Bay Area COVID Pandemic Roundup: Santa Clara County Facing Steep Surge; Stay At Home Order Backlash Growing; Last Marin Playground Trip For 2020
By CBS San Francisco Staff
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- With a surge in coronavirus cases, the information you need to know is coming fast and furious. Here's a roundup of the COVID stories we've published over the last 24 hours.
Anticipated Thanksgiving Surge Underway; State Slips Under 15 Percent ICU Capacity
SACRAMENTO -- The much anticipated surge of new cases from Thanksgiving gatherings and travel has begun, Gov. Gavin Newsom and state public health chief Dr. Mark Ghaly revealed Monday during a COVID-19 update, taxing ICU capacity for treatment of the critically ill, particularly in Southern California. Newsom last week set a mandated level of 15 percent ICU capacity as the point at which any of the five hospital regions of the state would need to impose strict new health restrictions on local residents and businesses to slow the surge in new cases. Overall, the state was at 14.2 percent ICU capacity on Monday, Newsom said. Southern California at 10.9 percent and the San Joaquin Valley at 6.3 percent were the individual regions that have now tumbled well below 15 percent. In those regions, restaurant dining is banned, beauty and barber shops closed, bars shuttered and other businesses dramatically impacted. Read More
CA Lawmakers Demand Answers From Bank Of America After Tens Of Thousands Of EDD Debit Cards Get Hacked
SAN FRANCISCO -- There has been a new development in a series of massive hacks at California's unemployment department that KPIX 5 first exposed. Now, attention is shifting from the state to Bank of America that distributes most of the money, at last count $105 billion dollars, through debit cards we discovered are vulnerable to hacks. KPIX has received more than a hundred emails from victims. Now lawmakers are taking notice. From a criminal's perspective, it's the perfect scenario: ATMs give out bills and cash is king in the underground economy. KPIX was the first to expose how fraudsters are hacking Employment Development Department (EDD) debit cards and wiping out the benefits of potentially tens of thousands of Californians. "This is just absolutely unacceptable, that we have a bank that's not responding. They're not responding to you. Not responding to me, not responding to the people who they are serving," said California Assemblyman Phillip Ting. Read More
Santa Clara County Facing Steepest Surge With Only 50 ICU Beds Left
SAN JOSE -- Health officials in Santa Clara County says it is facing the steepest, greatest surge yet. They are urging residents to stay at home and avoid anything that is not essential. Just as the county entered its first day of a stay-at-home shutdown, it also broke a new record -- 1,450 new cases of COVID. That's double the single day record set just last week. Outdoor dining spaces sat empty and the streets in Willow Glen were eerily quiet Monday night. It was the same story over at San Pedro Square in downtown San Jose. This latest surge is stretching hospital staff dangerously thin. "As of today, we have 50 ICU beds remaining in our county, that's 50 beds for a county of 2 million people to care not just for COVID, but to care for everyone," said COVID-19 Director of Health Care Preparedness Dr. Ahmad Kamal. Read More
California Unveils Smartphone Tool Developed By Apple, Google To Trace Virus Cases
SACRAMENTO -- California is rolling out a voluntary smartphone tool to alert people if they spent time near someone who tests positive for the coronavirus as cases and hospitalizations soar throughout the state, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday. The tool doesn't track people's identities or locations but uses Bluetooth wireless signals to detect when two phones are within 6 feet of each other for at least 15 minutes, officials said. Newsom said it will be ready for use on Thursday. "The process is private, anonymous and secure, and is one of the many tools in the state's data-driven approach to help reduce the spread," Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement. Sixteen other states, plus Guam and Washington, D.C., have already made available the system co-created by Silicon Valley giants Apple and Google, though most residents of those places aren't using it. The tool has been used on a pilot basis on University of California campuses to try to track virus cases. Read More
Critics Don't Believe Science Supports Bay Area's Latest Stay At Home Order
SAN FRANCISCO -- The latest pandemic restrictions in the Bay Area have come under heavy criticism from some who don't believe health officials are adequately following the science. "There is no empirical evidence anywhere that I have read or that I've been shown that shows outdoor dining is a cause or a spreader of COVID-19," said Dan Holder of Jack Holder's restaurant. Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease expert at University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) agrees. She says public health orders should be working harder to include all that we have learned about COVID-19 since March. Dr. Gandhi said she agrees officials should try to work harder to make the orders adhere to the science. Instead of the blunt instrument of a stay-at-home order, she said they should consider a more nuanced approach. Read More
