Eden Health District COVID-19 Bulletin
|
|
Sign and photo by San Leandro resident Katie Woodruff. Used with permission. |
|
East Bay man brings life to old items by creating musical instruments |
Steve Zwetsch is pairing unlikely items together to create musical folk art. Five years ago, Zwetsch came across a YouTube video of a guitar made from cigar boxes and was captivated by the instrument. Being a self-taught handyman, Zwetsch was up for the challenge and started creating the instrument in his basement.
Before the pandemic, he created 5 cigar box guitars a year but after his bakery business was impacted by Covid-19, he has created 14 guitars in six months. Zwetsch is able to revisit a beloved hobby with hopes of turning in a profit.
Due to ligament damage in his left wrist, Zwetsch was not able to fret a normal size guitar. Because cigar box guitars are smaller in size, he is able to strum the instrument with ease. "Smaller body guitars are just easier to play which is why a lot of people start off with them," said Zwetsch. "I can reach all the notes and I don't have to put as much pressure on my wrist.”
Designing cigar box guitars has created an outlet for Zwetsch to think outside the box.
|
|
"I have used a lot of different items to build guitars," said Zwetsch. "I have made one out of a metal gift tin for cookies. A pool rack. I made one out of a bed pan. I have used wine cases. Anything that has a body that will resonate sound."
Zwetsch plucks through garage sales, salvage yards and his own garage for items to build the guitars.
"This is what I like to call the art of imperfection. It's taking things that were not meant to be together," said Zwetsch. "A lot of the hardware I use is drawer pulls, and knobs and different kinds of things that I can find."
He enjoys taking things that would otherwise end up in landfill and "giving it life" once again. "It fun to make these things and I'm making them more for the art value than anything else," said Zwetsch. "Then, the fact that it created more art with the music that you can play with it, is just phenomenal."
|
|
|
Alameda County: 21,809
Contra Costa County: 17,420
Bay Area: 106,279
California: 838,671
U.S.: 7,525,255
|
|
Alameda County: 427
Contra Costa County: 224
Bay Area: 1,589
California: 16,269
U.S.: 211,405
|
|
 |
East Bay Times, October 7, 2020
There could be trouble ahead for four Bay Area counties’ reopening plans after data released Tuesday revealed they are failing to meet benchmarks set by state health officials to stop Covid-19 from tearing through disadvantaged communities.
California added its “equity metric” last week to the list of criteria counties must meet before they can advance through the color-coded tiers created to guide the reopening of shuttered businesses and activities. Counties with big disparities in test positivity rates in poorer neighborhoods and communities of color may not be allowed to progress within the reopening system — and must promise to direct more resources toward testing and contact tracing in coronavirus hotspots.
On Tuesday, data showed San Francisco, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Sonoma counties were among 12 statewide whose coronavirus infection rates were particularly high in those neighborhoods and did not meet the requirement. All others in the Bay Area, including Alameda and Santa Clara counties, met the benchmark.
No Bay Area counties’ positions changed Tuesday, and officials said no counties have so far been held back from advancing because of the equity metric — but added that could happen if those that are falling short don’t improve.
In Contra Costa and San Mateo counties, both of which are now in the state’s “red” tier, the positivity rates in their most at-risk areas were 6.8 and 5.3 percent, respectively — twice the rate for the counties’ residents as a whole. To advance to the “orange tier,” which would allow more businesses to reopen, positivity rates will need to drop to 5.2 percent or less in those at-risk communities.
Santa Clara and Alameda counties cleared the benchmark with positivity rates in their most vulnerable neighborhoods of 3.7 and 3.9 percent, respectively. In each case those figures were about double the rates for county residents as a whole.
San Francisco Chronicle, October 6, 2020
President Trump’s cavalier attitude toward his Covid-19 diagnosis has alarmed infectious disease experts, who fear that the president is spreading false and dangerous information about the illness that has killed more than 210,000 Americans and infected over 7 million.
