Eden Health District COVID-19 Bulletin
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“Now is not the time to throw caution to the wind. Let’s be here next year when hopefully this pandemic will be behind us, and we can get together with our loved ones — in close contact, hugging, sharing food, giving toasts. But we need to use caution this year.”
Dr. Grant Colfax, Director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, 11/1/20, on asking people to rethink their holiday plans during the pandemic.
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Bay Area charities cautiously restart volunteer programs in time for the holidays |
Volunteers have always been an important part of charitable organizations, but it wasn't until the pandemic that it became obvious just how crucial they are to keep non-profits functioning.
Like many food kitchens, St. Anthony's in San Francisco was forced to suspend its volunteer programs when social distancing guidelines were announced in March. It also had to close its dining room. Instead, workers package meals in containers every day and hand them out to people who line up. The demand for food has gone up. Before the pandemic, St. Anthony's would serve about 2,200 meals a day. It now hands out about 2,800 meals each day. That is putting a financial strain on the organization.
"The cost of our dining program is 40% higher compared to before Covid," said Suzie Sheedy, director of development at St. Anthony's.
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Sheedy said buying biodegradable containers is costing $50,000 extra a month. The loss of volunteers is also hurting financially.
At St. Anthony's, volunteers would do crucial work. They would help prepare the meals in the kitchen and then serve them on trays to people in the dining room. Since the pandemic, the dining room has been converted to a giant meal assembly line.
But volunteers aren't there to help. St. Anthony's has been limiting the people that can enter their buildings. So it hired temporary workers to prepare meals. In the past few weeks, St. Anthony's set up a tent on Golden Gate Avenue for people to sit down and eat their prepackaged meals. It has not set up tables because it doesn't have enough personnel to clean and sanitize them.
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Alameda County: 23,994
Contra Costa County: 19,254
Bay Area: 118,844
California: 935,534
U.S.: 9,247,036
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Alameda County: 464
Contra Costa County: 247
Bay Area: 1,781
California: 17,671
U.S.: 231,227
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SF Chronicle, October 30, 2020
San Francisco is pausing its reopening plans due to increasing coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, early signs that the surge that has swept over most of the United States is starting to spill into the Bay Area.
Almost all activities that were scheduled to reopen or expand capacity on Tuesday are now delayed, city and public health officials said Friday. That includes indoor swimming pools, bowling alleys and gym locker rooms. Restaurants and places of worship must remain at 25% capacity instead of bumping up to 50%, as previously planned. Schools are not affected by the pause and will be allowed to reopen with approval from the Public Health Department. San Francisco Unified has not set a date to reopen or applied for approval.
SF Chronicle, November 2, 2020
The ultra-pricey Bay Area continues to lead the nation in declining housing rental prices, but new data show the pandemic “freefall” may be slowing. In October, San Francisco once again topped the U.S. list for biggest rental price decreases, according to listing websites Zumper and Apartment List. Zumper reported that the average one-bedroom rent in the city was $2,800, a decline of 1.1% from the previous month and a 20.7% decline year over year.
Oakland is fifth on the list, dropping to $2,020 last month, which is also a decline of $110 from the previous month. Oakland had the largest one-bedroom median rent decrease from the previous month, falling 5.2%, but it’s still the fifth most expensive rental market in the country.
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Mercury News, November 2, 2020
The coronavirus pandemic seems largely to have spared the Bay Area’s homeless communities — few members have succumbed to the virus, and pandemic programs moved thousands of people into hotels and trailers.
Despite those efforts, the number of homeless people dying is skyrocketing. Deaths in Alameda County’s unhoused communities increased 40% during the first nine months of 2020, compared to the same period last year. In Santa Clara County, deaths climbed 33%. They rose a staggering 123% in San Francisco.
Those spikes were not directly caused by the virus: Just four of the 560 deaths reported in five-county Bay Area were confirmed Covid-19 cases. Instead, experts say, homeless populations are getting older and sicker, drug use is soaring, and the pandemic has made it more difficult for unhoused people to access healthcare and other services. And, there are more people on the streets to begin with.
