Eyewitness News ‘Health Alert’ for June 1, 2025
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Six months of major marine events in south-east Tasmania
Hobart’s River Derwent and other south-east Tasmanian waterways have experienced some extraordinary marine events since December. Jellyfish population explosions, toxic algal blooms, wild shellfish health alerts, and mass salmon and sardine deaths. Water quality scientist Christine Coughanowr said it was not uncommon to see one or two such events in a typical summer, but “rarely would you see this many events over such a short period of time” The Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania said the incidents were “being closely examined” The presence of warmer than usual waters is “likely to be an important factor contributing to the proliferation of marine organisms along the east and south- east coast of Tasmania”, according to an EPA spokesperson. The wide geographic range of reported marine events points to broader oceanic influences and climate change as dominant causes. The CSIRO has been engaged to help better understand why the events occurred, and to develop tools to investigate the contributing factors of events like those experienced over the past summer.
Water quality scientist Christine Coughanowr said it was not uncommon to see one or two such events in a typical summer, but “rarely would you see this many events over such a short period of time”.
“This suggests that the marine environment is under a lot of stress,” Ms Coughanowr said.
“I think it is quite plausible that at least some of these events are related.”
Christine Coughanowr says the succession of marine events in south-east Tasmania may be related. (Supplied: Christine Coughanowr)
A spokesperson for the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas) said the incidents were “being closely examined”.
“While these events can occur independently, it is uncommon to see several in close succession,” the spokesperson said.
“It is important to note that marine events such as algae blooms are typically driven by a range of environmental factors such as water temperature, nutrient levels, and runoff from various sources, not solely agriculture and aquaculture.
“However, the potential for larger toxic algal blooms exists and the ShellMAP program continues to monitor local algal species.”
NRE Tas and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have engaged the CSIRO to help better understand why the events occurred.
“This work will inform the development of state-of-the-art tools that can be used to investigate the contributing factors of events like those experienced over the past summer,” an EPA spokesperson said.
“And to establish near real-time modelling tools to foster understanding and support more informed decision-making around policy, regulation, planning and incident response.”
What’s going on in the water?
The presence of warmer than usual waters is “likely to be an important factor contributing to the proliferation of marine organisms along the east and south-east coast of Tasmania”, according to an EPA spokesperson.
” The wide geographic range of reported marine events points to broader oceanic influences and climate change as dominant causes. ”
Ms Coughanowr, co-chair of Tasmania’s Independent Science Council and former CEO of the Derwent Estuary program, said “increasing pollution from human activities, combined in some cases with increasing water temperatures and changes in ocean circulation” were key causal factors.
“Excess nutrients, in particular, stimulate microscopic algal blooms in near-shore coastal waters, which can set off the whole cascade above,” she said.
Timeline of events
Bioluminescent salps seen under water at Kettering Marina, south of Hobart. (Supplied: Lisa-ann Gershwin)
December 12, 2024 — An unprecedented number of small jelly-like creatures called “salps” are seen at beaches and bays across south-east Tasmania.
Lisa-ann Gershwin, a jellyfish and bioluminescence expert, told ABC Radio Hobart an abundance of phytoplankton caused by excess nutrients from aquaculture and agricultural runoff had attracted the salps, which feed on phytoplankton.
Dr Gershwin cautioned that salps “literally wiped out” the phytoplankton wherever they occurred, so everything else starved.
December 19, 2024 — People warn against swimming at many of Hobart’s beaches after industrial waste from the Cadbury factory knocked out a wastewater treatment plant, resulting in sewage flowing into the River Derwent next to the Museum of Old and New Art (Mona).
Nutgrove Beach was among the Hobart beaches briefly closed to swimmers in December, 2024. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)
Public health alerts include “do not swim” advice applied to the River Derwent between Austins Ferry and Old Beach in the north, and Sandy Bay across to Howrah in the south.
December 20, 2024 — Some residents in Hobart and surrounds post photos to social media showing a pink substance in the water.
