Eden Health District COVID-19 Bulletin
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“Some of the least well-served and most stressed people in the health care settings are not only the health care workers themselves … but all the other workers. Sanitation crews and maintenance people and food service employees and others who are really often unseen, but are having the same kinds of stresses.”
Alice LoCicero, president-elect of the Alameda County Psychological Association,
6/24/20
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Native American youth turn to music to raise awareness of Covid
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To shield their vulnerable elders from the coronavirus pandemic, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in Montana are enlisting musicians to tell tribal youth to wash their hands and wear masks.
The stakes are high. If the virus spreads to the community’s elders, who are at a greater risk of developing life-threatening symptoms, the local language and customs could be in peril. Having watching other tribes try to deal with Covid, the Salish and Kootenai are looking to their youth to foster safe practices.
The music campaign “is an excellent way to reach younger people,” said 15-year-old Alishon Kelly, who lives on the Flathead Indian Reservation in northwestern Montana.
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KiidTruth, also known as Artie Mendoza III, sings in the
video
for his new song, “C19 “: I pull my mask up to my face so I know that I’m straight. ... I wash my hands in the sink, I ain’t taking no risk,” sings
According to Michelle Mitchell, head of the tribes’ education department, the campaign will expand to feature numerous local artists in coming weeks.
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Editors Note
: We appreciate your continued readership of and feedback on the Bulletin. We are publishing the Bulletin now on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
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Alameda County:
5,140
Contra Costa County:
2,454
California:
191,514
U.S.:
2,348,956
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Alameda County:
120
Contra Costa County:
62
California:
5,627
U.S.:
121,279
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East Bay Times, June 24, 2020
At least 15 people are dead after COVID-19 infected 75 people at an East Bay skilled nursing facility, according to data published by the state. The state Department of Public Health’s latest report shows that 14 patients and at least one health care worker at San Miguel Villa, a post-acute nursing facility in Concord, have died after contracting the virus, which infected 62 residents and 13 workers at the facility.
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SFist, June 23, 2020
Health officers warned that we would see cases tick up after gradual reopening steps were happening across the Bay Area. Following several weeks in which more retail and restaurants have been open in different counties, the Bay Area saw one of its most significant jumps in confirmed cases Monday, 704, or an uptick of 3.6%, more than double the daily average for the previous four weeks. Hospitalizations are also ticking up, with the Bay Area recording an 8% jump.
East Bay Times, June 24, 2020
Health officials in Contra Costa County plan to continue ahead with reopening more of the county’s economy next week even as new case totals tick upward. The county is reopening hotels for tourism on July 1 as planned, along with bars, gyms, indoor dining and more. The county has seen its three highest new-case figures over the last four days, including a single-day high of 92 new cases on Saturday and 85 more Tuesday. Despite the increased number of cases, county health officials said that the county’s positive case rate is steady at around 3 percent.
Website, June 24, 2020
New text posted on the County website states:
"
We are closely monitoring recent increases in the number of COVID cases and hospitalizations in the county. We expected some increases as more businesses and activities reopened and as we expanded testing. Still, the upward trend is concerning and could affect our reopening timeline. On Friday, June 19, we had 103 new cases - a one-day record for Contra Costa County. That was also the first day we reached our goal for number of tests administered. While we watch the number of tests, we also pay close attention to the percentage of people who test positive. This number has consistently remained well below our goal of 8 percent. In parallel, an increase in hospitalizations is expected when the number of cases increases."
Phil Matier, SF Chronicle, June 24, 2020
One of the key pieces of BART’s recently announced plan to win back public confidence. and riders, is the requirement that people riding the trains and using the stations wear masks. BART Director Rebecca Saltzman asked for an edit of the mask enforcement plan. “The important thing is to keep people healthy and safe, and having as few conflicts between police and the public as possible,” Saltzman said. The section on masks now reads: “BART police will center their efforts on education and providing masks for those who need one.”
KCBS, June 22, 2020
The coronavirus pandemic has hit transit agencies across the Bay Area hard, with BART still operating at slightly more than 10 percent of normal ridership. BART is expecting it to be a slow recovery. Their most optimistic projection for next year is that ridership will be about half of what it was before the pandemic.
