The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Contra Costa County is still going up, but at a slower pace than feared, county health officials said Tuesday.
“The numbers are rising, as we expected, but not as fast as in the worst-case scenarios,” Anna Roth, director of Contra Costa Health Services, said during a “telephone town hall” meeting convened by 15th District Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks and Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia.
Gioia said it appears the public’s compliance with shelter-in-place orders and related actions to curb the spread of coronavirus seem to be helping “flatten the curve” of new cases, limiting the crushing outbreaks that have taxed hospitals in New York City, New Jersey, New Orleans and other places.
As of Tuesday morning, Contra Costa County had reported 442 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with seven deaths. That is up from 386 cases and six deaths Monday morning. Roth said 29 county residents were in the hospital Tuesday for treatment of the coronavirus, with 15 of them in intensive care.
As for testing, Roth said Contra Costa Health Plan members can go to testing centers in Martinez, Pittsburg or San Pablo if they have the standard symptoms — fever, shortness of breath and cough.
For anyone else with symptoms, calls to their own doctors or health plans with descriptions of symptoms should yield further direction, said Dr. Chris Farnitano, Contra Costa County’s health officer.
Roth also said that while more than 5,800 county residents have been tested for COVID-19 since the pandemic broke out, efforts are ramping up to get more tests to two groups of people — first responders and the homeless.
Roth said about 150 residents of county-operated shelters are being moved to hotel rooms this week, both to lessen COVID-19 spread and to free up shelter space near a central county clinic.
Also, homeless encampments are being left intact for the time being, so residents don’t scatter. Roth said dispersing the encampments spreads the virus even further, and would make it harder to keep track of individuals to help them.
“We want to remain connected to them, to get them to better living conditions,” Roth said. “We know where they are, and we have our outreach teams working with them.”
Gioia also discussed the county’s jail inmates. He didn’t have exact figures Tuesday, but he said a significant number of “low-level offenders” and some others whose terms are nearing an end have been released from jails to help curb the spread of COVID-19.
The intake of new prisoners, he added, has been minimal.
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44 comments
Great. Now it is time to plan and put precautions in place for what happens after May 4th.
It’s time to get people back to work, wherever possible. Sick and immune compromised people can continue to self quarantine.
Gavin wants us all locked up all summer so he can look like a hero when he sets us free…. for next Presidential race vote.
So parents can not go back to work in May if we are ‘released’ … MDUSD just announced today that schools are now closed through end of May to be just like the other counties … No thought that we are not like the other counties. We have 1.1M people living in more than 700 square miles. SF has 920K people living in 47 square miles. Why are we following their lead? We do not have the same geography or demographics …
Gavin will not get my vote EVER AGAIN.
1.) Many people are already working from home.
2.) You cant just send people back to work without knowing if they’ve tested positive for antibodies to Covid-19 because the virus is spread asymptomatically.
3.) The Governor of Georgia Brian Kemp admitted that he was clueless to #2 above last Wednesday. This is why I don’t live in Georgia.
Who thinks we’ll ever be set free.
Newsom will be building a wall around CA just to keep everyone in.
Remember the communist block countries?
I’m bracing for being told that we are on lockdown until mid-June. Possibly with even more severe restrictions in place. So far, every time the schools announced a deadline, the counties followed suit. Schools just announced they will remain closed, so just wait for the health dept. to announce an extension of the lockdown.
As long as the citizens put up with the restrictions and comply, this could go on indefinitely. Remember that the governor has not given an end date or even an evaluation date.
I agree with Mitch 100% and I’m in the vulnerable group.
Absolutely correct Mitch.
And Wagner, stop shilling. You’ve already been exposed.
Mike Wagner
Here are some sobering figures for you.
Economists at the Fed’s St. Louis district project total employment reductions of 47 million, which would translate to a 32.1% unemployment rate. – reported April 5, 2020. To put things into prospective, the highest unemployment rate during the Great Depression in 1933 was 24.9%.
Now extrapolate what 1/3 fewer people working means to the economy: less tax base, less property tax revenue, less sales tax revenue, higher foreclosures, higher repossessions, lower standard of living, higher homelessness, economic stagnation, pension funds failures both public and private, lower wages, fewer benefits, business failures, fewer business start ups etc etc etc.
Now do you understand the “We can’t have the cure be worse than the problem”?
Mitch, you just don’t get it do ya? You can be infected and contagious for 2 WEEKS before you get “sick”.
Only those who test negative should should be allowed out of SIP..But we don’t have enough tests for that.
That is why you and every non essential worker is under SIP.
And hey Carnac. Unemployed people eventually find work, but dead people stay dead forever. Even Trump stopped using “the cure is worse than the disease” talking point a week ago. Try to keep up, will ya?
Stop following Right Wing Media.
Well itsme, guessing you must be retired, have a corporate or government gig because those of us without such luxuries have to earn a living, and sitting around until a vaccine is developed is not an option.
The whole point of “flattening the curve” was to give hospitals time to prepare. Remember, the same amount of people will be infected either way, it is not an if, just a matter of when.