On Tuesday, just a day after returning to the White House from a military hospital where he received a mixture of experimental treatments over the weekend, Trump fired off a series of social media posts that downplayed the severity of Covid-19. He wrongfully repeated the claim that the disease is less lethal than the seasonal flu. “It’s very real. It’s very concerning. Giving a message that says ‘Don’t worry about this’ is just wrong,” Dr. Bob Wachter, chair of the department of medicine at UCSF.
East Bay Citizen, October 6, 2020
With 3,000 nurses and health care workers at Alameda Health System hospitals less than 24 hours from a five-day strike, Alameda County supervisors attempted on Tuesday to move both sides toward a last-minute agreement.
But after several hours of testimony, nurses and other health care employees at Oakland’s Highland Hospital, San Leandro Hospital, and Alameda Hospital appear certain to walk off the job on Wednesday.
Berkeleyside, October 7, 2020
The future of Rick & Ann’s in Berkeley became decisively grim at the end of September. Although the business had been gradually steadying, real fear for its viability set in when smoke rolled in from the August Complex inferno and cleared out its returning customer base. Owner Ann Lauer had avoided calling attention to her struggling business out of respect for the scale of suffering in the world and a genuine hope she would figure out how to run food service during a pandemic. But the fate of her employees and the prospect of forlorn loyal customers convinced her to at least give fair warning. On Sept. 21, she sent a mass email to Rick & Ann’s mailing list.
|
|
|
|
STAT, October 6, 2020
The race for a Covid-19 vaccine slowed on Tuesday, as both U.S. regulators and the head of the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed initiative tapped ever so softly on the brakes. The FDA released strengthened rules for authorizing any Covid-19 vaccine on an emergency basis. And Moncef Slaoui, co-chair of Operation Warp Speed, revealed that the government’s vaccine fast-tracking effort has urged manufacturers not to apply for emergency use authorization until they have significant amounts of vaccines to deploy.
That could push back even the first such authorization — expected to be for a vaccine being made by Pfizer and BioNTech, if it proves to be effective — into sometime in mid- to late November.
STAT, October 7, 2020
Eli Lilly said Wednesday a monoclonal antibody treatment is effective in reducing levels of the virus that causes Covid-19 in patients, and also appears to prevent patients from visiting the emergency room or hospital. The results appear roughly similar to those Regeneron presented last week of its own cocktail of two monoclonal antibodies.
Last Friday, President Trump was treated with the Regeneron monoclonal antibodies.
Monoclonal antibodies are synthetic versions of the antibodies that are one of the main weapons of the immune system. Researchers believed that injecting them into patients could help treat them. Lilly said it anticipates it could have as many as 1 million doses of its one-antibody treatment, LY-CoV555, available in the fourth quarter of 2020, with 100,000 available this month. But for the combination therapy, just 50,000 doses will be available in the fourth quarter of 2020
NPR, October 5, 2020
The CDC now says the coronavirus can be spread through airborne particles that can linger in the air "for minutes or even hours" — even among people who are more than 6 feet apart. The CDC still says that SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, is most frequently spread among people in close contact with one another, through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks.
But in new guidance published Monday on its website, the agency also acknowledged that under certain circumstances, people have become infected by smaller particles that can linger in the air in enclosed spaces that are poorly ventilated.
NY Times, October 6, 2020
Adolescents who contract Covid-19 usually do not get as sick as adults and often experience few if any symptoms, but they can spread the novel coronavirus that causes the disease to others. Scientists from the CDC and the health departments of four states — Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts and Rhode Island — described a 13-year-old girl who became infected with the coronavirus just before a three-week family gathering. Eleven other relatives, including her mother, her father, two brothers and two grandparents, also became infected.