A swathe of red bioluminescent algae, Noctiluca scintillans, on Hobart’s Derwent River. (Supplied: Pennicotts Wilderness Journeys)
Dr Gershwin told ABC Radio Hobart the pink hue was a kind of bioluminescent algae called Noctiluca scintillans or “sea sparkles”, caused by an increase of nutrients coinciding with the salp die-off.
“As beautiful as they are to us at night, they cause a lot of problems for organisms that live in the water,” she said.
While not toxic for humans, the blooms can be a problem for fish farms, due to the fish being unable to escape should a pen be impacted by the algal bloom.
Lisa-ann Gershwin says algal blooms can be fatal for other sea life. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)
December 23, 2024 – Public health mostly lifts warnings against swimming in parts of the River Derwent due to untreated sewage, except for the western end of Bellerive Beach due to a localised issue.
January 1, 2025 – There are more widespread reports that Tasmania’s south-east coast was aglow with the bioluminescent algae Noctiluca scintillans.
Bioluminescent algae at Adventure Bay, Bruny Island. (Supplied: Mike Santek)
It is the biggest “bloom” in almost a decade.
Dr Gershwin told ABC Radio Hobart the algal bloom could lead to a spike in jellyfish populations across the state’s south.
She described it as an environmental red flag, which could be fatal for other sea life.
“It’s rather scary because it’s a visible indicator that something is really bad right now,” she said.
January 23, 2025 – Large blooms of Aurelia aurita – moon jellyfish – are seen in the River Derwent and halfway up Tasmania’s east coast.
The jellyfish naturally occur in the river, but not usually in such large numbers.
A moon jellyfish seen on Bellerive beach near Hobart in January 2025. (Supplied: Beth Duncan)
Dr Gershwin said the bloom had been caused by an oversupply of nutrients in the water, from runoff, overfishing, and a natural upwelling in the ocean.
She said “huge amounts” of nutrients came from salmon hatcheries upriver and fish farms.
“It’s too much. The ocean can’t take it … the ecosystem is teetering on collapse,” she said.
February 16, 2025 – Chunks of biological waste are discovered on a southern Tasmanian beach, prompting community calls for testing and an investigation into the nature of the waste.
EPA later confirms the waste, which washes up at other beaches in the D’Entrecasteaux Channel over the following weeks, is congealed fish oil from dead salmon.
Biological waste, later identified as being made up of sand and oil from dead salmon, washed up on a beach. (Supplied: Bob Brown Foundation)
February 20-21, 2025 – The Bob Brown Foundation shares images and videos of dead salmon floating on the edges of fish pens, and piled up in industrial skip bins.
There are reports the salmon industry in south-east Tasmania is grappling with a widespread bacterial disease outbreak that is causing mass mortality events.
March 20, 2025 – Tasmania’s Chief Veterinary Officer Kevin de Witte makes a statement about the salmon deaths, saying the mortality event in the lower D’Entrecasteaux Channel is largely due to an endemic bacterium known as Piscirickettsia salmonis (P. salmonis).
The bacterium did not present a human or animal health, or food safety risk, Mr de Witte said.
“The bacterium also does not pose a risk to freshwater fish nor is it known to pose a threat to other marine [saltwater] species.”
Salmon was discarded in industrial skip bins following a mass mortality event affecting farmed salmon in pens. (Supplied: Bob Brown Foundation)
May 5, 2025 – Tasmania’s Environment Protection Authority (EPA) reports a decline in fish deaths after the mass salmon die-off and says water-quality monitoring no longer detects the presence of antibiotics used to treat the fish infection.
May 8, 2025 – Public health issues a wild shellfish alert for Boomer Bay in south-east Tasmania. It warns toxic algal blooms (also known as harmful algal blooms or HABs) are present in Tasmania and that elevated levels of algal toxins have been detected in shellfish in the area.
May 16, 2025 – Public health expands its wild shellfish alert to include the Mercury Passage in Eastern Tasmania. It advises not to eat “recreationally harvested mussels, oysters, clams, pipis, cockles, wedge shells abalone and scallop roe”.
May 17, 2025 – Hundreds of small fish, later confirmed to be sardines, are found dead along the shoreline of the River Derwent. A few days later, Kevin de Witte, tells ABC Radio Hobart the sardines most likely died “due to a toxic algae” called Heterosigma.
