Bay Area counties reported a total of 263 confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations over the weekend. That’s a more than forty percent decrease in the number of cases since last month, when the region was at its peak.
County health officials also announced that there had been no reported COVID-19 deaths on May 17th or 18th. This is the longest we’ve gone without a virus-related death since early March.
These are just some of the numbers that Governor Newsom and public health officials are monitoring as they consider reopening non-essential businesses.
Newsom announced on Monday that in order for counties to reopen businesses, they will need to have no more than a five percent increase in hospitalizations over the last seven days. But, he also said that each county can move at its own pace.
And we are empowering our local health directors and county officials that understand their local communities and conditions better than any of us.” - Gov. Gavin Newsom
Now all nine Bay Area counties have loosened some shelter in place restrictions, allowing for curbside retail pickup. Nevertheless, the region may still move slower to reopen than some other parts of the state. The Bay Area is still one of the hardest hit spots in California. New cases continue to pop up as San Francisco and Oakland prepare to open new testing sites this week.
