Bay Area coronavirus update: Santa Clara cases jump, Hayward seeks volunteers

Santa Clara County health officials reported a one-day, 67-person increase in novel coronavirus cases as of 5 p.m. Saturday, bringing the total number of cases in the area to 263, with no additional deaths.

The increase wasn’t unexpected due to “given community transmission, an increase in provider reporting and growing testing capacity through the commercial market,” county health officials said in a statement. They declined to provide anymore information on the increase Saturday.

In addition, the county will be working with the U.S. Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response to build a temporary 250-bed Federal Medical Station inside the city of Santa Clara Convention Center. The FMS provides beds, supplies and medicine for short-term, sub-acute care for individuals who don’t have COVID-19 to increase capacity for hospital beds, according to county health officials.

County health officials also said Saturday the District Attorney’s Office has established a new way to contact them to report a non-essential business operating in violation of the shelter-in-place order. Voicemails can be left in English, Spanish or Vietnamese at (408) 792-2300 or residents can email [email protected].

For more information on COVID-19 in Santa Clara County, visit http://www.sccphd.org/coronavirus, or the county health office’s social media accounts at https://www.facebook.com/sccpublichealth and @HealthySCC on Twitter.

Hayward seeking volunteers

City of Hayward officials issued a call on Friday for volunteers to help with community needs that have arisen from the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The city said people who want to volunteer are invited to go to the new online Emergency Volunteer Center on the city’s website and follow the instructions for signing up.

Hayward officials said the Emergency Volunteer Center will be managed through their Emergency Operations Center during the current local emergency declaration and Alameda County’s shelter-in-place order.

The city said registered volunteers will be contacted based on their abilities and the community’s needs. Tasks may include deliveries, clerical and administrative support, in addition to working at the Emergency Volunteer Center, among other duties.

The city said volunteers must be at least age 18, be in good health and have transportation.

Grand Princess crew member suffers medical emergency

The U.S. Coast Guard took a crew member of the Grand Princess cruise ship from the ship Saturday so he could get medical attention for an unspecified “medical emergency.”

The Coast Guard said that the crew member, in his early 40s, was suffering a medical emergency. Coast Guard crew consulted a duty flight surgeon who recommended the crewmember be “med-evaced” from the Grand Princess for treatment. The Coast Guard dispatched a Coast Guard Station San Francisco 45-foot “response boat-medium” crew to transport the crewmember to awaiting EMS personnel at Coyote Point in San Mateo.

The Grand Princess has been anchored in the San Francisco Bay since Monday. Its passengers, some of whom tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus, were taken to hospitals and other facilities. By Saturday, almost all of the people left on board were crew members.

Bay City News

Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area. © 2022 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.