Coronavirus Roundup: New Bay Area Deaths; Newsom Launching Testing Hubs; Grand Princess Quarantine Ends
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- The tsunami of news about the current coronavirus outbreak and now the shelter-in-place can be overwhelming. To help you navigate through what you need to know -- KPIX.com/KPIX 5 News/CBSN Bay Area -- will be publishing a news roundup each morning of the top coronavirus-related stories from the last 24 hours so you can start your day with the latest updated developments.
Good News -- Neighbor Helping Neighbor
Moraga Boy Fighting Leukemia Challenged By COVID-19 Reducing Blood Supply
SAN FRANCISCO -- Many people trying to donate blood recently have been turned away due to social distancing restrictions placed on blood banks during the coronavirus pandemic. But a pair of UCSF medical students recently organized several packed blood drives, helping patients like a little boy from Moraga fighting a battle against leukemia. His name is Christopher Beggs. He's just four years old. Read More
ossmoor Couple Rallies Community To Form Food Drive
ROSSMOOR -- Marilyn Weiss saw a news report Friday about a food distribution program at which more than triple the usual number of people lined up for rations. "They were desperate for food," said Weiss, an interior designer who lives in Rossmoor, a 55-and-over community in Walnut Creek. "I looked at my husband and said, 'We have to do something.'" Read More
For Uplifting Stories Of Neighbors Helping Neighbors Visit Our Better Together Section
Local Top Coronavirus Related Stories
New Coronavirus Deaths In Santa Clara, San Francisco, Marin; Confirmed Cases Grow By 296 Regionally
SAN FRANCISCO -- The death toll from the current coronavirus outbreak in the San Francisco Bay Area grew to 90 on Saturday with new fatalities reported in Santa Clara County, Marin County and San Francisco and the total number of confirmed cases since late January rose to over 3,500. As of late Saturday night, there had been 3,520 confirmed coronavirus cases regionally. Read More
Stay Home Order Forces Bay Area High School Seniors To Commit To Colleges They Can't Visit
SAN JOSE -- High school seniors across the country are forced to make big life decisions when it comes to choosing a college to attend without ever leaving their homes, as universities cancel campus tours during the coronavirus pandemic. Now many colleges are turning to technology by offering students virtual tours. Read More
FDA Relaxes Donor Rules For Gay Men Due To Blood Shortages Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
SAN FRANCISCO -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is dramatically relaxing its restrictions for blood donations, as blood supplies across the U.S. have been declining while coronavirus cases are soaring. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, gay and bisexual men would have to abstain from sexual activity for a year to donate blood. The FDA has since shortened that period to 3 months. Read More
Federal Judges Refuse To Order Release Of CA Prison Inmates During COVID-19 Pandemic
SACRAMENTO -- Federal judges on Saturday refused on procedural grounds to order California to free thousands of prisoners to ease crowded conditions that attorneys representing inmates likened to a "tinderbox" ready to ignite with the rapid spread of the coronavirus. But the three judges invited inmates' attorneys to file a new motion with either or both of two individual judges who oversee major class action lawsuits over inmate medical and mental health care. Both judges are members of the three-judge panel, which also includes a federal appellate judge. Read More
SF Police Cite 86-Year-Old Anti-Abortion Activist For Violating Stay At Home Order
SAN FRANCISCO -- Call it irony. Bay Area health officials issued the shelter-in-place order to try to protect the most vulnerable people in our society. Yet, the first ticket for violating the order in San Francisco was handed out to an 86-year-old grandfather. "I understand the purpose of the stay-at-home order, although I think it's a little bit overreached," said Ron Konopaski of San Francisco. Police officers issued the citation to Konopaski Thursday morning in front of the Valencia Street Planned Parenthood. The anti-abortion advocate has had a small booth outside of the clinic since February. Read More
Golden Gate Park's 150th Birthday Party Dampened But Not Eclipsed By COVID-19
SAN FRANCISCO -- Saturday was to be the day for a grand celebration in Golden Gate Park but It was not to be. Instead, San Francisco has something else -- a new appreciation for the park. "Today is supposed to be sunny, and they're supposed to be 150,000 of us, arm in arm, singing and dancing, and riding the big observation wheel," says Phil Ginsburg, General Manager of San Francisco Rec & Parks. "Instead, you and I are both kind of alone, social distancing, and in the rain. But, you know, in a sense, maybe it's a little poetic." Read More
San Francisco Launches Task Force To Help Businesses Recover From COVID-19 Pandemic
SAN FRANCISCO -- Businesses across the country are reeling from the impact of COVID-19. There is the virus, and then the economic crisis that follows it. While no one knows when the situation will all end, San Francisco is about to launch its recovery effort. "Rather than wait until the pandemic is over, why don't we start thinking ahead," asks San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Norman Yee. Read More
