Thread by @latimes

In the spring, California was so successful in keeping COVID-19 at bay that at least one expert called it the “California miracle.”

So when cases surged in November, health experts and residents struggled to understand what went wrong.

latimes.com/california/sto…

Now, with the crisis showing signs of easing, the main reason for the surge is coming into focus: a false confidence that the pandemic could be kept in check.

For the public, that complacency showed up in fatigue over safety restrictions. latimes.com/california/sto…

By Christmas, so many patients struggling to breathe needed to be hospitalized in California that emergency rooms in large swaths of the state closed to ambulances as doctors stuffed patients in hospital corridors. latimes.com/california/sto…

The holiday surge has so far killed more than 18,100 Californians, more than doubling the state’s total death toll from the pandemic in less than three months. latimes.com/california/sto…

There are many possible theories as to why California was hit so hard starting in the late fall, including more contagious strains of the virus and dry weather.

But most experts point to changes in behavior: people beginning to abandon staying home. latimes.com/california/sto…

The complacency caught officials off-guard and in turn sealed the state’s fate, as the prevalence of the virus crossed a tipping point into explosive growth, experts say.

Some attribute the waning cooperation simply to fatigue. Others argue that a dizzying array of health orders exhausted and confused Californians and sparked backlash.

Read the full story from @skarlamangla and @ronlin now: latimes.com/california/sto…