Eden Health District COVID-19 Bulletin
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“We need to continue to not just bend the curve, but flatten the curve
."
Gov. Gavin Newsom, April 16, 2020
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Alameda County:
1,009
Contra Costa County:
631
California:
28,156
U.S.:
672,303
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Alameda County:
39
Contra Costa County:
18
California:
973
U.S.:
33,325
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We areproud 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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Press Release, April 16, 2020
The City of Hayward announced the receipt of donations totaling $426,500 to the new Hayward Community Relief Fund. An initial focus of the Relief Fund will be Hayward’s most economically vulnerable residents, especially those experiencing loss of earnings without paid sick leave or access to unemployment benefits. Other focuses will include support of local small businesses to curb job losses and funding to maintain Hayward's COVID-19 testing center.
Press Release, April 16, 2020
The City of San Leandro has allocated $250,000 to fund grants of up to $5,000 to local businesses employing 25 or less persons to help them continue operations during the COVID-19 public health emergency. "Right now many of our small businesses are being severely impacted by the coronavirus and related public health orders. With this new program, the City is investing directly in our small businesses to help keep them afloat as we navigate this situation together as a community," stated Mayor Pauline Cutter.
East Bay Times, April 16, 2020
In a sweeping executive order, Fremont is now requiring all employees and customers of many essential businesses to wear masks or face coverings to help prevent the further spread of COVID-19, making it the first Bay Area city to take such a step. The order requires face coverings be worn at all businesses in the city “where members of the public may still be visiting for essential services” during the pandemic, including grocery stores, supermarkets, farmers’ markets, gas stations, restaurants, laundromats and dry cleaners, food banks, and convenience stores.
Last week, the Health Services and Resources Administration
released $1.3 billion to health centers
nationwide under the CARES Act. The expedited funding was awarded to support ongoing primary health care services for the underserved while also expanding services for those directly affected by the coronavirus. The Eden Area health centers that
received federal funds
were
Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center
($1.4 million) and
Davis Street Community Center
($556,820).
Rose Johnson, CEO of Davis Street, stated, "We are grateful that the HSRA expedited funding to those of us on the frontlines of caring for those most in need in our communities."
East Bay Times, April 17, 2020
Researchers at UC Berkeley will study 5,000 East Bay residents to identify and test a large number of asymptomatic people. Scientists will take saliva, swab and blood samples from volunteers between the ages of 18 and 60 around the region. The UC Berkeley initiative, which will begin in early May and continue for up to eight months, will offer insight into the true nature of past viral spread in our region, and whether that changes as we begin to lift ‘social distancing’ restrictions.
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STAT, April 16, 2020
A leaked report on a clinical trial occurring at a Chicago hospital treating severe Covid-19 patients with Gilead Sciences’ antiviral medicine remdesivir states that patients receiving the drug have seen rapid recoveries in fever and respiratory symptoms.
The trial by the University of Chicago Medicine is investigating five- and 10-day treatment courses of remdesivir. The primary goal of the trial is a statistical comparison of patient improvement between the two treatment arms. Similar trials are being run concurrently at other institutions, and it’s impossible to determine the full study results with any certainty prior to publication and peer review.
- Gilead’s coronavirus drug: Why experts are cautious on its prospects, Financial Times, April 17, 2020: "Both Gilead and the hospital urged caution. 'Information from an internal forum for research colleagues concerning work in progress was released without authorisation,' said University of Chicago Medicine. 'Drawing any conclusions at this point is premature and scientifically unsound.'
Melissa Healy, health and science reporter, LA Times, April 16, 2020
An infected person can walk around feeling fine for more than two full days while spewing virus into the air, depositing it onto door knobs and handrails, and sowing the seeds for future infections. This is not “asymptomatic spread,” the hidden infectiousness of people who have no idea they’re spreading the coronavirus because their symptoms are mild or absent. Rather, it is the far-more-common case of “presymptomatic spread.” Within a few days, the spreader’s misery will telegraph to all around her that they have been exposed to the coronavirus. But by then it will be too late for those who’ve crossed her path.
NY Times, April 17, 2020
A review of some of the
types of masks
you might encounter, how they work, what to consider when
making your own
and the level of protection they could provide.
LA Times, April 16, 2020
A summary of recommendations from the CDC and WHO on how to correctly wear a face mask to slow the spread of coronavirus. It is important to not to touch your eyes, nose or mouth when removing the face covering and you should wash your hands immediately after removing it.
