Another Bay Area county Wednesday was added to California’s Covid-19 monitoring list that will require the closure of several indoor operations.
Napa County was added to the state’s radar after three days on the monitoring list due to growing concerns that the number of positive Covid-19 cases is increasing. The county, which received a variance to accelerate reopening plans, will now have to tell some businesses to roll back operations.
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.President Donald Trump continued with his message Wednesday that schools should reopen in the fall.
In a tweet, the president disagreed with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, calling them “tough” and “expensive.”
I disagree with @CDCgov on their very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools. While they want them open, they are asking schools to do very impractical things. I will be meeting with them!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 8, 2020
Trump also said that he may consider cutting funding for schools that do not reopen and cited schools that have reopened in other countries with no issues.
In Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and many other countries, SCHOOLS ARE OPEN WITH NO PROBLEMS. The Dems think it would be bad for them politically if U.S. schools open before the November Election, but is important for the children & families. May cut off funding if not open!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 8, 2020
The president’s administration said they will meet with the CDC to discuss the guidelines.
Source: John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center COVID-19 global tracking tool as of Wednesday at 6:33 p.m.
Three more counties were added to the state’s monitoring list Wednesday, including Napa, San Benito and Yolo counties, bringing the total number of counties on the list to 26.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday at a press briefing that the state saw a 44 percent increase in hospitalizations within a two-week period, from 5,196 hospitalizations on June 30 to 6,100 as of July 7.
As the number hospitalizations increased over that 14 days, so did the number of people admitted to intensive care units. Reflecting a 34 percent increase in ICU patients, the number jumped from 1,617 on June 30 to 1,753 on July 7.
Another 11,694 new cases were confirmed in the past day — a new single-day gain record — but Newsom warned that the inflated number was due to a backlog in laboratories reporting results in Los Angeles County.
Open SFBay Bay Area coronavirus dashboard in new window.
Source: Alameda County Public Health Department as of Wednesday with data reported through Tuesday.
The county on July 7 reported 30 new cases, which is a far cry from the 207 and 203 cases added on July 2 and 3, according to data from the county’s public health department.
Alameda also saw a peak of 157 people hospitalized for Covid-19 on July 3 and reports 142 patients in hospitals currently, 50 in ICU beds, as of July 6.
Officials have already hit the pause button on allowing more businesses to reopen despite receiving a state variance to do so. The county has so far avoided placement on the state’s monitoring list.
Source: Contra Costa Health Services as of Wednesday at 11:30 a.m.
The county still remains on the state’s watch list due to growing concerns over new case numbers and hospitalizations.
Contra Costa public health officials are monitoring five key indicators, including seven-day averages of new cases reported and number of patients in all county hospitals being treated for Covid-19. Both of those indicators have seen sharp increases in recent weeks.
The seven-day average of new cases on July 1 was 105 and has since jumped to 143 cases as of July 7, while the rolling seven-day average hospitalized Covid-19 patients jumped from 39 on July 1 to 52 patients on July 7.
Source: Marin Health and Human Services as of Wednesday.
*Marin County began reporting San Quentin State Prison cases separately, but for the purposes of tracking actual infections and potential impact on hospitalization rates, we’ve included prison-derived cases with the county’s cumulative total.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reported on Wednesday that San Quentin State Prison’s cumulative case total among inmates had reached 1,507 inmates. Seven inmates have reportedly died from the virus, with one reported in the past day.
The number of staff infected at the facility has grown to 200 from 184 since Tuesday — 49 staff members have recovered and returned to work at the prison.
Source: Department of Health and Human Services as of Tuesday at 1:30 p.m.
The state Wednesday added Napa County to its Covid-19 watchlist, but county officials already ordered the closure of most businesses Tuesday due to the sharp upward case trend.
Businesses ordered to close include:
Napa was placed on the state’s list for having a case rate exceeding 100 new cases per 100,000 residents. The state’s metrics requires counties maintain a rate below 100 per 100,000 residents over a 14-day period.
The state orders counties on the list to close specific businesses for at least three weeks.
Source: San Francisco Department of Public Health with data reported through Tuesday.
As reopening schools has become a nationwide topic, San Francisco Wednesday released its own interim guidelines should public and private schools decide to reopen.
The San Francisco Department of Public Health released preliminary guidelines that touch on several topics, including transportation, arrival and dismissal, meals and snacks, teacher breakrooms, chorus activities, field trips and sports activities.
Among the recommendations in the 13-page guideline report is that all students and staff must wear face coverings while on school grounds.
The recommendations can be viewed at sf.gov.
Mayor London Breed Wednesday night tweeted that she is awaiting Covid-19 test results after she was in contact with a person at an event who had test positive.
Today, I was informed that recently I attended an event that was also attended by an individual who was aware that they had tested positive for COVID-19.
— London Breed (@LondonBreed) July 9, 2020
Following consultation with the Department of Public Health, I’ve taken a COVID-19 test and am waiting for the results.
The mayor said she will follow Department of Public Health by “practicing strict masking and social distancing practices” and limiting her public appearances over the next 10 days.
Source: San Mateo County Health Department with data reported through Tuesday
Source: Santa Clara County Public Health as of Wednesday.
In an update on Facebook, James Williams, county counsel, gave an update on a new public health order that will go into effect Monday.
Wilson said the framework for the new health order will not be a shelter-in-place, but a risk reduction structure.
He added that the new health order will not focus on the definitions and lists of businesses deemed as essential or non-essential, but instead will be framed around broader principles.
The public can watch the full county update on YouTube.
Source: Solano Public Health as of Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. The county does not report data on Saturdays and Sundays.
The county’s increase in cases and hospitalizations has mostly been driven by farm workers from vineyards in Sonoma and Napa who live in Solano County, the California Department of Public Health says.
Additionally, the department said social and family gatherings have contributed to the surge in cases.
While there is an increase in hospitalizations, capacity has not yet put a strain on hospital and ICU beds, and the department is closely monitoring the situation.
Five more people were hospitalized for Covid-19 illness, for a total of 40 patients in county hospitals as of Wednesday.
Source: County of Sonoma with data as of Tuesday at 9:00 p.m.
Source: John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center COVID-19 global tracking tool as of Wednesday at 6:33 p.m.
Open SFBay Worldwide coronavirus tracker.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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