NY Times, October 5, 2020
Nearly a third of hospitalized Covid-19 patients experienced some type of altered mental function, ranging from confusion to delirium to unresponsiveness, in the largest study to date of neurological symptoms among coronavirus patients in an American hospital system. And patients with altered mental function had significantly worse medical outcomes, according to the study, published on Monday in Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology. The study looked at the records of the first 509 coronavirus patients hospitalized, from March 5 to April 6, at 10 hospitals in the Northwestern Medicine health system in the Chicago area.
|
NY Times, October 5, 2020
Months of data have helped scientists home in on the general portrait of a symptomatic coronavirus case. The time between initial exposure to the virus and the appearance of symptoms is known as the incubation period. This period is typically four to five days, although it can last up to 14 days, or perhaps even longer in rare cases.
|
|
|
|
|
Mercury News, October 7, 2020
Counties around California reported dramatically fewer deaths Tuesday than seven days ago, lowering the state’s daily average for the past week to its lowest point in months. The Bay Area, however, saw no such progress.
There were another 81 fatalities from Covid-19 reported statewide, including 18 in the Bay Area, according to data compiled by this news organization. That means, for the first time since the week that ended July 6, there were fewer than 500 fatalities from COVID-19 in California over the past week; the 470 total, or about 67 per day, was about 20% fewer than two weeks ago.
SF Chronicle, October 6, 2020
The big state budget bet that California officials made this summer appears to have gone bust after President Trump declared Tuesday he was ending talks with congressional Democrats on another coronavirus stimulus bill before the election.
Billions of dollars in funding cuts that Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers hoped they would be able to reverse this fall will now likely remain in effect, at least for several more months. The California agencies left in the lurch by the breakdown have laid off employees, reduced hours of operation and made other preparations since the cuts were handed down in July. But some, waiting to see whether their funding might be restored, held off on the most sweeping changes. Now, even more workers could lose their jobs or see their pay slashed.
Mercury News, October 6, 2020
The state labor agency has resumed processing unemployment claims, ending a two-week pause that was launched to help cope with a mammoth backlog of jobless applications in California. California workers have filed at least 8.8 million initial claims for unemployment benefits since mid-March, when state and local government agencies imposed wide-ranging business shutdowns to combat the coronavirus. The backlog of California workers awaiting resolution of their applications for unemployment benefits — a group that includes, in some cases, workers who have been waiting weeks or even months for their first payments — is nearly 1.6 million.
LA Daily News, October 6, 2020
Los Angeles County has officially revised its coronavirus health order, authorizing breweries and wineries that don’t have their own food kitchens to reopen for outdoor sit-down service if they partner with a caterer or food truck.
The revised language includes some peculiar requirements such as purchasing alcohol with food in the same transaction, and customers must make a “prior reservation for a table at least one day in advance.” The news was nonetheless welcomed among the roughly 70 breweries in the county that have been closed for months like thousands of bars that don’t serve as well.
Orange County Registrar, October 6, 2020
In Orange County’s census tracts where residents have lower incomes, less health care access and other socioeconomic obstacles, the share of tests coming back positive for the virus is 6.6%, about double the county as a whole. Until testing positivity in the county’s most impacted neighborhoods drops below 5.2%, Orange County will remain in the red tier for “substantial” risk.
|
|
|
|
CNN, October 7, 2020
Half of US states are reporting an uptick in new Covid-19 cases and some state leaders have sprung into action to help curb the spread of the virus.
Wisconsin issued an emergency order Tuesday limiting public gatherings to no more than 25% of a room or building's total occupancy, the governor's office said. "We're in a crisis right now and need to immediately change our behavior to save lives," Gov. Tony Evers said in a statement. Evers' response follows grave milestones for his state: Wisconsin reported its highest daily cases, highest death toll and record-high hospitalizations in the past days.
Meanwhile in Kentucky, which Gov. Andy Beshear says is seeing the third major escalation of Covid-19 cases, authorities were instructed to step up mask enforcement. And in New York, officials have reported several clusters of Covid-19 cases and the governor laid out a new plan this week on how the affected communities will move forward.