San Mateo Health Officer Explains Why He's Not Joining Local Stay-At-Home Orders
SAN MATEO COUNTY – As new stay-at-home orders went into effect in several Bay Area counties, San Mateo County's health officer explained why it is following the state's guidelines instead. In a lengthy statement posted Monday, health officer Dr. Scott Morrow raised several reasons why he has not signed on with neighboring counties in issuing stay-at-home orders preemptively. "Being in the purple tier, the State has already put significant restrictions on businesses and the public space in San Mateo County. I am aware of no data that some of the business activities on which even greater restrictions are being put into place with this new order are the major drivers of transmission," Morrow said, raising concerns it could drive certain activities indoors, raising risk. Read More
'Disappointed' Marin Parents Take Kids On Last Trip To A Playground For 2020
LARKSPUR -- With less than 24 hours before Marin County joins the Bay Area shut down, many parents made their last trip of 2020 to a playground with their children on Monday. Some worry this latest lockdown is going too far. At Piper Park in Larkspur, the signs and the yellow tape were already up, before playgrounds officially close at noon, on Tuesday. Randy Rebarber, a father of a 2 year old says he is, "Upset, angry, disappointed for all these kids." The talk among parents was how playgrounds will be off limits for the second time this year. "I was devastated. These kids love coming out here," Gerald Brown adds. "It's one of the few things they could do right now." "I really like it. It's super fun," his daughter Aria Brown says. Read More
Tenants Advocates, Lawmakers Trying To Avert 'Tsunami Of Evictions' When Moratorium Ends
OAKLAND -- Millions of Californians are behind on their rent as a result of the pandemic and the state's moratorium on evictions is scheduled to end at the end of January. Now, lawmakers have introduced a bill that would extend it for another year. Most agree the ultimate solution will have plenty of pain to go around. Almost two-thirds of people living in Oakland are renters and some are predicting a "tsunami of evictions" when the moratoriums finally end and people who owe money are told to pay up. James Vann founded the Oakland Tenants Union to try to keep people in their homes. But even he can't imagine what will happen when the government stops protecting the millions of people who owe money to landlords. "If everybody had to move, where would they go? What would happen?" he said, pointing to the apartment houses on his block. "Nobody can fill up all these vacancies if everybody got evicted."Read More
Bay Area Salon Operators Push Back Against Latest Lockdown
FREMONT -- As ICU bed availability continues to drop and much of the Bay Area begins its third round of lockdowns, some in the beauty industry are pushing back, arguing that they are being made COVID scapegoats. Joanna Brignolo, the owner of Visual Image Salon in Fremont, is "angry, anxious, and frustrated" at the new health orders. She's wondering if her business can last much longer. "I can't. Certainly not another month," said Brignolo. Brignolo points to the enhanced protocols salons must follow, including rules for sanitation, social distancing, temperature checks and questionnaires, and hand sanitizer. This is in addition to the hundreds of hours of training required for state certification, said Brignolo. She feels the new health order is unfair, heavy handed and puts the livelihoods of those in the beauty industry in jeopardy. Read More
Exasperated Bay Area Restaurant Owners Consider Defiance Of Shutdown Orders
MORGAN HILL -- Restaurant owners across the Bay Area on Monday said their long simmering fear and frustration over COVID restrictions has finally boiled over, becoming red-hot anger mixed with thoughts of open defiance of public health orders. "From a small-business standpoint, it's completely unfair what's going on," said Jim Angelopoulos, owner of Yolked in Morgan Hill. Angelopoulos told KPIX 5 he invested $3,000 into building a patio outside his restaurant and installing plexiglass dividers inside only to learned that the county was banning indoor and outdoor dining as cases of the coronavirus spike. "I'm just throwing my hands up. I don't have any answers. I don't know why small business is picked on like this," Angelopoulos said from inside his empty restaurant Monday afternoon. Many restaurant owners said they fear they simply will not be able to survive on the revenue generated by takeout orders alone. Moreover, they feel like they're being punished by public health officials without proof that outdoor dining is to blame for spreading the virus. Read More
Stimulus Package Update: Assistance To Unemployed, Small Businesses, State And Local Governments Should Be Priorities, Says Economist
SAN FRANCISCO -- Centrist Democrats and Republicans proposed a $908 billion coronavirus relief package last week, and it's starting to gain a little traction. Both parties see the need for additional stimulus, as COVID cases rise, the economy slows and millions of Americans risk losing their unemployment insurance and their homes with winter approaching. A larger spending deal to fund the federal government for another year is due by the end of the week. This is an opportunity to attach a second round of stimulus as well. Congress will probably opt to pass a continuing resolution, delaying a potential government shutdown by a week and buying itself more time to negotiate on spending matters. That will also push back a second stimulus package, which puts those at risk that much closer to the edge. Read More
