While most people are huddled indoors because of the novel coronavirus, activist Shaunn Cartwright instead found herself on Friday headed to a San Jose homeless encampment. She’s done it countless times before. But now she’s there to ask a potentially life-saving question. “Has anybody come by to talk to you about the virus?” Cartwright asked....
COVID-19 Updates
Covid-19
What should you do in San Jose if you think you might have coronavirus?
With Silicon Valley becoming the epicenter of an explosion of coronavirus cases, it’s only natural to second guess every throat tickle. So what should you do if you think you have coronavirus? And how can you find out if you have it? We turned to the Santa Clara County Public Health Department and credible expert...
Newsom halts some evictions, but financial need in Santa Clara County soars
Renters across California won’t be evicted for not paying rent if they can show the fast-spreading coronavirus has upended their finances, California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared Friday. The announcement came in the form of an executive order that puts a halt to such evictions through May 31. But renters will still owe their rent when...
Look inside: Santa Clara Convention Center set up for 250 COVID-19 patients
Rows of cots, hand washing stations and other medical supplies have been retrofitted inside the Santa Clara Convention Center as it transitions into a temporary federal medical station to treat less-severe COVID-19 patients. The coronavirus has been ripping through the South Bay, with Santa Clara County counting 542 confirmed cases and 19 deaths as of...
Why is it so hard to get tested for coronavirus in Santa Clara County?
Rosa and Marcial Cardenas are both over the age of 65, on Medicare and have underlying health issues that increase their risk of getting sick from the highly-contagious coronavirus that’s torn through Silicon Valley, killing 16 people, infecting 459 others and shuttering the local economy. So when Rosa, a longtime diabetic, developed flu-like symptoms two weeks...
San Jose parks, light rail routes close as agencies respond to fast-spreading coronavirus
Two of San Jose’s city parks will be temporarily closed starting Friday as local officials try to thin the record crowds parks saw last weekend following a statewide “stay at home” order. Alum Rock Park on the city’s east side and the staircase and trail on Communications Hill will close, according to a news release...
More deputies fall sick as COVID-19 cases, deaths rise in the South Bay
A sixth Santa Clara County deputy has fallen sick with the novel coronavirus, known as COVID-19, marking the fifth case on a single team within the county’s “Custody Bureau.” The county’s Custody Bureau includes several divisions at the Main Jail and the Elmwood Correctional Complex. The sheriff’s office hasn’t said where the deputies were based....
County disputes San Jose projections of 2,000 coronavirus deaths
Santa Clara County officials on Thursday disputed projections in a San Jose staff presentation earlier in the week that estimated the county could see up to 2,000 novel coronavirus-related deaths within 12 weeks. The projected numbers, deemed the “best-case scenario,” dwarf the county’s 19 deaths and 542 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by...
Santa Clara County needs medical masks to fight COVID-19. This group is hand-making them.
Donations have poured in for masks and other protective gear for Santa Clara County doctors and nurses fighting the coronavirus in one of the country’s most highly-infected areas – but it’s still not enough. The dire shortage continues. So one group got creative and started making those much-needed masks. “(Mask shortages) are a problem I...
Coronavirus: Unemployment claims skyrocket in California, local schools remain closed
Unemployment claims have skyrocketed in California as state leaders anxiously watch for what has become a contentious coronavirus stimulus bill to pass through Congress. More than 1 million unemployment claims have been filed since March 13, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday. By comparison, before the respiratory disease caused state leaders to issue a wide-reaching “stay...