Reuters, October 7, 2020
Top U.S. infectious diseases expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, whose advocacy of public health guidelines to fight the coronavirus has conflicted with President Trump’s downplaying of the pandemic, said on Tuesday the recent rash of infections at the White House could have been prevented.
“Take a look at what happened this week at the White House,” Fauci said in an interview with American University’s Kennedy Political Union, when asked what advice he had about how people could discuss preventive actions with relatives who believed the pandemic was a hoax. “It’s an unfortunate situation when you see something like that because that could have been prevented,” Fauci said.
Fauci also noted, “The models tell us if we don't do what we need to in the fall and winter, we could have 300,000-400,000 Covid-19 deaths."
USA Today, October 7, 2020
Former CDC director Dr. William Foege, a renowned epidemiologist who served under Democratic and Republican presidents, detailed in a private letter he sent last month to CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield his alarm over how the agency has fallen in stature while the pandemic raged across America.
Foege called on Redfield to openly address the White House’s meddling in the agency’s efforts to manage the Covid-19 crisis and then accept the political sacrifice that would follow. He recommended that Redfield commit to writing the administration's failures, and his own, so there was a record that could not be dismissed. “You could upfront, acknowledge the tragedy of responding poorly, apologize for what has happened and your role in acquiescing,” Foege wrote to Redfield. “Don’t shy away from the fact this has been an unacceptable toll on our country. It is a slaughter and not just a political dispute.”
Washington Post, October 7, 2020
The nation’s patchwork pandemic response has led to wide disparities in data reporting, and even in definitions for basic medical concepts. In the absence of federal standards, states have adopted divergent and sometimes scientifically questionable approaches to disease control, which experts say have allowed the virus to spread.
|
|
|
|
|
Sacramento Bee, October 6, 2020
School re-openings have not yet contributed to a rise in Covid-19 cases, California’s top health official said in a press conference on Tuesday. Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly said that “we have not seen a connection between increased transmission and school reopening or in-person learning. Ghaly cautioned that his office is constantly asking the question of whether there is a connection, and that it may take a while to spot a trend. “And so far, we have not found one,” he said.
Associated Press, October 7, 2020
A Northern California county will face greater restrictions as it grapples with a surge in coronavirus cases, many of them tied to an evangelical college where more than 120 students and staff have tested positive in the last two weeks. Shasta County health officials say that an outbreak of cases among students and staff at the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry contributed to a recent spike in Covid-19 cases that bumped the county on Tuesday into a new level of regulations on restaurants, bars, theaters and businesses.
“We have been fortunate enough to have a relatively low number of cases throughout the course of the pandemic,” said Kerri Schuette, spokeswoman for Shasta County Health and Human Services. “But we’ve had a very large increase in cases over the past two to three weeks, with 123 being associated with the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry.”
LA Times, October 7, 2020
This fall, as colleges around the country wrestled with how to reopen amid the coronavirus crisis, officials in California required a cautious approach. Classes were put online, isolation rooms were set up on campus, and restrictions were placed on the number of students permitted to live in dormitories or come on campus.
But what deans and provosts couldn’t control were the thousands of students who returned to fill apartments and houses in neighborhoods surrounding their schools, determined to salvage some semblance of a college experience.
Unchecked by campus rules and safeguards, these students became fertile ground for the virus, which has spread rapidly on and around several California campuses despite sparsely populated dormitories and classrooms.
|
|
|
|
NPR, October 7, 2020
The closure of school buildings in response to the coronavirus has been disruptive and inconvenient for many families, but for those living in homeless shelters or hotel rooms — including roughly 1.5 million school-aged children — the shuttering of classrooms and cafeterias has been disastrous.
Remote learning can be difficult for children without an adult at home to supervise everything from logging on to the learning itself. The past six months have put all parents and caregivers in a bind, but many families who are homeless now find themselves in an impossible situation.
