Health officials say the shelter in place order effective the past three weeks is working, but none can predict when life might return to normal as the economic and health effects of the restrictions ripple through the region. Dr. Sara Cody, Santa Clara County’s top health official, on Tuesday told county leaders that the health...
Nurses in Santa Clara County feel betrayed as they work the frontlines of the pandemic
Nurses in Santa Clara County aren’t being adequately protected as they put themselves in harm’s way to treat the public during the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to 11 medical professionals working at local hospitals interviewed by San José Spotlight. There isn’t enough protective equipment or, in many hospitals, adequate training on how to safely reuse...
Santa Clara County could move to all-mail election due to coronavirus
As the coronavirus crisis has upended the lives of people across the nation, Santa Clara County seeks to protect the most sacred right of every American: Voting. That means the county could move to voting entirely by mail in the November election. The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday adopted a plan authored by Supervisor Cindy...
California lends out 500 ventilators as Santa Clara County seeks more
South Bay residents got seemingly contradicting accounts Monday from local and state officials about how stocked California’s ventilator cache is in the face of COVID-19, a potentially deadly respiratory illness that is spreading across the state. Santa Clara County officials stood outside Valley Medical Center in San Jose on Monday afternoon to plead for ventilator donations that...
South Bay Asian Americans report attacks, harassment amid coronavirus pandemic
The viral posts documenting attacks or harassment targeting Asian Americans amid the novel coronavirus pandemic are not isolated incidents, nor is the South Bay excluded from it, academic researchers and law enforcement say. While these incidents have been shown in everyday interactions ranging from grocery stores and tenant disputes, researchers say the racism has been...
San Jose activists call on Supreme Court to delay DACA decision amid COVID-19 pandemic
San Jose activists on Friday called on the U.S. Supreme Court to delay a ruling on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program amid the novel coronavirus outbreak. During a livestream hosted by immigrant rights group SIREN, Executive Director Maricela Gutiérrez led the call to salvage the Obama-era program through a Zoom call, which...
Silicon Valley leaders to host a telethon for coronavirus assistance fund
In a massive effort to replenish a COVID-19 financial assistance fund, a slew of South Bay elected, nonprofit and business leaders will host a telethon Saturday to raise funds to help low-income residents pay rent and other basic necessities. The telethon will be hosted by NBC Bay Area and Telemundo 48. The widespread call for...
Prop. 13 reform backers submit signatures for revised measure in November
Backers of the “split roll” property tax measure on Thursday submitted almost 2 million signatures — nearly twice the number required — to qualify a revised version of the initiative for the November ballot. Schools and Community First, a coalition of education, labor and philanthropic organizations, announced submitting 1.74 million signatures, far above the 997,139 signatures needed by...
Should you wear a mask to go out? State, county leaders weigh in
Californians have gotten mixed messages about wearing face masks in public to protect against COVID-19, but state and Santa Clara County officials aligned on Thursday. Public health leaders in the Bay Area Thursday night recommended residents use non-medical, cloth face coverings when they go out for essential purposes. Covering one’s mouth and nose can reduce...
San Jose: Views from above during the COVID-19 outbreak
Life in Silicon Valley has changed dramatically since March 17, when a regional shelter in place order took effect, relegating workers to the four walls of their homes and shuttering businesses not deemed essential. County officials issued the order — and then extended and strengthened it Tuesday — to slow the spread of the contagious...