The small fish, confirmed to be sardines, were found dead on the shores of the River Derwent. (Supplied)
Monitoring and management
In Tasmania, the EPA is the primary statutory regulator for water quality and its management, alongside NRE Tas.
Both were involved in testing and reporting during and following the recent salmon mortality event.
The Derwent Estuary Program also plays an important role coordinating a range of projects aimed at restoring and promoting the estuary and reducing pollution.
Following the salmon mortality event, the EPA conducted an internal debrief to “capture lessons from the mortality event” and participated in an inter-agency debrief that extended to consultations with the three salmon companies, an EPA spokesperson said.
“Mortalities are a known aspect of salmon farming worldwide. From an EPA perspective, the critical issue is timely collection and management of mortality waste in an approved manner.”
Ms Coughanowr said more “robust monitoring” of both the condition of, and many activities affecting the health of, our rivers and coastal waters was required.
“Often people just call up and report what they are seeing, but we need a more systematic approach than that.
” We need better monitoring and reporting of the conditions in our marine environment – these events are warning signs that should not be ignored. ”
Heartbreak of toxic algal bloom outbreak Photo shows Dead sea life under the water, grey clouds above the water A mysterious, brown foam appeared on a beach an hour south of Adelaide. It was just the beginning of a toxic algal bloom that has now grown to thousands of square kilometres in size, killing precious sea life in its wake.
Ms Coughanowr said a marine event of the scale of South Australia’s toxic algal bloom, which is bringing unprecedented destruction to the state’s marine environment, “would be a terrible outcome for Tasmania”.
“It is important that we don’t just blunder into this with our eyes closed,” she said.
Testing ongoing
A spokesperson for NRE Tasmania said Biosecurity Tasmania was continuing to look into the recent deaths of the sardines found along the shores of the River Derwent.
“At this stage, investigations indicate this mortality event is not linked to the salmon mortality incident in south-east Tasmania from January to April,” the spokesperson said.
Masses of small fish, later identified as sardines, washed up on the shores of the River Derwent in May 2025. (Supplied)
“Biosecurity Tasmania understands it is not pollution-related and the events are likely due to different infectious causes. From ongoing testing, P.salmonis and POMV have been ruled out as the cause of the sardine deaths.
“Initial results of testing conducted of the sardines indicate it is likely to be a result of Heterosigma, a type of algae. It is currently not believed to be a bloom, however further testing continues.”
Ms Coughanowr said whatever the cause of the most recent fish deaths, the health of our waterways needed to be a priority for Tasmania.
“We need to reduce pollution and other pressures on our rivers and coastal waters to make them as resilient as possible,” she said.
” This would include the reduction in nutrient loads from fish farming, agriculture and sewage. ”
Members of the public who observe dead fish, pollution events or suspected biological material can call the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888 or the EPA Incident Response Hotline on 1800 005 171.
In Uganda, an affordable alternative to dirt floors is a big boost to human health
EarthEnable has been promoting and installing the clay-based floors in Uganda since 2017. Besides eliminating dust that can irritate breathing, they’re credited with reducing infestations of jiggers. A typical floor costs around 240,000 Uganda shillings (about $65), which Earth Enable says is about 70% cheaper than concrete. About 42% of Ugandans live in extreme poverty, and the country needs to add 300,000 housing units per year to make up the deficit, mainly in rural areas, where housing quality and availability remain pressing concerns.“Our floors help to prevent pathogens and other illnesses linked to dust floors,” says Noeline Mutesi, a sales and marketing manager for EarthEnable.”Living a better life with a cleaner floor’s most savings to build a house,’ said Budima Rehema, a resident of Budima Nam’ukuse, in the village of Jinja, Ugandan capital of Mbarara.
Then a company called EarthEnable approached him to offer an alternative: a clay-based earthen floor that could give him a durable, sealed floor for less than half the cost of concrete. Tigawalana now has the new floor in two rooms and hopes to add it soon in the last room.
