Bay Area COVID-19 Roundup: Smoke Bomb Horse Racing Protest Disrupts Vaccinations; Newsom Issues Pandemic Evictions Order
CBS San Francisco Staff Report
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- With the demand for COVID-19 vaccination growing, 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.
Golden Gate Fields Races to Make Up for Missed Vaccine Appointments
ALBANY -- Golden Gate Fields is racing to make up missed vaccine appointments after animal rights activists shut down the racetrack-turned-vaccination-site on the Albany-Berkeley border Thursday. According to the spokesperson for the city of Berkeley, roughly 200 appointments were canceled. On Thursday night lights were back on at Golden Gate Fields as horse racing resumed -- exactly what protesters were trying to stop. They perhaps didn't imagine their actions would lead to the shutdown of Berkeley's mass-vaccination site. "We see no reason they had to shut down the vaccination site," said animal-rights activist Almira Tanner. "As you can see, we're on the opposite end." Read More
Settlement to Allow Youth Sports to Resume Indoors and Outdoors in California
SAN DIEGO -- A settlement between a youth sports advocacy group and the state means all youth sports will soon be allowed outdoors and indoors in California, as long as COVID protocols are followed. The settlement that was announced by the group Let Them Play California at a press conference in San Diego. It allows all high school sports to resume in the state. All players and sports will be required to follow the same protocols put in place for college and professional sports. "I think the governor realized that the anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, the actual number of suicides, the number of kids that have joined gangs, the number of kids being incarcerated, number of unplanned pregnancies, and all of the effects you would expect when kid have too much idle time were happening and we needed a release valve," said Scripps Ranch HS Football Coach Marlon Gardinera. Read More
San José School District Secures Vaccine for Entire Workforce
SAN JOSE -- The San José Unified School District announced Thursday it had secured 4,000 COVID-19 vaccination opportunities, which will cover its entire workforce. This week has been a pivotal time for educators who were stuck in the middle of the tug-of-war between those who wanted them back in the classroom and those who believed they should be vaccinated first. Gov. Gavin Newsom opened eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine to teachers on Monday. "It's about time," said Willow Glen High School theater and English teacher Jodi Disario. "It hasn't been pleasant at all. You try to tune out some of what you don't want to hear." Read More
State Legislature Passes Plan For Public Schools to Reopen
SACRAMENTO -- The California legislature approved a $6.6 billion plan Thursday focused on pushing school districts to bring back students to classrooms before the end of the school year. The bill does not order school districts to resume in-person instruction and it does not say parents must send their kids back to the classroom if they don't want to. Instead, the state will dangle $2 billion before cash-strapped school boards, offering them a share of that money only if they offer in-person instruction by the end of the month. School districts have until May 15 to decide. Districts that resume in-person learning after that date won't get any of that money. Read More
Gov. Newsom Signs Executive Order to Halt Pandemic Evictions Through June
SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Thursday that extends authorization for local governments to halt evictions for commercial renters impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic through June 30. The order extends protections against price gouging for emergency supplies and medical supplies during the continuing coronavirus pandemic. Read More
Armed Guards, Volunteers Join Police to Patrol Streets in Oakland's Chinatown
OAKLAND -- The community in Oakland's Chinatown is fighting back in its own way to protect citizens after a spike in violent attacks and robberies. An alarming number of brutal assaults, many of them unprovoked and targeting the community's most vulnerable elderly members, have led to calls to stop the violence. Many residents told KPIX on Thursday they feel safer now compared to just a couple weeks ago. They say they're seeing more police officers on the street and in patrol cars. There are also more armed security guards protecting stores in the neighborhood as well as volunteers working to keep streets free of violence. Read More
California Moves to Boost Vaccinations in Underserved Communities - 'We Have To Be Bolder'
STOCKTON -- Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a new plan to dedicate 40% of all vaccine doses to the communities that have been hardest hit by the virus -- often low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. "We have to be bolder and we have to go bigger," Newsom told reporters at a community clinic in Stockton. The doses will be spread out among 400 ZIP codes with about 8 million people eligible for shots. Many of the neighborhoods are concentrated in Los Angeles County and the Central Valley. The areas are considered most vulnerable based on metrics such as household income, education level, housing status and access to transportation. Read More
Longer Commute Times Could Be On The Horizon With Schools Reopening
SAN FRANCISCO -- Bay Area commutes are still a lot quicker now then they were before the pandemic, but more lengthy travel times could return once kids are back in school. On the 7:30 a.m. San Francisco-bound BART train from the Pleasant Hill BART station, most seats were filled, but not all. By West Oakland, a couple people were standing. This is what the morning commute into the city looks like these days. Some regulars say they are seeing some more traffic. However, the numbers that transit agencies have tell a different story. BART ridership is still nearly 90% below its pre-pandemic levels. Read More
Mount Diablo Unified Looks At Phased Return To In-Person Learning Starting March 22
CONCORD -- The Mount Diablo Unified School District is looking at beginning the phased return to in-person learning later this month. Superintendent Adam Clark announced Thursday that he plans to recommend to the district's board of trustees that students would return to the classroom under a hybrid model starting March 22. "We are quickly approaching our one year anniversary of being closed. I am beyond confident that we can serve our students in person safely," the superintendent said. On March 22, in-person learning would begin for preschool, transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and 1st and 2nd grades, along with self-contained SDC classes and the bridge transition program. Read More
San Mateo County Officials Report 1 In 4 Residents Received 1st Dose, 66% Of Seniors
SAN MATEO COUNTY -- As of Tuesday, 159,357 San Mateo County residents have received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, representing 24.8 percent of the county's population age 16 and older who would be eligible for the vaccine. The county is currently vaccinating Phase 1A and 1B groups, which include health care workers, residents of long-term care facilities, those age 65 and older and workers in the education, child care, food and agriculture and emergency services sectors. Deputy Chief of San Mateo County Health Srija Srinivasan said during a media briefing Wednesday that 66 percent of residents age 65 and older have been vaccinated so far and the county is working to reach the rest of that population. Read More
Santa Cruz County Will Have Offered Vaccine to All K-12 Educators by Friday
SANTA CRUZ -- Officials from Santa Cruz County say they will have offered the vaccine to all of K-12 educators and staff in the county by Friday. That means by the end of the week 100% of the roughly 5,000 K-12 teachers and staff who want the vaccine would have at least one dose offered, Santa Cruz County Office of Education Superintendent Faris Sabbah said. Many surrounding counties have just started offering the vaccine to education staff, in addition to other essential workers, at the end of February, so how did Santa Cruz County beat them to the punch? Read More
Oakland Coliseum Vaccination Site Designates Half of Doses For 'Educators Day'
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) -- Thursday marked the launch of what is being called "Educators Day" at the vaccination megasite at the Oakland Coliseum. It's part of an effort to expedite doses to school employees so campuses can reopen as quickly and safely as possible. Half of the doses at the site were allocated just for teachers on Thursday. The Coliseum site was expected to do up to 7,000 people total. Teachers who managed to get a dose told KPIX they felt lucky. Special Education teaching assistant Liz Capstick was not taking any chances. She arrived at the coliseum more than an hour before her appointment, just in case.Read More