Covid-19 update: Bay Area records 700th death as SF passes 5,000 cases, Alameda tops 9,000

As the region recorded its 700th death due to Covid-19 Saturday, eight out of nine Bay Area counties are now on California’s Covid-19 county monitoring list, which keeps tracks of increases in cases and hospitalizations within each county.

Counties that land on the list for more than three days will have to follow stricter state guidelines and could possibly mean the rollback of shutting businesses that are currently open for a minimum of at least three weeks.

The City and County of San Francisco was added to the list Friday and expects to be on the list for more than three days.

U.S.

  • Confirmed Cases: 3,707,023
  • Deaths: 140,105

Source: John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center COVID-19 global tracking tool as of Saturday at 6:35 p.m.

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California

  • Confirmed Cases: 380,745
  • Deaths: 7,702 deaths

Source: John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center COVID-19 global tracking tool as of Saturday at 6:32 p.m.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday issued guidelines to allow for schools to reopen for the fall 2020 semester, but many school districts have already decided that in-person classes will not happen this fall.

Dozens of counties on the state’s Covid-19 monitoring list, including those in the Bay Area, will not be allowed to reopen schools unless they get off the state list for 14 consecutive days. 

Thirty-two counties have been on the state’s list for more than three days as of Saturday, according to the California Department of Public Health.

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Alameda County

  • Confirmed Cases: 9,110
  • Deaths: 162

Source: Alameda County Public Health Department as of Saturday with data reported through Friday.

The county has been on the state’s County Monitoring List since July 12 due to having a case rate above 100 per 100,000 residents over a 14-day period — just one of the metrics the state is using to monitor any surge in cases throughout California. 

Alameda officials said the current case rate is at 122.3 per 100,000 residents as of Friday. The county has seen an uptick in cases so far in the month of July. 

On July 4, the county added 240 cases, which was the county’s highest one-day total since the county began tracking cases back in March. On Friday, the county added 161 new cases, according to data from the county’s public health department.

A spike occurred Friday in the number of inmates with Covid-19 at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin for the second day in a row, according to data provided by an attorney representing the sheriff’s office. As of Friday, 101 inmates had tested positive for the virus, attorney Greg Thomas said during a public conference with federal Magistrate Nathanael Cousins. That is up from 46 on Thursday and six on Wednesday.

Contra Costa County

  • Confirmed Cases: 5,538
  • Deaths: 98

Source: Contra Costa Health Services as of Friday at 11:30 a.m.

NBC Bay Area reports that Contra Costa County is one of two Bay Area counties exploring fining those who are not following public health guidelines during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The county’s Board of Supervisors is considering an ordinance that would allow county staff to cite those not following public health orders.

Between July 16 and July 17, the county added 275 Covid-19 cases.

Marin County

  • Confirmed Cases: 4,167
  • Deaths: 42

Source: Marin Health and Human Services as of Friday.

*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 inmate cases with the county’s cumulative total. However, staff member infections are being included in the individual’s county of residence reporting.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reports that a total of 2,079 inmates have tested positive for Covid-19. The department reports of 12 deaths so far at the prison.

Thirty-nine inmates released have tested positive for the virus and a total of 234 staff members at the prison have tested positive for Covid-19 — an increase of seven since the last SFBay update on Thursday. 

Napa County

  • Confirmed Cases: 583
  • Deaths: 5

Source: Department of Health and Human Services as of Friday at 1:30 p.m.

This week, Napa County’s Board of Supervisors approved an emergency ordinance that authorizes the issuance of citations related to violating state and county public health orders.

Fines range from $25 to $500 who flout public health guidelines such as having large gatherings or not wearing a mask. Businesses face stiffer fines ranging from $200 to $5,000 for violating public health orders.

The public can read the emergency order passed by the board online.

San Francisco

  • Confirmed Cases: 5,116
  • Deaths: 52

Source: San Francisco Department of Public Health with data reported through Friday.

The City and County of San Francisco was added to the state’s County Monitoring List and expects to be there for three-plus days, which means The City will need to follow stricter state guidelines.

Mayor London Breed said Friday at a press briefing with reporters that malls and non-essential offices will need to close on Monday.

Christopher Michel/Flickr Parkgoers — many of them unmasked — enjoy a sunny afternoon at Mission Dolores Park in San Francisco, Calif. on Saturday, June 18, 2020.

Public Health Director Dr. Grant Colfax said the city was added to the list due an increase in Covid-19 hospitalizations and a surge in cases.

Both Breed and Colfax said residents are gathering with people outside of their household, which caused the increase in new cases.

The mayor cited an incident where a roommate of a city disaster worker went on a camping trip with 15 friends and tested positive for the virus when they came back and endangered the city worker from getting the virus. The city worker tested negative for the virus, but had to quarantine for 14 days preventing the city worker from working.

A San Francisco Sheriff’s deputy has tested positive for Covid-19–the seventh sheriff’s employee to test positive since March, Sheriff Paul Miyamoto announced Friday. The deputy, who works as a bailiff at The City’s Hall of Justice, was asymptomatic and had followed safety protocols like wearing a face covering, practicing social distancing and hand washing regularly, Miyamoto said.

San Mateo County

  • Confirmed Cases: 4,465
  • Deaths: 114

Source: San Mateo County Health Department with data reported through Tuesday.

San Mateo County is the only county out of the nine Bay Area counties that has yet to make it on the state’s Covid-19 monitoring list, but county officials believe they are on the borderline of making the list.

County Supervisor David Canepa told KPIX Thursday that the county’s case rate per 100,000 residents is at 124. 

The state wants counties to have a case rate per 100,000 residents to be less than 100.

No official announcement has been made yet if the county would join the rest of Bay Area counties on the state Covid-19 watch list. San Mateo County, which did receive a variance from the state, has most of its indoor businesses open, including hair salons and gyms.

Indoor dining was even allowed in the county until recently when the governor stopped all indoor dining statewide. 

Santa Clara County

  • Confirmed Cases: 7,300
  • Deaths: 177

Source: Santa Clara County Public Health as of Saturday.

County health officials Saturday announced new pop-up testing sites in San José and Gilroy that will open starting Tuesday.

  • County of Santa Clara Service Center Auditorium: 1555 Berger Dr., San Jose. July 21-23 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
  • San Jose High School Cafeteria:  275 N. 24th Street, San Jose. July 21-24, 1: p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and July 15 from 9:00 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  • South County Annex (formerly Antonio Del Buono Elementary): 9300 Wren Ave., Gilroy. July 21-24, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Solano County

  • Confirmed Cases: 2,554
  • Deaths: 31

Source: Solano Public Health as of Friday at 4:30 p.m. The county does not report data on Saturdays and Sundays.

Sonoma County

  • Confirmed Cases: 2,121
  • Deaths: 19

Source: County of Sonoma with data as of Saturday at 10:10 p.m.

Global

  • Confirmed Cases: 14,292,005
  • Deaths: 602,157

Source: John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center COVID-19 global tracking tool as of Saturday at 6:32 p.m.

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Bay City News contributed information to this report.

Last modified July 19, 2020 2:22 am

Jerold Chinn

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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