths linked to outbreaks in Davis, Woodland and West Sacramento longterm care facilities. Health officials have long linked nursing home outbreaks to overall community spread of the virus, with unsuspecting and often asymptomatic employees contracting the virus in the community and then bringing it into facilities. That has been the case locally, as an ongoing surge in COVID cases throughout the county has been accompanied by outbreaks in a number of facilities, including Courtyard Healthcare Center in Davis. Last week, Yolo County Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sisson issued a health order requiring facilities to increase COVID testing of all staff members from once a week to twice a
SEE TEST, PAGE A4
Davis burglar earns shortened sentence Enterprise staff
essential activities such as buying food, visiting healthcare providers or going to essential jobs. Gatherings of any size are prohibited. The order comes as state officials announced Wednesday that ICU capacity in the 13-county greater Sacramento region had dropped to 14.3 percent. By Thursday it had fallen further to 13.3 percent. But Yolo County’s intensive
A Davis native will gain an earlier release from state prison, at the request of his defense attorney and the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office. Gabriel Eugene, 26, was sentenced in 2016 to a 14-year prison term following a conviction for residential burglary and violating his recent parole in a prior burglary case. Last week, a visiting Yolo County judge granted a motion to take five years off his sentence. The DA’s Office requested Eugene’s
SEE ORDER, PAGE A4
SEE SENTENCE, PAGE A4
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