Many homeless shelters don't allow parents to leave their children while they go to work. In the past, kids have simply gone to school or parents have found low-cost childcare. But, because of the pandemic, those options have disappeared for many families.
Kaiser Health News, October 6, 2020
Breaking up parties, confiscating booze and answering noise complaints — being a resident adviser has always required a willingness to be the “bad guy” and uphold university policy despite the protests of friends and peers. Now there’s a new element to the job description: Covid cop.
The worst part of his job as a resident adviser and dormitory hall security manager is verifying residents’ ID cards in the evening and dealing with the mask policy, said Marco Maldonado. But the positions help him afford his annual $20,000 tuition at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
LAist, October 6, 2020
College application season is in full swing for the high school class of 2021 and anyone else hoping to start a 4-year college next fall. But instead of SAT cram sessions, road trips to visit campuses and essay-writing workshops at the library, we have ... Zoom. Zoom campus tours, Zoom college prep workshops, Zoom counseling sessions.
To one who, admittedly, is decades past high school, it all sounds pretty awful. And it is, in some ways. But in others, college counselors and admissions officers say this pandemic moment actually has the potential to make access to higher education fairer and more equitable. The pandemic is changing college admissions in several significant ways.
|
|
|
|
Covid-19 survivor turns focus to helping others |
As the coronavirus hit Milwaukee in March, the 62-year-old pastor Greg Lewis began to develop a strong cough. Then he started getting chills and his body ached. His doctor treated him for bronchitis, but he only felt worse. After a couple weeks at home, Lewis was rushed to a hospital intensive care unit having tested positive for Covid-19.
“I couldn’t move,” Lewis said. “I was dying — and I knew it. And now I know what it feels like to die a slow death, ’cause that’s what that Covid does to some of us.”
As Lewis endured the next three days in the ICU, his wife Annette waited to hear if her husband was dead or alive. She finally received a call from Greg on the third day — he was in stable condition and moving to a floor with other coronavirus victims. He spent the next three days on his stomach to increase oxygen to his lungs and was awakened frequently to receive various shots. On the fourth day, he was able to go home and continue his recovery with Annette’s aid.
Now Lewis is healthier but still feeling lingering effects of Covid-19 on his respiratory system. “I know if I’m trying to preach, and I’m starting to get really excited, I have to stop because I’ll cough a lot,” he said.
He said he’ll tell his survival story to anybody who will listen and wants people to know that what happened to him could happen to them or their loved ones.
“That virus is real, and people don’t understand it,” he said. “They keep thinking that they don’t need to wear masks or protect themselves from it. But I can guarantee you — if you went through what I went through, you’d understand how deadly that virus is."
|
|
Lewis knows people in his own congregation who have contracted the coronavirus. Four of his friends died from it while he was in the ICU. Yet through the challenging months, Lewis’s faith hasn’t dwindled. Surviving Covid-19 has re-energized him to continue his work.
“I’m more dedicated than ever to fighting for our people to understand true freedom,” he said. “That is something that has been strengthened in a way that only a person who has faced death can understand.”
Today, Lewis is back to what he does best: lifting up his community through faith, organizing and civic engagement. Through Lewis’ leadership, Pastors United has created programs that help residents in congregations across the city focus on building their credit to overcome financial barriers to homeownership. With Souls to the Polls, he’s organizing a voting bloc of Milwaukeeans who work to fight voter suppression and make the election process more accessible on Nov. 3.
And “it’s not just about voting,” he said. The group will continue fighting after the election to ensure the issues impacting their communities are addressed by officials. “The true work starts Nov. 4.”
|
|
|
|
Mexico News Daily, October 6, 2020
Mexico’s coronavirus case tally and Covid-19 death toll surged on Monday as a result of a change in the methodology used to determine whether a person is infected. The case tally rose to 789,780 with 28,115 new cases reported, while the death toll increased to 81,877 with 2,789 additional fatalities registered.
