Around the world, more than 3.5 million people have tested positive for the 2019 novel coronavirus we’ve come to know as Covid-19. Those recorded infections have resulted in more than 250,000 deaths globally as of Monday.
As several states with inclining case trends reopen this week, California is still doing a relatively good job mitigating the virus and keeping cases and deaths low. Hospitalization and intensive care unit data around the Bay Area reflects the seriousness with which most residents have taken the shelter orders. Still, there are spikes in places like Vallejo and ongoing concerns about newer hotspots like Alameda County.
Caution in those areas will be especially important as California starts loosening some restrictions Friday in Stage 2 of the state’s reopening plan.
This is where we’re at as of Monday in the Bay Area and beyond.
Open SFBay Worldwide coronavirus tracker.Source: John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center COVID-19 global tracking tool as of Monday at 6:45 p.m.
A Department of Homeland Security report began circulating Friday as first reported by ABC News. An administration source told ABC the report reads:
“China likely cut its exports of medical supplies prior to its January (World Health Organization) notification that COVID-19 is a contagion.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo seemed to confirm the report’s existence and findings in a Sunday interview on ABC’s “This Week” when he said:
“We can confirm that the Chinese Communist Party did all that it could make sure that the world didn’t learn in a timely fashion what was taking place.”
Donald Trump told Fox News viewers Sunday in a virtual town hall held at the Lincoln Memorial that he did not expect the virus to be as dangerous as it has become. However, he was quick to praise his administration for their response to Covid-19, including what he repeatedly refers to as “the China ban.”
The travel restriction Trump imposed applied to foreign nationals who had been in China within 14 days — the “ban” did not prohibit travel by U.S. citizens and several other categories of exempted people.
In a sharp turn from his U.S. death toll predictions a few weeks ago, Trump said:
“Look, we’re going to lose anywhere from 75, 80 to 100,000 people. We shouldn’t lose one person out of this.”
Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina and West Virginia all began reopening in some form Monday. They join 16 other states that began reopening as early as April 24.
Open SFBay USA coronavirus tracker.Source: John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center COVID-19 global tracking tool as of Monday at 6:45 p.m.
Gov. Gavin Newsom briefed the public Monday about Stage 2 of the state’s reopening plan expected to begin Friday. He said that “some retail and manufacturing/logistics” sectors with lower transmission risk will be allowed to reopen with physical distancing and curbside service modifications.
What DOES this include?
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) May 4, 2020
Places like:
– clothing stores
– florists
– bookstores
– sporting goods stores
All with curbside pick-up.
What does this NOT include at this time?
Places like:
– Offices (can continue telework)
– Restaurants (seated dining)
– Shopping Malls
We will begin tracking case data in Orange and Sacramento counties, two locations where large numbers of “reopen” protesters, many without face coverings, gathered last week in objection to the state and local shelter orders.
Orange County
Source: John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center COVID-19 global tracking tool as of Monday at 6:45 p.m., three days after the May 1 Huntington Beach protest.
Sacramento County
Source: John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center COVID-19 global tracking tool as of Monday at 6:45 p.m., three days after the May 1 State Capitol protest.
Clean, or at least cleaner, air has been a positive result of Covid-19 shelter-in-place orders, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. In a statement issued by the BAAQMD Monday, the 70 percent decrease in traffic has equated to a 20 percent drop in pollutants. Monday marked the beginning of the region’s summer Spare the Air season, which typically comes with frequent smog alerts.
Noting healthier conditions since many workers have been forced to remain home, the district’s Chief Executive Officer Jack Broadbent said:
“As employers create plans to safely reopen their doors and continue operations once shelter-in-place orders are eased, we should not lose sight of the benefits that reducing traffic can bring — teleworking can be part of the solution to keeping our skies blue.”
Revised health orders became effective Monday in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, as well as in the City of Berkeley. The new orders loosen some restrictions on limited outdoor work and recreational activities while maintaining the otherwise strict regional shelter and physical distancing orders.
Certain activities and facilities may vary slightly from county to county, or city to city, depending on unique needs and concerns in different communities. But largely, the orders now allow recreation at skate parks, golf courses and sports fields as long as equipment or balls are not shared with others outside of immediate households.
