Coronavirus Roundup: Children's Theater Making Masks; Orinda Senior Center Outbreak; Safe Shelter For Homeless
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
East Bay Restaurant Feeds Burritos to Emergency Workers on COVID-19 Front Line
EMERYVILLE -- The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted innumerable aspects of life in the Bay Area, from the strain it brings to first responders to the toll it has taken on local businesses. When coronavirus lockdown hit, it was quite a shock to the owner of Best Coast Burritos, a 2-location chain of East Bay restaurants. Business nearly evaporated but the quick action of owner Alvin Shen turned a dire situation into a win-win for his business and for first responders. Best Coast Burritos is once again serving up hundreds of meals a day. It's a stark contrast to the situation in mid-March, when California's first shelter-at-home order was put into place. Read More
Mountain View Children's Theater Company Makes Masks For Health Workers
MOUNTAIN VIEW -- With health officials now urging people to wear masks in public, the costume department of a Mountain View children's theater company is using its skills to sew masks for medical personnel. The coronavirus outbreak has forced the curtain to fall prematurely on Peninsula Youth Theatre's run of the musical "Newsies" in Mountain View. "It was pretty devastating on so many different levels," says producing artistic director Loryn Hatten. Read More
Help SF Food Truck Vendors Feed Grocery Store Workers and Their Families
SAN FRANCISCO -- Off the Grid, San Francisco's largest gathering of food trucks, is launching a campaign to provide free meals to grocery store workers. The Grocery Employees Meal Fund is accepting donations for the creation of multi-day packages to provide five meals for grocery store employees and their families. The group plans to deliver these meal packages to stores throughout the city during the coronavirus pandemic. Off the Grid teamed up with food vendors Little Green Cyclo and Wokitchen to make the first deliveries on Friday to the S.F. Western Addition Safeway store on Webster Street and also to the Safeway on Noriega Street in the Outer Sunset District. Read More
For Uplifting Stories Of Neighbors Helping Neighbors Visit Our Better Together Section
Coronavirus Pandemic In Bay Area
Coronavirus Outbreak At Orinda Senior Care Facility; 27 Infected, 2 Residents Hospitalized
Contra Costa County health officials announced Friday that a coronavirus outbreak at a 47-bed senior care facility in Orinda has resulted in 27 people testing positive. Officials said the outbreak has not resulted in any deaths so far. Two residents of the Orinda Care Facility have been hospitalized and three staff members were under home quarantine. Read More
Coronavirus Update: SF Mayor Says Hotel Rooms Needed For Patient Surge, Not For Immediate Homeless Relief
San Francisco Mayor London Breed Friday responded to demands from some of the city's supervisors that the city immediately move homeless people in shelters to the thousands of available hotel rooms in the city during the coronavirus pandemic. The demands from city supervisors followed word on Thursday that a homeless person at the Division Circle navigation center on South Van Ness Avenue had tested positive for COVID-19. Since he had mild symptoms, he was not hospitalized. Read More
Coronavirus Update: San Mateo County Reports 3 More Deaths, 33 More COVID-19 Infections
There have been three more coronavirus-related deaths in San Mateo County, health officials reported Friday; the 13 total deaths in the county are the second-most in the Bay Area after Santa Clara County. Total cases in the county increased to 486, 33 more than the previous day, according to county health officials. On Thursday, San Mateo County announced 75 additional COVID-19 cases. Read More
Napa Officials Report County's 2nd Coronavirus Death
Health officials reported Friday that a second Napa County resident has died from the coronavirus, raising the 10-county San Francisco Bay Area's death toll from the virus to 79. Officials said the latest victim was an adult who was being treated in a hospital located in another county. No other details as to the person's gender, age or how they may have contracted the disease were released. Read More
Solemn Procession For Fallen Santa Rosa Police Detective Marylou Armer
A solemn procession of patrol cars from across California wound its way through the North Bay Friday, honoring Santa Rosa Police Detective Marylou Armer who was among those who died from the coronavirus this week. The procession escorted Armer's body from Kaiser Vallejo Hospital to Tulocay Funeral Home and Cemetery where she will be laid to rest. Read More
