Covid-19 numbers in the state and throughout the nation are steadily rising as another three-day holiday weekend approaches.
Bay Area officials this week have already announced the cancellation of parades and fireworks shows, including San Francisco’s iconic Fourth of July fireworks display held annually along The Embarcadero.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday at his Covid-19 press briefing that the state is immediately restricting specific indoor business types and activities that will impact 19 counties, which represents about 70 percent of the total population. Three Bay Area counties are included in Wednesday’s order.
Here’s a look at what’s happening in the rest of the Bay Area and the state.
Source: John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center COVID-19 global tracking tool as of Wednesday at 6:33 p.m.
Open SFBay USA coronavirus tracker.Dr. Anthony Fauci testified Tuesday morning at a Senate hearing on the U.S. pandemic response.
His message was loud and clear when he said:
“Clearly we are not in total control right now.”
Fauci told the committee that “what was thought to be unimaginable turned out to be the reality” and that as outbreaks happen in the future, we need to “deal with them in a very aggressive, proactive way.”
Trump: "I think we're going to be very good with the coronavirus. I think that, at some point, that's going to sort of just disappear, I hope."
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 1, 2020
Fox: "You still believe so, disappear?"
Trump: "Well, I do." pic.twitter.com/RXITpPbI4K
He stressed to members of the committee that the country needs a united and coordinated response — the nation is currently adding approximately 40,000 new cases per day. In a shocking followup to a question posed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Fauci said:
“I would not be surprised if we go up to 100,000 a day if this does not turn around.”
He expressed concern several times that the country is going in the “wrong direction” with its response to the pandemic and though he worries about the four states accounting for about half of the total infections, he said other states are also vulnerable to outbreaks.
Fauci said:
“I think the attitude of pushing back from authority and pushing back on scientific data is very concerning. We’re in the middle of a catastrophic outbreak and we really do need to be guided by scientific principles.”
Fauci added:
“[W]e cannot forget that what was thought to be unimaginable turned out to be the reality that we’re facing right now.”
Source: John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center COVID-19 global tracking tool as of Friday at 6:32 p.m.
Nineteen counties across the state will have to halt indoor operations and businesses due to a rise in Covid-19 cases, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday.
Indoor restaurant service, wineries, tasting rooms, movie theaters, family entertainment centers, zoos, museums and card rooms will have to cease indoor operations in those 19 counties that have been on the state’s County Monitoring List for at least three consecutive days.
All bar operations — indoor and outdoor — are also ordered to shut down.
The 19 counties include: Contra Costa, Fresno, Glenn, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, Merced, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Solano, Stanislaus, Tulare and Ventura.
Newsom announced the closure of all state beach parking facilities to over the July 4 weekend, but there are no mandatory state beach closures. State beach will only be closed in counties that have chosen to close local beaches.
After it was discovered that two lifeguards tested positive for the virus, the Newport Beach City Council officials voted Wednesday to close the city’s beaches to public on July 4. The cities of Huntington Beach and Seal Beach quickly followed suit to shut down their shorelines.
Additionally, the governor announced the formation of an “enforcement strike team” consisting of a number state agencies, including the Alcohol Beverage Control, Cal/OSHA, California Highway Patrol, Department of Consumer Affairs and Department of Businesses Oversight.
The team will focus on ensuring safety and health guidelines are being met in workplaces, especially in counties that fell under the Wednesday state order, said Newsom.
The governor advised Californians to “reconsider” plans and not gather over the Fourth of July weekend, citing case outbreaks stemming from recent large family gatherings. Finally, Newsom got tough on his mask messaging, saying:
Open SFBay Bay Area coronavirus dashboard in new window.“Wearing a face covering is a sign of toughness. It’s a sign of resolve. It’s a sign of someone who gives a damn. It’s a sign of someone who wants to solve a problem.”
Source: Alameda County Public Health Department as of Wednesday with data reported through Tuesday.
Testing has expanded to serve all Fruitvale residents, county officials said Tuesday.
Free testing will be offered at Native American Health Center and La Clínicade la Raza in Oakland. Everyone is welcomed to be tested, regardless of symptoms or insurance.
The Native American Health Center opened Tuesday at 3050 International Blvd. Tests will be offered Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Appointments can be made online at color.com/nahc.
La Clínica de La Raza, which has been open since last month, is located in the parking lot at 5th Avenue & E 12th Street. The hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. This is a drive-thru site, but walk-in appointments are accepted. Appointments can be made by calling (510) 535-3370.
Source: Contra Costa Health Services as of Wednesday at 11:30 a.m.
Contra Costa County has landed on the state’s county watchlist and has been ordered to close many indoor businesses in response to the county’s rise in cases and hospitalizations.
The county already announced last week it would pause reopening of many businesses and indoor services originally scheduled to resume Wednesday. Indoor restaurants, personal care services, gyms and hotels for tourism were on the list of industries told to hold on a little longer.
