June 2, 2020

Eden Health District COVID-19 Bulletin View as Webpage

"Covid-19 continues to unearth the racist and unjust cracks in our society. Black people make up the majority of low-wage workers who remain on the frontlines in positions that don’t permit them the privilege to work from home, leverage paid sick leave, or access personal protective equipment." Dr. Lauren Powell, Vice President, Time's Up, 6/2/20

Molly Works Magic At first impression, seven-year-old Molly Marks may seem an unlikely volunteer with Integrative Touch for Kids , a group that supports families with children with significant health and medical needs. Prior to the pandemic, v olunteers with Integrative Touch for Kids would visit children and their caregivers at hospitals and other facilities and host the largest pediatric integrative-medicine retreats in the nation. Now the nonprofit organization operates via Zoom meetings, and Molly, who just finished second grade, has become a valued and beloved “telefriend.” The mission of each call is to make the person on the other end feel better Molly manages to find enough commonalities with her new Zoom friends to sustain hour-long conversations. When asked how she felt after a recent talk with Molly, Sarah Rose Braithwaite, who in her 13 years has recovered from a brain tumor and, more recently from a bad fall from a horse, replied, “Wonderful and happy.” Source: Washington Post

By the Numbers

CONFIRMED CASES Alameda County: 3,515 Contra Costa County: 1,468 California: 115,192 U.S.: 1,817,785

REPORTED DEATHS Alameda County: 97 Contra Costa County: 38 California: 4,222 U.S.: 105,475

Sources: Johns Hopkins University, LA Times & Alameda & Contra Costa Counties Dashboard For Bay Area trends visit SF Chronicle tracker .

Bay Area News Chabot College raises nearly $200,000 to help students affected by COVID-19 Mercury News, June 2, 2020 Community college students in Hayward most impacted by the coronavirus pandemic have received $93,000 in direct aid and 200 Chromebooks since April 1, with close to another $100,000 in donations to be distributed in advance of the fall semester. The Friends of Chabot College established its COVID-19 Emergency Student Aid Appeal to assist with distance learning and to help those struggling to pay for basic needs, including food and rent. Hayward City Council Approves Additional City Employee Pay Reductions Amid Covid-19 Revenue Declines Press Release, May 28, 2020 The Hayward City Council approved on Tuesday changes in compensation agreements with City executives, managers and other employees who aren’t represented by collective bargaining units to save money amid COVID-19-related revenue declines. SF allowing some office workers to return in June, but businesses are in no rush SF Chronicle, June 2, 2020 San Francisco will allow some workers to return to their offices on June 15, but businesses aren’t rushing back as the coronavirus continues to be a threat. A downtown where skyscrapers, restaurants and BART stations were packed at the beginning of the year will likely remain desolate as some of the city’s largest employers keep workers home. Companies are also delaying returns to campuses in Silicon Valley and the East Bay. Salesforce, San Francisco’s largest private employer with over 9,000 local workers, said it didn’t have an update on when its headquarters will reopen. The company  plans to have mandatory face masks ,  temperature checks and 6-foot separation when workers return. Wells Fargo, which has 14,500 Bay Area employees, will keep most office workers home until at least June 30, though some retail branches will reopen in June.  