January 29, 2021
Eden Health District COVID-19 Bulletin
“We are at an urgent period of transmission because ... we are in our third and worst surge of the pandemic, and our vaccine rollout is still not rapid enough. It is an incredibly important time to do everything we can to tamp down transmission.”
Dr. Monica Gandhi, infectious disease specialist at UCSF, 1/29/21
Bay Area Vaccine Distribution Update
• Alameda County is currently vaccinating health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities, and will move on to individuals 65 and older and frontline essential workers soon. People can fill out this form to be notified when it’s their turn. Residents can track distribution of vaccines and learn more about eligibility and distribution through the county and health providers through Alameda County’s online dashboard.

• Contra Costa County: This online form currently allows health care workers and individuals 65 and older to request vaccination appointments. Residents can track doses administered and other data through the county’s online dashboard.

• San Francisco: The public health department and private providers — including UCSF, Kaiser and Sutter — will help open the city’s first mass vaccination site at City College on Ocean Avenue near Interstate 280 today. Those eligible for a vaccine, such as health care workers and those 75 and older, will be contacted by their provider and invited to the site, which is appointment-only.

San Francisco residents can go to www.sf.gov/vaccinenotify and submit contact and eligibility information, and then be notified via email when it’s their turn to get vaccinated. Residents can also track distribution of vaccines through the city’s online dashboard.
• Kaiser Permanente has more than 270,000 members older than 75 in Northern California and is only receiving an average of 25,000 doses per week, which is also being used to vaccinate health care workers. Kaiser states on its website that members 75 and older will be contacted directly via a letter or email with instructions for scheduling an appointment. Kaiser will also prioritize patients at an increased risk of mortality or other severe disease, and those in vulnerable communities.

• Sutter Health's website says it is scheduling appointments for health care workers and those age 75 and older. Those who are eligible can book their appointment online through the My Health Online portal, or by calling 844-987-6115 to talk to a scheduler.

• Stanford Health Care's website says it is scheduling appointments for health care workers who work in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo or Santa Clara county, and patients who have received care at Stanford Health Care at least once in the last three years, are 65 or older, and live in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo or Santa Clara county. Members who are eligible can book their appointment through the MyHealth portal online, or by calling 650-498-9000.
Hayward City Hall glows with gold light to remember local Covid-19 victims
This week the City of Hayward has been honoring the 149 loved ones who died from Covid-19 over the first year of the pandemic with a display of 149 American flags and a special lighting installation. The Hayward City Hall rotunda has been wrapped in the flags for the memorial, and the building bathed in amber light with the message “We Remember” projected after sundown each night.

As the City of Hayward honors lives lost to Covid-19 over the next six days, it continues to provide no-fee COVID-19 testing from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at Skywest Golf Course, 1401 Golf Course Road, and weekly no-contact food distribution from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. or until supplies run out every Thursday at Chabot College, Parking Lot J, 25555 Hesperian Blvd.

On March 23, 2020, the Hayward Fire Department established the nation’s free
city-mobilized Covid-19 drive-up testing site.

Last Spring, the Hayward Fire Department informed the Eden Health District of its need for funding and additional staffing at the community Covid-19 testing site. The District contributed $250,000 for the continued operations of the testing center and coordinated with nonprofit organization La Familia and the California State University East Bay nursing program to participate in supporting the testing site.
Editor's Note
It has been my pleasure to serve as the editor of the Eden Health District Covid-19 Bulletin. The objective of the Bulletin has been to provide accurate and timely information on the pandemic to assist elected officials and community members in the making the best decisions for the welfare of the community and for the health and safety of themselves and their families. From March 2020 through today, the District has published 154 issues of the bulletin that have been read a total of 82,000 times.

My term as editor of the bulletin ends with this issue. Please join me in welcoming Lisa Mahoney whom will serve as new editor of the bulletin starting next week. I thank the many readers that have provided me feedback and suggestions on how to improve the bulletin. I send you hearts of joy, kindness and love and wish you and your families good health in 2021.