Grand Princess Crew Member Dies From Coronavirus
As the Grand Princess remained moored in San Francisco Bay Friday, a coalition of local community groups announced that among the 74 lives claimed regionally by the coronavirus was a crewmember from the Philippines. The massive cruise ship parked in the Bay has been as much as symbol of the current outbreak as San Francisco's empty streets and office buildings. Read More
Drive-Thru Coronavirus Testing Site To Open In Fremont
Fremont will be opening a COVID-19 coronavirus testing site on Friday, city officials announced Thursday. The site, which will be located at the Fremont Fire Tactical Training Center at 7200 Stevenson Blvd., will provide an opportunity for the sick, first responders and front-line healthcare personnel with suspected recent exposures of the virus to be tested for free, city officials said. Read More
Shelter In Place
California Launches 'Project Roomkey' Initiative To Place Homeless In Hotel Rooms
California Gov. Gavin Newsom Friday announced an initiative that would place homeless people in available hotel and motel rooms around the state in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The "Project Roomkey" initiative with FEMA is the first of its kind in the nation, in which the federal agency would reimburse state and local governments up to 75 percent of the costs of the rooms, including wrap-around services such as meals, security and custodial services, for the next three months. Read More
Coronavirus Quarantines Beset Cruise Ship Passengers and Crew on East and West Coasts
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Grand Princess cruise ship has been confined to the San Francisco Bay for more than a month. KPIX has learned that a crew member from the Philippines has died from the coronavirus at a San Francisco hospital. After passengers were taken off the ship last month, hundreds of workers were quarantined onboard. Some of those crew members posted a video pleading to be evacuated: "On behalf of all the Indian crew, we are asking India to evacuate us from this ship. We are feeling very alone and wanting to reunite with our families as soon as possible." Read More
Santa Clara County Provides Housing To All Known Homeless With COVID-19
SAN JOSE -- Santa Clara County has identified and provided housing for every known homeless person who has tested positive for COVID-19, county officials said Friday. 174 "vulnerable community members" have been placed in a homeless shelter or other housing and 215 more people will be placed in similar housing in the coming days. "Every homeless person who has tested positive for COVID-19 now has shelter," the county said in a statement. Read More
Coronavirus Impacts Our Daily Lives
Coronavirus Update: Gov. Newsom Encourages Volunteerism During Pandemic
During his daily update on the state's response to the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday encouraged able-bodied residents to volunteer their time to help during the crisis through a government website. Newsom directed people to visit serve.ca.gov to be directed to the California Volunteers website and find out how they could either safely volunteer their time or make donations to blood banks and food banks in need during the crisis. Read More
Coronavirus Closings And Postponements
San Mateo County Fair Canceled For First Time Since WWII Over Coronavirus Outbreak
SAN MATEO -- The San Mateo County Fair scheduled for June has been canceled as the San Mateo County Event Center is being used in response to the coronavirus outbreak, officials announced Friday. "In the 86-year history of the San Mateo County Fair, this period is one of the most challenging any of us has encountered. COVID-19 has forever changed our world," the fair said in a statement. Read More
Golden Gate Park To Host 'Virtual Concert Series' To Mark 150th Anniversary
SAN FRANCISCO -- With the elaborate planned sesquicentennial celebration for San Francisco's Golden Gate Park put on indefinite hold by the coronavirus pandemic, organizers have announced a "virtual concert series" that will launch on April 4th. That day was when the official kickoff party for the park's 150th anniversary was scheduled to take place. It was to have included the grand opening of a 150-foot observation wheel. The wheel will still eventually be installed at the park's Music Concourse area, the plaza outside the de Young Museum, the California Academy of Sciences and the Japanese Tea Garden. Read More
