THAT’S ENOUGH

California’s Public Health Chief Abruptly Quits After Massive Failure of State’s COVID-Tracking System

Sonia Angell gave no reason for her abrupt departure, but it came after several tough weeks, including during record case numbers and deaths.

California’s state public-health director has quit abruptly and without explanation, but her decision came after a blunder saw the state unable to tally its number of COVID-19 cases. California’s response to the coronavirus pandemic has been severely hampered by the failure of its COVID-19 tracking system. A computer glitch forced officials to count cases by hand in some cases, and there were warnings that the state’s virus numbers could be severely undercounted, even as it hit record numbers of infections and deaths. NBC Bay Area reported that Sonia Angell, a top official on the team directing the state’s pandemic response, unexpectedly resigned late Sunday and that her decision was effective immediately. In her letter, she reportedly praised her colleagues for their resilience, writing: “Not one of our staff has gone untouched by the changes that have occurred. Not in our professional lives or our personal lives.” Sandra Shewry, vice president of the California Health Care Foundation, will now step up as acting public-health director.