County health officials said the seven-day average number of patients in hospitals increased by 75 percent between June 15 and June 29.
The county has also seen a sharp rise in the seven-day average of new cases from 38 to 87 per day.
Contra Costa Health Services reports 37 Covid-19 patients hospitalized as of Wednesday.
Source: Marin Health and Human Services as of Wednedsay.
*Marin County began reporting San Quentin State Prison cases separately, but for purposes of tracking actual infections and potential impact on the county, we’ve included San Quentin inmate cases with the county’s cumulative total.
An update provided Wednesday by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reflects a total of 1,264 infections originating from the San Quentin State Prison that have tested positive for Covid-19 — an increase of 103 new cases since Monday’s SFBay update.
Eight of the 1,142 inmates who have so far tested positive for the virus have been released with active infections, and 12 have reportedly recovered as of Wednesday night. The CDCR data indicate that another 20 San Quentin staff members have also tested positive since Monday night and only eight have recovered and returned to work.
A total of 4,983 CDCR inmates have been infected to date. San Quentin represents nearly 23 percent of that cumulative total.
Source: Department of Health and Human Services as of Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.
As more residents are tested, health officials report that the number of total cases doubled between June 4 and June 25.
On Tuesday, the county added 16 new cases and reported no new deaths. The county has conducted a total of 20,637 tests.
Despite the rise in new cases in June, Napa County’s increase in recent cases remains relatively low compared to other Bay Area counties.
Source: San Francisco Department of Public Health with data reported through Tuesday.
San Francisco’s Public Health Officer Tomás Aragón is heeding this warning to not go out and gather during the July 4 weekend.
Aragón said Tuesday during a media briefing that the virus is still around, as is evident by a 47 percent rise in The City’s Covid-19 hospitalizations over the past seven days, according to data from the Department of Public Health.
The City currently has 64 patients hospitalized with Covid-19 illnesses as of Tuesday afternoon — 13 of which came from San Quentin State Prison and five patients from Imperial County. Just a week ago, there were 47 patients hospitalized with the virus.
Aragón said this is not the time to stop practicing physical distancing or to stop wearing face coverings and masks when out in public. Strongly suggesting residents not gather over the three-day holiday weekend, he said:
”The virus has no value. It doesn’t care why you’re getting together. It will exploit any type of gathering regardless of the purpose. And that’s one thing people really have to understand. This virus is relentless, and it’s unforgiving and it will lull us into this sense of confidence that everything is OK.”
The seven-day average percentage of acute care beds and ICU beds available is still meeting city target goals of 35 and 28 percent, respectively.
Aragón pointed to concerns over the average new daily cases per 100,000 residents, which has jumped from 2.7 on June 15 from to 5.8 as of June 26. He said:
“The reason why it’s concerning to us, just like the hospitalization data, is that we don’t know whether this is going to be a one-time blip or whether this is the tip of the iceberg and we’re going to have a rapid increase in cases and hospitalizations. It’s too soon to tell.”
San Francisco Mayor London Breed Friday announced a pause in The City’s reopening process that would have allowed businesses like hair salons, barber shops and nail salons to reopen Monday.
Breed also stressed that residents need to celebrate the Fourth of July safely and responsibly — The City canceled its annual fireworks show along The Embarcadero.
The mayor said:
“It is critical that all of us continue to follow the Health Orders designed to protect our safety. Please think carefully and act responsibly this weekend.”
Source: San Mateo County Health Department with data reported through Tuesday.
Another 149 positive test results have been reported since Monday.
Source: Santa Clara County Public Health as of Wednesday.
While Santa Clara County is on the state’s watch list, the county has yet to allow restaurants, bars and other indoor activities to resume.
Dr. Sara Cody, the county’s public health officer, said Monday that she plans to release a framework for the next process of reopening. Cody said the plan will be departure the business sector plan to reopen.
The county added 200 new cases and two new deaths from virus on Wednesday.
Source: Solano Public Health as of Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. The county does not report data on Saturdays and Sundays.
Solano County saw a spike in June cases, which landed the county on the state’s county watch list.
Data from the county showed a spike of 89 cases from tests collected on June 17, the county’s highest one-day gain. Just five days later, there was another spike of 55 cases on June 22.
The county’s seven-day average of cases rose from 12 per day to as high as 43 a day on June 22. Since June 27, the seven-day average has been steady at 27 cases a day.
Source: County of Sonoma with data as of Tuesday at 9:17 p.m.
Source: John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center COVID-19 global tracking tool as of Wednesday at 6:33 p.m.
Sao Paulo, Brazil, with a confirmed 289,935 cases, is sandwiched between New York and California for the highest number of Covid-19 cases worldwide, according to Wednesday reporting by John Hopkins University.
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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