LAST July 20, 5:45 pm In a letter to the community Monday night, Dr. Scott Morrow, San Mateo County health officer, called for “less reliance on business sector closings” and more individual caution when using masks, social distancing and not mixing with people who are not from home.
“Most of the people we are seeing infected now are front-line workers (people who allow us to eat the rest of us, who have electricity and who pick up our garbage, etc.), live in crowded multigenerational conditions, live with lack of confidence in, and indeed have an absolute fear of the government, “he writes. “Remember to stop the spread of this highly transmissible virus, infected people should separate themselves from others (isolation and quarantine), not go out in public and not go to work while infectious. Try to comply with isolation and quarantine when the infected person is the breadwinner and family will be on the street if they don’t go to work.
“And when they go to work, they may interact in that job with you. There is not enough compliance capacity in the world to prevent this from happening. The implication of this is that current business-focused restrictions will do little to stop the spread of the virus when the spread is exacerbated by these conditions. “
Morrow said he believes there are structural problems with the United States economy that are “illogical, even immoral” that require systemic change.
“We need to see much more work in this area, and we must rely less on closings and restrictions in the business sector, beyond getting companies to take basic transmission control measures,” he wrote. “Not solving some of these problems will prolong our collective pain.”
He concluded by stating that most of the county’s new cases come from social gatherings and asked that no gatherings be held outside of immediate homes.
Keep in mind that your seemingly innocuous meetings are driving the spread and are one of the main reasons why you can’t go to a restaurant, why you can’t go to the gym, why you can’t cut your hair, why kids they can’t go to school, “he wrote. “Until, or unless more people understand this fact, we will continue to be stuck in the situation we find ourselves in. Getting out of this situation is up to all of us. Our best collective course of action: No meetings outside of immediate homes, use Extensive facial coverage and social distancing. “
July 20, 3:30 pm Troy Ashmus, a 58-year-old inmate at San Quentin State Prison convicted of raping and murdering a seven-year-old boy in 1984, died in an outside hospital following the prison coronavirus outbreak.
State officials stated that the death appears to be attributable to the virus and is pending an investigation. The death toll in prison is now 13.
July 20, 2:00 pm During a press conference Monday, California Governor Gavin Newsom said the state is seeing “some stabilization” after weeks of increases in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and positive tests.
Newsom shared that the 14-day state average for the percentage of positive tests is “on hold”, and the seven-day average has actually dropped week after week.
“Our positivity rate over a 14-day period remains at 7.4%,” he said. “This time last week it was 7.4%. Our seven-day positivity average was 7.7% last week, this week it is 7.2% … we are seeing some stabilization, but no one is pleased to be north of 7%, and we approached 8% last week. “
The governor repeated that the curvature of the curve is conditional on individual behavior, and affirmed that the reopening of companies and schools will depend on the choices that residents make in their daily lives.
“These numbers can change very, very quickly again depending on our personal behavior,” Newsom said. “Some total will determine the direction of the lines on this chart and ultimately the direction of our ability to reopen this economy and reopen our schools, as we all desperately crave.”
Additionally, Newsom stated that while hospitalizations continue to rise, the percentage increase each week is decreasing.
“Two weeks ago we presented on Monday our hospitalization figures that said we were increasing over a two-week period by 50%,” he said. “Last week, on Monday, we increased over a two-week period by 28%. This week, over a two-week period, we will increase by 16%. So 50, to 28, to 16. That’s an encouraging sign.” .
July 20, 1:40 pm California Governor Gavin Newsom said at a press conference Monday that new guidelines are now available for beauty and hair salons, hair salons, and other personal services that want to operate outdoors.
Newsom said the above guidelines were unclear and did not address local ordinances, such as the rules on the use of outdoor chemicals. Read more here.
July 20, noon Napa County is now fining people who go outside in public without a $ 250 to $ 500 face mask.
The new Urgency Compliance Ordinance also stipulates that companies that do not meet the mask requirement can be fined up to $ 5,000.
The ordinance will be enforced by employees who work in the county’s code enforcement office, not by the police or sheriff’s officials.
Read the entire ordinance here.
July 20, 11:15 am Los Angeles County reports that at least 15 children have been diagnosed with a rare and life-threatening inflammatory syndrome associated with the coronavirus, according to the Los Angeles Times.
July 20, 9:50 am: The CIF announced Monday that sports are being postponed in high school.
High school soccer won’t start until spring, with its championship held in April 2021, and winter / spring sports like basketball won’t playoffs until June 2021. Read more here.
July 20, 7:15 am San Francisco was added to the state’s watch list on Friday due to increased coronavirus transmission and hospitalization rates, and as a result closed shopping malls are closing in the city on Monday.
The new designation means the city must close shopping malls and nonessential offices on Monday, July 20. Both Stonestown and Westfield, which opened last month, have closed their doors. Stores with street entrances outside the mall may remain open.
Many counties on the list have been forced to delay reopening plans or reverse openings in sectors such as gyms and hair salons, but San Francisco has had a slower schedule, delaying many reopens and is less affected.
As of Monday morning, 33 of the state’s 58 counties were on the watch list, representing the vast majority of the state’s population. In the Bay Area, eight counties are listed Alameda, Contra Costa, Marín, Napa, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma. San Mateo remains the only county in the Bay Area that is not on the list.
Being on the list imposes restrictions on the ability to reopen various segments of the economy and those who are on the list for more than three consecutive days must close or not reopen gyms and gyms; places of worship and cultural ceremonies, such as weddings and funerals; offices for non-critical infrastructure sectors; personal care services such as nail salons, body waxing and tattoo parlors; and shopping centers.
California had 384,692 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Sunday, resulting in 7,685 deaths. The positive result rate in the last 14 days is 7.4 percent.
A view of the Cliff House restaurant on October 10, 2013.
Justin Sullivan / Getty ImagesJuly 20, 7 am The Cliff House, which has been serving meals overlooking the Pacific Ocean and Ocean Beach for 157 years, announced Sunday afternoon that the restaurant will temporarily close, suspending take-out service from Monday.
“Due to economic pressure during this unprecedented situation, we have concluded that it would be better to preserve our remaining resources to ensure the continuity of future operations,” the venerable restaurant announced on Sunday on its Facebook page. “It was not an easy decision to make, especially considering all the support we have received from all of you.”
The ad said the takeout service would also end, at least temporarily, at the nearby Lookout Cafe.
Sunday’s Facebook announcement noted that Cliff House’s spacious dining room would allow for sufficient social distancing between diners, putting the restaurant in a “unique position” to survive in a COVID-19 world. However, eating at home is not allowed as part of the state health order in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bay City News contributed to this story.
Coronavirus in the metropolitan bay area: links you need
COUNTY DEPARTMENTS OF HEALTH
Alameda County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order.
Contra Costa County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order.
Lake County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order.
Marin County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order.
Monterey County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order.
Napa County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order.
San Benito County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order.
San Francisco County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order.
San Mateo County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order.
Santa Clara County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order.
Santa Cruz County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order.
Solano County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order.
Sonoma County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Here are answers to your most frequently asked questions about coronavirus
Coronavirus cases in California are emerging: When will the spike end?
SF Health Director: Avoid ‘hard to resist’ meetings
WHEN WILL THE BAY AREA OPEN?
Gavin Newsom and state officials vs. Bay Area counties: 7 days of confusion
Governor Newsom orders California schools on watch list to remain closed
San Francisco publishes guidelines for schools
