Coronavirus

As the COVID-19 vaccine rollouts continue across the state and the country, there have been multiple polls, surveys, and articles that say among all racial and ethnic groups, Black Americans are the most hesitant to get it.

The arrival of vaccines at the end of 2020 brought hope that there would be a light at the end of this long COVID-19 tunnel. Still, this week, cases around the country and the state continue to surge, and the vaccine rollout has been much slower than expected.

Because of COVID-19, Alameda County has asked the federal government to delay their homeless population count this year.

In his first press conference this year, Governor Gavin Newsom warned of a post-holiday COVID-19 surge and set out plans to step up vaccinations.

While the majority of counties in the Bay Area have already implemented the state’s Regional Stay At Home Order, San Mateo, Solano, Napa and Santa Cruz Counties must start complying with the tougher restrictions beginning Friday morning at midnight.

The first COVID-19 vaccines were administered this week in the Bay Area. But getting the vaccines out to the people that need them is no small task.

Nearly a quarter of a million incarcerated people in the United States have been infected with COVID-19, according to the Marshall Project. And for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, California state prisons have COVID-19 outbreaks in all 34 of its facilities.

State support to help millions of Californians avoid eviction during the pandemic is due to end next month. But San Francisco Assemblymember David Chiu is working to extend it.

For the first time since 2012, Oakland has reached over 100 cases. Oakland native Glen Upshaw is a violence interrupter. He and his team peacefully resolve conflicts in the community. Upshaw shares why he thinks there has been a rise in killings in 2020.

What will the first 100 days of a Biden Administration look like? City Visions host Ethan Elkind speaks with Congresswoman Barbara Lee to get her perspective on Biden's policies and what they might mean for the Bay Area.

News about the pandemic has been hard to miss. Coronavirus hospitalizations are soaring across California, leading to stricter COVID-19 restrictions in much of the state. Health officials are preparing for another surge of cases in the next few weeks, and they predict hospital ICU beds could reach peak capacity soon.

Golden Gate Fields is extending the closure of its horse racing track after a significant outbreak of COVID-19 continues to spread. Operators now face the task of trying to make sure the outbreak doesn’t jump beyond its perimeter. 

On this edition of Your Call, we’re rebroadcasting our conversation about Totally Under Control, a documentary that exposes the Trump administration’s failed response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Filmmaker Alex Gibney says it was a system-wide collapse caused by a profound dereliction of leadership.

COVID-19 testing sites around the Bay Area are seeing an increase in testing. At a press conference on Monday, San Francisco’s Public Health Director Dr. Grant Colfax reminded people that a negative test result does not mean that it’s safe to gather with others over the holidays.

At the beginning of the Coronavirus shutdown, the city of San Francisco rented hotel rooms for over 2,300 homeless people. For many, it was the first time in years they had a bed and bathroom to themselves. Now, the city is gradually closing these shelter-in-place hotels.

As winter weather moved into San Francisco, Mayor London Breed had some chilly news for restaurant owners and their patrons. “Sadly, beginning the end of the day Friday, we will need to eliminate indoor dining” Breed said.

California's counties are expected to face more restrictions this week in the wake of a surge in COVID-19 cases.

Tonight State Senator Scott Wiener will share his harrowing experience being targeted by the far-right conspiracy-theory group QAnon. Senator Wiener received over a thousand death threats from QAnon followers after sponsoring SB 145, a state law that corrects an inequality in sex offender registration requirements. We will also get a COVID update from Erin Allday, San Francisco Chronicle health reporter. And are you missing live music in the Bay Area? We’ll hear from Pitch Perfect’s music director and San Francisco native, Deke Sharon.

On this edition of Your Call’s media roundtable, we're discussing Joe Biden's lead in key states like Nevada and Pennsylvania. He is on the verge of winning, according to the latest numbers.

On November 3, San Francisco began to phase out a program that provided its most vulnerable unhoused population with hotel rooms during the pandemic.  

  On this edition of Your Call’s Media Roundtable, we're discussing the Republican Party’s plot for permanent minority rule. Over the past few decades, they've successfully gerrymandered districts across the country, giving Republicans victories even though Democrats receive more votes. They've also passed voter suppression laws, including voter ID requirements, mass purges of voting rolls, and polling place closures. 

More than anything else the pandemic has forced us to reckon with what really lies at the heart and soul of Durga Puja. And it’s not necessarily big budgets grand feasts and corporate sponsorships.

  On this edition of Your Call’s Media Roundtable, we're discussing the new Frontline documentary Whose Vote Counts, which investigates Republican efforts to suppress the vote, from the past to the present. At least 47 million people have already voted. Whose vote counts? And whose doesn't?

The Humanist Hall in Oakland has been hosting indoor, in-person events since July, despite COVID-related restrictions. These include weddings, birthday parties, and wakes. Many have exceeded 100 people. 

Governor Newsom announced this week  that California will not distribute a federally approved COVID-19 vaccine without putting it under the state’s scrutiny first. He created a scientific review committee to help with the process.

Dr. Arthur Reingold is the head of the Epidemiology Division at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. And he’s the chair of this new vaccine committee. 

Yesterday, one Bay Area county moved forward with reopening while just across the water, another remained stuck in shelter-in-place.

A new study from UCSF shows that new rapid COVID tests could be key for lowering infection rates.

Durga Puja, the festival of the ten armed Goddess Durga, has always been a time of excess in Kolkata. But this is the story of the “Little Durga.”

For more information visit Meghdutam Foundation (https://www.meghdutamfoundation.org/)  

  On this edition of Your Call’s Media Roundtable, we're discussing the impacts of repealing the Affordable Care Act on tens of millions of Americans, especially low-income populations.

Back in March, city leaders closed San Francisco’s playgrounds. Stopping the spread of COVID-19 became the number one priority. It has been a long 7 months. But on Wednesday, Mayor London Breed announced San Francisco’s outdoor public playgrounds could reopen.