Doctors in Los Angeles County are bracing themselves for a likely rise in an already surging number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
Physicians told Business Insider that their hospitals are running through multiple contingency plans to figure out how to best treat patients, maintain supplies, and keep healthcare workers safe.
Los Angeles County has averaged over 14,000 daily new cases over the past week.
Doctors in Los Angeles County - the country's most populous county home to more than 10 million residents - are planning multiple measures to handle an anticipated rise in the current surge of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations.
Los Angeles County has seen a sharp increase in novel coronavirus infections, hospitalizations, and death since November, with public health experts mainly attributing it to people ignoring social distancing measures during the holidays.
Healthcare workers in several hospitals across the county told Business Insider that they're already overworked and at a high capacity of COVID-19 patients. Nonetheless, they're tirelessly working on contingency plans ahead of an expected rise in cases following Christmas and the New Year holidays.
Los Angeles had an average of more than 14,000 daily new cases over the past week, according to data compiled by The New York Times.
The Los Angeles Times reported the positivity rate of COVID-19 tests is now at 17% across the county, more than four times what it was on November 1.
Dr. Greg Kelman, Regional Medical Director of Operations at Southern California Kaiser Permanente Medical Group, told Business Insider that 80% of inpatients are being treated for COVID-19.
Medical personnel prone a COVID-19 patient at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in the Mission Hills section of Los Angeles on November 19, 2020.
Jae C. Hong/AP Photo
So far, the group has worked to help train healthcare workers whose roles have been reduced, due to the postponement of elective surgeries, on roles relating to the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
Kelman explained that the network has a series of plans to address a potential surge, however, he hopes it doesn't reach that far.
He explained that, so far, to accommodate the current surge, the hospital has shifted to allow for more virtual visits to help keep space available for people who have to come in. They've also reduced some of their routine care and cut out things like elective procedures.
If the surge continues Kelman said they may have to cut down even more routine care. Additional efforts include working with state regulators to get more people to help out in a healthcare setting even if it's just individuals who are simply bringing equipment or answering calls, or even getting nursing school students to help, or even calling on out of state Kaiser Permanente networks to help out if the surge gets too high.
"After plan B, there's a plan C, and after plan C there's a plan D. We just hope not to go through all the alphabet," Kelman said.
Some hospitals have been so strapped for physical space to host patients that they've had to treat some in their gift shop or chapel.
A patient lies on a stretcher in the hallway of the overloaded Emergency Room amid a surge in COVID-19 patients in Southern California on December 23, 2020.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Kelman said his hospital has adapted to turn different departments, such as some areas in the emergency room, into spaces that accommodate ICU needs to see COVID-19 patients.
Dr. Tamara Chambers, an ICU physician at Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center told Business Insider that compared to March, a lot more people of all ages are now coming in to be treated.
"In March, we were seeing much older patients - lots of nursing home patients. Now we're seeing all ages, all genders. We're seeing everyone, it has not discriminated. Many people have underlying conditions, but not all. So this virus has really evaded comprehension," she said.
Chambers said that unless people take this more seriously it's going to become more difficult for hospitals and healthcare workers to provide adequate care for all patients.
"We're really doing our best to try and hold the fort, but as long as people continue to fail public health measures and advice, then I think we're going to continue to see the surge," she said.
She added that this isn't just an issue of providing care but said that healthcare workers are stressed.
"Despite the number of beds that we have everybody's been fighting this fight since at least March, and people are tired. Workers are tired, workers are sick. It's taken a huge emotional and physical toll o everyone," Chambers said. "I worry about the continuity of the healthcare system and healthcare workers being able to provide care."
She added that staff members are also getting sick with COVID-19, which means there are sometimes fewer people who are able to treat patients, which in turn places more stress on other workers.
Nurse Michele Younkin, 28, takes off her personal protective equipment after assisting Antonio Navarro's family members visiting to say goodbye to the patient in his final moments in a COVID-19 unit at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, Calif., Friday, July 31, 2020. Navarro was nurse Michel Younkin's first COVID-19 patient to pass on her watch.