Director of Epidemiology José Luis Alomía explained that statistics now include suspected coronavirus cases and deaths among people who had direct contact with a confirmed case but were not tested. State authorities have been using the so-called “epidemiological association” method for the past two months, he said, but such cases and deaths had not been included in the official statistics until Monday, causing a record spike in the numbers.
The Guardian, October 7, 2020
Singapore plans to offer a one-off payment to encourage couples to have a baby during the coronavirus pandemic, fearing that the economic impact of the outbreak is worsening the city state’s already low birth rate.
Singapore has struggled for decades to encourage more people to have children, offering cash grants, preschool subsidies, even matchmaking tea dances as incentives.
The deputy prime minister, Heng Swee Keat, said officials had heard that some aspiring parents were putting plans on hold due to Covid-19. Data showing the impact of the pandemic on fertility is still emerging, but suggests a fall in birth rates in many wealthy countries, and an increase in low or middle income nations, where barriers to accessing contraception have been exacerbated by the lockdown measures
CNN, October 7, 2020
The scene at the Great Wall of China this past week would have been unthinkable just months ago. Photos of the tourist attraction in Beijing last weekend show massive crowds crammed along the winding wall, pressed together in close quarters and squeezing past each other through narrow doorways. Most are wearing face masks -- but a number of people, including young children, pulled their masks down to their chin, and a few seem to have foregone masks entirely.
It's Golden Week -- an eight-day national holiday, one of China's busiest annual travel periods, and a major test for the country as it emerges from the coronavirus pandemic.
Associated Press, October 6, 2020
Hospitals and their workers have been stretched to their limits again in Madrid, where the surging number of Covid-19 patients in September forced an expansion of critical care beds into gymnasiums and surgery rooms. But as the number of incoming patients started to ease last week, health professionals are dismayed at what they see as official acceptance of a situation that is far from normal.
At the peak of the first wave, ICU wards were given over to haste, desperation and even cluelessness about what to do. Now, a well-oiled machinery saves some lives and loses others to Covid-19, but without the doomsday atmosphere of March and April. Treatment has improved, although the time that Covid-19 patients spend under intensive care can still stretch for weeks or even months, taking up desperately-needed hospital resources.
Reuters, October 7, 2020
While global trade volumes have inevitably fallen as the world plunged into recession and travel restrictions and social distancing curtailed the movement of people, the economic ties built up by successive waves of globalization are proving more resilient than some thought.
The pandemic has led to a record 235 export restrictions as countries hoarded protective equipment and medical supplies, according to monitoring service Global Trade Alert. The impact of trillions of dollars of subsidies is still unclear. But despite the drum beat of protectionist rhetoric, there have been far fewer new import tariffs than in the past two peak years, and Pascal Lamy, who led the WTO from 2005 to 2013, believes re-shoring will be marginal. “The reason there will be more talk than walk is simple – it’s costly,” said Lamy. “Globalisation is efficient and painful. De-globalisation is inefficient and painful.”
|
|
|
|
Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, October 7, 2020
Yesterday, Donald Trump called for an end to the fourth-round stimulus talks between White House officials, Senate Republicans, and House Democrats. He told Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to focus on confirming Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, and argued, in effect, that no immediate help was needed for families or businesses. “Our Economy is doing very well. The Stock Market is at record levels, JOBS and unemployment also coming back in record numbers,” he tweeted.
Prior to his tweet, 100,000 small businesses and counting have closed. High-wage employment has grown this year, but low-wage employment is down 15%. An estimated 13 million families are behind on their rent, and 23 million are struggling to get enough to eat. At the same time, the housing market is on a “sugar high,” with sales at a 14-year peak and home values at an all-time high.
The pandemic recession has erased trillions of dollars of economic activity and pushed the jobless rate to 8.4%, with one in 10 Americans currently drawing unemployment-insurance payments. But it has not been evenly distributed. Big companies and rich families have largely recovered, whereas mom-and-pops and the moms and pops who run them are living through a second Great Depression.