Santa Clara County Allowing Outdoor Dining and In-Store Shopping KQED, June 1, 2020 Santa Clara County has released revisions to the  shelter-in-place  order which allows more businesses to reopen and activities to resume. This new order starts on June 5. Restaurants, retail and shopping centers that have been offering pickup and delivery services will now be able to offer outdoor dining and in-store shopping, granted customers are able to maintain space for social distancing. Child care, summer camps, summer schools and other educational or recreational programs for children are also allowed to open again for groups of up to 12 children. SF, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn: 'Never seen anything like it' SF Chronicle, June 1, 2020 The cost of renting an apartment in the Bay Area plummeted in May, as layoffs and the increased flexibility of working from home drove a double-digit drop in some of the nation’s most expensive housing markets. Rents for a one-bedroom apartment fell by 9.2% in San Francisco compared with May of 2019. The drops in rent were much less severe in Berkeley, less than 1%, while in Oakland rents are up 4.9% from May of 2019, mostly because that city has seen a big jump in rents in late 2019 and early 2020. And while rents have skyrocketed in Oakland, the average one-bedroom in that city, $2,350 a month, is still a bargain compared to Menlo Park, where the average unit is $2,980, and Palo Alto, where the average is $2,810. Health News Six Months of Coronavirus: Here’s Some of What We’ve Learned NY Times, June 2, 2020 While much remains unknown and mysterious after six months, there are some things we’re pretty sure of: We’ll have to live with this for a long time. You should be wearing a mask. American public health infrastructure needs an update. Responding to the virus is extraordinarily expensive. We have a long way to go to fix virus testing. We can’t count on herd immunity to keep us healthy. The virus produces more symptoms than expected. We can worry a bit less about infection from surfaces. We can also worry less about a mutating virus. We can’t count on warm weather to defeat the virus. After 6 Months, Important Mysteries About Coronavirus Endure NY Times, June 2, 2020 Major gaps exist in the scientific knowledge about the virus. We have identified some of the enduring uncertainties: How many people have been infected. The amount of virus it takes to make you sick. Why some people get so much sicker than others. The role of children in spreading the virus. When or where the new coronavirus started spreading. How long you’ll be immune after infection. Distancing and masks cut COVID-19 risk, says largest review of evidence Reuters, June 1, 2020 Keeping at least one meter apart and wearing face masks and eye protection are the best ways to cut the risk of Covid-19 infection, according to the largest review to date of studies on coronavirus disease transmission. In a review that pooled evidence from 172 studies in 16 countries, researchers found frequent hand washing and good hygiene are also critical, though even all those measures combined can not give full protection. The findings were published in The Lancet journal . Scientists to choirs: Group singing can spread the coronavirus, despite what CDC may say LA Times, June 1, 2020 Scientists studying tiny exhaled particles that could transmit the coronavirus say a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention decision to drop warnings against choral singing is dangerous, risking more “super-spreading events” such as a  Washington state choir practice  linked to two deaths. The researchers say that the coronavirus can spread in respiratory aerosols, which may linger in the air for an hour or more, floating farther than the six feet commonly prescribed for social distancing. They say that choir members are particularly vulnerable to infection from airborne particles, because they exhale and inhale deeply to sing, often at close quarters in poorly ventilated rooms. Study: 11% of diabetics die within 1 week of hospitalization for COVID-19 CIDRAP, May 29, 2020 The first major study of diabetics hospitalized with COVID-19 shows more than 1 in 10 die within 7 days of admission, and about 1 in 5 is intubated within 1 week. Study: Acute myocardial injury in children with Covid-19 The Lancet, June 1, 2020 Based on the experience of five children admitted to pediatric intensive care for Covid-19, however, Italian physicians caution that children with COVID-19 should be closely monitored to determine if they suffered a cardiac injury.