Jae C. Hong/AP Photo
Kelman highlighted that while it's likely to catch COVID-19 working with patients, he said more workers were catching the virus in their community rather than in controlled settings where they have protective equipment and know the people they are working with have the virus.
Despite that, both Kelman and Chambers worry that about the risk they take working closely with COVID-19 patients and if they may then spread the virus to their families.
On top of that fear, the rising number of deaths, Chambers said, was taking an emotional toll on her and other workers.
"You're seeing a lot of deaths in ways that we don't normally see. Usually our patients, they get well and they move through their continuum of care and there are not these issues, but now you're seeing patients die on a regular basis every day," she said.
Supply shortages are also a concern for the physicians. At least five hospitals in the county had to declare internal disasters and were forced to reroute ambulances to other facilities over concerns about their oxygen supply earlier this week.
Kelman explained that while they haven't really face pressing shortages yet, they've coordinated with other Kaiser Permanente hospitals in the region to help supply things like oxygen. So if one hospital is short another one will send over a supply.
Both Kelman and Chambers said they're worried about having enough resources, like drugs, if cases continue to surge.
While both physicians understand that people are facing pandemic fatigue and want to see their friends and family, they urge the public to make decisions that help stop the spread of the virus.
"I think we're being referred to as the frontline, but really we're the last line. We rely on public health and safety measures," Chambers said. "We rely on people to stay home. We are trying to be the last line and provide the last level of care and support but there's only so much we can do."
Jeremy Moeller, Chesnot, and Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
The #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo movements have exploded in recent years, shedding light on systemic racial and gender bias across American society, and in particular, within American workplaces.
In 2020, workers spoke publicly in increasing numbers, often by taking their employers to court over pay disparities, harassment and abuse, and toxic company cultures.
Major businesses including Google, Amazon, McDonald's, Pinterest, and Johnson & Johnson faced new legal battles this year over allegations of racism and sexism.
Here are the highest-profile racial and gender discrimination, harassment, and sexual abuse lawsuits that were filed in 2020 against US companies and executives or that added new plaintiffs.
American workplaces have long been hotbeds of discrimination and harassment, particularly for those who aren't white, light-skinned, male, straight, single, young, able-bodied Americans.
Since 2000, 99% of Fortune 500 companies have paid settlements in at least one discrimination or sexual harassment lawsuit, according to a report from Good Jobs First, and that's not including the cases without a public record or incidents victims didn't report.
In recent years, however, empowered in part by the #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo movements, American workers are increasingly turning to the courts to hold their employers accountable for breaking civil rights laws and demand companies fix racist, sexist, ageist, ableist, and other biased pay practices and work environments.
Since 2018, companies like Google, Uber, Fox News, Riot Games, UPS, Coca-Cola, and Target have paid out multimillion-dollar settlements, and this year brought an even larger wave of high-profile cases.
Here are some of the major workplace discrimination, harassment, and retaliation lawsuits that workers filed against America's largest companies in 2020, as well as cases where new plaintiffs joined.
Have you faced discrimination or harassment in your workplace? Contact this reporter using a non-work device via encrypted messaging app Signal at +1 503-319-3213, or by email at tsonnemaker@insider.com. We can keep sources anonymous.
Amazon was accused in lawsuits this year of having hiring practices and COVID-19 safety measures that were racially biased, as well as discriminating against a pregnant transgender man.
Lucas Jackson/Reuters
February: Former hiring manager Lisa McCarrick sued Amazon after her manager allegedly asked her to stalk job applicants' social media accounts to determine their race and gender, and then fired her when she complained. [NBC News]
October: Shaun Simmons, a transgender man, claimed in a lawsuit that he faced harassment and retaliation while working at Amazon and was demoted and denied a promotion after telling his manager he was pregnant. [NBC News]
November: Former Amazon warehouse employee Chris Smalls sued Amazon over its pandemic response, claiming it violated civil rights laws by failing to protect Black, Brown, and immigrant warehouse workers from COVID-19 while looking out for its mostly white managers. [Business Insider]
November: Denard Norton, a Black Amazon warehouse employee, sued the company accusing it of denying him promotions based on race and ignoring his repeated complaints about coworkers' racist remarks. [NJ.com]
Bloomberg LP was hit by lawsuits accusing it of aiding and abetting Charlie Rose's sexual harassment, as well as racial and gender bias in its pay and promotion practices.
