Coronavirus updates: More Bay Area counties expected to follow Solano County and extend shutdown

LATEST April 27, 11:45 a.m. In a joint statement released Monday morning, six Bay Area counties said their current shelter-in-place orders will be extended and revised mandates will be issued shortly.

The counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara, as well as the City of Berkeley, all have orders set to expire on May 3. The counties said the extension will last through May. Last week Solano County pushed its order to May 17.

“The Health Officers of these seven jurisdictions have been working closely together in leading a unified, regional approach, to protect the health and safety of our residents,” the statement said. “Details regarding this next phase will be shared later in the week, along with the updated order.”

Health officers from each jurisdiction will also release a set of broad indicators that will be used to track progress in preparedness and response to COVID-19, in alignment with the framework being used by the State of California. California Gov. Gavin Newsom previously shared in press conferences six indicators the state is monitoring to guide its decision to modify the stay-at-home order.

Those include increased testing and contact tracing; systems for protecting the most vulnerable populations such as seniors; ensuring hospitals are equipped to handle a patient surge; engaging research partners to develop therapeutics; and issuing new social distancing guidelines for businesses, schools and childcare facilities.

Read more about the six indicators in this SFGATE story by digital editor Amy Graff.

April 27, 11:20 a.m. Alameda County opened a new drive-thru coronavirus testing site Monday at the Alameda County Fairgrounds for residents in Livermore, Pleasanton and Dublin.

In order to be tested individuals must meet the following criteria:

— Fever above 100 degrees

— Shortness of breath or other respiratory symptoms

— Recent exposure to confirmed or suspected coronavirus

— Other chronic diseases or conditions, such as blood disorders, kidney or liver disease, diabetes, heart, lung or neurological disease, and compromised immune system

— Over the age of 65

— Homeless

— Pregnant or recently pregnant

Test results may take up to 72 hours but may be available sooner.

For more information on the new testing site, click here, and for a complete list of testing sites in Alameda County, visit acdph.org.

April 27, 11 a.m. Bay Area counties announced new coronavirus cases on Monday; as other counties report their latest numbers, the list below will be updated throughout the day.

— San Francisco County announced one additional death and 16 new cases to increase its death toll to 23 and total case count to 1,424.

— San Mateo County reported 61 new cases, bringing its total to 1,080. The death toll remains 41.

April 27, 10 a.m. UCSF launched an effort over the weekend to offer free, voluntary COVID-19 testing to every resident in a densely populated section of the Mission District, a neighborhood with among the highest number of coronavirus cases in San Francisco.

UCSF had tested 1,734 individuals in the neighborhood as of Monday morning and that number is growing.

The study is meant to reveal the invisible spread of the virus and help inform future testing efforts in other communities.

“All our public health decisions, including when it will be possible to relax regional and statewide shelter-in-place orders, are driven by rough assumptions about how this virus behaves based on very limited data,” said Dr. Bryan Greenhouse, an associate professor of medicine at UCSF, in a statement.

Read the full story by SFGATE digital editor Amy Graff.

April 27, 7:40 a.m. Last week, San Francisco Mayor London Breed said the city’s shelter-in-place order would “very likely” be extended. The mandate is set to expire on May 3 and will likely be extended this week.

Solano County was the first Bay Area county to extend its order to May 17 and other Bay Area counties are expected to follow.

April 27, 7:35 a.m. Eight new coronavirus deaths were reported in the Bay Area on Saturday and Sunday.

Four deaths were reported in Alameda County, two in Contra Costa County and two in Santa Clara County. The state of California reached 1,723 deaths in all as of Monday morning, according to data from John Hopkins University.

New coronavirus cases were reported in counties throughout the greater Bay Area. San Mateo was the fourth Bay Area county to cross the 1,000 case threshold.

— Alameda County saw the largest increase in additional cases with 103 reported, bringing its total to 1,468.

— San Francisco County reported 68 cases to increase its total to 1,408.

— Santa Clara County reported 66 cases to increase its total to 2,084.

— San Mateo County reported 30 cases to increase its total to 1,019.

— Contra Costa County reported 31 cases to increase its total to 817.

— Marin County reported 11 cases to increase its total to 223.

— Monterey County reported 14 cases to increase its total to 183.

— Santa Cruz County reported five cases to increase its total to 120.

— Sonoma County reported one additional case to increase its total to 218.

Cumulative cases in the greater Bay Area (due to limited testing these numbers reflect only a small portion of likely cases):

ALAMEDA COUNTY: 1,468 confirmed cases, 52 deaths

For more information on Alameda County cases, visit the public health department website.

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY: 817 confirmed cases, 25 deaths

For more information on Contra Costa County cases, visit the public health department website.

LAKE COUNTY: 6 confirmed cases

For information on Lake County and coronavirus, visit the public health department website.

MARIN COUNTY: 223 confirmed cases, 12 deaths

Fore more information on Marin County cases, visit the public health department website.

MONTEREY COUNTY: 183 confirmed cases, 4 deaths

For more information on Monterey County cases, visit the public health department website.

NAPA COUNTY: 60 cases, 2 deaths

For more information on Napa County cases, visit the public health department website.

SAN BENITO COUNTY: 47 confirmed cases, 2 deaths

For more information on San Benito County cases, visit the public health department website.

SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY: 1,424 confirmed cases, 23 deaths

For more information on San Francisco County cases, visit the public health department website.

SAN MATEO COUNTY: 1,080 confirmed cases, 41 deaths

For more information on San Mateo County cases, visit the public health department website.

SANTA CLARA COUNTY: 2,084 confirmed cases, 100 deaths

Fore more information on Santa Clara County cases, visit the public health department website.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY: 120 confirmed cases, 2 deaths

For more information on Santa Cruz County cases, visit the public health department website. 

SOLANO COUNTY: 199 confirmed cases, 4 deaths

For more information on Solano County cases, visit the public health department website.

SONOMA COUNTY: 218 confirmed cases, 2 deaths

For more information on Sonoma County cases, visit the public health department website.

In California, 1,723 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported, according to Johns Hopkins University. For comparison, New York has 22,269, New Jersey 5,938 and Illinois 1,933.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

• Should you wear a face covering while running?
• Should babies and children wear masks or face coverings?
• What should you do if a member of your household gets COVID-19?
• How can I help Bay Area restaurants and nonprofits feeding hospital workers?
• Can you leave your county if a shelter-in-place order is in effect in the Bay Area?
• How long will social distancing be necessary in the U.S.?
• How can a mild case of the novel coronavirus can quickly turn deadly?
• How easily does coronavirus spread?
• Can you ride your bike in counties with shelter-in-place orders?
• What does ‘flatten the curve’ mean and how does it relate to the coronavirus pandemic?
• What are the most common symptoms in coronavirus patients?
• Does smoking/vaping put you at a higher risk of coronavirus?
• How does coronavirus compare to epidemics of the past?
• What are the worst myths and misinformation about coronavirus?
• Are children at a lower risk for coronavirus complications?
• Are the elderly at a greater risk for coronavirus complications?
• Why is Taiwan’s COVID-19 death rate shockingly low?
• How much money will I receive under the $2 trillion aid package?
• Why won’t clerks bag my reusable tote at Safeway and other stores any more?
• What are the vexing questions about COVID-19 scientists still can’t answer?
• How can I deal with anxiety during coronavirus?

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