East Bay Coronavirus Cases

Alameda County New Cases, by day as of June 1, 2020 Contra Costa County New Cases, by day as of June 1, 2020

Alameda County : 1,013 new cases have been recorded over last two weeks. The number of confirmed infections is currently doubling every 27.2 days. Contra Costa County : 313 new cases have been recorded over last two weeks. The number of confirmed infections is currently doubling every 51 days.

Top 8 Locations of Cases in Alameda County, as of 6/1/20 Oakland : 1,267 Hayward: 660 Eden MAC: 223 Fremont: 177 San Leandro: 157 Union City: 129 Castro Valley: 119 Newark: 103 Top 8 Locations of Cases in Contra Costa Alameda County, as of 6/1/20 Richmond: 313 Concord: 142 Antioch: 130 San Pablo: 110 Pittsburgh: 103 Bay Point: 74 Brentwood: 68 Pleasant Hill: 67

California News Officials fear protests are ‘super-spreader’ events for coronavirus. Marchers say worth the risk LA Times, June 1, 2020 The collision of long-standing anger over police killings of black men and the newer threat of the Covid-19 pandemic have become a joint crisis in Los Angeles and across the country. The coronavirus has been especially devastating to black communities, with black people making up a  disproportionate share  of Covid-19 deaths. Now people outraged by deaths at the hands of police have been faced with a dilemma: How to weigh the risks of protesting during the pandemic. UC San Francisco epidemiologist Dr. George Rutherford described the protests as a kind of uncontrolled experiment, one that will test what happens when people are wearing masks in an outdoor setting, but yelling and not maintaining their distance. “If you have breakdowns in social distancing and don’t have masks on, then you’re deeply in trouble,” he said. Parking lots at 144 California state parks reopen Mercury News, June 2, 2020 In a shift the significantly expands public access to some of California’s most scenic places, parking lots at 144 of California’s 280 state parks, beaches and historic sites have now reopened after being closed for more than two months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, several high profile state parks that had been completely closed also have reopened in recent days, including Big Basin Redwoods and Castle Rock in the Santa Cruz Mountains, which began welcoming visitors again on Friday. “Every day, I’m humbled by what I don’t know about this virus.” A conversation with Gavin Newsom California Sunday, May 31, 2020 Question: What do you know now about the virus that you wish you knew before? Newsom: "What I’ve learned is that what I don’t know now is exponentially greater than what I thought I did know four or five weeks ago. Every day, I’m humbled by what I don’t know about this virus. I will say this: The economic price to shut down an entire economy, I never saw anything like this in my lifetime. I hope we never do ever again. The shock to the system, the aftermath of this, the public-health consequences of poverty, all of these things, those are real. I’m very sober about the next few months. I’m not sober about the next few years. I have a tremendous optimism about the next few years." U.S. News Is America's Pandemic Waning or Raging? Yes. NY Times, June 1, 2020 A single day reveals divergent realities across the country: As cases drop in the Northeast and some cities reopen, other places report stubbornly high numbers. More than 25,000 nursing home residents and 400 staff have died during pandemic, federal report shows Washington Post, June 1, 2020 More than 25,000 residents died and 60,000 were infected as the  coronavirus  swept through U.S. nursing homes in recent months, particularly affecting facilities with a history of low marks for staffing and patient care, the federal government reported Monday. The virus also infected 34,000 staff and took the lives of more than 400, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal agency that oversees the nation’s nursing homes. U.S. Economy Faces Long Recovery From Coronavirus Effects, Experts Say Wall Street Journal, June 1, 2020 The U.S. economy could take the better part of a decade to fully recover from the coronavirus pandemic and related shutdowns, a U.S. budget agency said, as a series of surveys pointed to continuing weakness in global manufacturing. The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan legislative agency, said the sharp contraction  triggered by the coronavirus   caused it to  mark down its 2020-30 forecast for U.S. economic output   by a cumulative $7.9 trillion, or 3% of gross domestic product, relative to its January projections. GDP isn’t expected to catch up to the previously forecast level until the fourth quarter of 2029, the CBO added. Front-line doctors face a mental health crisis amid coronavirus. Can medicine overcome the culture of stoicism? ABC News, May 31, 2020 The  coronavirus   pandemic  has taken a toll on the American psyche, with a third of Americans now showing signs of clinical depression or anxiety, a rate twice as high as before the pandemic,  according to Census Bureau data . Those grim statistics are likely even more dire for the  health  care workers on the front lines of the crisis, experts say. Every hospital and medical facility should be asking themselves, "what are we doing to prevent the emotional impact of being a health care provider in this environment?" said Dr. Samantha Meltzer-Brody, a psychiatry professor at the University of North Carolina.

Demonstrating Recovery

As one of the first celebrities to be diagnosed with Covid-19, Tom Hanks has been a face of recovery since the early days of the pandemic. Last week Hanks shared photos from a recent plasma donation. Blood from many coronavirus survivors contains antibodies that can be extracted from the plasma and used in the treatment of Covid-19 patients. Hanks reported that, once he had completed the requisite paperwork, the process was "as easy as taking a nap."  Source: USA Today

