Eden Health District COVID-19 Bulletin
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"We are suffering from unemployment, Covid-19, homelessness, food insecurity, as well as racism in our community. We need to stop the destruction and continue the hard work of making a healthy, equitable community the people of Alameda County deserve."
Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley,
6/1/20
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Students Giving To Those In Need
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Eighth-graders at the Waldorf School in Santa Fe, New Mexico had spent the entire year raising $2,800 - mostly through pizza sales - for their rafting trip, a thrilling end to their time in middle school. But then came Covid-19.
Rather than mope after the trip's cancellation, the students chose to make a positive impact on the lives of others by using the money to help the Navajo Nation, which is struggling amid the pandemic.
The idea of making the donation to the Navajo Nation came from Jess Falkenhagen, one of the students' parents.
The mother of two contacted Navajo leaders to ask what they needed.
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Essential items for babies and non-perishable food made the list. So did diapers, formula, toilet paper, wipes and medicines.
"Everyone everywhere had important things canceled and some things people had been planning for years," stated student Daisy Russell. "I was just glad someone else could benefit from our fundraising we did for our trip!" Source:
CNN
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Alameda County:
3,548
Contra Costa County:
1,513
California:
119,842
U.S.:
1,856,118
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Alameda County:
97
Contra Costa County:
38
California:
4,385
U.S.:
107,281
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KQED, June 3, 2020
In the Bay Area alone, 97 skilled nursing facilities and 18 residential care homes for the elderly have reported outbreaks of COVID-19, part of a
national trend
that has seen the coronavirus taking a heavy toll on the frail and elderly, and creating stress and anxiety for their loved ones.
KQED Science has exclusively compiled
an interactive map showing the exact locations of Bay Area nursing homes and long-term care facilities
that have had coronavirus outbreaks, including the number of cases in each one.
Pat McGinnis, executive director of California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, says that families of residents in long-term care facilities with coronavirus outbreaks should be in contact with those facilities to ensure their loved ones are safe. She suggests asking: Have all residents and staff been tested? How often are tests given?
SF Chronicle, June 3, 2020
Hundreds of health care workers from
Kaiser Permanente
hospitals in the East Bay staged concurrent walkouts on Wednesday afternoon to stand in solidarity with
George Floyd
. More than 100 medical care workers wearing white coats gathered at Moswood Park in Oakland, many
holding signs
in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, where they kneeled in silence for 9 minutes at 1 p.m., according to multiple media reports. Kaiser employees also staged similar protests near hospitals in Alameda, Pinole and Richmond.
Recent Messages from East Bay City Officials on Police Brutality, Racism and Pandemic
SF Chronicle, June 4, 2020
“As deaf people we rely on visual communications from people who don’t sign,” said Amy Salter, senior operations manager for San Francisco’s
Mozzeria,
a Mission District
pizzeria owned
and operated by deaf people, speaking in ASL through an interpreter. Hard of hearing people who rely on lip reading say the new reality is disorienting. “After one day of everybody wearing face masks, it hit me like a ton of bricks: I cannot understand what people are saying,” said John Bauters, an Emeryville city councilman who has read lips since childhood because his hearing is limited.
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Bloomberg, June 4, 2020
The best way to reduce the spread of the coronavirus post-lockdown is for people to limit their interactions to a few repeated contacts, or so-called social bubbles, research from the University of Oxford showed. Strategically reducing contacts can lower infection rates and
flatten the curve
considerably more than simple social distancing can, according to the study published in the journal
Nature Human Behavior
. Temporarily restricting contact to those who share similar features, such as people living in the same neighborhood, and limiting interaction with occasional acquaintances were also found to be more effective than more random distancing measures.
Annals of Internal Medicine, June 3, 2020
Based on a review of 16 studies worldwide, researchers conclude that that approximately 40% to 45% of those infected with the coronavirus remain asymptomatic, allowing for the virus to spread silently and deeply through human populations. Asymptomatic persons can transmit the virus to others for an extended period, perhaps longer than 14 days.
STAT, June 3, 2020
The malaria drug hydroxychloroquine did not help prevent people who had been exposed to others with Covid-19 from developing the disease, according to the results of an eagerly awaited study that was
published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine
. Despite a lack of evidence, many people began taking the medicine to try to prevent infection early in the Covid-19 pandemic, following anecdotal reports it could be effective and claims by President Trump and conservative commentators. But the new study, the first double-blind randomized, placebo-controlled trial of hydroxychloroquine, found otherwise.