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SF Chronicle, April 16, 2020
Bay Area public health officials are expected to announce a new order on Friday requiring residents to wear masks and face coverings while in public, Marin County’s health officer said Thursday in a video statement. The new requirement will go into effect at noon on April 22, 2020, to give time to the public to prepare, Dr. Matt Willis, the health officer, said in a YouTube video.
LA Times, April 16, 2020
Local governments are beginning to map out how they could ease some of the coronavirus stay-at-home orders, with officials saying the process could gradually begin in May and continue in targeted ways through the summer and fall. The existing Bay Area shelter-in-place order expires on May 3.
SF Chronicle, April 16, 2020
Several employees at Safeway’s distribution center in Tracy have tested positive for the
coronavirus,
and one worker died this week. The distribution center is the largest of its kind in the region, a cavernous supply hub that employs up to 2,000 workers. The center serves Safeway stores from Bakersfield all the way up to the Oregon border, and parts of Nevada.
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Mercury News, April 16, 2020
For the third consecutive day, Gov. Newsom announced that the state recorded at least 60 COVID-19 deaths. However, for the first time since the pandemic began, the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 had declined. There are now 3,141 patients hospitalized with the coronavirus, which represents a 0.9 decrease in hospitalizations.
SF Chronicle, April 16, 2020
The state’s black residents are dying from COVID-19 at nearly twice the rate of white residents, according to initial figures released this week by the state. Almost 100 of California’s more than 800 COVID-19 deaths were African Americans, amounting to about 12% of the total. That far outpaces the group’s representation, which is about 6% of the state population.
Bloomberg, April 16, 2020
California is likely to blow through its record $17 billion budget surplus and face deficits of more than twice as much because of the severe recession expected from the coronavirus pandemic, Legislative Analyst Gabe Petek told lawmakers during a senate hearing Thursday. Further, unemployment claims show that as many as 15% of California workers have lost their jobs.
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Nonprofit Spotlight: Comida Para Cherryland
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A pantry run by volunteers, including members of
Congregation Shir Ami
in Castro Valley and
Eden Church
in Hayward
,
Comida Para Cherryland
addresses the food insecurity needs of residents of Cherryland, a portion of unincorporated Alameda County next to Hayward. With COVID-19, Comida is seeing the highest participation by families seeking food assistance in its eight years of operation. On Wednesday, April 8th, Comida served 900 clients in 1 hour.
In support of Comida, the Hayward Rotary has agreed to match community donations dollar for dollar up to $5,000 in donations. To make a tax deductible donation, please visit the Eden Church's website by
clicking here
and select "Comida Para Cherryland" in the drop down menu.
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Wall Street Journal, April 17, 2020
The confirmed U.S. death toll from the Covid-19 disease caused by the virus continued to rise a day after it
nearly doubled to 4,591
over 24 hours Thursday. The numbers jumped significantly after the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists suggested that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health departments begin including
probable Covid-19 deaths
, not just confirmed ones, said Douglas Donovan, a spokesman for Johns Hopkins University, which tracks the virus. As New York, Maryland and Ohio adjusted their counts in recent days to include probable deaths “we did so as well to remain consistent,” said Mr. Donovan.
LA Times, April 16, 2020
Claiming that the worst of the coronavirus outbreak has passed, President Trump outlined a broad road map Thursday for each state to begin phasing out restrictions that have forced tens of millions of Americans to stay home for weeks, devastating the nation’s economy. The new guidelines call for a staggered approach over coming weeks and months, but don’t set a date or a deadline.
Instead, authorities in each state, not the federal government, will decide when it’s safe to reopen shops, schools, restaurants, movie theaters, sporting arenas and other facilities that were shuttered to slow the spread of the deadly virus.
As testing outcry mounts, Trump cedes to states in announcing guidelines for slow reopening
Washington Post, April 16, 2020
President Trump released federal guidelines Thursday night for a slow and staggered return to normal in places with minimal cases of the novel
coronavirus
, moving to try to resume economic activity even amid an outcry from political and health leaders about the nation’s testing capacity. Despite Trump’s desire for a May 1 reopening, his plan does not contain a date for implementation and is a vague set of recommendations for a three-phased reopening of businesses, schools and other gathering places in jurisdictions that satisfy broad criteria on symptoms, cases and hospital loads.
