California- latest Covid epicenter of US, Pompeo quarantined

In US,Calfornia state has become new epicenter of coronavirus crisis, with unprecedented surges of seriously infected patients threatening to overwhelm hospitals and overflow morgues. California has set nationwide records for new cases again and again in the past week - and on Wednesday, when it posted more than 41,000 infections. The state is now ahesd of India, Germany and Britain. And in Southern California, a region that includes Los Angeles and San Diego, ICU capacity dipped to just 0.5%.

The number of available beds in intensive care units is plummeting. "I want to be very clear: our hospitals are under siege and our model shows no end in sight," Christina Ghaly, director of LA County's Department of Health Services, said at a news briefing. "The worst," Ghaly promised, "is still before us."  It takes, on average, more than a week for people to get sick enough to be hospitalized. The rapid increase in new cases, virus hospitalizations and deaths - which have nearly all doubled - comes at a precarious point in the pandemic. California has already reenacted tough restrictions meant to curb coronavirus spread, yet it has continued unabated.

The state is still reeling from an influx of new infections tied to Thanksgiving holiday gatherings while facing down the prospect of an additional surge after Christmas. According to Governor Gavin Newsom, "There's a light at the end of the tunnel," Newsom said. "But we're still in the tunnel. And that means we're going through perhaps the most intense and urgent moment since the beginning of this pandemic." Newsom pleaded with his residents: "We are not at the finish line yet, so please, please, please be mindful."

Barbara Ferrer, the director of the county's public health department, said the rates of infection, hospitalization and death are all rising faster for Los Angeles's Latino and Black residents than for White residents. The gap between rich and poor is also growing, as people living in poverty continue to be at a higher risk of infection and death. "Throughout the pandemic, the life and death consequences of racism and poverty have played out in devastating ways and they continue to do so," said Ferrer. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus and will be quarantining although he has tested negative,