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...
How can you protect yourself against coronavirus-related scams?
While safety in coronavirus times may mean staying indoors and washing your hands for 20 seconds, protecting against outbreak-related scams should also be on the priority list. And now top Santa Clara County officials are tracking those potential scams amid the COVID-19 pandemic and warning residents — who are already grappling with isolation, fear and loss...
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...
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...
Santa Clara County passes renter protections due to COVID-19
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously adopted a countywide eviction moratorium, effective immediately. The ordinance, in effect through May 31, will protect renters throughout the county from being evicted due to loss of income because of the novel coronavirus. Evictions have been top of mind for local leaders as Bay Area...
UPDATE: San Jose lawmakers OK plan for paid sick leave during COVID-19 pandemic
While the U.S. aims to “flatten the curve,” low-wage employees without paid time off continue to show up to work — even if they’re feeling sick. But the threat of contagion has San Jose leaders worried these workers will continue to spread the coronavirus. On Wednesday, a San Jose City Council committee voted 4-1 to...