“I’m happy that we now have a decent home and can also comfortably host visitors,” said Tigawalana, a 56-year-old father of 16. “Ever since we got a clay floor my kids no longer get cough and flu that used to come from the dust raised while sweeping the dirt floors.”
EarthEnable, which seeks to upgrade housing across Africa, has been promoting and installing the clay-based floors in Uganda since 2017. Besides eliminating dust that can irritate breathing, they’re credited with reducing infestations of jiggers — a parasitic flea that can burrow into the skin and lead to pain, itching and infection. Uganda’s health ministry says poor hygiene due to dirt floors contributes to such infestations.
“Our floors help to prevent pathogens and other illnesses linked to dust floors, since most of these families can’t afford hospital care,” said Noeline Mutesi, a sales and marketing manager for EarthEnable.
How the floors are built
The first step in building the floor is digging and leveling the surface. Then murram — local red soil rich in iron and aluminum oxides — is mixed with sand and water and then compacted. After two weeks of drying time, masons use wooden floats to smooth and further compact the surface. Next is pasting: applying a fine clay screed to further smooth the surface and prepare it for a final sealant, a flaxseed-based varnish that hardens into a durable plastic-like resin.
A typical floor costs around 240,000 Uganda shillings (about $65), which Earth Enable says is about 70% cheaper than concrete. Buyers can pay in installments. EarthEnable, a U.S.-based nonprofit, operates for-profit subsidiaries in Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya, and says any profits are invested into startup costs in new markets as well as research and development.
EarthEnable said it’s installed about 5,000 floors in Uganda, more than 39,000 in Rwanda and more than 100 in Kenya. The company also does wall plastering to help reduce dust, moisture and insect infestations common in mud homes.
In Jinja, the company’s program employs more than 100 masons from within the community. Many are disadvantaged boys who have dropped out of school because they can’t afford fees, said Alex Wanda, a construction officer at the company.
“We focus on employing these young village boys that we train in skills to build these earthen floors, thus creating for them employment opportunities,” Wanda said in an interview.
About 42% of Ugandans live in extreme poverty. Its Bureau of Statistics says the country has a housing deficit of 2.6 million units, and it’s growing. The country needs to add 300,000 housing units per year to make up the deficit, mainly in rural areas, where many Ugandans live and where housing quality and availability remain pressing concerns.
A more sustainable floor than concrete
The company also touts the clay floors as a more sustainable alternative to concrete, which besides being more expensive generates major carbon emissions in production.
The cement industry is one of Uganda’s biggest contributors to carbon emissions, accounting for about 628,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2023, its highest recorded level. More broadly, building and construction accounts for 37% of global emissions, according to the United Nations Environment Programme.
Uganda, like much of the rest of the world, has seen a rise in extreme weather events made more likely by climate change, including flooding and prolonged drought.
“Initiatives like this are crucial in the global effort to decarbonize the construction sector,” said Penina Atwine, a program officer at the Uganda-based organization Environmental Alert. “Such innovative local solutions that address both climate change and social needs like EarthEnable’s model could inspire similar approaches across the globe.”
‘Living a better life’ with a cleaner floor
In the village of Budima, Rehema Namukose spent most of her family’s savings to build a house. She couldn’t afford a cleaner floor until she worked through EarthEnable to pay for a clay floor in installments. She lives there with her three children and credits the new floor for improving the health of a sickly daughter.
“This is affordable for my family and will help us maintain hygiene,” she says “We are now living a better life.”
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Flaring reported at Richmond’s Chevron Refinery; air quality advisory issued
Flaring reported at Richmond’s Chevron Refinery; air quality advisory issued. Officials say cities including Richmond, San Pablo, Pinole and Hercules saw the smoke. The Bay Area Air District is monitoring and investigating the situation.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued an air quality advisory on Saturday after a Chevron Refinery in Richmond started flaring up.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued an air quality advisory on Saturday after a Chevron Refinery in Richmond started flaring up.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued an air quality advisory on Saturday after a Chevron Refinery in Richmond started flaring up.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued an air quality advisory on Saturday after a Chevron Refinery in Richmond started flaring up.