All the best, Stephen Cassidy
By the Numbers
CONFIRMED CASES
Bay Area: 368,835

California: 3,254,904

U.S.: 25,840,365
Alameda County

Cases: 72,758

Deaths: 937

Test Positivity: 8.8%

Hospitalized Patients: 399

ICU Beds Available: 63
REPORTED DEATHS
Bay Area: 4,109

California: 39,606

U.S.: 434,696
Contra Costa County

Cases: 56,575

Deaths: 528

Test Positivity: 10.5%

Hospitalized Patients: 203

ICU Beds Available: 33
Sources: Johns Hopkins UniversitySF Chronicle, NY Times and dashboards for California and Alameda and Contra Costa Counties
Bay Area News
KQED, January 28, 2021
New coronavirus cases in the Bay Area have leveled off or dropped recently as the post-holiday surge attenuates, and hospitalizations have followed suit. The best news comes from San Francisco General’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Lukejohn Day: "Over the last day or two, it’s been the first time we’ve had no admissions to the hospital of COVID patients," he said.

Kaiser Permanente has 15 hospitals in the Bay Area. Infectious disease specialist Dr. Stephen Parodi, the clinical lead for Kaiser’s coronavirus response, says that over the past week facilities have seen about a 15% to 20% drop in new COVID-19 hospital admissions. But Parodi says people still have to wear masks and keep distant from each other. "Don’t share your air," he said.

SF Chronicle, January 29, 2021
California health care providers are desperately trying to get vaccine shots in arms as fast as possible. While numbers are improving, an initially chaotic rollout created a confusing maze of different rules and directions depending on each county and provider. Now the state is prioritizing older people, yet many are still struggling to make an appointment, much less get to the vaccination site.

Debbie Toth, head of senior services organization Choice in Aging headquartered in Contra Costa County, praised county health services working overtime to get out vaccines but said “for the end user, it isn’t ideal.” The frail seniors she works with are not on the internet. Phone lines are overwhelmed. Mass vaccination clinics aren’t ideal to serve seniors or people with disabilities if there’s a walk between the parking lot and entrance or a line, she said.
City Press Release, January 27, 2021
The Hayward City Council approved emergency legislation Tuesday renewing and extending temporary municipal bans on the eviction of local residents and businesses experiencing economic hardship due to Covid-19. The two measures take effect Monday, Feb. 1, and will remain in place until June 30, 2021, unless superseded by new state legislation.

The Hayward eviction protections do not relieve residential or commercial tenants or homeowners of obligation to pay. However, the ordinances contain grace periods and other provisions that, along with other City programs and initiatives, are intended to allow residents and businesses to remain in place while catching up on what they owe.

Oaklandside, January 28, 2021
Governor Gavin Newsom lifted regional stay-at-home orders this past Monday, after a statewide drop in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations. As a result, Alameda County reentered the purple tier, which means restaurants can resume outdoor dining and certain businesses—including scores of small and independently-run barbershops and hair salons in Oakland—are again allowed to serve customers indoors, with some safety modifications.

Beatriz Ochoa, who owns Latina Salon on 10308 International Boulevard in East Oakland, said she’d already served a dozen customers by early Wednesday afternoon and was expecting more. “Everybody is happy for us and welcoming us back now that we’ve reopened,” stated Ochoa.

Alameda County Public Health Department, January 26, 2021
• Case rates and hospitalizations improving
• County subject to Purple Tier restrictions
• K‐6 schools able to open soon, with approved safety plans
• The pace of vaccination will be constrained by vaccine supply
• Alameda County is currently vaccinating in State’s Phase 1a (health care workers)
• Phase 1a population in Alameda County = ~145,000
• First doses received to date = ~ 65,000
Vaccine & Health News
STAT, January 29, 2021
Johnson & Johnson said Friday that its single-dose Covid-19 vaccine reduced rates of moderate and severe disease, but the shot appeared less effective in South Africa, where a new coronavirus variant has become common.