Michael Bloomberg accepts the Governor's Award from Charlie Rose at the 55th Annual New York Emmy Awards gala at the Marriott Marquis Times Square on April 1, 2012 in New York City.
Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images
June: Two women who had accused ex-CBS News host Charlie Rose of sexual harassment also sued Bloomberg for "aiding and abetting" Rose, who operated his independently owned studio out of Bloomberg's New York headquarters. [The Hollywood Reporter]
August: Former Bloomberg reporter Nafeesa Syeed sued the company for pay and promotion practices that were allegedly "top-down" and systemically biased against women of color. [HR Dive]
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a private philanthropy run by Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, was sued by employees who claimed Black employees are "underpaid, undervalued, and marginalized."
Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg attend the 2020 Breakthrough Prize Red Carpet at NASA Ames Research Center on November 03, 2019 in Mountain View, California.
Ian Tuttle/Getty Images for Breakthrough Prize
November: ex-CZI employee Ray Holgado sued the nonprofit, claiming he was consistently denied promotion and growth opportunities, and was treated differently because of his race. [Business Insider]
Disney was sued in 2019 over gender-based pay discrimination, and multiple additional women joined the lawsuit this year.
Hakan Nural/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
March: Chelsea Henke became the tenth Disney executive to join a lawsuit filed against the company in April 2019 that alleged "rampant gender pay discrimination." [LA Times]
Facebook became the subject of a federal complaint alleging the company is biased against Black employees and candidates.
Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before the House Financial Services Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill October 23, 2019 in Washington, DC.
July: While not a formal lawsuit, a Facebook recruiter and two rejected job applicants filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accusing Facebook of "racial discrimination" against Black workers and applicants "in hiring, evaluations, promotions, and pay." [Business Insider]
Fox News ex-host Ed Henry was accused of sexual assault, while hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Howard Kurtz, and Gianno Caldwell were all accused of harassment in a lawsuit by a former producer.
Fox News ex-host Ed Henry, and hosts Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity.
Associated Press
July: Former Fox News producer Jennifer Eckhart claimed in a lawsuit that ex-host Ed Henry violently raped her, and that Fox News knew and refused to discipline him, while former Fox guest Cathy Areu alleged she was sexually harassed by Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Howard Kurtz, and Gianno Caldwell. [Business Insider]
Goldman Sachs allegedly covered up sexual misconduct by a top lawyer, and the woman who spoke publicly about it sued, claiming the company retaliated against her.
A sign is displayed in the reception of Goldman Sachs in Sydney, Australia, May 18, 2016.
REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo
October: Former Goldman Sachs employee Marla Crawford claimed one of the bank's top lawyers, Darrell Cafasso, sexually harassed a female subordinate and that Goldman covered up the allegations and retaliated against her for trying to speak publicly about it. [Business Insider]
Google ex-employees who sued the company in 2017 over gender pay disparities asked the court this year to expand their case to include 10,800 additional coworkers.
Protesters at the 2018 Google walkout.
REUTERS/Stephen Lam
July: Four employees who sued Google in 2017, alleging women at the company are paid about $16,794 less than men in similar positions, asked the court to grant their lawsuit class action status, which would allow them to represent 10,800 other female Google employees. [Business Insider]
Hearst, the parent company of Esquire magazine, was sued by an ex-executive at Esquire who claimed she faced gender and age discrimination from her former boss.
Hearst Tower in New York City, NY.
Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images
September: Former Esquire ad executive Lauren Johnson, 52, sued Hearst, the magazine's parent company, claiming she faced age and gender discrimination as well as retaliation for complaining, and that her boss Jack Essig "regularly mocked" older employees and female workers. [Business Insider]
Johnson & Johnson was sued by an ex-exec who claimed she faced "sexist, harassing and demeaning" behavior from male coworkers due to her gender and sexual orientation.
