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The number of COVID-19 cases, and it varies county by county. As of the time of publishing, there are 14 confirmed cases in San Francisco. Santa Clara County has 45 cases, Alameda County is confirming three cases, but the numbers are constantly changing.
Breed Bans Large Gatherings In San Francisco
The big news out of the Bay Area today is San Francisco's new ban on large gatherings in the city. Mayor London Breed Announced today that the city is prohbiting events with more than a thousand peoples, including furture Golden State Warriors' games.
Santa Clara County implemented a similar ban a few days before.
At the same press conference, Breed was joined by the San Francisco Unified School District superintendant. Together, they announced that the SFUSD will keep schools open.
Most Schools Remain Open, So Far
They say schools are an essential service, and there are many community benefits besides just class and learning time. Some kids get free school lunch at campus, and many parents can’t get the day off to stay home with their kids. Plus, San Francisco's head of public health say children haven’t been shown to be a high-risk group for serious illness.
However, SFUSD is cancelling all assemblies, field trips, sports games and concerts. And if a parent decides to keep their kid home, those absences will be excused. In the long term, they also announced they’ll be exploring ways to implement online distance learning if say, school does need to be shut down. Their concern is that not all children have access to the internet or a computer.
Oakland Unified is also keeping schools open, but The Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco has shut down90 schools in San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin counties.
Nurses Protest And Hospitals Triage Patients
UCSF and Stanford have a big tents for intake. Stanford Hospital has developed its own test for COVID-19 and is using that in house to test patients that come in exhibiting systems. Their can quickly identify patients with the disease in as little as 12 hours, while the CDC tests can take up to a few days to get final results. It’s not being offered to everyone that comes into Stanford.
However, some nurses are concerned. They deamed March 11 a "day of action." They say they’re worried about how their employers are handling the outbreak. They are demanding better screening and isolation policies and claim "facilities have failed to provide adequate personal protective equipment to nurses working with COVID-19 patients.” They say some facilities are telling nurses to continue to work while asymptomatic, even though they’ve been exposed to the virus and might be contagious.
