San Jose Councilmember Sylvia Arenas tests positive for COVID-19

San Jose Councilmember Sylvia Arenas tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday after falling ill during this Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

The District 8 representative posted on Facebook this morning that both she and most of her family members contracted the virus and are exhibiting “somewhat mild symptoms compared to others.”

“It appears that a member of my small COVID bubble was unknowingly positive when I saw them on Saturday,” Arenas wrote. “My family didn’t have any further contact with people after Saturday as we adjusted to the stay-at-home county orders.”

Arenas has been participating in committee hearings today according to her chief of staff, and could not immediately be reached for comment.

Her mother-in-law and young daughter, who both live with Arenas, tested negative and are being isolated as much as possible from the rest of the family, she wrote.

“We’re grateful to have the resources to do this, and we’re mindful of the fact that too many in our community do not have the ability to do so,” Arenas added. “I will continue working on the council to make sure that others are able to isolate safely when they need to.”

Arenas, who said she got the virus even after complying with state mandates, urged others to follow stay-at-home orders as COVID-19 cases continue to rise this winter.

“We appreciate your support while we recover,” she wrote. “We pray for those in San Jose who are struggling with both COVID and financial hardship — as these come as a pair all too frequently.”

According to Santa Clara County public health data, county hospitals are down to 10% ICU bed availability. There were 76 new COVID-19  hospitalizations as of Dec. 10, three new deaths and 43,001 total cases countywide.

Contact Carly Wipf at [email protected] or follow @CarlyChristineW on Twitter.