Cristina Arias/Getty Images
December: Gina Bilotti, a high-ranking 25-year veteran of Johnson & Johnson, sued the company, claiming she had endured years of discrimination, harassment, abuse, and retaliation on the basis of her gender and sexual orientation. [NJ.com]
Marriott was sued by a Black ex-employee who claimed he was fired in retaliation for complaining about racist behavior by coworkers.
A guest arrives at the Marriott Marquis hotel in Times Square in New York
Reuters
July: Kaseam Seales, formerly a bellhop at a Marriott hotel in New Jersey, claimed the company fired him in retaliation for complaining that his coworkers were exhibiting racist behavior toward him, and that they consistently gave more lucrative shifts to white bellhops. [Providence Journal]
McDonald's is facing two racial discrimination lawsuits from Black franchisees as well as a class action sexual harassment suit, and could be on the hook for billions of dollars in damages.
Mark Makela/Getty Images
April: McDonald's employees filed a $500 million sexual harassment class-action lawsuit against the company, claiming they faced physical and verbal harassment from coworkers and customers. [Business Insider]
August: 52 Black ex-franchisees filed a $1 billion racial-discrimination lawsuit against McDonald's, claiming the company sent them on "financial suicide missions" by pushing them to open stores in less profitable locations, eventually cutting the number of Black franchisees by 50% over the past two decades. [Business Insider]
October: In a separate class action suit, current Black franchisees said they faced a "pipeline of discrimination" from McDonald's, which allegedly imposed "two standards" for white and black owners, giving white franchisees better opportunities while being more strict with Black owners on safety inspections. [Business Insider]
Morgan Stanley's first diversity officer sued the bank over claims of racial discrimination and retaliating against employees who tried to make its culture more inclusive.
Marilyn Booker, Morgan Stanley's former global diversity officer.
Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images
June: Marilyn Booker, Morgan Stanley's first diversity officer, claimed in a racial-discrimination lawsuit that the bank retaliated against her and other Black female employees and eventually fired her for trying to make the bank's workforce more diverse and inclusive. [The Washington Post]
The NCAA was sued by HBCU athletes who claimed the organization's academic performance policies are biased against their schools.
Troyce Manassa, a former member of Savannah State University's basketball team, sued the NCAA over racial bias.
Joe Murphy/Getty Images
December: Athletes from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) sued the National Collegiate Athletic Association, college sports' governing body, claiming its academic performance standards — which are ostensibly meant to improve graduation rates — simply ended up discriminating against their schools, and thus disproportionately impacted Black student athletes. [NPR]
Oracle was sued in 2017 by female employees over gender pay disparities, and a court earlier this year opened the class action to more than 4,000 other current and former employees.
Reuters/Robert Galbraith
May: Three female Oracle employees sued the company in 2017, claiming it paid women less than men, citing an economists' study that found the pay gap averaged $13,000 per year. This year, a court granted the case class action status, opening the door for more than 4,000 current and former employees to join the suit. [The Mercury News]
Pinterest recently paid a former executive $22.5 million to settle a gender discrimination lawsuit and is facing another from shareholders over alleged racial and gender discrimination.
A woman walks past sign at the headquarters of social network Pinterest in the South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood of San Francisco, California, October 13, 2017.
Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images
August: Ex-Pinterest COO Françoise Brougher filed a gender-bias lawsuit against the company, claiming she faced pay discrimination and sexist behavior from other executives. Pinterest paid $22.5 million in December to settle the suit. [Business Insider]
December: Following Brougher's lawsuit and explosive allegations by dozens of current and former employees, Pinterest shareholders sued the company, accusing it of harming investors by creating and perpetuating a culture of racial and sex discrimination. [Business Insider]
Uber was sued by a driver who claimed the company's five-star rating system is racially biased.
An Uber driver protests outside the home of Uber co-founder Garrett Camp.
Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images
October: Thomas Liu, a former Uber driver, sued the company after it kicked him off the platform because his driver rating had fallen below a 4.6 out of 5. He claimed Uber's use of the system amounted to "intentional race discrimination" because of the "widely recognized" notion that racism often slips into customers' evaluations of workers. [Business Insider]
Warner Bros. was sued by a former executive who alleged she faced gender discrimination and harassment from men in the company's senior ranks, which she called an "old boys club."