NY Times, April 17, 2020
Determining death rates is especially challenging in the midst of a pandemic, while figures are necessarily fluid. Fatality rates based on comparing deaths, which are relatively easy to count, to infections, which are not, almost certainly overestimate the true lethality of the virus, epidemiologists say. Health officials and epidemiologists
have estimated
there are five to 10 people with
undetected infections
for every confirmed case in some communities, and at least one estimate suggests there are
far more
.
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NY Times, April 17, 2020
China on Friday raised its coronavirus death toll by 50 percent in Wuhan, the city where the outbreak first emerged, amid accusations that the government had concealed the extent of the epidemic. Officials placed the new tally at 3,869 deaths from the coronavirus in the central Chinese city, an increase of 1,290 from the previous figure.
Time, April 17, 2020
Africa could see 300,000 deaths from the coronavirus this year even under the best-case scenario, according to a new report released Friday that cites modeling from Imperial College London. Under the worst-case scenario with no interventions against the virus, Africa could see 3.3 million deaths and 1.2 billion infections, the report by the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa said. Even with “intense social distancing.” under the best-case scenario the continent could see more than 122 million infections, the report said.
The Guardian, April 16, 2020
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has sparked protests and anger by sacking his popular health minister, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, after the two
clashed
over Bolsonaro’s highly controversial response to the coronavirus pandemic. Bolsonaro has repeatedly downplayed coronavirus and urged the relaxation of social distancing measures while Mandetta
defended
such policies.
Folha de S.Paulo, April 16, 2020
The first Brazilian study of the spread of the coronavirus infection showed that the number of infected people is at least seven times greater than that officially registered. Approximately 0.05% of Rio Grande do Sul’s population must be contaminated, according to tests carried out on a sample of 4,189 people from Rio Grande do Sul, which has about 11.3 million inhabitants. Government records show that Rio Grande do Sul has 747 cases, but the government only tests the most severe and symptomatic cases.
Reuters, April 17, 2020
Moscow, a city of 12.7 million people, is at the epicentre of Russia’s coronavirus outbreak, having officially recorded 18,105 cases, equivalent to just over 0.1% of its population. Early results from the first commercial Russian tests suggest that a much higher proportion of people in Moscow are infected, and that the disease has spread among residents without symptoms.
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San Francisco Chronicle writer Steve Rubenstein profiles Freeman Ng, of Alameda, who has produced a beautifully illustrated book about a family making the best during the pandemic.
Offered for free online
, Ng said it was more important to get the book into as many hands as possible rather than to make money. The idea was to “address the circumstances of our time” for children. “It’s just my small contribution,” Ng said. “It’s nothing compared to what a doctor is doing for everyone, or what a grocery store clerk is doing for everyone.”
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Donate PPE To Area Hospitals
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Hospitals throughout the East Bay are experiencing
a shortage of medical supplies. They are seeking donations of new Protective Personal Equipment (masks, gowns and other products). For more information visit:
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Alert: COVID-19 Related Scams and Frauds Widespread
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Scammers are using the pandemic as a means to obtain confidential and personal information from California seniors. Any unsolicited phone call or visit from someone claiming to work for or with Medicare and seeking your Medicare or social security number is a red alert that the person is engaged in a fraud.
In one widespread scheme, the
Los Angeles Times reports
, fraudsters call Medicare beneficiaries at home, knock on their doors or approach them in the parking lots of grocery stores and pharmacies, then offer them home-test kits for COVID-19 or packages of hand sanitizer, masks and other protective equipment.
Another common scheme,
CNN reports
, involve phone calls from a person claiming to be a hospital or
health care official. The caller states that a relative is in the hospital with coronavirus. The caller then insists upon obtaining the call recipient's credit card information to pay the hospital bill.
Finally, there has been a surge in individuals and companies advertising and selling products claimed to be a cure or treatment for the coronavirus. Currently, no
consumer or over-the-counter health products have been found to treat or prevent the virus.
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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.
Please share our bulletin with your contacts. If you would like to submit feedback or stories on the local response to the pandemic,
please contact bulletin editor Stephen Cassidy at
stephen.cassidy@ethd.org
. And if you are operating a local food bank and would like your organization profiled in our nonprofit spotlight, please contact us.
The
Eden Health District Board of Directors
are Gordon Galvan, Chair, Mariellen Faria, Vice Chair, Charles Gilcrest, Secretary, Roxann Lewis and Pam Russo. The Eden Health District Chief Executive Officer is Mark Friedman.
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