NPR, May 23, 2020
We asked a panel of infectious disease and public health experts to rate the risk of summer activities, from backyard gatherings to a day at the pool to sharing a vacation house with another household. One big warning: Your personal risk depends on your age and health, the prevalence of the virus in your area and the precautions you take during any of these activities. Also, many areas continue to restrict the activities described here, so check your local laws.
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East Bay Coronavirus Cases
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Alameda County
: 993 n
ew cases have been recorded over the last two weeks. The number of confirmed infections is currently doubling every 29.8 days.
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Contra Costa County
: 314
new cases have been recorded over last 2 weeks. The number of confirmed infections is currently doubling every 44.4 days.
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Top 8 Locations of Cases in Alameda County, data as of 6/1/20
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Oakland
: 1,299
Hayward: 670
Eden MAC: 221
Fremont: 177
San Leandro: 157
Union City: 130
Castro Valley: 121
Newark: 103
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Top 8 Locations of Cases in Contra Costa County, data as of 6/1/20
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Richmond: 324
Concord: 160
Antioch: 130
San Pablo: 116
Pittsburgh: 102
Bay Point: 76
Pleasant Hill: 69
Brentwood: 68
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NY Times, June 4, 2020
In a poll released by the
Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), a
lmost half of Californians say the worst is yet to come in the pandemic, but that number is much higher, 69 percent, among African-Americans, who have been disproportionately hurt both by the virus itself and economically in the crisis. Still, almost six in 10 Californians are more worried about the state reopening too quickly, rather than not quickly enough.
“People continue to put their faith in state leadership around the Covid crisis,” Mark Baldassare, President of the PPIC, said.
That extends to Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose approval rating increased to 65 percent of adults from 53 percent in February.
The Guardian, June 3, 2020
The number of coronavirus cases in
California
is on the rise after weeks of optimism that infections had slowed, raising fears that plans to reopen counties, along with mass protests against police brutality, could accelerate transmission of the virus. According to numbers from Johns Hopkins University, which has been tracking coronavirus cases and deaths, California is
one of 20 states
that have seen an uptick in cases in the past five days. David Eisenman, the director of the Center for Public Health and Disasters at UCLA, said some of the rise was to be expected as counties accelerate plans to reopen and warm weather draws Californians to beaches and parks. An increase in testing, too, could play a role.
SF Chronicle, June 4, 2020
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks will open this this week, and Yosemite could follow suit next week. Both parks will have safety measures in place that, like in other reopened sites, will mean limited services for visitors and inevitable inconvenience. Yosemite plans to go as far as capping the number of people admitted to the internationally popular destination each day. The park is scheduled to have a soft opening Friday, providing entry only to those with existing wilderness permits and Half Dome climbing reservations. A date for the general reopening is still pending.
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Wall Street Journal, June 4, 2020
The number of workers receiving unemployment benefits increased slightly to 21.5 million at the end of May, reflecting continued coronavirus fallout. In the week ended May 23, the number of Americans who were drawing on unemployment benefits ticked up by 649,000 from a week earlier, the Labor Department said Thursday Meanwhile, the number of applications for unemployment benefits has trended down since the pandemic and related lockdowns triggered a surge in claims at the end of March.
The Hill, June 4, 2020
Almost half of Americans say they or someone in their household has lost employment income in the last three months, according to new government figures. The toll is falling most heavily on those at the lowest end of the economic spectrum. A majority of Americans living in households that make less than $100,000 a year reported losing income since mid-March, including substantial majorities of those who make less than $35,000 a year. About 10 percent of Americans reported they experienced food scarcity in the last week. Among African American households with young children, nearly 23 percent said they sometimes or often did not have enough to eat. Among Hispanic households with children, that figure stood at 18 percent, compared to just 9 percent of white households.
Washington Post, June 3, 2020
Nearly half of commercial retail rents were not paid in May. Companies as big as Starbucks say the financial devastation from the shutdown has left them unable to pay their full property bills on time. Some companies warn they will not be able to pay rent for months.