Overall, the vaccine was 66% effective at preventing moderate to severe disease 28 days after vaccination. But efficacy differed depending on geography. The shot was 72% effective among clinical trial volunteers in the U.S, but 66% among those in Latin America, and just 57% among those in South Africa. Though markedly below the levels seen with the first two authorized Covid-19 vaccines, those rates are above the thresholds originally set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a vaccine to be considered useful. The vaccine reduced severe disease alone by 85%, and prevented Covid-related hospitalization or death, Johnson & Johnson said.


Reactions to J&J vaccine test results:

  • Dr. Eric Topol: The results are “disappointing,” but added that a vaccine that prevents the most serious outcomes, such as hospitalization and death, is still valuable. “It reinforces how lucky we were that the first two were more effective.”

  • Dr. Atul Gawande: "The J&J vaccine results indicate we miraculously have at least 3 safe, highly effective vaccines. Headlines focus on the 66% overall efficacy. But the big deal is that the single-dose vaccine was 100% effective against severe disease after day 49, and 85% effective by day 28."

  • Dr. Natalie Dean: "Encouraging news from the J&J trial. An efficacious one-dose, easy to transport vaccine is huge. But I’m waiting on more details about the underlying numbers."

USA Today, January 29, 2021
Another Covid-19 candidate vaccine appears to be safe and roughly 90% effective against the virus that causes the disease. It also protects against at least a few of the variants that have arisen in recent months. On Thursday, Novavax, a Maryland-based biotechnology firm, released interim results from two clinical trials of its candidate vaccine, one in the United Kingdom and another in South Africa. A third trial, in the United States, has recruited about 13,000 out of 30,000 planned participants and won't release results for several more months.

NY Times, January 28, 2021
Pregnant women looking for guidance on Covid-19 vaccines are facing the kind of confusion that has dogged the pandemic from the start: The world’s leading public health organizations — the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization — are offering contradictory advice. Neither organization explicitly forbids or encourages immunizing pregnant women. But weighing the same limited studies, they provide different recommendations.

The CDC advisory committee urged pregnant women to consult with their doctors before rolling up their sleeves — a decision applauded by several women’s health organizations because it kept decision making in the hands of the expectant mothers. The WHO recommended that pregnant women not receive the vaccine, unless they were at high risk for Covid because of work exposures or chronic conditions.

On Masks: Upgrade or Wear Two?



  • Your Guide to Masks. CDC Website, Updated January 13, 2021. The CDC recommends we choose masks that have two or more layers of washable, breathable fabric.
US and California Data: Last 90 Days
Covid Tracking Project, 1/28/21 (solid lines are 7-day averages)
United States
California
California News
East Bay Times, January 29, 2021
It has been well over a month since California’s cases of COVID-19, positivity rate and hospitalizations were all as low as they reached Thursday. Deaths, however, continued in large numbers.

Of all the tests in California over the past week, 7.5% have come back positive for Covid-19, for an average of approximately 22,150 per day, both figures at their lowest points since the first week of December. Meanwhile, fewer Californians are hospitalized with Covid-19 than any point since the third week of December, representing the estimated two-week lag between cases and hospitalizations. Deaths have traditionally followed the trend in hospitalizations by another two or so weeks.

LA Times, January 28, 2021
Los Angeles County and California have managed to bend the curve after a deadly fall and winter surge in Covid-19, but the football championship is one of several concerns. Outdoor dining is expected to be allowed to resume at restaurants as early as Friday, the last of several stay-at-home restrictions to be lifted this week.

L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti on Thursday urged people to keep up their guard and limit exposure to the virus. “It’s about minimizing risk,” Garcetti said during an evening news briefing. Even as Covid-19 hospitalizations have fallen from a peak of 8,098 on Jan. 5 to 5,855 on Wednesday, the number is still far higher than it was in early October, when fewer than 700 Covid-19 patients were in the hospital.