Air Quality Officials Urge Bay Area To Avoid Burning Wood During COVID-19 Pandemic
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Bay Area Air Quality Management District advised residents Friday to avoid burning wood during the novel coronavirus outbreak to protect local air quality. Wood burning is not illegal, according to the district, and there is currently no regional order in effect banning the use of fireplaces, outdoor fire pits or wood burning stoves. Read More
California Launches New Website For Donations Of Lifesaving Medical Supplies
SACRAMENTO -- California has launched a one-stop website to streamline donations or sales of critical supplies needed to fight the novel coronavirus outbreak, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Saturday. The website covid19supplies.ca.gov lists 13 in-demand items, from ventilators to hand sanitizer, needed by hospitals and first responders around the state. Individuals and companies can donate, sell or offer to manufacture the supplies, Newsom said during his daily noon briefing. Read More
Newsom Critical Of Numbers Being Tested For Coronavirus; 'I Own That' Slowness
SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Gavin Newsom was critical of the low numbers of Californians who have been tested for the coronavirus and he place blame for the slow rollout of testing squarely on his own shoulders in a Saturday address to the state. Newsom said, so far, 126,700 Californians had been tested for the virus. "That testing number may sound high to some," he said. "It is low to many others and certainly to me. Let me just acknowledge on the outset -- the testing space has been a challenge for us and I own that. It has been my responsibility as governor to do better." Read More
Santa Rita Jail Inmate Tests Positive; 77 New Cases In Alameda County
DUBLIN -- Alameda County health officials reported 77 new coronavirus cases Saturday, including an inmate being housed at Santa Rita Jail. In a news release, Alameda County Sheriff's Department spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly said the inmate -- the first case among those being held at the facility -- was currently in stable condition inside the jail's medical facility. Read More
Grand Princess Crew Quarantine Ends, Ship to Depart San Francisco Bay Next Week
SAN FRANCISCO -- A quarantine aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship anchored in San Francisco Bay ended Saturday and its 646 crew members are now able to move about the vessel practicing social distancing, the cruise company said. The ship will sail out to sea for routine marine operations and return early next week to dock temporarily at the Port of San Francisco to take on necessary provisions. Plans for where the ship will go next haven't been finalized, cruise officials said Saturday. Read More
Nearly 10 Percent Of Marin County Residents Tested For Coronavirus Returning Positive Results
SAN RAFAEL -- Marin health officials say the advanced age base of the county's residents was playing a major role leading to nearly 10 percent of their coronavirus tests coming back with a positive result. Dr. Lisa Santora, the acting county health officer, announced late Friday night that the number of positive tests results had jumped by 13 new cases and was now at 131 since the coronavirus outbreak began in the Bay Area. Read More
As Ridership Plummets, SMART Slashes Weekday Schedule; No Weekend Trains
PETALUMA -- The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District is reducing service as ridership declines during the novel coronavirus health emergency. Under the revised SMART weekday schedule, the system will operate 16 trips daily serving all stations. The new schedule, which reduces weekday service by 50 percent, takes effect Monday and will last until further notice, officials said. SMART had already canceled four weekday trips in mid-March. Read More
How California Has Led the Nation in Curbing Coronavirus Outbreak
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Grand Princess cruise ship floated for days off the coast of San Francisco in early March like an omen to a coming disaster. "We could see it from our windows," said Dr. Robert Wachter, professor and chair of the Department of Medicine at University of California, San Francisco. "That made it real." It was one early warning sign that would prompt California to take extraordinary steps to slow the spread of coronavirus, especially after the White House announced that 21 people aboard the cruise ship had tested positive for COVID-19. Read More
SF Reports 1st New COVID-19 Death Since Wednesday; Shelter-In-Place Violators Crackdown
SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco reported a new coronavirus-related death on Saturday, the city and county's 8th recorded COVID-19 fatality and the first such death since April 1. As of Saturday morning, the city reported a total of 529 cases. On Friday, San Francisco mayor London Breed responded to calls from supervisors and housing activists that the city house all its 8,000 homeless residents in hotel rooms, in the wake of a confirmed novel coronavirus case at a homeless shelter. Read More