International News Where the Virus Is Growing Most: Countries With ‘Illiberal Populist’ Leaders NY Times, June 2, 2020 The four large countries where coronavirus cases have recently been increasing fastest are Brazil, the United States, Russia and Britain. And they have something in common. They are all run by populist male leaders who cast themselves as anti-elite and anti-establishment. The four leaders, Jair Bolsonaro, Donald J. Trump, Vladimir V. Putin and Boris Johnson, also have a lot of differences, of course, as do their countries. Mexico’s hospitals strain to treat coronavirus as officials say cases are peaking Washington Post, June 2, 2020 As Mexico City hits what officials say is the peak of its outbreak, it’s facing an onslaught of cases with an understaffed and undersupplied hospital system. There is concern the country’s death toll is far higher than the official figures. The government originally projected 6,000 to 15,000 deaths nationwide, with a small chance they could rise to double that upper limit. By Monday, authorities had confirmed  10,167 deaths . The catastrophic scenario of 30,000 fatalities is no longer remote. WHO and other experts say no evidence of coronavirus losing potency Reuters, June 1, 2020 World Health Organization experts and a range of other scientists said on Monday there was no evidence to support an assertion by a high-profile Italian doctor that the coronavirus causing the COVID-19 pandemic has been losing potency. How Iceland Beat the Coronavirus New Yorker, June 1, 2020 Iceland never imposed a  lockdown . Only a few types of businesses—night clubs and hair salons, for example—were ever ordered closed. Hardly anyone in Reykjavík wears a mask. “The remarkable thing in this whole affair is that in Iceland it has been run entirely by the public-health authorities. They came up with the plan, and they just instituted it. And we were fortunate that our politicians managed to control themselves,” neurologist Kári Stefánsson stated. New Zealand Has Just One Remaining Case of Coronavirus Wall Street Journal, May 31, 2020 New Zealand is down to its last known coronavirus case, approaching a milestone beyond reach in most countries: the elimination of the virus within its borders. It has been nine days as of Sunday since the last new Covid-19 case was confirmed. The last recorded death was a week ago and more than 1,100 people have recovered. Many low-income countries are successfully handling Covid-19 Dr. Divya Chhabra, Daily Kos, May 29, 2020 As of May 16, countries such as Mauritius, Namibia, and Seychelles have had no reported cases for two weeks. Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Uganda boast positive test rates below 1%.  Vietnam,  despite bordering China, avoided an outbreak and school is back in session. Video: How to stop a second wave Financial Times, May 28, 2020 Science writer Anjana Ahuja explains the science behind governments' strategies to ease lockdown restrictions while allowing economies to reopen. Analysis/Opinion Monster or Machine? A Profile of the Coronavirus at 6 Months NY Times, June 2, 2020 The United States, which has seen the largest share of cases and casualties, recently surpassed 100,000 deaths, one-fourth the number of all Americans who died in World War II. “We are really early in this disease,” Dr. Ashish Jha, the director of the Harvard Global Health Institute,  told The Times recently . “If this were a baseball game, it would be the second inning. My nightmare: Covid-19 meets racism meets the killing of a Black person by police Dr. Lauren Powell, STAT, June 2, 2020 Covid-19 continues to unearth the racist and unjust cracks in our society. Black people make up the majority of low-wage workers who remain on the frontlines in positions that don’t permit them the privilege to work from home, leverage paid sick leave, or access personal protective equipment. Protesting racism is necessary. Doing it during a pandemic, however, is my deepest public health nightmare. It’s nearly impossible to stay 6 feet apart in a crowd and there’s an increased chance of person-to-person Covid-19 transmission in a crowd that is already at heightened risk. George Floyd case another teachable moment on race, but in Bay Area and elsewhere, few lessons learned Otis Taylor, Jr., columnist, June 1, 2020 Since this country was founded, blackness has been scrutinized and criminalized with nominal consequence. Blacks were enslaved for almost 250 years. After emancipation, the Jim Crow laws enacted to enforce segregation ruled for a century until crumbling under the weight of the civil rights movement. Still, the disenfranchisement of black and nonwhite communities remains the American way. White people have been socialized to abhor and fear blackness, and to view racism as an individual prejudice and not a systemic constraint. Racism, like the coronavirus, isn’t going to simply magically disappear. Blacks’ ‘lifetime of stress’ hits tipping point as coronavirus and protests converge, Ferrer says LA Times, June 1, 2020 Black communities continue to  bear the brunt of the virus’ impact . The disease has devastated the lives of black people at a higher rate than most other races, accounting for a  disproportionate number of deaths , and has placed an incredible economic toll on workers who have lost jobs and hours. It’s impossible not to connect this fact with the current protests and outrage, Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Monday. She pointed to racism and unequal access to healthcare as a root case of the inequities that put a larger strain on minority communities, noting that the health issues in the black community can be attributed to a “lifetime of stress” connected with oppression and daily fears. Anthony Fauci on Covid-19 reopenings, vaccines, and moving at ‘warp speed’ STAT, June 1, 2020 In an interview, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top public health expert and a member of the national coronavirus taskforce, said on Monday that he was no longer in frequent contact with Donald Trump and that the taskforce meetings "have not occurred as often lately." The idea of having a vaccine by the end of the year is “aspirational, but it’s certainly doable,” Fauci told STAT in a wide-ranging interview. A Hidden COVID-19 Risk Factor: Your Boss Olga Khazan, staff writer, The Atlantic, June 1, 2020 Our pandemic approach to sick leave is a continuation of America’s jumbled leave laws, in which your time off largely depends on your employer, not your needs. Because of this patchwork system, Americans are some of the  only workers  in the Western world who risk getting fired if they don’t drag their sick selves into work.

Eden Area Food Pantries We have gathered information on food pantries and food services in the cities of Hayward and San Leandro and unincorporated Alameda County including Castro Valley and San Lorenzo. You can access the information here on our website . Alameda County has also released an  interactive map  listing food distributions and other social services.

We are proud to partner with the East Bay Community Foundation in publishing this bulletin. Through donations to its COVID-19 Response Fund, the EBCF provides grants to East Bay nonprofit organizations delivering essential services to those most impacted by the economic fallout from the pandemic.

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The Eden Health District Board of Directors are Gordon Galvan, Chair, Mariellen Faria, Vice Chair, Charles Gilcrest, Secretary, Roxann Lewis and Pam Russo. 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. Please share our bulletin with your contacts. We welcome subscribers to our free bulletin. Please click here to subscribe. We also appreciate your feedback on our bulletin. P lease contact editor Stephen Cassidy .

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