CalMatters, January 29, 2021
An eviction moratorium extension and $2.6 billion in rental relief overwhelmingly passed both chambers of California’s legislature amid questions from legislators over the efficacy of the state’s rollout plan and the equity of the money’s distribution among small, rural areas. The state’s eviction moratorium will be extended until June 30 if signed by Gov. Newsom, who supported the legislation during last-minute negotiations among legislative leaders, tenant associations and the powerful California Apartment Association.

LA Times, January 29, 2021
Millions of out-of-work Californians are still waiting for money they desperately need to feed and clothe their families and avoid ending up on the streets. Payments have instead gone to fulfill fraudulent claims filed in the names of prison inmates, infants, retirees and people living in other states, with a deluge of applications for benefits coming from criminal gangs operating in Russia, China and Nigeria. Adding insult to injury, state officials acknowledged this week that more than $11 billion in benefits were paid on fraudulent claims during the last year — some 10% of all money paid — and another $19 billion is under investigation for potential fraud.

LA Times, January 28, 2021
Just weeks ago, Los Angeles County’s hospitals were overwhelmed and on the brink of a worst-case catastrophic scenario. But with the region now in its fourth week of declining hospitalizations, it was clear Wednesday that the county was decisively on its way out of its third surge of the pandemic, its deadliest yet.

While L.A. County’s hospitals are still under great strain, with nearly three times as many Covid-19 patients as it did during the peak of the summer wave, health officials this week were clearly relieved that they had managed to avoid a northern Italy and New York City-style disaster in the hospitals from the third surge of the pandemic, the worst by far.
US News
The Covid Tracking Project, The Atlantic, January 28, 2021
Amid a slow and uneven rollout of vaccines and increasing concern about new coronavirus variants, the pandemic indicators we’ve been watching since March reveal that outbreaks are easing all over the country. For the second week in a row, new cases and hospitalizations dropped nationally, 17 percent for cases and 10 percent for hospitalizations, though cases and hospitalizations remain much higher than at any point before the fall/winter surge.

Reported deaths rose 7 percent this week, with states reporting a total of 22,797 lives lost to Covid-19. Deaths lag behind cases—both because it takes time to die of the coronavirus and because the reporting process for deaths is very slow.

Washington Post, January 28, 2021
A highly transmissible coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa was reported Thursday in the U.S. South Carolina officials disclosed two cases involving the B. 1.351 variant, and the patients’ lack of travel or connection to one another suggests the variant is spreading in the community after an undetected introduction.

Kaiser Health News, January 29, 2021
Black Americans are still receiving Covid vaccinations at dramatically lower rates than white Americans even as the chaotic rollout reaches more people, according to a new KHN analysis. Almost seven weeks into the vaccine rollout, states have expanded eligibility beyond front-line health care workers to more of the public — in some states to more older adults, in others to essential workers such as teachers. But new data shows that vaccination rates for Black Americans have not caught up to those of white Americans.

Seven more states published the demographics of residents who have been vaccinated after KHN released an analysis of 16 states two weeks ago, bringing the total to 23 states with available data. In all 23 states, data shows, white residents are being vaccinated at higher rates than Black residents, often at double the rate — or even higher. The disparities haven’t significantly changed with an additional two weeks of vaccinations.

Washington Post, January 29, 2021
A number of leading grocery chains are offering small cash bonuses and other incentives to encourage employees to get the coronavirus vaccine, in an effort that experts say could help speed protection of some of the country’s most vulnerable workers: low-paid, hourly retail workers.

Dollar General, Trader Joe’s, Aldi and Lidl, as well as Instacart, have announced plans to promote the vaccine among employees, including flexible work schedules, paid time off to visit a vaccination site and bonuses of up to $200. The restaurant industry may also be moving toward incentives. On Tuesday, Darden Restaurants, which employs more than 175,000 workers across Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and many more brands, said it would offer up to four hours of paid time off to get the vaccine.
CA Education News
EdSource, January 29, 2021
In an online meeting with school superintendents Thursday, Gov. Newsom said he’s willing to negotiate with the Legislature all aspects of the $2 billion incentive program he proposed to encourage school districts to send their youngest students back to school, starting in-mid February.

