KQED's Forum

Social distancing is taking a devastating toll on the arts in California. With venues closed and events canceled, artists are left with scant ways to make money while non-profits that support the arts are pummeled by the changing economy. We check in with artists and art institutions about what they are doing to survive and adapt to these tough times and what can be done to help.

At a Monday press conference, Governor Newsom said California is preparing for a mid-May peak of Covid-19 infections in the state. At the same time, there are early signs that the Bay Area is "flattening the curve".  UCSF department of medicine chair Bob Wachter joins us to discuss how Newsom's prognosis fits with what we're seeing in the Bay Area, the public health benefits and costs of sheltering in place, and when we can expect to return to a semblance of normal.

Fourteen years ago, Dr. Larry Brilliant delivered a TED Talk in which he gravely predicted a worldwide pandemic that could infect a billion people and cause trillions of dollars in economic damage. The Marin County resident worked on the World Health Organization team that eradicated smallpox in the 1970s, is the former head of Google.org and chairs the board of the non-profit Ending Pandemics that aims to improve how countries detect and respond to outbreaks. Brilliant says the coronavirus has a low death rate compared with smallpox and is optimistic that we will soon have antiviral drugs to treat patients. We’ll talk with Brilliant about what we can do now to combat coronavirus and what we can learn from this global crisis.

As COVID-19 forces billions across the globe to stay home, Zoom has become a popular platform for business meetings, classes and happy hours alike. But with its rapid growth, the San Jose-based video conferencing company has drawn criticism from security and privacy watchers. Reports of "Zoombombing," where unwanted users crash meetings with abusive attacks, are on the rise, according to the FBI. Well take up the issues and we want to hear from you: if you're using video-conferencing apps, what concerns do you have, if any?

California lags far behind other states in coronavirus testing, and patients have faced long delays getting results. But California Governor Gavin Newsom said Saturday that the state had made progress reducing its testing backlog and announced a new collaboration to increase capacity five-fold. Joining us to talk about the governors new plan for ramping up testing is Rachel Becker, a reporter with CalMatters.

President Trump has so far resisted imposing national rules to fight the coronavirus pandemic, but health policy expert Andy Slavitt says it's past time for the federal government to act. Slavitt, who was acting chief of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under President Obama, says the Trump Administration should take bold steps, such as issue a national stay-at-home order, bar creditors from foreclosing on businesses and convert stadiums to intensive care units. We'll talk to him about his recommendations and what we all can do to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Advocates for domestic abuse survivors worry that school closures, job losses, and the shelter in place order because of the COVID-19 pandemic may lead to higher rates  of abuse.  We'll hear why the risk of domestic violence is elevated, and what tools organizations are using to help survivors who may be trapped in a threatening situation.

At least sixteen states are responding to the coronavirus pandemic by imposing mandatory 14-day quarantines on out-of-state visitors. Rhode Island and Florida have gone so far as to set up police checkpoints for drivers with out-of-state plates, and Kentucky has banned residents from leaving the state, except for essential job or family-related reasons. This has some legal experts wondering whether these border-tightening measures are constitutional. We'll take up the issues with law scholar Jessica Levinson.

A resident of a homeless shelter in San Francisco has tested positive for coronavirus, city officials reported Thursday. It's the first confirmed case among homeless people in the city and officials worry it could spread fast. Advocates and service providers have struggled to continue providing food and supplies during shelter in place and social distancing and shelters throughout the Bay Area have stopped taking new clients. We talk about what challenges homeless people are facing during the pandemic.

Six Bay Area counties on Tuesday imposed more restrictive shelter in place orders, including closing playgrounds and dog parks.  The new orders come as health officials and doctors say the Bay Area may be seeing signs of successfully "flattening the curve" by slowing the rate of coronavirus infections. Forum talks about what we're learning from the Bay Area, California and globally about how sheltering in place is helping to slow hospital admissions and how to bend the curve.