Tests have confirmed more than three million cases of Covid-19 globally — nearly one-third of them are in the U.S.
Alliances were a theme Monday with the addition of two states to the Western States Pact and a six-county joint decision to extend Bay Area shelter orders through May.
Source: John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center COVID-19 global tracking tool as of Monday at 6:31 p.m.
Donald Trump started his morning on a Twitter tear aimed at Democrats and the press, which is not out of the ordinary, but he inserted a thinly veiled threat Monday against states in need of federal help due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Signaling that states’ party affiliation may impact federal response, Trump said:
Why should the people and taxpayers of America be bailing out poorly run states (like Illinois, as example) and cities, in all cases Democrat run and managed, when most of the other states are not looking for bailout help? I am open to discussing anything, but just asking?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2020
Source: John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center COVID-19 global tracking tool as of Friday at 6:35 p.m.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced during a press briefing Monday that Nevada and Colorado have joined California, Oregon and Washington in a Western States Pact. The now five states will act as an alliance to coordinate Covid-19 response and reopening strategy.
Newsom also expressed frustration at the high number of people who gathered over the warm weekend at places like Newport Beach and said he will increase enforcement. Noting that the “virus doesn’t take the weekends off,” he warned that residents’ behavior can undo progress the state has made in containing the virus.
Newsom said that based on the current data, it would be “weeks, not months” to a substantial downshift in restrictions. But he also said:
“(T)he only thing that can stop that is images like this weekend in Newport Beach.”
Meanwhile, a series of round tables will be held to discuss different aspects of the recovery phase and how specific sectors will be impacted. Newsom said the discussions would be open to the press.
The Employment Development Department is scheduled to begin accepting applications for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which will benefit many of the state’s freelancers, independent contractors and others unemployed due to Covid-19 at no fault of their own. The PUA benefits, established under the federal CARES Act, are an expansion of the state’s Unemployment Insurance to include people not traditionally covered.
Six Bay Area counties issued a joint statement Monday announcing the intention to extend shelter-in-place orders through May. Health officials for Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara counties and the city of Berkeley said in the statement:
“Prematurely lifting restrictions could easily lead to a large surge in cases.”
According to the statement, some restrictions will be eased for “a small number of lower-risk activities,” though details were limited Monday. Further information is expected to trickle out over the course of the week.
Researchers from University of California at Berkeley and UC San Francisco are teaming up for a joint study of antibody tests and results. Using more than 120 available tests, the group will examine potential immunity, though they warn that tests do not yet determine how long “immunity” may last or if reinfection is possible.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not authorized emergency use of the antibody blood tests being marketed, and the research team stresses that none of the tests have been validated in any systematic way. Much attention is being paid to determining accuracy of antibody tests as leaders are looking to rely heavily on results in consideration of how and when to loosen Covid-19 restrictions.
Researchers have posted the study’s first preliminary findings at covidtestingproject.org.
The number of confirmed cases in Oakland has grown to 430 people. Across the county, 84 were hospitalized for Covid-19 illness as of Sunday, half of which were being treated in intensive care units.
One additional case of the 2019 novel coronavirus has been identified at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, according to an Alameda County Sheriff’s Office update via Twitter Monday. The new case comes from within the quarantined population, bringing the total number of confirmed inmate cases to 35, with one person released and being tracked by the county’s public health department. Three staff members in total have become infected.
The county is maintaining an interactive map of food distributions and service locations for residents in need. The map can be accessed online and officials say it is updated daily.
Source: Alameda County Public Health Department as of Monday with data reported through Sunday.
Source: Contra Costa Health Services as of Monday at 11:30 a.m.
Richmond and Concord continue to have the highest number of infections, with 95 and 74, respectively. However, the highest concentration rate is still being experienced in Orinda. The county as a whole is showing hopeful signs with a decline in hospitalizations as of Saturday, but officials are looking for more consistent declines to guide and aid reopening strategies.
Source: Marin Health and Human Services as of Monday.
The county is hosting a “Community Conversation about Caring for our Vulnerable Populations” Wednesday. The 6:30 p.m. virtual event will include health department officials. According to the county, people interested in joining the conversation can do so at https://coronavirus.marinhhs.org/ — the topics will be focused on how the virus impacts specific vulnerable communities and what resources are available to help.
Source: Department of Health and Human Services as of Monday.
County officials report that nearly half of the confirmed Covid-19 patients have recovered from the virus. There were 265 tests pending results as of Monday and 105 people being closely monitored due to close contact with infected patients.
Source: San Francisco Department of Public Health with data through Monday.
It was announced Monday that John F. Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park and John F. Shelley Drive in John McLaren Park will be closed to vehicle traffic beginning Tuesday morning. After weeks of advocates calling for street closures and the implementation of The City’s Slow Streets Program, the decision to prohibit vehicles on key stretches of the two streets was made in an effort to increase physical distancing space for pedestrians using the parks during the Covid-19 shelter-at-home order.
Source: San Mateo County Health Department with data reported Sunday.
Source: Santa Clara County Public Health Department as of Thursday.
The SoFa Street Fair dropped the “street” but not the music during Sunday’s event. The all-day music festival packed with small bands was enjoyed virtually with people watching performances from the comfort of their own sofas.
Source: Solano Public Health as of Monday at 4:30 p.m.
Vacaville residents will soon be able to buy fresh produce at the Creekwalk Plaza in Andrews Park. The Saturday return of the farmers’ market will not include live music, food sampling or prepared foods and will be subject to physical distancing measures. The decision to reopen the market for sale of agricultural products only was made in collaboration with the city, the downtown business improvement district and the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association.
As of Monday, there were 34 confirmed cases of the virus in Vacaville. The number of people infected in Vallejo is nearing 100.
Source: County of Sonoma with data as of Sunday at 6 p.m.
Open SFBay Worldwide coronavirus tracker.Bay City News contributed to this report.
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