“Completely,” Newsom said when asked by Wesley Smith, executive director of the Association of California School Administrators, whether he would consider changing components of his proposal. “This is about putting out a plan. It’s about being iterative. It’s not about being ideological.”

Berkeleyside, January 29, 2021
Berkeley schools shut down in March 2020, and almost one year later, only small cohort groups of elementary school students are in actual classrooms. This is the case at many districts throughout the Bay Area, but some — like Marin County — have been able to open up additional classrooms and take in more students, though no public school district locally has fully returned to in-person instruction.

As parents struggle to manage their children’s education, their own jobs, childcare and more, a fierce debate has developed between parents who want BUSD to reopen its schools at the largest possible capacity immediately and those who don’t yet think it’s safe to return. Wednesday night’s meeting, where BUSD offered a rare opportunity to ask live questions. quickly filled up to capacity at 500 people.

Sacramento Bee, January 29, 2021
Reopening schools depends on multiple variables. Teachers in California could start receiving the coronavirus vaccine as early as February and it appears unlikely some districts and teachers unions will agree to reopen campuses until educators are vaccinated. Gordon said the Sacramento County Office of Education is doing everything it can to ensure the county’s 23,000 staff members across 13 school districts and charter schools receive the vaccine as soon as possible.

The state’s new guidance requires that face-coverings must be worn by students in all grade levels at all times, including recess unless students are very active. Reopening plans ask that school districts train staff on how to implement safety measures and ensure that rapid Covid-19 testing is provided to anyone who is exposed to the virus or is symptomatic.
To reopen, districts are also required to come to agreements with labor unions, consult community organizations and submit Covid-19 prevention documents and safety plans – a Covid-19 School Guidance Checklist – to the county office of education and the state.
US Education News
Axios, January 29, 2021
Extended virtual learning is taking a toll on kids, and the Biden administration is pushing to get them back in the classroom quickly. But that will only be feasible if teachers are on board. Although the rise of new, more contagious variants has scrambled the calculus on school reopening, for now the expert consensus is that vaccinations aren't essential to safely reopening schools.

A pair of studies from the CDC this week reiterated the agency's stance that schools can operate safely with the proper precautions, along with other mitigation measures in the broader community. Most states haven't put teachers at the front of the line for vaccines. Only 18 have included teachers in the early priority groups that can get vaccinated now, and in all but four of those states, teachers are competing for shots with other higher-risk populations, including the elderly.

Kaiser Health News, January 29, 2021
Almost 3 million children in the U.S. have a serious emotional or behavioral health condition. When the pandemic forced schools and doctors’ offices to close last spring, it also cut children off from the trained teachers and therapists who understand their needs.

As a result, many spiraled into emergency rooms and even police custody. Federal data shows a nationwide surge of kids in mental health crisis during the pandemic — a surge that’s further taxing an already overstretched safety net. Roughly 6% of U.S. children ages 6 through 17 are living with serious emotional or behavioral difficulties, including children with autism, severe anxiety, depression and trauma-related mental health conditions. Many of these children depend on schools for access to vital therapies. When schools and doctors’ offices stopped providing in-person services last spring, kids were untethered from the people and supports they rely on.

USA Today, January 28, 2021
Concordia College, outside Manhattan, New York, will close its doors in the fall, the school announced Thursday — adding to a growing list of colleges and universities that are shutting down for good amid the ongoing public health crisis. MacMurray College, which had been one of the oldest colleges originally for women in the United States and one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in Illinois, closed its doors in March 2020. 
These colleges aren't the only ones to shut their doors and some fear they won't be the last. Among small private schools, especially in Wisconsin, there's a sense of mourning. 
105-year-old Bay Area woman gets Covid-19 vaccine, also survived 1918 flu
When the 1918 Spanish flu hit Germany, Ursula Haeussler was just three years old. She grew up on a farm near Berlin and her first memory is of her uncle and godparents visiting her family, coming down with the flu and passing away from the illness within days. She said they were all between the ages of 25 and 30 years old.