SF Chronicle, November 2, 2020
All across San Francisco this summer, restaurants and shops were moving onto the sidewalks and into the streets. After months of uneasy quiet, the city was slowly coming back to life. On the recommendation of the Economic Recovery Task Force, city leaders had fast-tracked the Shared Spaces program. Beginning in June, businesses could apply to set up parklets and sidewalk cafes. While the program has offered lifelines to hundreds of businesses, it’s now clear that certain parts of San Francisco, often in the most underserved neighborhoods, have been slower to see the benefits.
SF Chronicle, October 30, 2020
The Santa Clara County district attorney and county counsel filed a legal action Thursday asking a state court to compel a San Jose church to comply with public health orders, alleging it’s been holding indoor services with up to 600 people and without mandatory masks and social distancing. Calvary Chapel has been holding weekly services for months despite repeated warnings and $350,000 in fines from the county and discussions between church leaders and county officials, according to the district attorney’s office.
SFist, November 1, 2020
Citing recent surges in COVID-19 cases — locally, nationally, and globally — and given the fact that there's still no vaccine available, organizers of SF's annual Chinese New Year Parade have decided to cancel this year's cavalcade celebrating the holiday.
ABC 7 News, November 2, 2020
Day-use reservations have officially ended for Yosemite National Park, officials say. Starting this month, park-goers can now visit Yosemite on any day they choose without a reservation. Social distancing is still required as well as face masks in certain areas.
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Wall Street Journal, November 1, 2020
Nearly a year into the global coronavirus pandemic, scientists, doctors and patients are beginning to unlock a puzzling phenomenon: For many patients, including young ones who never required hospitalization, Covid-19 has a devastating second act. Many are dealing with symptoms weeks or months after they were expected to recover, often with puzzling new complications that can affect the entire body—severe fatigue, cognitive issues and memory lapses, digestive problems, erratic heart rates, headaches, dizziness, fluctuating blood pressure, even hair loss.
Estimates about the percentage of Covid-19 patients who experience long-haul symptoms range widely. A recent survey of more than 4,000 Covid-19 patients found that about 10% of those age 18 to 49 still struggled with symptoms four weeks after becoming sick, that 4.5% of all ages had symptoms for more than eight weeks, and 2.3% had them for more than 12 weeks. The study, which hasn’t yet been peer reviewed, was performed using an app created by the health-science company Zoe in cooperation with King’s College London and Massachusetts General Hospital.
What differentiates Covid-19 is the far-reaching nature of its effects. While it starts in the lungs, it often affects many other parts of the body, including the heart, kidneys and the digestive and nervous systems, doctors said.
MedPage Today, November 1, 2020
With hundreds of thousands of students soon on their way home, there is real concern that new disease clusters will be seeded among friends, siblings, and especially parents and grandparents who are at a substantially higher risk of hospitalization and death should they contract COVID-19. Further exacerbating this risk is the impending uptick in seasonal influenza cases.
SF Chronicle, November 1, 2020
Public health and elected officials are asking people to rethink their holiday plans while coronavirus cases are still soaring in many parts of the country. Here are some tips on how to reduce your risk while traveling during the pandemic:
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Do your research: Pay attention to the rate of transmission at your destination.
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Run through a checklist: Do you trust your friends and family members to follow the standard safety protocols?
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If you plan to fly: Industry officials insist that the rate of infection on commercial flights is low. But that could change as airports become more crowded and airlines fill seats, making it harder to avoid close contact with other people.
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If you plan to drive: Going door-to-door in a car is safer than flying or taking other forms of public transportation because you control the environment.
LA Times, October 30, 2020
There are growing concerns that the coronavirus might be spiking again in Los Angeles County. A huge problem is Covid fatigue: people resuming old routines after months of restrictions. So how can seemingly wholesome celebrations turn into potentially deadly coronavirus outbreaks? Los Angeles County’s public health director, Barbara Ferrer, tried to answer that question this week, showcasing three national examples that explain how it can happen.
Science, October 30, 2020
In Covid-19 and many infectious diseases, most people don't infect anyone else. A small percentage of people cause most of the transmission. Covid-19 superspreading events have been reported around the world. They happen in all sorts of places: bars and barbecues, gyms and factories, schools and churches, and on ships. And even at the White House.
Science magazine provides a graphic presentation on why preventing hot spots of transmission is key to stopping the pandemic.