Additional farmers’ markets will be allowed to sell fresh produce in physically distanced environments — food preparation and sampling is still prohibited. The minimum age for face covering requirements will also vary, but pre-teen or younger children are generally not expected to wear a mask, though older kids are subject to the order.
Open SFBay Bay Area coronavirus dashboard in new window.Source: Alameda County Public Health Department as of Sunday with data reported through Saturday.
An additional 115 positive cases were reported between Friday and Saturday, representing a substantial spike since mid-April. Oakland and Hayward continue to experience the highest the number of cases, by far, with 535 and 362, respectively.
Source: Contra Costa Health Services as of Monday at 11:30 a.m.
The county issued a 90-day review of the area’s Covid-19 situation and local response. The report published Monday details the timeline of pandemic events and resources allocated.
Source: Marin Health and Human Services as of Monday.
Marin County’s new webpage advances the ability to analyze how the virus is reacting in the area. Health officials announced Monday the launch of the new site, which provides much more detailed hospitalization and demographic information than was previously made available.
Source: Department of Health and Human Services as of Monday at 1:30 p.m.
County officials report that 33 of the 74 identified patients have recovered as of Monday. Ninety-nine people are being monitored due to close contact with a confirmed case and 213 people are pending test results countywide.
Source: San Francisco Department of Public Health with data reported through Friday.
Officials announced Monday morning that free Covid-19 testing will now be available for all essential workers regardless of symptoms or exposure. The testing expansion will better inform people who may be asymptomatic and who perform essential services in grocery stores, childcare, construction and more. Essential workers can make test appointments online for one of two free CityTestSF sites.
Mayor London Breed said Monday she is considering shutting down Dolores Park to the public and reinstating The City’s citations for street cleaning parking violations. The crowds at Dolores Park over the weekend looked a bit too much to Breed like business as usual on a warm day in the Mission District.
The park normally attracts large weekend crowds across its vast, hilly lawn area. Breed expressed frustration that park visitors not only came in high numbers but many were not practicing physical distancing.
Breed also took issue with the inability of street sweepers to clean The City’s streets as scheduled. When shelter orders were issued, the transit agency suspended street cleaning citations, but city officials did urge residents to move their vehicles if they were healthy and able-bodied enough to do so.
The mayor said people are not voluntarily complying with that request and she may reestablish ticketing.
Both issues will be monitored before a decision is made over the next few days.
Source: San Mateo County Health Department with data reported through Sunday.
County officials report that hospitalization rates hovered around the same number between Thursday and Sunday. Sixty-one people were hospitalized as of Sunday, with 17 of them in ICU beds.
Source: Santa Clara County Public Health Department as of Monday.
Santa Clara County is one of six Bay Area counties that extended Covid-19 shelter orders until May 31. It’s no wonder why officials made the decision with the area’s troubling concentration of positive cases and high number of deaths, especially in San Jose.
Nearly 1,500 Covid-19 patients have been confirmed in San Jose alone. No other city in the county comes anywhere near what San Jose is reporting.
According to data provided Monday, 131 virus patients are being treated at hospitals — 46 require ICU beds.
Source: Solano Public Health as of Monday at 4:30 p.m.
Friday, Vallejo’s confirmed case count was 125 and Fairfied was reporting 60, the second highest number of cases within the county. The total number of positive cases in Vallejo is now 175. In contrast, only one new Fairfield case has been identified in the same period between Friday and Monday.
Source: County of Sonoma with data as of Monday.
Rohish Lal, a county spokesperson, said the third patient to die from Covid-19 was an older man, but no further information was provided.
The county will Tuesday open two new Covid-19 testing facilities, one in Santa Rosa and the other in Petaluma. The sites will test residents who exhibit symptoms as well as those who do not. The partnership with OptumServe will enable the county to provide what they hope to be between 600 and 800 per day. The tests will be billed to insurance providers if available but will be administered free of charge to people without insurance.
Residents can book testing appointments by visiting https://lhi.care/covidtesting or by calling (888) 634-1123.
Bay City News contributed to this report.
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