Latest updates:
NEW COVID-19 CASES, DEATHS: Santa Clara County reported 2,492 cases and 138 deaths on Wednesday, up from 2,461 cases and 137 deaths on Tuesday. Seventy-nine people are hospitalized. San Mateo County on Wednesday reported 1,738 cases of COVID-19 and 75 deaths, up from 1,690 cases on Tuesday. There were no additional deaths reported between the two days. Seventy-one people are hospitalized as of Tuesday, an increase by 11 from Monday.
SANTA CLARA COUNTY OPENS NEW TEST SITES: Free COVID-19 tests are now available to all Santa Clara County residents, even if they don't have symptoms or health insurance, at two new locations in San Jose, county and city officials said Wednesday. Read more here.
PALO ALTO TO OPEN PARKING LOTS AT PRESERVES: The city of Palo Alto, which closed parking lots at open space preserves in late March due to crowding, plans to open them later this month. Vehicles will be able to park at Arastradero Preserve as of May 23. Parking at the Baylands and Foothills Park is currently allowed only during the weekdays and will be permitted on weekends starting on May 30.
Below is comprehensive coverage of the Midpeninsula's response to the new coronavirus by Palo Alto Online, the Mountain View Voice and Almanac in chronological order. For coverage by subject — how the virus is affecting public health, residents, schools, cities, businesses, nonprofits, arts groups, etc. — please go to our Wakelet page.
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Latest COVID-19 statistics
Santa Clara County's total of coronavirus cases is inching closer to the 2,500 mark. Out of its 2,492 cases reported on Wednesday, 79 people are hospitalized. One more person has died of the disease, raising its total number of deaths to 138.
Hispanic residents account for the most COVID-19 cases in the county, according to the data, which breaks down cases by race/ethnicity. This group, which represents 26% of the county's population, makes up about 970 (or 39%) of the county's 2,492 cases.
Forty-eight new cases were reported Wednesday in San Mateo County, where the total rose from 1,690 to 1,738. The jump is the highest recorded in the county since April 3, when 78 new cases were recorded, according to county data. Of the total 1,738 cases, 71 are hospitalized, an increase by 11 from Tuesday. The county's number of deaths remains at 75.
Santa Clara County opens new COVID-19 test sites
COVID-19 tests are now available to all Santa Clara County residents at two new locations in San Jose, county and city officials said Wednesday.
Verily Life Sciences, the life science research arm of Alphabet Inc., will offer free testing to all county residents, even if they don't have symptoms or health insurance, at Police Athletic League Stadium at 680 S. 34th St. and the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds at 344 Tully Road.
Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez implored residents to get tested as soon as they can as the county seeks to reach an average of 4,000 tests per day. Chavez also said that local officials can and will help residents who struggle to sign up for testing due to obstacles like language barriers.
Patients can self-administer the test in their vehicle by using a smaller swab similar to a Q-tip to swipe the inside of each nostril for 10 seconds. The entire testing process can be completed in as little as three minutes, according to Verily.
Read more here.
Read our previous updates dating back to late February here.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
Find comprehensive coverage on the Midpeninsula's response to the new coronavirus by Palo Alto Online, the Mountain View Voice and the Almanac here.
Comments
another community
on Mar 15, 2020 at 9:05 am
on Mar 15, 2020 at 9:05 am
Shut everything now! Except food and hospitals.
Already, there is an explosion of cases coming.
Today's confirmed case was infected 10 days ago or longer, accounting for time to develop severe symptoms and testing delays. Coronavirus has been busy these last 10 days, infecting 30-40% more each day, perhaps higher as we crowd into markets. We already have the past 10 days of infected people becoming sick who we know will need care. Coronavirus spread is exponential - very bad. Hospital demand is cumulative over infection - even worse. The lag between infection and severe symptoms further hides the severity of the epidemic.
Data from Wuhan gives a stark warning. They entered lockdown with 400 new cases, 600 total. Hospital demand over the next weeks grew 100x, exceeding 50,000, with many turned away. We will be lucky to math that.
It is bad, bad, bad.
Please stay home. Tell a friend. Socialize electronically.
* I'm an engineer, not a health official.
Shoreline West
on Mar 15, 2020 at 9:36 am
on Mar 15, 2020 at 9:36 am
This "article" is like reading Twitter: A stream of consciousness bunch of random junk.