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US and California Data: Last 90 Days
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LA Times, November 1, 2020
Los Angeles County public health officials on Sunday reported 1,590 new coronavirus cases and four related deaths. The numbers brought the county’s total to 309,197 cases and 7,074 deaths. There were 799 confirmed coronavirus patients in county hospitals Friday, with 28% in intensive care, officials said. Though hospitalizations have increased slightly, they remain far below the 2,220-plus patients seen during the peak of the outbreak in July. Yet, L.A. County’s adjusted case rate increased last week to 8 per 100,000 residents, from 7.6 the week before.
Sacramento Bee, November 2, 2020
Union membership among California state workers declined slightly this year as recruitment has gone remote due to the coronavirus, according to state data and interviews with union leaders. In August, the most recent month for which data is available, 67% of state workers were dues-paying union members, according to State Controller’s Office data. That’s down 2% from February, the month before the virus began to spread in California.
NPR, November 2, 2020
Just like everything else this year, Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is different. One commemoration in East Los Angeles included a socially distanced car parade. Decked-out lowriders cruised down Whittier Boulevard in a caravan. A community art center had to cancel its annual celebration because of the pandemic, but artists are still showing the altars they built for the dead here in a virtual exhibition.
Across from City Hall, at Grand Park, Ofelia Esparza and her family set up a 20-foot-wide, three-level ofrenda for the community. They blessed it with an eagle feather, they burned sage and said aloud the names of people who died this year. The altar is decorated with real and handmade paper marigolds, embroidered lace, tapestries and framed photographs of those who have died, including Esparza's beloved family members. Esparza says that Día de los Muertos message is especially poignant this year.
San Diego Union Tribune, November 1, 2020
Hundreds — possibly even thousands — of Tijuana residents who are also U.S. citizens have already voted or plan to cross into the United States to cast their ballots in the presidential election. Voters coming from Baja may face longer border waits than in normal years and be required wear a mask, but county election officials say they are welcome. “As long as someone is a U.S. citizen, they have a right to vote,” said Michael Vu, the San Diego County Registrar of Voters. Vu estimated there were nearly 16,000 voters registered to cast ballots in San Diego County from abroad, including members of the military stationed overseas all over the world.
CalMatters, October 30, 2020
Gov. Newsom met a self-imposed Nov. 1 deadline to expand California’s daily Covid-19 testing by opening a new laboratory in Santa Clarita on Friday. The governor said he expects the lab will soon begin to process 40,000 tests a day and eventually ramp up to 150,000 — doubling the state’s capacity.
California’s decision to build its own $25 million state-of-the-art lab was in response to the lack of federal action around testing. The new lab is expected to increase California’s capacity by 150,000 tests a day by March. That would more than double the 120,000-plus tests currently conducted daily. To date, the state has administered more than 18 million tests. Results are expected within 24 to 48 hours.
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CNN, November 2, 2020
The fall surge has left nearly 50,000 people hospitalized across the US due to Covid-19, and experts say the strain health care systems are under could soon get worse. Hospitalizations were on the rise in 47 states last month, according to the Covid Tracking Project, and a total of 47,502 people were hospitalized as of Sunday. The rates come alongside a surge of cases that made October a record setting month for coronavirus infections in the US. The US recorded its highest number of new cases on Friday with a reported 99,321, the record for any nation in the world. And experts have said that the impacts will likely continue to get worse as colder months drive up infections.
NY Times, November 2, 2020
President Trump suggested at a rally early Monday morning that he might fire Dr. Anthony S. Fauci after Election Day, further escalating the tension between his administration and the nation’s top infectious disease expert as the number of new coronavirus cases in the United States reaches record highs. His grousing led the crowd of his supporters to begin chanting, “Fire Fauci! Fire Fauci!” Mr. Trump listened in silence for a few moments before remarking: “Don’t tell anybody, but let me wait until a little bit after the election. I appreciate the advice.”
Dr. Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is a civil servant, and it would be extremely difficult for the president to have him removed. Under federal law, the president does not have authority to fire Dr. Fauci. Mr. Trump could try ordering his political appointees, such as Health Secretary Alex M. Azar II or Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, to dismiss Dr. Fauci. But the process would be lengthy and arduous, because Dr. Fauci could appeal.
