Here’s a look at the state of the Bay Area and beyond as of Tuesday.
Source: John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center COVID-19 global tracking tool as of Monday at 6:52 p.m.
U.S. Attorney General William Barr issued a memo Monday directing U.S. Attorneys to take action against states and localities deemed to have crossed “the line from an appropriate exercise of authority to stop the spread of COVID-19 into an overbearing infringement of constitutional and statutory protections.”
Barr wrote:
“(E)ven in times of emergency, when reasonable and temporary restrictions are placed on rights, the First Amendment and federal statutory law prohibit discrimination against religious institutions and religious believers.”
Implying that the interests of national economy could be legally, constitutionally prioritized over local health orders, Barr added:
Open SFBay USA coronavirus tracker.“The legal restrictions on state and local authority are not limited to discrimination against religious institutions and religious believers. For example, the Constitution also forbids, in certain circumstances, discrimination against disfavored speech and undue interference with the national economy.”
Source: John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center COVID-19 global tracking tool as of Friday at 6:52 p.m.
The Employment Development Department started accepting applications for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program Tuesday morning. However, the EDD claim system began intermittently crashing by approximately 10 a.m., leaving many struggling workers not covered by traditional Unemployment Insurance frustrated at yet another delay and the agency’s inability to handle the volume of claims requests.
Source: Alameda County Public Health Department as of Tuesday with data reported through Monday.
County officials report that the majority of confirmed cases has been among people between the ages of 18 to 30 years old. Contrastingly, the highest concentration of cases per 100,000 people is seen in the age group of individuals 81 years of age and older.
As of Monday, 81 Covid-19 patients were hospitalized countywide.
Source: Contra Costa Health Services as of Tuesday at 11:30 a.m.
Health officials Tuesday released the county’s COVID-19 Rapid Response Playbook, which is designed to serve at-risk populations. Modeled in part on the New York City Rapid Response Playbook, Contra Costa defines the purpose as a way to coordinate and develop “equitable, effective, and responsive solutions” for the area’s most vulnerable and historically underserved and underrepresented groups, “both during and post the Covid-19 crisis.”
The playbook vaguely outlines the county’s planned procedure for handling cases and exposure, including identification, assessment, patient engagement, connection of patients to services and monitoring.
The county is reflecting a spike with 23 new cases reported Tuesday, the highest one-day gain since April 17.
Source: Marin Health and Human Services as of Tuesday.
As of Tuesday, officials report that 22 patients and 25 staff members from skilled nursing facilities have so far tested positive for Covid-19.
Source: Department of Health and Human Services as of Tuesday.
County officials report that 30 patients have recovered from the virus and an additional 262 tests are pending as of Tuesday.
Source: San Francisco Department of Public Health with data through Monday.
Supervisors Tuesday railed against Mayor London Breed’s refusal to acquire more than 8,000 hotel rooms to shelter The City’s homeless population during the Covid-19 outbreak. The demand for rooms became emergency ordinance law after an April 14 unanimous vote in the Board of Supervisors and Breed’s inaction to veto the legislation. The ordinance required The City to have 8,250 rooms in hand, with 7,000 reserved for homeless individuals, by April 26.
The deadline came and went, with Breed still pointing to staffing concerns as a barrier to such an effort. The City had taken over 2,741 rooms by Monday. More than a thousand rooms reportedly remain vacant.
Supervisor Shamann Walton said:
“I am trying to understand how the executive branch can totally disregard the laws of this city just because they simply disagree.”
To supervisors’ dismay, Breed may have a legal path to ignore the mandate. Though the BOS passes legislation, the mayor holds more purse power. She can choose not to allocate funds and effectively kill bills she opposes.
Taking issue with the morality of Breed’s decision, Supervisor Matt Haney said:
“This is the moral thing to do. It’s the financially smart thing to do and it’s the thing that is going to protect the public health of everyone in this city. It’s also the law. There should be no question about this, despite the statements that the mayor has made.”
Health officials reported Tuesday that the Asian community comprises a disproportionate share of The City’s death toll related to Covid-19. Of the 23 reported deaths, more than half were Asian. It is also noted that males in San Francisco have both contracted and died from the virus at higher rates than females. Men make up approximately 59 percent of the positive case count.
Source: San Mateo County Health Department with data reported Monday.
Source: Santa Clara County Public Health Department as of Tuesday.
The number of positive cases in San Jose exceeded 1,400 as of Tuesday. For comparison, Sunnyvale, with 119 patients, has the second highest number of cases in the county.
Source: Solano Public Health as of Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
The county is still showing a fairly steady incline on the number of daily confirmed cases. There were 114 Covid-19 cases in Vallejo as of Tuesday.
Source: County of Sonoma with data as of Tuesday at 8:30 p.m.
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