Santa Clara Officials Expect 17,500 Doses Of Pfizer Vaccine To Arrive Around Dec. 15
SANTA CLARA -- As new cases continue to soar to record levels across Santa Clara County, health officials announced Monday they were preparing for their first allotment of COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer -- 17,500 doses expected to arrive around Dec. 15th. Dr. Marty Fensterscheib, the Santa Clara County COVID-19 testing officer, said a committee within the federal Centers for Disease Control have already prepared a priority list as to who will be given the first doses. "The early vaccines that we will be getting in small numbers are going to be prioritized for the acute care health workers in hospitals for the most part," he told reporters at a Monday news conference. "The second priority is for residents in long care health facilities. We will certainly not be getting enough for both of those large groups but this is the first allocation." Fensterscheib said the county and local hospitals have brought in the equipment needed to provide the extremely low temperatures required for vaccine storage. He also admitted it won't be until the summer months before most local residents will finally be vaccinated. Read More
Report: Warriors' Draymond Green, James Wiseman Test Positive For COVID-19
SAN FRANCISCO -- When the Golden State Warriors started training camp on Monday, they were without forward Draymond Green and recent No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman. General manager Bob Myers had previously acknowledged two players had tested positive for COVID-19 without providing names and said they would be out at least 10 days before being tested again. Kerr said Monday on a Zoom with reporters that he couldn't elaborate on what Green and Wiseman were able to do at the moment. "I'm not allowed to comment. You can make your own deductions. I know it's really tricky," Kerr said, adding that he assumed the reporters on the call had "figured out what's happening here." Read More
As Virus Slams Rural California, Many Still Pan Shutdown Orders
REDDING -- Brenda Luntey is openly violating California's order to close her restaurant to indoor dining. But she wants her customers and critics to know she isn't typically a rule-breaker. It's a matter of survival. "This is my first episode of civil disobedience in my entire life. My whole family is in law enforcement. I'm a follow-the-rules kind of person," said Luntey, owner of San Francisco Deli, a popular sandwich shop in Redding, more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of the restaurant's namesake city. It's in northern Shasta County, one of several rural California counties that appeared to dodge the virus in the spring but are now seeing some of the most alarming spikes in COVID-19 infections statewide. In an effort to avoid overwhelming hospitals, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a strict new shutdown order that has taken effect in southern and central California and will likely soon affect Shasta County. Read More
San Francisco Health Officer To Lead CDPH As State Enters 'Challenging Phase' In Pandemic
SAN FRANCISCO -- As the state continues to experience a new surge of COVID-19 cases, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that San Francisco Health Officer Tomas Aragon has been chosen to lead the California Department of Public Health. Newsom, a former San Francisco mayor, announced Aragon's appointment as new CDPH director in a briefing Monday in Sacramento. "Tomas has been very active in the fight to eliminate this pandemic, to mitigate not just the spread of this virus but to mitigate the number of deaths related to this virus and has put out a lot of protocols that have been replicated all across the state," Newsom said. "We're very, very enthusiastic to have him now on the team, to continue to supplement our efforts as we move into the next and challenging phase." So far, California has recorded more than 1.3 million COVID-19 cases, with nearly 20,000 deaths. Read More
California Swim Schools Make Successful Case For Essential Status
SAN CARLOS -- Swim schools across the state of California have been given permission to operate as essential businesses after many swim school owners banded together in order to provide cause for being deemed essential. "Initially the state of California allowed infant swim classes for ages 12 months and under to be essential. But we were watching what was happening with kids (ages 1-4) drowning throughout the summer," said Joan Smith, who co-owns San Mateo County-based King's Swim Academy with her husband Jeff. Swim schools up and down the state worked with an agency addressing injury and accident prevention specializing in children to approach the state with their case. "We said, you guys need to take a look at this, this is essential," said Smith. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in children ages 1 to 4 years old, drownings remain the leading cause of unintentional death. Read More