East Bay Times, November 2, 2020
A new study concludes that Trump rallies resulted in more than 30,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19, and likely caused more than 700 deaths among attendees and their close contacts. The new analysis, which is not peer-reviewed, studies the trajectory of the pandemic in counties that were the sites of 18 Trump campaign rallies last summer in cities such as Phoenix, Tulsa and Pittsburgh. It compared case counts before and after rallies, as well as case counts in rally counties to counties without rallies.
Forbes, November 1, 2020
Texas officially beat out California for the country’s highest coronavirus case total, despite having a population of roughly 10.5 million fewer people, a grim milestone as the Lone Star State also sees increases in hospitalizations and deaths connected to the virus. Texas’ infection totals have been largely driven by cases in the Houston and Dallas areas, two of the state’s largest metroplexes, though less populous areas of the state have been plagued by outbreaks with higher infections per capita like El Paso, a city on the border with Mexico that put in place a city-wide curfew last week.
The Hill, October 30, 2020
The U.S. recorded roughly 97,000 new coronavirus cases Friday, shattering the previous record for the highest number of new cases in a single day. Data from the COVID Tracking Project showed there were 97,080 new cases Friday, ushering in an alarming new milestone that comes as dozens of states across the country see spikes in infections. The figure broke the previous record of 88,521 new coronavirus cases, which had been set on Thursday.
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Mercury News, November 1, 2020
Districts around the Bay Area are reporting sharp spikes in failing grades so far this fall during a term that has largely been taught online over computers to students stuck at home during the pandemic. The reported grades are progress reports, and school officials say they are working to reach out and help students falling behind so they don’t end up with failing grades that for high school seniors could prevent them from graduating.
Parents and teachers generally agree the fall version of distance learning is better than it was in the spring. Even so, there’s widespread agreement that kids learn better in classrooms.
And the emergence of fall progress grades provides the first clear window into how kids’ education is suffering with remote learning, and adding new urgency to the debate over reopening classrooms. “It is massively affecting our kids,” said Redwood City’s Sequoia Union High School District trustee Georgia Jack. “And this is just inexcusable.”
LA Times, November 2, 2020
It’s midterm time, and inside their virtual classrooms teachers and students alike are being tested in ways that show the exhausting challenges teachers face working to keep drifting students engaged, the increasing anxiety and pressure many students are feeling and the stubborn remnants of the digital divide that continue to hobble learning.
Throughout California the school year began with hopes that virtual schooling would be a vast improvement over the spring, when campuses suddenly closed and educators scrambled to shift online. Yet educators from Burbank to Wilmington say significant roadblocks remain. At the heart of their concerns, teachers find themselves struggling to balance their instinct to push students against their feelings of compassion, acknowledging their students’ unprecedented hardships.
Students described feeling exhausted, unable to unplug from school. Some said they were getting headaches from the screen time.
San Diego Union-Tribune, November 1, 2020
Officials confront seemingly insolvable equations as they weigh the risks of Covid-19 transmission against the risks of learning loss and emotional harm associated with remote learning. For high schools, that calculation is complicated by complex schedules and large student populations.
Health authorities recommend placing students in cohorts — small, stable groups that don’t mix with other classes. In high schools, it’s hard to create a master schedule that groups students together given their different interests, graduation requirements and college entrance needs.
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LA Times, October 30, 2020
Young people nationwide — cooped up indoors, their social lives, work, school and housing disrupted — have spent the past few weeks making calls, sending texts and even hand-writing letters to influence voters in what some see as a potentially generation-defining election. With location no barrier to entry, choosing where to volunteer becomes a more strategic decision.
While pandemic-related adjustments have in some ways made volunteering easier, voting itself can be more complicated for college and post-college young people who’ve relocated.
USA Today, November 1, 2020
The U.S. has entered a second round of back-to-school, just as the coronavirus surges around the nation. But many of the largest districts that tiptoed into reopening in recent weeks have already reverted to online instruction because of rising infections.
"Any district that hasn't already introduced in-person learning is facing serious headwinds" to doing so anytime soon, said Dennis Roche, president of Burbio, an organization that's tracking school calendars and reopening plans nationwide.