Curated information please.
another community
on Mar 15, 2020 at 9:53 am
on Mar 15, 2020 at 9:53 am
Oops, Error.
The 50,000 I cited represents diagnosed cases. 20% needed hospital care.
So the hospital demand multiplier is "only" 20x.
another community
on Mar 15, 2020 at 10:33 am
on Mar 15, 2020 at 10:33 am
@realDonaldTrump - Curated information please.
Okay:
- Trump fired the admiral who was in charge of our national pandemic team three years ago. He never replaced that position on the NSC.
- Trump and Pence refused the offer of millions of test kits from the WHO in January.
The next two weeks are huge. The mistakes above (along with the incredibly slow and inept response by Trump and Pence) will be the primary culprits if, in a couple weeks, this takes off like Italy, or is controlled similar to South Korea.
Example: look at the customs section of our major international airports last night (DFW, O'Hare, etc..)
Let's look at the numbers in two weeks. Until then, think Italian: keep distant so we may embrace later.
The Crossings
on Mar 17, 2020 at 3:25 pm
on Mar 17, 2020 at 3:25 pm
Stop pointing the finger at President Trump. That "slow response" MONTHS faster than the response to H1N1. Try putting the partisanship away and act like you care about people more than politics for the time being.
We have no idea yet about much of what is going on. Trusting numbers out of Wuhan MAY be indicative of what we see here, but there is no way to know that.
Until we DO know more, limit contact with others as much as possible, stay calm, wash your hands and leave supplies for others when you shop. We all need to want our neighbors to be able to protect themselves as well. The more people we that can avoid getting and spreading this, the sooner we can put a stop to it.
Sylvan Park
on Mar 17, 2020 at 7:59 pm
on Mar 17, 2020 at 7:59 pm
I will resist calling Donald Trump names for the moment. Maybe Joe Biden should have been doing more when he was in office as a Senator and as Vice-President for 8 years. There will be time to evaluate his record too. Viruses do not negotiate. They can be manufactured - which is pretty damn foolish - but they also change on their own. Viruses probably have always threatened living beings on Earth. For now, take all precautions and take a look at "Contagion," a 2011 fictional movie about a viral pandemic. You will find almost everything now being discussed about the current real-life pandemic. Just a movie? Sure. A movie based on known facts. Facts known in and before 2011. And in 2014, along came Ebola - a bullet dodged in the United States. I just saw a poll reported on CNN. Only half of registered independents believe Covid-19 is a serious threat - only 40% of registered Republicans nationwide. The Presidential election will not be decided by the vote in a deep blue state such as California. But Congressional seats are important and Californians can influence voting in swing states. So let's mitigate the impending disaster and live to oust the politicians and bureaucrats that have failed our country.
Another Mountain View Neighborhood
on Mar 30, 2020 at 2:51 pm
on Mar 30, 2020 at 2:51 pm
Re: "Shut everything now! Except food and hospitals."
Don't forget the critical industries that food and hospitals depend on, like:
- utilities
- transportation
- roads
- infrastructure
- communication
- internet
- sanitation
- sanitation supplies
- plumbing
- plumbing supplies
- electrical
- electrical supplies
- freeway rest areas (truckers=transportation)
- manufacturing
- financial services
- first responders
- pharmacists
- blood centers (and their donors)
- etc.
- etc.
- etc.
Old Mountain View
on Apr 8, 2020 at 3:36 pm
on Apr 8, 2020 at 3:36 pm
Your section header reads "County asks residents to hand over protective equipment". Where is the support for this claim?
Rex Manor
on Apr 27, 2020 at 2:45 pm
on Apr 27, 2020 at 2:45 pm
Is not Berkeley a part of Alameda county? Why don't you know that.
Monta Loma
on Apr 27, 2020 at 4:14 pm
on Apr 27, 2020 at 4:14 pm
> Why don't you know that.
Berkeley has it's own health department and acts independently.
"... the Berkeley Public Health Division is an anomaly. Berkeley is one of just three cities in California ... that runs its own public health agency separate from the county. The Alameda County Health Department oversees the rest of the cities in the county."
So, gotta ask: Why don't you know that. (sic)
;-)
Rengstorff Park
on Apr 27, 2020 at 8:39 pm
on Apr 27, 2020 at 8:39 pm
Thanks for letting me know. I did not know that. Now I know. ;)