Ben Christopher, CalMatters, October 5, 2020
The California Senate Office of Research reports the Legislature passed fewer than 428 bills to the governor this fall. Of those, he vetoed 56. That makes 2020 the least quantitatively productive year in the Capitol since at least 1967.
This was supposed to be a big year for new laws. California’s Legislature operates on two-year cycles. Any bills that don’t cross the finish line the first year often get another look in year two — prompting a final crush of legislation.
Not this year. The slim legislative pickings in 2020 mark a 63% decline from the 21st century average of bills passed in a session’s second year.
While 2020 represents a low point for bill-passing, it marks a record high for gubernatorial decrees. Since the beginning of the year, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed 59 executive orders. That’s how many his predecessor, Jerry Brown, issued between 2011 and 2018. With the legislative process so hamstrung, Newsom rushed to fill the vacuum. Fifty-three of the orders this year have been Covid-related.
Erica Pandley, Axios, October 6, 2020
We're starting to see evidence of the coronavirus' erosion of women's workplace gains: 865,000 American women left the labor force in September, compared with 216,000 men. Many of the women dropping out hold senior-level positions at companies, and their exit from the workforce means the already-abysmal representation of women in leadership at U.S. firms will get even worse. One big driver of this troubling trend is the pandemic's child care crisis.
Jeff Vincent, director of public infrastructure initiatives at the Center for Cities + Schools at UC Berkeley, Ed Source, October 5, 2020
Our public school facilities are on the front lines of this pandemic. Physically closing school buildings in March was a necessary and swift tool for “extreme” physical distancing to combat Covid-19. We were instructed to keep space between each other and to sanitize frequently touched surfaces and our hands regularly. Six months into this pandemic, we’ve learned a great deal about the SARS-CoV-2 virus and how it transmits. We now know this virus can spread through the air. With an airborne virus, the absolute riskiest places for groups of people are indoor environments that have very poor fresh air ventilation. This describes thousands of public school classrooms across California.
|
|
|
|
|
Substantial (Red)
- 3.4 Adjusted case rate of new Covid-19 positive cases per day per 100,000 residents
- 2.0% Positivity rate
- 3.9% Health places (equity) index
|
|
|
|
Substantial (Red)
- 5.6 Adjusted case rate of new Covid-19 positive cases per day per 100,000 residents
- 3.3% Positivity rate
- 6.8% Healthy places (equity) index
|
|
|
|
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.
For Alameda and Contra Costa Counties to move down to the next tier (moderate/orange), daily new cases (per 100k) must be between 1-3.9 and positive tests must be between 2-4.9%. If a county’s case rate and positivity rate fall into different tiers, the county remains in the stricter tier.
|
|
Over the last seven days, Alameda County officials have confirmed 487 new cases, which amounts to 30 cases per 100,000 residents.
|
|
Over the last seven days, Contra Costa County officials have confirmed 572 new cases, which amounts to 50 cases per 100,000 residents. |
|
|
Top 8 Locations of Cases in Alameda County, as of 10/6/20. Alameda County does not publish cases per 100,000 in the last 14 days by city.
|
Oakland: 8,596
Hayward: 3,146
Fremont: 1,453
Eden MAC: 1,372
San Leandro: 1,182
Livermore: 927
Union City: 790
Castro Valley: 562
|
|
Top 8 Locations of Cases in Contra Costa County plus (in parentheses) cases per 100,000 in last 14 days, as of 10/7/20
|
Richmond: 3,369 (222)
Antioch: 2,319 (141)
Concord: 2,335 (126)
Pittsburgh: 1,939 (135)
San Pablo: 1,503 (296)
Bay Point: 928 (304)
Brentwood: 652 (93)
Walnut Creek: 612 (38)
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
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.”
|
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.
|
|
|
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. |
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
Your feedback is welcome. Please share the Bulletin. |
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