CBS, November 1, 2020
An eighth grader in Franklin County died over the weekend from complications caused by the coronavirus, marking the first death under the age of 18 in the state. School officials were informed he was quarantined on October 26. His last day at the school was October 22.
We extend our heartfelt sympathy to the family," school officials said in an email sent to parents and staff. "The family also asks that we all remember to wear masks, wash hands frequently and follow guidelines. Covid-19 is real and they want to remind students and parents to take these precautions in and outside of school."
NPR, November 2, 2020
The pandemic is straining many small American colleges, which have been scraping by for years with declining enrollment and faltering resources. But some — especially those with an over-arching mission, be it secular or religious — enjoy distinct advantages over their bigger rivals in fighting the spread of the coronavirus on campus.
"There is this sense that we are in it together," said Barbara Mistick, president of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.
Mistick says that small school camaraderie is often stoked by a specific set of moral principles — a school mission over and above education. The shared sense of purpose may make it easier for smaller schools to get students to comply with university policy on things like mask usage and social distancing.
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Covid survivor goes home after 4 months in induced coma |
Esse Khanzadeh had no underlying conditions before catching Covid-19 but the deadly virus nearly took his life.
“I never thought for a minute I’d catch it let alone being close to not coming back,” Khanzadeh said. He spent 7 months in a Manchester, UK, hospital with 4 of those being in an induced coma and the other three recovering and rehabilitating.
Recently being released from hospital, the 59-year-old was applauded by doctors and nurses who helped treat him as he walked out of the hospital on his own.
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The Covid-19 survivor said if it wasn’t for his medical care he might not be alive. “They did all the hard work. They couldn’t do enough for me. Thank you is not enough, they saved my life.”
After such a long battle with Covid-19, Khanzadeh says he’s happy to be home.
“It was good to be able to get out to the family and to the fresh air. It’s a relief.”
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Lionel Laurent, European opinion columnist, Bloomberg, October 30, 2020
It’s easy to feel that there’s no light at the end of the Covid-19 tunnel. Europe’s intensive care wards are filling up again. Yet we shouldn’t ignore the better news from Asia. The strategies pursued by South Korea, Vietnam, China and others do still seem to be paying off. While the total Covid-19 death toll is between 500-700 per million people in France, the U.K., Spain and the U.S., in China and South Korea it is below 10 per million. Cases are a less perfect measure, but there’s a similar observable gap. Wuhan, once the epicenter of Covid-19, is welcoming tourists again.
Associated Press, November 2, 2020
Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte has announced new national restrictions aimed at halting the increase of coronavirus cases, including closing shopping malls on the weekends, shuttering museums and limiting movements between regions.
Conte outlined the new measures to lawmakers Monday, ahead of a new decree expected soon. He said shopping malls will be closed on weekends, except for food stores, newsstands, drugstores and tobacco shops located inside. He also announced the closure of gambling parlors and video game arcades.
He added that there will be a “late evening” curfew, but without providing a time. Currently only some regions, including Lazio where Rome is located, have a curfew.
Bloomberg, November 1, 2020
A testing blitz in China’s far west region of Xinjiang uncovered the country’s worst Covid-19 outbreak since the summer, even as authorities said all infections have been found.
Authorities in the region -- the epicenter of Beijing’s crackdown on ethnic Muslim Uighurs -- reported 6 new so-called asymptomatic infections on Monday. Xinjiang’s tally since the outbreak began with the detection of an asymptomatic 17-year-old on Oct. 24 stands at 57 infections and 223 asymptomatic cases, Xinjiang’s health commission reported.
Nine people are in “severe condition,” authorities said. 61 asymptomatic infections were reported on Saturday. The new cases emerged after China tested millions of people across the region last week. Some of the asymptomatic infections were found in a county near the outbreak’s original epicenter in Kashgar prefecture, raising fears that the virus is spreading.
Wall Street Journal, November 2, 2020
Facing strict lockdowns in three of the continent’s biggest economies, businesses across Europe are hunkering down again and girding for a tough end to 2020. But unlike earlier this year, when lockdowns took most companies by surprise, executives in several big industries say they are more prepared, and expect less disruption.
Manufacturers have had months to institute, test and tweak measures aimed at keeping factories humming and staff at a safe distance from each other. Many large office-centered companies, such as Europe’s global banks, never brought many staff back into headquarters, making the adjustment to a new lockdown easier.