NY Times, June 3, 2020
Along with the immediate pain that can cause watering eyes and burning throats, tear gas may cause damage to people’s lungs and make them more susceptible to getting a respiratory illness, according to studies on the risks of exposure. The gas can also incite coughing, which can further spread the virus from an infected person.
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When Canadian Atish Ram, 58, was admitted to Royal Columbian Hospital after testing positive for COVID-19, he had a neat, white goatee. When he was finally discharged 54 days later, he sported an impressive white beard.
Ram had an underlying heart condition before contracting the virus, and his long hospital stay, in and out of ICU, was largely due to complications and the disease's persistence.
"You've still got to be vigilant. You've got to be careful," Ram said. "If not for yourself, think of others, because there are vulnerable people out there."
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A UK doctor has spoken of his "immense gratitude" to his colleagues who saved his life when he became seriously ill with the coronavirus.
Waqas Ilyas, 37, spent six weeks on a ventilator in intensive care after falling ill. He had worked on a Covid-19 ward at Hull Royal Infirmary and was admitted to the same hospital after experiencing a fever and difficulty in breathing.
Ilyas said he hoped to return to work in a few months time and added: "I have the sense of being fortunate enough to have actually made it through."
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NY Times, June 4, 2020
Twice as many countries have reported a rise in new cases over the past two weeks as have reported declines, according to
a New York Times database
. On May 30, more new cases were reported in a single day worldwide than ever before: 134,064. The increase has been driven by emerging hot spots in Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Of particular concern are the nations of Brazil, Peru, Egypt, South Africa and Bangladesh.
The Guardian, June 3, 2020
The World Health Organization and a number of national governments have changed their Covid-19 policies and treatments on the basis of flawed data from a little-known US healthcare analytics company, also calling into question the integrity of key studies published in some of the world’s most prestigious medical journals. US-based company Surgisphere but has so far failed to adequately explain its data or methodology. Data it claims to have legitimately obtained from more than a thousand hospitals worldwide formed the basis of scientific articles that have led to changes in Covid-19 treatment policies in Latin American countries. It was also behind a decision by the WHO and research institutes around the world to halt trials of the controversial drug hydroxychloroquine.
Reuters, June 4, 2020
France’s Bastille Day military parade marking its national day will be replaced by a ceremony on the Place de la Concorde square in central Paris. The ceremony, which will include the traditional fly-over by the French air force, will honour the military’s participation in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic as well as frontline health care workerst.
Japan Times, June 4, 2020
Japan is considering simplifying the format of next year’s Tokyo Olympics as part of efforts to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, government sources said Thursday. The changes could include a reduction in the number of spectators and a scaling back of the opening and closing ceremonies of both the Olympics and Paralympics, according to the sources.
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Politico, June 3, 2020
The black community in Minneapolis was already reeling before a white police officer killed George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, on May 25. The number of coronavirus cases in the state of Minnesota
spiked dramatically in May
. And although they make up less than a fifth of the city's population, black residents have accounted for a third of all Covid-19 infections there — neighborhoods where most of the households make $35,000 or less have been particularly hard hit. Meanwhile, roughly one in three black Minnesotans had
filed for unemployment insurance
as of May 18.
Washington Post, June 3, 2020
Poor reporting of data, which initially masked the fact that the disease was disproportionately affecting black communities, remains a problem even as states move to reopen their economies. Today, Americans living in counties with above-average black populations are three times as likely to die of the coronavirus as those in above-average white counties, according to an analysis of census and other data by The Washington Post.
Kaiser Health News, June 4, 2020
Although mental health services continued largely uninterrupted in areas with low levels of the coronavirus, behavioral health care workers in areas hit hard by COVID-19 were overburdened. Mobile crisis teams, residential programs and call centers, especially in pandemic hot spots, had to reduce or close services. Some programs were plagued by shortages of staff and protective supplies for workers. At the same time, people battling mental health disorders became more stressed and anxious.
The Guardian, June 3, 2020
The president falsely claimed Covid-19 would evaporate in the April sunshine, expressed bewilderment that a vaccine wasn’t imminent and pondered the merits of injecting disinfectant as a treatment. Trump has also repeatedly touted the benefits of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug he says he himself has taken as a precaution despite evidence it can cause heart problems in some patients.
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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.
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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 please links to important commentary and analysis. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday the bulletin includes an education section.
We welcome your feedback on our bulletin. Each bulleting Please contact editor
Stephen Cassidy
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