East Bay Times, June 24, 2020
The East Bay Times provides a list of testing sites in the Bay Area, many of which will provide free testing to persons without symptoms.
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CNN, June 23, 2020
A new study suggests that as many as 8.7 million Americans came down with coronavirus in March, but more than 80% of them were never diagnosed. A team of researchers looked at the number of people who went to doctors or clinics with influenza-like illnesses that were never diagnosed as coronavirus, influenza or any of the other viruses that usually circulate in winter. There was a giant spike in these cases in March, the researchers reported in the journal
Science Translational Medicine.
Bloomberg, June 24, 2020
People infected with coronavirus were allowed to board aircraft and travel to Hong Kong in recent days, highlighting the challenge of controlling the pandemic while governments seek the safest ways to reopen borders. Hong Kong’s health authority said one infected passenger arrived Sunday from
Manila
on a
Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd.
flight, and another was on a Cathay Dragon flight from
Kuala Lumpur
.
Reuters, June 24, 2020
Millions of women and children in poor countries are at risk because the COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting health services they rely on, from neonatal and maternity care to immunizations and contraception, a World Bank global health expert has warned.
Kaiser Health News, June 23, 2020
While public health officials are trying to gather data on how many people test positive for the coronavirus and how many people die from the infection, the pandemic has left an untold number dying in the shadows, not directly because of the virus but still because of it. Nationally, a
recent analysis of obituaries by the Health Care Cost Institute
found that, for April, the number of deaths in the U.S. was running about 12% higher than the average from 2014 through 2019.
VOX, June 24, 2020
In the Covid-19 era, health officials are urging lovers to don masks, embrace monogamy, stop kissing, and start improvising. But will we listen? Five experts weigh in.
Kaiser Health News, June 24, 2020
Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, a primary care physician in Los Angeles, has treated gay men for decades. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, he said, many patients have so dramatically changed their sexual behavior that they shrug off the need for routine screenings for sexually transmitted diseases. The coronavirus is known to spread through oral and nasal secretions but not specifically through sexual intercourse. In New York City, the health department issued
sex and coronavirus guidelines
that counsel against sex with those outside your household but advise those who choose otherwise to “have as few partners as possible.”
Salt Lake Tribune, June 21, 2020
It is better to be a coronavirus patient in June than it was in March. Back then, there was just so little we knew about the virus: after all, it was a brand new thing. But as scientists and doctors battle this disease that has infected millions and killed more than 460,000 people around the globe, they have learned a good deal about how it attacks the body, and a little more about how to treat it. That means a better chance of survival for those who have the disease.
VOX, June 12, 2020
Because Covid-19 is a new disease, there are no studies about its long-term trajectory for those with more severe symptoms; even the earliest patients to recover in China were only infected a few months ago. But doctors say the novel coronavirus can attach to human cells in many parts of the body and penetrate many major organs, including the heart, kidneys, brain, and even blood vessels. “The difficulty is sorting out long-term consequences,” says Joseph Brennan, a cardiologist at the Yale School of Medicine. While some patients may fully recover, he and other experts worry others will suffer long-term damage, including lung scarring, heart damage, and neurological and mental health effects.
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LA Times, June 24, 2020
Coronavirus cases in California continued a troubling spike this week, but it remains unclear how much worse conditions must get before officials move to slow the rapid reopening of the economy. “This increase may be accelerating. This increase reflects both widespread testing, we’re finding more of the cases that do exist, but it also reflects an increase in cases because the virus continues to spread,” said Dr. Sara Cody, the health officer for Santa Clara County.
Sacramento Bee, June 23, 2020
California counties must comply with state and federal COVID-19 rules if they want part of up to $1 billion in funding through the state budget, according to details of a budget deal expected to win approval in the Legislature. The funding is contingent on counties following federal guidance, the state’s
stay-at-home order
and other directives laid out by the California Department of Public Health to prevent the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
LA Times, June 24, 2020
As tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest police brutality earlier this month, health officials hammered home a single message: Get tested for the coronavirus. The massive demonstrations could become hotbeds for transmission, officials warned. Widespread testing might allow detection of those cases before they spread further. But in the weeks since the protests, Los Angeles County residents say they have struggled to secure testing appointments, even as officials report a troubling surge in people infected with Covid-19.