This time around, “we’re not fundamentally changing what we’re doing because we didn’t fundamentally go back to the way things were before,” Daimler AG Chief Executive Ola Källenius told reporters last month. Anyone who can work from home, already does.
Associated Press, November 2, 2020
Several European countries are tightening restrictions, starting with a partial shutdown Monday in Germany, as authorities across the continent scramble to slow a rapid rise in coronavirus infections that threatens to overwhelm their health care systems.
Britain and Austria will follow suit later in the week, closing restaurants, bars and many leisure activities. Italy, Greece and Kosovo also announced new measures. In some places, the new rules — which vary in strictness — are prompting violent protests by people frustrated at once again having to forgo freedoms.
But many experts are saying they should have come weeks ago — a reflection of the increasingly difficult balance many countries are struggling to strike between controlling the virus and boosting already damaged economies.
LA Times, October 31, 2020
The ongoing pandemic has felled more than 90,000 Mexicans, ranking the country fourth worldwide in the number of coronavirus-related deaths. It has also achieved another doleful feat: muting one of the country’s signature holidays — Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, when Mexicans honor deceased loved ones in often-boisterous fashion, converging on cemeteries with flowers, candles, food and beverages, and leaving ornate altars in memory of the departed.
Seeking to hinder the spread of the virus, authorities moved to curb public gatherings. Officials in the capital and elsewhere banned cemetery visits, dealing a civic and emotional blow to millions of Mexicans. People were asked to remember their loved ones at home. Some residents managed to get to cemeteries and pay respects before closures began.
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Karin Brulliard and Jeremy Duda, Washington Post, November 2, 2020
But by mid-August, the southwest hot spot made a remarkable reversal. Cases plummeted 75 percent. Arizona has maintained relatively low case numbers since, but they are now creeping to levels seen just a few weeks before its summer surge. And as a conflagration engulfs the Midwest and Mountain West, public health experts and elected officials in Arizona are pleading with residents to maintain mitigation measures they say played a critical role in beating back the virus and hold lessons for other states — including mask mandates that covered 85 percent of the population.
Hailey Branson-Potts and Anita Chabria, LA Times, November 1, 2020
In recent weeks, more than 300 Covid-19 cases have been reported by Redding’s Bethel church and its Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (BSSM), an unaccredited school focused on prophecy and miracles. It has been the largest cluster of cases in Shasta County.
The outbreak — which local officials blame on crowded living conditions for students and leadership publicly questioning the effectiveness of masks — has since been brought under control, with fewer than a dozen active cases. But its effects linger. Some religious experts say Bethel’s actions are indicative of a growing wave in American religion that eschews teachings of traditional denominations and embraces fame and prosperity — and charismatic leaders — in tune with the conservatism of President Trump. It has been especially successful in drawing in young worshipers.
Sharon Otterman and Sarah Maslin Nir, NY Times, November 2, 2020
Over the course of two weeks, the positivity rate in Kiryas Joel, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish village in Orange County, NY, plummeted from 34% — the highest in the state — to just 2%. Last week, citing “dramatic progress” on the rate, the governor eased restrictions in the zone.
The course of events has raised deep suspicions among some health experts about the reliability of the data, reflecting broader concerns about whether top officials in New York and around the country are tracking the outbreak in ways that may not accurately capture how much the virus is spreading. Public health experts emphasized that the positivity rate does not indicate what percentage of people in a specific area are infected. It simply states the infection rate among those who have been tested. Through increased or decreased testing, or by selectively choosing who does and doesn’t get tested, this number can fluctuate sharply, giving many health experts pause as to how much it really says about infection in a specific area.
Paula Newton, CNN, November 2, 2020
Three weeks after Canadians celebrated their Thanksgiving holiday, the country is seeing a national spike in cases. Several cities and provinces have shattered single day records for coronavirus infections, and Canada's top doctors say the holiday -- held on October 12 -- is partly to blame. Now, the US may be on the verge of repeating Canada's same fate, as Americans begin making plans for their holiday that is quickly approaching.
Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, November 2, 2020
Since the Covid-19 pandemic began 8 months ago, politicians in Washington, particularly Republicans, and particularly Republicans in the White House, have argued that it has an either-or relationship with the economy: Either Americans tolerate some amount of viral spread and enjoy a more vibrant economy, or Americans shut down and watch the economy fail.
That was always a false dichotomy, not least because of the way the novel coronavirus is sickening the American body politic. The virus’s most direct impact on the economy and the workforce has been strangely overlooked. It is killing workers, slowing them down, pushing them to take leave from their jobs, and causing them to drop out of the labor force, hurting businesses, ruining family finances, and slowing the recovery.
America’s patchy paid-leave and health-care infrastructure, as well as its low labor standards, have exacerbated the problems created by the pandemic. Workers near the poverty line feel they have no choice but to keep working, afraid of losing their jobs if they stay at home to quarantine or to convalesce. Sick leave would “unquestionably” help stem the virus’s spread and support the economy, says Erika Moritsugu of the National Partnership for Women & Families.
Research suggests that the thin, limited emergency sick-leave provisions passed by Congress this spring nevertheless prevented more than 400 infections a day. Paid leave is a “must-have, not a nice-to-have,” Moritsugu told me in an email.
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Moderate (Orange)
- 3.3 Adjusted case rate of new Covid-19 positive cases per day per 100,000 residents
- 1.6% Positivity rate
- 2.6% Health equity metric
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Moderate (Orange)
- 3.7 Adjusted case rate of new Covid-19 positive cases per day per 100,000 residents
- 1.9% Positivity rate
- 3.9% Healthy equity metric
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All California counties are assigned to a tier based on its test positivity and adjusted case rate. To move forward, a county must meet the next tier’s criteria for two consecutive weeks. If a county’s metrics worsen for two consecutive weeks, it will be assigned a more restrictive tier. The state updates the tier data every Tuesday. |
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Over the last seven days, Alameda County officials have confirmed 682 new cases, which amounts to 41 cases per 100,000 residents.
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Over the last seven days, Contra Costa County officials have confirmed 560 new cases, which amounts to 49 cases per 100,000 residents. |
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in Alameda County, as of 11/1/20. Alameda County does not publish cases per 100,000 in the last 14 days by city.
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Oakland: 9,216
Hayward: 3,549
Fremont: 1,685
Eden MAC: 1,539
San Leandro: 1,343
Livermore: 1,023
Union City: 922
Berkeley: 781
Newark: 637
Castro Valley: 632
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in Contra Costa County plus (in parentheses) cases per 100,000 in last 14 days, as of 10/30/20 [Data for today unavailable]
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Richmond: 3,593 (94)
Concord: 2,529 (87)
Antioch: 2,517 (84)
Pittsburgh: 2,129 (136)
San Pablo: 1,627 (271)
Bay Point: 985 (128)
Brentwood: 747 (77)
Walnut Creek: 670 (41)
Oakley: 593 (78)
San Ramon: 434 (47)
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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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In this episode, Dr. Osterholm and host Chris Dall discuss surging case numbers across the US and many parts of the world, the shortage trifecta and the challenges it brings, and steps people can take to stay as safe as possible until we reach the light at the end of the Covid-19 tunnel |
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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.
“Wearing masks in public or any gatherings, including events with friends and extended families, is essential for slowing the spread of the virus,” stated Eden Health District Director Pam Russo. “While we are seeing signs of progress in California, Alameda County remains a Covid-19 'hot spot' in the Bay Area. Please wear a mask to protect yourself while protecting others.”
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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.
Posters may also be retrieved during business hours from the lobby of the Eden Health District office building located at 20400 Lake Chabot Road, Castro Valley. Posters for the City of Hayward are also available from the Hayward Chamber of Commerce located at 22561 Main Street, Hayward.
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Public Education Covid-19 Flyers |
Contra Costa County Health Services has recently published highly informative flyers addressing the risks of becoming infected in certain settings and activities. |
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We have posted 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.
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Your feedback is welcome. Please share the Bulletin. |
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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.
Each bulletin includes a summary of the top health, Bay Area, California, national, education and international news on the pandemic plus links to a diverse range of commentary and analysis. We publish the Bulletin on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, unless the day fall on a public holiday.
We welcome your feedback on our bulletin. Please contact editor Stephen Cassidy.
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