Two employees at the Santa Clara County Assessor’s Office recently tested positive for COVID-19, causing some workers to question whether they went back to work too soon. Employees who requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation told San José Spotlight the office was notified of a positive infection on Aug. 13, less than one month after...
Will Santa Clara County see another COVID shutdown?
Nearly two months after California lifted most pandemic restrictions, the Delta variant is driving a surge in positive COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations. That’s prompting health officials to reinstate safety guidelines—and raising questions about the possibility of another shutdown. First identified in India, the Delta variant is believed to be twice as contagious as previous dominant COVID-19...
Masks mandatory for Santa Clara County students
The excitement of returning to school may be dimmed for Santa Clara County students, as they’ll have to wear masks when they go back to the classroom this fall. On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended indoor masking for all teachers, school employees, students and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status....
Santa Clara County to require COVID shots for public employees
Santa Clara County will require its 22,000 employees to be vaccinated for COVID-19 in an attempt to curb infections driven by unvaccinated individuals. The vaccine policy and timeline are still under development. The vast majority of county employees across all departments are fully vaccinated, a county spokesperson told San José Spotlight. The spokesperson did not provide...
Should East San Jose vaccination site reopen?
At least one city official believes a major vaccination site in East San Jose was shut down too early, but local community leaders aren’t so sure. Rolando Bonilla, chair of the San Jose Planning Commission who nearly died of COVID-19, is sounding the warning call about the growing number of positive coronavirus infections in East San Jose...
Silicon Valley health care workers need COVID shots or weekly tests
With coronavirus cases on the rise, California health care workers must now be vaccinated or get tested weekly for COVID-19 and wear masks, in accordance with a new state policy announced Monday. The policy follows a statewide surge in COVID-19 infection rates due to the Delta variant, now the dominant strain in California. As of this month, 80% of new...
Masks recommended indoors again in Santa Clara County
Bay Area health officials are now urging all residents to mask up when indoors out of rising concerns of the highly-infectious Delta variant. Santa Clara County, joined by a coalition of six other Bay Area counties and the city of Berkeley, recommends all residents resume wearing masks inside—regardless of vaccination status. “Out of an abundance...
Santa Clara County revises total COVID deaths by over 20%
Santa Clara County’s COVID-19 death toll dropped by 22% this month. That’s not a mistake—last Friday, county health officials announced a narrower criteria for deaths attributable to COVID-19, which excluded about 500 fatalities previously attributed to the disease. A similar change took place in neighboring Alameda County last month, when officials updated their COVID-19 death definitions....
Vaccination site that served hard-hit East San Jose closes
While Santa Clara County remains optimistic about its vaccine goal, some vaccination sites around the South Bay are closing down—including one in Mexican Heritage Plaza. The walk-up clinic, which first opened in late January, has been an essential vaccination site for East San Jose, an area hit harder by the pandemic than any other part of Santa Clara...
Santa Clara County loses last COVID mandate
Santa Clara County Public Health discontinued the last of its COVID-related regulations on Monday. Dr. Sara Cody, the county’s public health officer, issued an order eliminating remaining local requirements such as teleworking and social distancing, but businesses and governments will still need to determine the vaccination status of personnel through self-attestation. On Friday, the California...