SF Chronicle, June 23, 2020
The Department of Motor Vehicles said Tuesday that it will resume in-person driving tests, which it suspended in mid-March because of the coronavirus outbreak. All first-time driver’s license holders and commercial license applicants are required to complete the test with an examiner.
Ventura County Star, June 23, 2020
As COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to rise, Ventura County Public Health Officer Dr. Robert Levin sounded a public alarm Tuesday that efforts to defeat the virus may be starting to fail. "If my reading is correct, we are showing the first signs of starting to lose this battle to COVID-19 in this county," he said, urging people to practice social distancing and to self-quarantine.
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Associated Press, June 24, 2020
New coronavirus cases in the U.S. have surged to their highest level in two months and are now back to where they were at the peak of the outbreak. The U.S. on Tuesday reported 34,700 new cases of the virus, according to a tally compiled by Johns Hopkins University that was published Wednesday. There have been only two previous days that the U.S. has reported more cases: April 9 and April 24, when a record 36,400 cases were logged.
Federal government to scale back testing support even as hospitalizations reach new highs
Washington Post, June 24, 2020
Even as case numbers climb, the federal government is poised to stop providing federal aid to testing sites in some hard-hit states, including Texas, where new cases have spiked sharply in recent weeks.
Bloomberg, June 24, 2020
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will require visitors from virus hot spots to self-quarantine for 14 days to avoid a resurgence in cases. Any state that has a rate of positive tests for infections above 10% will be subject to the quarantine.
CNN, June 24, 2020
As Florida emerges from its coronavirus shutdown, the state is experiencing a surge of Covid-19 cases, with younger Floridians accounting for a significant number of positive tests. Researchers found that
hospitalizations, intensive care visits and ventilation use
have all begun to increase over the past two weeks. Combined with a rise in cases, researchers say, this evidence points to increased community spread.
Arizona Republic, June 24, 2020
Arizona’s Covid-19 cases have more than quadrupled since the stay-at-home order expired in mid-May, with age trends shifting so that younger people now make up the majority of cases. In Maricopa County, 5% of all cases were younger than 19 and 37% of all cases were ages 20-44 on May 1. Now, those younger than 19 make up 10% of all cases and those ages 20-44 make up 51% of all cases.
The Hill, June 23, 2020
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is imploring residents to stay home as the state grapples with a surge in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations stemming from the disease. However, The governor stopped short of announcing any new restrictions to curb the spread of the disease.
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Many reasons to celebrate
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Leora Martin of Elkhart, Illinois, celebrated her 100th birthday the week after finding out she had finally tested negative for Covid-19. She and her twin sister, Delora Bloomingdale, who lives in California, celebrated their birthdays and Leora’s recovery on Zoom.
Martin was one of 76 people in Greenleaf, an assisted living facility, who tested positive for the virus. Having lived through
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World War II, survived cancer, and successfully battled her way back from a bout of pneumonia, Martin felt relieved to be over the virus after being diagnosed in April.
Martin’s daughter said that her mother remains vivacious and sharp. During her Zoom celebration, Leora happily held a sign that read “Covid-19 can’t stop me from turning 100.” Greenleaf also celebrated a milestone, the assisted living facility is officially free from the virus.
Martin’s secret to living a long life? “Keep moving,” Martin said. “Also, keep loving other people.”
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BBC, June 24, 2020
EU ambassadors meet today to plan reopening external borders on July 1, and travelers from the US could be among those not allowed in. The 27-member bloc must agree on the measures that non-EU countries should meet before deciding on a safe list. The virus is spreading in the US, so it is likely Americans would be barred. Brazil, Russia and other countries with high infection rates would also be left off a safe list, according to reports from Brussels.