RICHMOND, Calif. (KGO) — The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued an air quality advisory on Saturday after a Chevron Refinery in Richmond started flaring up.
Officials say cities including Richmond, San Pablo, Pinole and Hercules, as well as towns in Solano County, saw the smoke.
MORE: Chevron to lay off 600 workers in California as it prepares corporate move to Houston
The Bay Area Air District is monitoring and investigating the situation.
Chapel Hill police searching for 15-year-old missing girl
Chapel Hill police searching for 15-year-old missing girl. Kaydin Shelton is 5 feet, 2 inches tall and weighs about 180 pounds. She was last seen wearing a black shirt with pink lettering, black shorts, and a pink backpack.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) — Chapel Hill police are asking for the public’s help finding a missing 15-year-old.
Police said Kaydin Shelton, of Chapel Hill, was last seen on Friday evening in the area of Formosa Lane.
Kaydin is 5 feet, 2 inches tall, and weighs about 180 pounds. She has dark brown hair and green eyes, and was last seen wearing a black shirt with pink lettering, black shorts, and a pink backpack.
Anyone with information should call 911 or contact the Chapel Hill Police Department at 919-968-2760 (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday). Callers who wish to remain anonymous can call Chapel Hill-Carrboro-UNC Crimestoppers at 919-942-7515 or visit https://chapelhillcrimestoppers.com/.
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31 Palestinians are killed heading to a Gaza aid site, witnesses say. Israel denies responsibility
Witnesses say Israeli forces fired toward crowds just before dawn. Israel’s military denied its forces fired at civilians near or within the site. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says it delivered aid “without incident” It released a separate video it said was shot Sunday at the site that appeared to show people collecting aid. It was the deadliest incident yet around the new aid distribution system, which has operated for less than a week.“Aid distribution has become a death trap,” the head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said in a statement. The Red Cross says it received 179 casualties including women and children, 21 of them declared dead upon arrival, the majority with gunshot or shrapnel wounds, the most of them children and women.. Israeli military chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir ordered that more aid sites be established — and that troops’ ground operation be expanded in unspecified parts of northern and southern Gaza. The foundation has denied previous accounts of chaos and gunfire around its sites, which are in Israeli military zones.
Israel’s military denied its forces fired at civilians near or within the site in the southern city of Rafah. An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with procedure, said troops fired warning shots at several suspects advancing toward them overnight.
The military also released drone footage it said was shot Sunday, apparently in daylight, in the southern city of Khan Younis, showing what it said were armed, masked men firing at civilians trying to collect aid. The Associated Press could not independently verify the video, and it was not clear who was being targeted. “Hamas is doing everything in its power to prevent the successful distribution of food in Gaza,” the statement said.
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The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation — promoted by Israel and the United States — said in a statement it delivered aid “without incident,” and released a separate video it said was shot Sunday at the site that appeared to show people collecting aid. The AP was not able to verify the video. The foundation has denied previous accounts of chaos and gunfire around its sites, which are in Israeli military zones where independent media has no access.
It was the deadliest incident yet around the new aid distribution system , which has operated for less than a week.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement its field hospital in Rafah received 179 casualties including women and children, 21 of them declared dead upon arrival, the majority with gunshot or shrapnel wounds. It was unclear if any of the dead were militants.
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“All patients said they had been trying to reach an aid distribution site,” the ICRC said, calling it the highest number of “weapon-wounded” people in a single incident since the hospital was set up over a year ago.
The head of the World Food Program, Cindy McCain, told ABC News that staffers on the ground were reporting people killed and called it a “tragedy.”
“Aid distribution has become a death trap,” the head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees , Philippe Lazzarini, said in a statement.
In a separate statement, Israeli military chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir ordered that more aid sites be established — and that troops’ ground operation be expanded in unspecified parts of northern and southern Gaza.
A new aid system marred by chaos
Multiple witnesses have said Israeli troops fired on crowds near the foundation’s sites. Before Sunday, 17 people were killed while trying to reach them, according to Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Gaza Health Ministry’s records department.
