The question of who qualifies as an “essential worker” during the coronavirus crisis is no longer limited to health care workers and first responders — it now includes grocery store clerks, restaurant employees and truck drivers. Local legislators are now pushing to add farmworkers to that list, as they’re filling produce trucks and grocery store...
In Santa Clara County, school is out for the rest of the year — sort of
Parents grappling with distance learning and homeschooling across Silicon Valley have waited weeks to hear whether local classrooms will reopen before summer. On Wednesday they got an answer: no. Superintendents across Santa Clara County sent out an email to parents around the region to formally announce that school districts would not reconvene physically this school...
San Jose lawmakers unanimously approve paid sick leave policy
Low-wage workers in San Jose employed during the coronavirus pandemic will soon receive paid sick leave if they start to feel ill on the job. Following a unanimous vote Wednesday, the San Jose City Council decided to move forward with the emergency ordinance, one week after Mayor Sam Liccardo introduced policy. “We believe that compliance is...
South Bay cannabis shops can no longer sell recreational weed on-site under new order
Santa Clara County’s cannabis dispensaries will no longer be allowed to sell recreational marijuana at their shops under a new stay at home order issued by top health officials this week. It’s a reversal from a decision a few weeks ago that allowed the shops to stay open for both recreational and medicinal customers —...
Funk: Distance learning amid COVID-19 crisis explained
As we all adjust to the new normal, while fighting the spread of COVID-19, the impacts on educators, students and families has increased the fear and anxiety among all of us. Although schools across the Bay Area have been closed, we are thankful for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Executive Order N-26-20 to continue funding schools at...
South Bay taxi and rideshare drivers grapple with coronavirus shutdown
It’s a good day when Shakur Buni manages to get three fares a day as a taxi driver. Since Santa Clara County has ordered residents to stay at home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, rides have dwindled for taxi drivers in San Jose. The number of taxi trips at the Mineta San Jose...
Silicon Valley officials remain cautious as big changes to ‘shelter in place’ order take effect
Life in the Bay Area won’t to return to normal anytime soon, county officials announced Tuesday as they extended the region’s existing stay at home order by nearly a month, and added a slew of strict new restrictions. Dr. Sara Cody, Santa Clara County’s top health official, on Tuesday told residents that they’d be under...
San Jose: How to talk to your kids about the coronavirus
In a TikTok video, toddlers wearing pajamas sing, “We’re in quarantine. Yes, we’re in quarantine. Germs go away! Germs go away!” Although adorable, the video exemplifies that even kids are processing the effects of the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, especially as they’re cooped up at home with a barrage of information surrounding them. Some...
Coronavirus: How Silicon Valley worships in the age of social distancing
The South Bay’s store shelves have emptied of toilet paper, streets have cleared of traffic and social calendars have emptied as residents scurried inside to preserve their health and encourage the coronavirus infection curve to flatten. But in recent livestreamed services, religious leaders connected with their congregations, offering messages of hope and advice to cope....
New ‘Health Corps’ initiative aims to beef up medical workforce in California — and fast
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is trying to beef up the state’s medical workforce as health care officials brace for a projected influx of new coronavirus patients in the next eight weeks. The initiative, dubbed “Health Corps” includes a new website and promises to remove barriers for medical workers looking to return to the industry after...