The Guardian, June 23, 2020
Archaeologists fear that a recent wave of budget cuts will decimate research into the country’s pre-Columbian past, and leave thousands of ancient sites, including Aztec temples and Mayan cities, at the mercy of looters.
Bloomberg, June 23, 2020
School kids don’t appear to transmit the new coronavirus to peers or teachers, a French study found. The study confirms that children appear to show fewer telltale symptoms than adults and be less contagious, providing a justification for school reopenings in countries from Denmark to Switzerland. The researchers found that 61% of the parents of infected kids had the coronavirus, compared with about 7% of parents of healthy ones, suggesting it was the parents who had infected their offspring rather than the other way around.
Washington Post, June 23, 2020
In Chile, early cases of the coronavirus were concentrated in a younger demographic in the wealthier areas of Santiago, keeping hospitalizations and deaths relatively low and leading officials to believe that the outbreak was contained. But the movement of workers across the capital soon carried the virus to poorer, overcrowded neighborhoods. The approach of imposing and lifting “dynamic” lockdowns by area proved unsuccessful. With the winter beginning to bite, Chileans now face months of quarantine.
Folha de S.Paulo, June 24, 2020
Brazil recorded 1,364 new deaths by Covid-19 and 40,131 new cases of the disease, this Tuesday. The country now has 52,771 deaths from the new coronavirus 1,151,479 cases of infection by the coronavirus.
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KQED, June 24, 2020
Health care workers are experiencing high levels of anxiety and stress due to the overwhelming workload of the Covid-19 pandemic. Those feelings of stress and anxiety can be compounded for Black health care workers, who make up more than 11% of these types of workers in the United States. Along with reports showing that the coronavirus disproportionately impacts Black, Latino and Indigenous people, workers also leave their long, grueling shifts only to experience racism in many aspects of their daily life, including coming home to news reports and videos of violence.
Anya Kamenetz, NPR, June 24, 2020
Throughout the pandemic, many child care centers have stayed open for the children of front-line workers, everyone from doctors to grocery store clerks. YMCA of the USA and New York City's Department of Education have been caring for, collectively, tens of thousands of children since March, and both tell NPR they have no reports of coronavirus clusters or outbreaks. As school districts sweat over reopening plans, and with just over half of parents telling pollsters they're comfortable with in-person school this fall, public health and policy experts say education leaders should be discussing and drawing on these real-world child care experiences.
Katelyn Esmonde, Vox, June 23, 2020
One of our most crucial tools for addressing the coronavirus, contact tracing, the process in which public health agencies work to identify whom infected people have been in contact with, and encourage testing and quarantining, is being hampered by another major problem: racism.
Professor Erin Bromage, CNN, June 23, 2020
The role of the young and healthy in this pandemic is beginning to reveal itself. 20- to 40-year-olds appear to be spreading the infection unperceived. They are just as easily infected as the elderly, but much more likely to show no or mild symptoms. People in these age groups have allowed the virus to smolder through our communities and erupt into flames when they make contact with a susceptible population.
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Alameda County Data
: 1,155 n
ew cases have been recorded over the last 14 days. The number of confirmed infections is currently doubling every 35 days.
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Contra Costa County Data
: 680 new cases have been recorded over last 14 days. The number of confirmed infections is currently doubling every 24 days.
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Top 8 Locations of Cases in Alameda County
, data as of 6/23/20
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Oakland:
2,023
Hayward:
894
Eden MAC:
330
Fremont:
250
San Leandro:
238
Union City:
176
Castro Valley:
165
Newark:
147
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Top 8 Locations of Cases in Contra Costa County
, data as of 6/2/20
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Richmond:
587
Concord:
315
Antioch:
227
San Pablo:
218
Pittsburgh:
162
Bay Point:
126
Walnut Creek:
92
Brentwood:
88
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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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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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Your feedback is welcome. Please share the Bulletin.
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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.
Each bulletin includes a summary of the top health, Bay Area, California, national 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. On Mondays and Fridays the Bulletin includes an education section.
We welcome your feedback on our bulletin. Please contact editor
Stephen Cassidy
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