So when Haeussler got the opportunity to get a COVID-19 vaccine last week, she took it. She received her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine January 22 at Kaiser Permanente Fremont’s vaccination clinic, and she said it didn’t hurt a bit. “I didn’t feel it at all, it’s really good. ... I was a little bit tired a few nights maybe, but that’s it.”
“We just had no idea [in 1918] and people just died. People didn’t wear masks,” Haeussler said. “I think it’s very necessary to wear a mask. You should do everything the scientists say.”

Source: SF Gate
International News
NY Times, January 29, 2021
Mexico’s confirmed coronavirus death toll surpassed India’s on Thursday to become the world’s third-highest, after months in which President Andrés Manuel López Obrador downplayed the virus as his government scrambled to control it.

As of Friday morning, Mexico had recorded 155,145 coronavirus deaths during the pandemic, according to a New York Times database. That is about 66,000 less than the official death toll in Brazil, the hardest-hit country after the United States.
Hospitals nationwide, particularly in Mexico City, are straining to provide beds and ventilators. Doctors are overwhelmed. People have been lining up to refill tanks of oxygen for relatives who are gasping for air in their homes.

SBS News, January 28, 2021
Australia has been ranked among the top 10 countries for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, with New Zealand taking out the top spot in a poll conducted by a prominent Australian think tank. Australia was ranked eighth in The Lowy Institute's evaluation, with Vietnam ranking second followed by Taiwan, Thailand and Cyprus.

The Lowy Institute assessed the response of 98 countries in how they managed the pandemic in the 36 weeks following their hundredth confirmed case of the virus.
It judged countries that had fewer reported cases and deaths (both in aggregate and per capita basis), as well as nations where testing rates were high.

China was excluded from the ranking because of a lack of publicly available data on testing. The United States, Brazil, Iran and Mexico were ranked the worst handlers of the pandemic.
Countries that proved more successful in containing the virus were largely in the Asia-Pacific region.

Washington Post, January 28, 2021
When evidence began mounting of a deadly new coronavirus in China a year ago, authorities could have reacted with swift warnings about public safety. They didn’t. Instead, they banned social-media posts about the virus, stopped symptomatic people from entering hospitals, punished doctors who spoke of the risks and unleashed a stream of state-TV propaganda downplaying its severity.

That’s the narrative constructed by “In The Same Breath,” a scathing new documentary by the Oscar-shortlisted filmmaker Nanfu WangWang’s movie, which has been viewed by The Washington Post, argues that the alleged suppression led to an untold number of deaths and the virus spreading rapidly, as unaware people kept taking risks.

Ido Vock, international correspondent, New Statesman, January 28, 2021
The intrusive measures implemented in South Korea and Taiwan that were not adopted in the West early on were, in part, because East Asian societies were viewed as intrinsically different, more accepting of such restrictions on freedom. It's true that the enforcement of many of these policies goes much further in East Asia than in the West, even now.

But the fact remains that since the beginning of the pandemic, the measures East Asia instituted early on have progressively been replicated across the West. Recommendations morphed into legally binding measures enforced with the threat of ever-larger fines. The distinction is not one of intrinsic values or national character, but rather the attitudes of governments.
Analysis/Opinion
The Guardian, January 29, 2021
A virologist, a psychologist and a public health expert share their views on some of the Covid-19 mistakes that we are all still making including:

  • Focusing on what’s allowed, rather than what’s safe
  • Trusting friends who say ‘I’ve been careful’
  • Failing to appreciate what ‘airborne’ really means
  • Believing precautions have to be ‘all or nothing’
  • Assuming anything outdoors is safe

SF Chronicle, January 29, 2021
Some restaurants have sprung back to business almost immediately after Gov. Newsom lifted coronavirus lockdowns statewide Monday, signaling the return of outdoor dining after nearly two months of dormancy.

