The U.S. House of Representatives is expected Friday to take up and pass the massive $2 trillion CARES Act stimulus package passed by the U.S. Senate earlier this week. The package would include direct payments for most adults with an additional $500 provided per child under 17 for families that earned less than $75,000 as reported on their 2019 or 2018 tax returns.
It would also extend the unemployment eligibility period and adds an additional $600 per week to unemployment checks for workers, including independent contractors and self-employed people. The deal also provides billions to small businesses and corporations. Details will not be concrete until the bill is passed by the House and signed by the president.
The U.S. Thursday surpassed all other countries in total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to John Hopkins University. The nine-county Bay Area region alone surpassed confirmed 1,400 cases Thursday.
Source: California Department of Public Health as reported Wednesday at 2:00 p.m.
Source: John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center COVID-19 tracking tool as of Thursday at 8:06 p.m.
Service Employees International Union Healthcare Workers West said Thursday they procured 39 million N95 masks that they will distribute to state and local governments and healthcare providers. Union officials also said they’ve located suppliers capable of producing millions of protective masks and protective face shields.
The Golden Gate National Recreation Area is scaling back operations at several sites as of Thursday, according to an advisory posted on the National Park Service website.
The impacted sites in Marin County are:
The impacted sites in San Francisco County are:
Caltrain is slashing more than half of its weekday service indefinitely beginning Monday, officials said Thursday. The decision is based on reduced ridership and ticket sales that took a dramatic 95 percent hit on the first day of the Bay Area’s multiple county shelter-in-place order.
Source: The Alameda County Public Health Department as of Thursday.
Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley called on the public Thursday to report price gouging on consumer goods or medical supplies. Reports can be made by visiting the DA’s website or calling (510) 383-8600.
In a statement, O’Malley said:
“It is illegal for any business to profiteer while we are in a state of emergency. All residents of Alameda County must continue to have access to necessary supplies, especially when the community’s health is at stake.”
Hayward officials reported that one-fourth of 207 people tested at the COVID-19 Testing Center Monday, the first of its operation, tested positive. According to a Thursday statement, officials said results would be publicly shared approximately 48 hours after each day’s testing period. It was originally said the facility would be able to process up to 370 tests per day, but 460 people were tested Tuesday.
Although the facility is scheduled to operate between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. seven days a week, it had to close early Wednesday after it ran out of testing supply, according to Hayward’s spokesman Chuck Finnie.
Another eight inmates have been released from Santa Rita Jail in Dublin due to their age or health vulnerability if exposed to the novel coronavirus. The jail has now released 322 inmates amid the current health crisis, all of whom are expected to check with their service providers and appear in court eight weeks after their latest arrest date.
Source: The City of Berkeley as of Monday at 10:30 a.m. Berkeley reports separately from Alameda County.
A Berkeley firefighter is recovering at home after testing positive for COVID-19, city officials announced Thursday.
Source: Contra Costa Health Services as of Thursday at 1 p.m.
County officials said in a press release Thursday that they are exploring alternate facilities to care for patients with “less complicated medical needs,” which could include Pittsburg Health Center, and that shelters and vacant hotel rooms are being identified to house the county’s homeless population.
Source: Marin Health and Human Services as of Thursday.
County officials will this week consider an extension of the shelter-in-place order, officials said in a Thursday press release.
Source: Department of Health and Human Services as of Thursday.
Calistoga reported its first confirmed case Thursday. City officials said the patient is isolating and authorities are attempting to trace subsequent exposures.
Source: San Francisco Department of Public Health as of Monday at 9 a.m.
Taxi drivers in The City are struggling to survive with the detrimental decline in passenger business. The San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance Thursday asked the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency for relief in the form of waived permit fees for nearly the next three years to ease the financial burden drivers are facing during the COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders. The SFTWA has also asked for help with lenders in an effort to cancel medallion loan payments and halt associated foreclosures.
The transit agency responded with a suspension of permit renewal fees through the duration of the order and said it was exploring other ways to help.
Union representatives for San Francisco healthcare workers and Supervisor Matt Haney called on The City to devise a plan to better protect hospital staff as they attend to the growing number of COVID-19 patients.
They are asking for personal protective equipment, testing availability and treatment for all those working on the front lines and for patients in homecare and nursing facilities, at least two weeks pay before exhausting their own paid leave, and compensation for extended work hours. They’re also asking The City to stop issuing violations to in-home providers when weekly work hours are exceeded.
A full Board of Supervisors vote on the resolution is anticipated within weeks.
The SFMTA is suspending Muni Metro and light rail service beginning Monday due to the severe decline in ridership under The City’s shelter-in-place order. Buses will replace those routes aboveground.
Source: San Mateo County Health Department as of Thursday at 8:37 a.m.
The Seton Medical center in Daly City began accepting patients Wednesday under state control. The hospital was pending closure after the hospital’s owner, Verity Health System, filed bankruptcy. Gov. Gavin Newsom recently stepped in to keep the facility open, citing the need to expand, not reduce, the amount of bed space the state has available to fight the novel coronavirus outbreak. The facility can accept up to 220 COVID-19 patients.
An employee with the San Mateo Consolidated Fire Department tested positive after reporting feeling ill last week while on duty, said department officials Thursday. Tests are being given to 15 other employees who were in close contact with the patient, though the employee reportedly did not have contact with members of the public.
Source: Santa Clara County Public Health Department as of Wednesday at 5 p.m.
The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office Thursday reported a sixth deputy who has tested positive for the virus. Officials said the deputy is isolating at home and the agency is investigating possible exposure to additional staff and inmates.
Source: Solano Public Health as of Thursday at 2 p.m.
Source: County of Sonoma as of Thursday at 8:32 p.m.
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