Amy T. Zielinski/Getty Images
October: An ex-Warner Bros. executive sued the company over gender discrimination, claiming she was fired in retaliation for raising complaints about sexist behavior and harassment by male executives. [Deadline]
WeWork was hit with at least three lawsuits from former employees alleging harassment, discrimination, and that a manager intimidated an employee by, among other things, bringing a crossbow and knives to work.
Jacob Eliot; Michael Kovac/Getty
July: WeWork became the subject of three new gender and race discrimination and harassment lawsuits this year, including from an employee who claimed her boss brought a crossbow and knives to work, implied he had connections to the Mafia, and made unwanted sexual advances. Two Black employees also said they were paid less than white coworkers and faced retaliation for raising issues, with one also saying she was sexually harassed. [Business Insider]
Are there other high-profile discrimination or harassment lawsuits that should be added to this list? Contact this reporter using a non-work device via encrypted messaging app Signal at +1 503-319-3213, or by email at tsonnemaker@insider.com.
Twitter now lets some iPhone users add tweets to their Instagram Story from the Twitter app.
Maskot/Getty Images
You can add tweets to your Instagram Story quickly and easily if you have an iPhone — but note that this feature is not available for all iPhone users at this time.
Once you've added a tweet to your Instagram Story, you can resize it and move it around before sharing.
It's fun to share tweets on Instagram, but the process of screenshotting tweets and uploading them to a different platform can be tedious and tiresome. Fortunately, Twitter is testing a new feature that allows iPhone users to add tweets to Instagram Stories in the blink of an eye.
How to add a tweet to your Instagram Story
You can add a tweet to your Instagram Story as long as the tweet you're trying to share is public. That means it must be visible to the general public on Twitter, not something that was posted to a private or protected account. You will also need to be logged in to your Instagram and Twitter accounts on the device you're using. Keep in mind that this method currently only works for some iPhone users at this time.
1. On the Twitter app, locate the tweet you wish to share to your Instagram Story.
2. On the tweet you wish to share, tap on the "Share" icon, which resembles an arrow pointing upward.
3. In the menu that appears, underneath the Instagram icon, tap on "Instagram Stories."
4. The Twitter app will now disappear. In its place, the Instagram app will open a new draft for an Instagram Story.
5. You can now interact with the shared tweet as though it is a sticker. You can move it around by tapping and dragging the tweet, or you can resize it by swiping your fingers together or apart.
6. Put the finishing touches on your Instagram Story as you'd like it to appear. Then, you can choose to share it with all of your Instagram followers, a single person, or a group of multiple Instagram users.
Etsy is a popular e-commerce website where customers can find handmade gifts, craft supplies, and vintage items from independent sellers. Items are often customizable and made to order, lending a personal touch to any gift, and purchases benefit small businesses.
Before making a purchase, it's important to note the seller's policies - particularly when it comes to returns and exchanges. Some shops don't accept returns, exchanges, or cancellations, while others do. When it comes to canceling an order, you need to contact the seller directly.
How to cancel an order on Etsy with an account
Etsy notes that accepting a cancellation request is at the discretion of the individual seller. Following the steps below starts the cancellation process, but it's up to the seller to actually cancel your order.
1. Go to etsy.com. Click "Sign in" at the top-right corner. Sign in.
Click "Sign in" at the top-right corner.
Abigail Abesamis Demarest/Business Insider
2. At the top-right corner, click your account icon (icon with "You" underneath).
Click on your account icon.
Abigail Abesamis Demarest/Business Insider
3. Select "Purchases and reviews" from the dropdown menu.
Click on "Purchases and reviews."
Abigail Abesamis Demarest/Business Insider
4. Scroll down to find the order you wish to cancel, then click "Contact The Shop."
5. Write a message to the seller indicating that you would like to cancel your order, then click "Send."
How to cancel an order on Etsy without an account
1. Open the email you received confirming your order from Etsy. It will come from the email address transactions@etsy.com.
Open the original confirmation email from your order to reply to it.
Abigail Abesamis Demarest/Business Insider
2. Reply to the email with a message to the seller indicating that you'd like to cancel your order.