Coronavirus Business Impacts
Historic Job Loss Numbers Lead To Flood Of Unemployment Claims In California
SAN JOSE -- California's demand for unemployment benefits is reaching historic levels. The state Employment Development Department says claims are up 370 percent. "I've never seen anything like this before, the numbers are astronomical. And the pain people are feeling is just beyond comprehension," said Ruth Silver Taube, an employment attorney who staffs a helpline for people going through a job crisis. Benjamin Gonzales lost his job as a swimming instructor when his job site was shut down because of the COVID-19 crisis and is struggling. Read More
State Senate Leader: California Legislature Won't Reconvene April 13
SACRAMENTO -- A leader of the California Senate says the Legislature will not reconvene on April 13 because of the COVID-19 outbreak. "Given what the governor and our public health officials have stated, it has become increasingly clear that the April 13th return date the Legislature envisioned isn't feasible," Sen. Toni Atkins, president pro tempore of the Senate, said Friday in a statement first reported by Voice of San Diego. "Our top priority has to remain helping flatten the COVID-19 transmission curve to prevent our health care systems from being overwhelmed." Read More
Coronavirus Outbreak Having Chilling Effect On San Francisco Bay Area's Real Estate Market
Add the San Francisco Bay Area's once red-hot real estate market to restaurants, cafes, music venues and local businesses that have been dramatically impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. According to a report from the residential brokerage firm Compass, new listings have taken a dramatic tumble over the last month and dozens of homes have simply been taken off the market. Read More
With Restaurants Shuttered, Napa Farmer Sells Fresh Eggs Direct to Public
NAPA -- If you live in the Bay Area and are still scrambling around looking for eggs at your local market, then you may need to start thinking outside the carton and head to the North Bay. There's a farm in Napa that says they have plenty of eggs. In fact, they have too many eggs. Taramasso Ranch usually sells wholesale to North Bay restaurants and bed & breakfast hotels. All of those are now shut down. Read More
Corona Beer Halts Production, Marketing During Coronavirus Pandemic
Production of Corona beer is being temporarily suspended in Mexico because of the coronavirus pandemic. Grupo Modelo, the company that makes the beer, posted the announcement on Twitter, stating that it's halting production and marketing of its beer because the Mexican government has shuttered non-essential businesses. The Anheuser-Busch Inbev-owned company also makes Modelo and Pacifico beers. Read More
Google Releasing Location Data To Help Fight Coronavirus Pandemic
Google is publicly releasing the data it's already collecting about people's movements during the coronavirus pandemic. The company headquartered in Mountain View said it plans to publish a series of "Community Mobility Reports" to show the types of places people are visiting across 131 countries and regions. The first report was published on Friday. Read More
'There Simply May Not Be Enough Time' For NBA, NHL Seasons To Restart Amid Coronavirus Fears, Warns Sports Economist
SAN FRANCISCO -- The coronavirus pandemic has made an impact across industries, countries and on the lives of millions of people around the world. While professional sports is a small part of the broader picture, the pandemic has made a sizable impact there as well with leagues and organizations suspending, pausing or generally canceling their events. In the midst of this, fans and media alike have begun to speculate (and largely hope) when sports may begin again. The NBA and NHL have bandied about different ideas for a shortened end of their seasons. Major League Baseball has an agreement in place with its player's association that could see its league year last deep into November. Read More
New Rules for Santa Clara County Marijuana Dispensaries Block In-Store Sales of Recreational Pot
SAN JOSE -- Recreational marijuana users in Santa Clara County can no longer make in-store or curbside purchases, according to the county's new stay-at-home order. The tougher restrictions for dispensaries went into effect on April 1 and, while the cannabis shops were still considered essential and could remain open, they could no longer offer in-store purchases for customers without a medical marijuana card or doctor's recommendation. The order also prohibits suppliers from cultivating or distributing recreational marijuana. Read More