Here are things to keep in mind before choosing to dine outdoors:

  • whom you are dining with
  • socially distanced tables
  • avoid walls
  • avoid tents
  • proximity to others
  • noise levels
  • mask wearing
  • weather conditions

Apoorva Mandavilli, NY Times, January 28, 2021
The coronavirus can warp the body’s defenses in many ways — disarming the body’s early warning systems, for example, or causing immune cells to misfire. But a spate of new studies suggests another insidious consequence: The infection can trigger the production of antibodies that mistakenly attack the patient’s own tissues instead of the virus.

The latest report, published online this week, suggests that so-called autoantibodies can persist months after the infection has resolved, perhaps causing irreparable harm. If other studies confirm the finding, it may explain some of the lingering symptoms in people who have recovered from Covid-19. The syndrome, sometimes referred to as long Covid, can include dementia, “brain fog” and joint pain.
Podcast, January 28, 2021
In this episode, Dr. Michael Osterholm and host Chris Dall discuss the issue of opening schools, updates on variants of concern, and more news on vaccines and their distribution.

Matt Wynn, USA Today, January 29, 2021
A USA Today analysis of new Census data shows that Americans missed more work than ever before due to child care problems in 2020, and the burden was shouldered almost exclusively by women. The number of women with child care-related absences in any month more than doubled from 2019 to 2020. Women accounted for 84% of all workers who missed work in the average month last year due to child care issues -- a five-year high. Men, too, missed more work to care for the kids. But the impact wasn’t nearly as severe, and their share of the burden actually decreased from previous years.

Women missing work for lack of child care was only one of the pandemic’s many impacts on the workplace. Last year, more people also missed work due to illness than ever before, demolishing historical records. The number of people who reported missing work for unspecified reasons grew fourfold. Meanwhile, vacation usage fell off a cliff as trips far from home became a challenge.
East Bay Focus
by day as of 1/28/21
by day as of 1/28/21
Over the last seven days, Alameda County officials have reported 3,490 new coronavirus cases, which amounts to 212 cases per 100,000 residents.
Over the last seven days, Contra Costa County officials have reported 2,408 new coronavirus cases, which amounts to 212 cases per 100,000 residents.
Top 10 Locations of Cases in Alameda County, as of 1/28/21
Oakland: 22,540

Hayward: 11,490

Fremont: 6,384

Eden MAC: 5,020

San Leandro: 4,422

Livermore: 3,715

Union City: 3,380

Berkeley: 2,583

Newark: 2,362

Castro Valley: 2,130
Top 10 Locations of Cases in Contra Costa County, as of 1/29/21
Richmond: 8,731

Antioch: 7,653

Concord: 6,793

Pittsburgh: 5,613

San Pablo: 4,494

Brentwood: 2,996

Oakley: 2,497

Walnut Creek: 2,341

Bay Point: 2,327

San Ramon: 1,715
East Bay Resources

Where to get a Covid-19 Test

Vaccine Distribution Plan

Reopening: List of Businesses and Activities

Food Pantries
Mask On Posters
Working in collaboration with the Alameda County Public Health Department, the Cities of Hayward and San Leandro, and the Castro Valley and Eden Area Municipal Advisory Councils, the District has printed “Mask On” posters for each city and community in the Eden Health District area. The posters are free and intended for businesses, health clinics, schools, churches, public agencies and nonprofit organizations to display in their entrances.

The public is welcome to download and print or share “Mask On” posters from the District’s website. Posters are available in English, Spanish and Chinese languages.
Your feedback is welcome. Please share the Bulletin.
The Eden Health District Board of Directors are Mariellen Faria, Chair, Pam Russo, Vice Chair, Roxann Lewis, Treasurer, Gordon Galvan and Varsha Chauhan. The Chief Executive Officer is Mark Friedman.

The Eden Health District is committed to ensuring that policy makers and community members receive accurate and timely information to help make the best policy and personal choices to meet and overcome the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. We publish the Bulletin on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, unless the day falls on a public holiday.

Please share our bulletin with your contacts. Please click here to subscribe.

We welcome your feedback on our bulletin. Please contact Bulletin editor Stephen Cassidy.