Gov. Gavin Newsom Friday announced a task force that will lead the state out of an economic recession,
Gov. Gavin Newsom Friday announced a task force that will lead the state out of an economic recession due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Newsom said former presidential candidate and businessman Tom Steyer and his Chief of Staff Ann O’Leary will co-chair the Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery with 80 members, including former governors of the state Pete Wilson, Gary David, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown.
Steyer said at a press conference Friday:
“People across the state are worried about their jobs and their worried about taking care of their families. I think it’s absolutely critical at the outset to point out that resource starved communities have been the hardest hit by this and are suffering the most and disportionately. Any equitable recovery plan is going to have put those communities front and center.”
Newsom said 3.1 million Californians have just applied for unemployment insurance and that the state’s unemployment rate is at 5.3 percent, which does not include Californians who recently applied for unemployment.
Source: John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center Covid-19 Mortality Analyses as of Friday at 8:52 p.m. Note: See explanation for correction issued at end of article.
Source: John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center Covid-19 tracking tool as of Friday at 4:48 p.m.
Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo counties have all issued a new public health order Friday that requires the public start wearing a face covering when inside an essential business, on public transit and in public facilities. Essential workers will also be required to wear face coverings.
Public health officials remind the public that wearing a face covering is supplemental to social distancing and not a replacement. Children under the age of 12 will not be required to wear a mask.
Businesses will be allowed to not serve customers without a mask and may not allow customers enter their business if they are not wearing a mask.
The public will not have to wear a mask at home, while outdoors exercising or in the same vehicle as household members. Officials do recommend the public to carry a face covering with them while exercising to have on ready just in case.
Sonoma County announced earlier this week Monday that the will require the public to wear face coverings starting on Friday.
Source: The Alameda County Public Health Department with data reported through Friday and including Berkeley.
Oakland Unified School District officials said Friday that two people involved in the district’s food distribution had tested positive for Covid-19.
The district said that both employees had worked at distribution events and had not experienced Covid-19 symptoms, but experienced symptoms within days later after visiting a school and tested positive for the virus.
District officials said the two employees reported the situation to their supervisors and self-isolated. They are not identifying the employees due to privacy laws, and are not identifying the school sites as that information could lead to the public learning the names of the persons.
Officials said they are following protocols to deep clean any potential sites in connection with a person infected with Covid-19.
Source: Contra Costa Health Services as of Friday at 11:30 a.m.
Source: Marin Health and Human Services as of Friday.
Novato parade organizers Friday announced the cancellation of its Fourth of July and Independence Day celebration.
The parade’s theme this year was called “The Power of Her Vote” to mark the centennial of the women’s suffrage movement.
Source: Department of Health and Human Services as of Friday.
Source: San Francisco Department of Public Health with data through Friday.
San Francisco Director of Transportation Jeffrey Tumlin informed Muni riders Friday at a press conference that the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is limiting its capacity of passengers on Muni buses so that passengers can practice social distancing.
Tumlin said 30-foot buses will be limited to 15 passengers; 40-foot buses will be limited to 20 passengers; 60-foot buses will be limited to just 30 passengers.
The SFMTA will have staff out at transit stops to ensure passengers are practicing social distancing and wearing a face covering as stated in the new public order announced by Breed on Friday.
The transit agency has cut Muni service to just 17 core Muni bus routes, which Tumlin admitted has left many parts of The City without service. SFMTA spokesperson Erica Kato said that the transit agency has seen a 30 to 40 percent drop in Muni operators reporting for work since last week.
He reminded the public about a new service that he and Mayor London Breed announced Thursday the Essential Trip Card where seniors and adults with disabilities can apply for by calling 311.
The card works as a debit card where customers can pay $6 for and receive $30 in value on the debit card to pay for taxi service if they need access to an essential business. All San Francisco taxis will accept the card.
Tumlin also reminded the public that Muni service is only for essential workers and to make essential trips to places like grocery stores.
Source: San Mateo County Health Department with data reported through Thursday.
Source: Santa Clara County Public Health Department as of Friday.
Santa Clara County officials have begun tracking and reporting publicly this week Covid-19 cases at long-term healthcare facilities, such as skilled nursing homes, assisted living, independent living and board and care facilities.
Long-term care facilities in the Bay Area have been linked to outbreaks of Covid-19 in residents and staff members who work at the facilities. The county reports of a total of 322 cases and 22 deaths at long-term care facilities as of Friday.
Source: Solano Public Health as of Friday at 4:30 p.m.
Source: County of Sonoma with data as of Friday at 7 p.m.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article stated that the U.S. confirmed cases total was 662,045 and the death toll was 28,998 as of Friday at 4:48 p.m. Those numbers were misreported due to an apparent technical issue with the John Hopkins tracking data that has since been corrected. We have updated this article to reflect that the U.S. confirmed cases had reached 699,706 and the death toll was instead 36,773 as of 8:52 p.m. Friday night, according to the John Hopkins Mortality Analyses data table updated at that time.
Jerold serves as a reporter and San Francisco Bureau Chief for SFBay covering transportation and occasionally City Hall and the Mayor's Office in San Francisco. His work on transportation has been recognized by the San Francisco Press Club. Born and raised in San Francisco, he graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in journalism. Jerold previously wrote for the San Francisco Public Press, a nonprofit, noncommercial news organization. When not reporting, you can find Jerold taking Muni to check out new places to eat in the city.
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