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The foundation says private security contractors guarding its sites have not fired on crowds. Israel’s military has acknowledged firing warning shots on previous occasions.
The foundation said in a statement it distributed 16 truckloads of aid early Sunday “without incident,” and dismissed what it described as “false reporting about deaths, mass injuries and chaos.”
U.N. agencies and major aid groups have refused to work with the new system, saying it violates humanitarian principles.
‘The scene was horrible’
Thousands of people headed toward the distribution site hours before dawn. As they approached, Israeli forces ordered them to disperse and come back later, witnesses said. When the crowds reached the Flag Roundabout, around 1 kilometer away, at around 3 a.m., Israeli forces opened fire, the witnesses said.
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“There was fire from all directions, from naval warships, from tanks and drones,” said Amr Abu Teiba, who was in the crowd.
He said he saw at least 10 bodies with gunshot wounds and several other wounded people, including women. People used carts to ferry the dead and wounded. “The scene was horrible,” he said.
Most people were shot “in the upper part of their bodies, including the head, neck and chest,” said Dr. Marwan al-Hams, a Health Ministry official at Nasser Hospital, where many were transferred from the Red Cross field hospital. A colleague, surgeon Khaled al-Ser, said 150 wounded people had arrived, along with 28 bodies.
The hospital corridors were filled with patients, “but unlike what I have witnessed before, where most of the patients were women and children, today it was mainly men,” a spokesperson with medical charity MSF, Nour Alsaqa, said in a statement.
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Ibrahim Abu Saoud, another witness, said the military fired from about 300 meters (yards) away. He said he saw many people with gunshot wounds, including a young man who died at the scene. “We weren’t able to help him,” he said.
Mohammed Abu Teaima, 33, said he saw Israeli forces open fire and kill his cousin and a woman as they headed toward the distribution site. He said his cousin was shot in his chest, and his brother-in-law was among the wounded.
“They opened heavy fire directly toward us,” he said.
An AP reporter arrived at the field hospital at around 6 a.m. and saw dozens of wounded, including women and children. The reporter also saw crowds of people returning from the distribution point. Some carried boxes of aid but most appeared to be empty-handed.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said least 31 people were killed and over 170 were wounded.
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“This is sinful, enough with the humiliation. They humiliated us for the sake of food,” said Ilham Jarghon as fellow Palestinians wept and prayed for the dead.
Later Sunday, Israeli artillery shells struck tents sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis, killing three and wounding at least 30, according to Nasser Hospital. Israel’s military said it was looking into it.
The UN says new aid system violates humanitarian principles
Israel and the U.S. say the new system is aimed at preventing Hamas from siphoning off assistance. Israel has not provided evidence of systematic diversion, and the U.N. denies it has occurred.
U.N. agencies and major aid groups say the new system allows Israel to control who receives aid and forces people to relocate to distribution sites, risking yet more mass displacement in the coastal territory.
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“It’s essentially engineered scarcity,” Jonathan Whittall, interim head in Gaza of the U.N. humanitarian office, said last week.
The U.N. system has struggled to bring in aid after Israel slightly eased its nearly three-month blockade of the territory last month. The groups say Israeli restrictions, the breakdown of law and order and widespread looting make it extremely difficult to deliver aid to Gaza’s roughly 2 million Palestinians.
Experts have warned that the territory is at risk of famine if more aid is not brought in.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. They are still holding 58 hostages, around a third believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
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Israel’s military campaign has killed over 54,000 people in Hamas-run Gaza, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. The offensive has destroyed vast areas, displaced around 90% of the population and left people almost completely reliant on international aid.
The latest efforts at ceasefire talks appeared to stumble Saturday when Hamas said it had sought amendments to a U.S. ceasefire proposal that Israel had approved, and the U.S. envoy called that “unacceptable.”
Mediators Qatar and Egypt in a joint statement Sunday said they continued “intensive efforts to bridge the gaps in viewpoints” and hoped for “a swift agreement for a temporary ceasefire lasting 60 days, leading to a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.”
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Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.
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Source: https://bakersfieldnow.com/news/health/eyewitness-news-health-alert-for-june-1-2025