Time to pull the band-aid off, and put precautions in place, or if you choose, you can continue to cower in your house.
@ Itsme
The Great Depression, the one with less unemployment then we are looking at now, lasted 10 years and people don’t just get jobs because there were no jobs to get.
It becomes a cycle. No jobs = no money to buy purchase items = businesses fail because their customers have no money to buy items and no one wants to do start up for the same reasons.
Because there is a glut of employees those that do work, work for less money.
So great you survived but 1/3 of employees don’t have a job, they cannot pay their mortgage or rent, they cannot make their car payments and eventually they cannot pay for food.
The lasted study I saw indicated that 78% of all Americans live paycheck to paycheck. No paycheck = no money and no savings. In 2018 the average American debt was $38,000 — not including mortgage loan balances.
This is not blue or red, this is money green. This is economics 101 and like him or not, Trump gets its.
Mitch, it is just not sinking in with you no matter how hard you try….
You might think you are invincible like those generation z college students who went to Miami beach. Sadly they all learned their lessons the hard way. This virus can be very bad and deadly. Listen to the people who have contracted it and have been hospitalized. Or at least, had to stay at home for weeks with a constant fever, weight loss, shivering, coughing. Some even say that it is the worst sickness they have ever experienced.
Wrong about the flattening of the curve theory. The whole point of that was to get people back in their homes and not spread the contagion even more. Hospitals have been prepared to deal with this, it is just that people were too ignorant to catch onto the importance of social distancing until the governor had to announce the shelter in place. The numbers are still going up and may continue to go up for several more weeks until the hospitals finally get it under control.
Please go ahead and pull off your own band-aid while the rest of us “cower” in place and follow the advice of medical professionals.
There isn’t going to be a vaccine for a long time. They have been working on conv vaccines, and because the way that it is, they haven’t been able to come up with a safe one. “ If” they do, it over a year out. There is no way the USA can survive waiting for this.
As stated above most people live pay check to pay check. If we don’t get back to work, we will be crushed economically. It’s no big deal to those who are retired, and have their homes paid for, but for most this just isn’t the case.
Above I read a fear mongering comment about those who have had it, and how terrible it is. I can only guess what your media sources are. I have seen many testimonies of people who have had it, and said it wasn’t that bad. Or how about those that have had it, and didn’t even know until their test showed positive. Also the malaria drug cocktail seems to be working very well. Other countries that are using it( those that used it first) are saying it’s working great. But of coarse our media is bashing it, or trying to say it’s not safe, only because Trump and his team mentioned it working, and they hate Trump so much, they don’t want to accept this. They would rather see people die, or suffer and to keep this going to keep the economy going backwards so he can’t run on the “ great economy “ before this virus became an issue.
We have to stop this insanity and re open our communities, and get people back to work and in school. This shut down was to give the hospitals time to get ready, and not overwhelm them. And at that time, we didn’t know about these alternative treatments that are working. It worked and now it’s time. This isn’t going to just go away, and we can’t continue to live like this.
You don’t get it Rob, you don’t shut down a $20 trillion economy indefinitely. This quarantine was sold as buying the medical system time, and it has done that, and more.
The numbers bear it out, and the worst case scenarios have been revised time and time again.
Not sure what experts you are listening to, but this ends May 4th, whether the medical experts or the governor want to extend it or not. Truth is, it will probably end when the weather hits 75 in a few days.
And on a personal note, I’ve been inside since before the order, so can it, old man.
Hey Mitch,
So the temps will determine when we all get to go outside and resume normal activities? Gotta love your medical reasoning on this one.
Not an old man here buddy, and my regular workout exercise routines will demonstrate that.
I agree with your sentiment. My hope is the testing of senior facilities was simply not addressed in the statement from CC Health, and instead is being performed at proper levels. The previous post about the Carlton facility leaves me with concerns.
What’s going to happen after this “all goes away” and it comes back again next year or the year after?
I thought they reconstructed The Spanish flu of 1918 to figure out what to do when another pandemic hits …
Obviously they still don’t know what to do. Not one PhD, scientist, politician, economist, researcher, etc. knows what they’re doing.
It’s trial and error.
Makes me wonder what this is really about.
Agreed!!!
Economy can’t afford another month of this.
People need to assess the risks, then take action where & when they as individuals deem them acceptable.
We need our country back
And that can kill the person next to them.
if the person next to them has high risk factors and their risk assessment tells them, “better not venture into the public square yet” then we should accommodate them. However a wide scale 6 months to a year plus shut down is just not feasible… it will kill more people than the virus.
Early intervention with hydroxychloriquine or the other drugs that have proven to be effective to any degree needs to be deployed. We may or may not produce a vaccine for this and we just can’t hang on forever. A certain number of people will have to get sick and recover to provide herd immunity and right now we’re peeling the bandaid slowly…but at some point we’re going to have to rip it off.
Bob, for obvious reasons, people need to be tested with a serology (antibody) test before allowing them back to work.
So Ozzie
If you are allergic to peanuts, are you not responsible to ensure that you do not eat them? So if you go to a restaurant you need to ensure that you tell them that, right? Do we shut down the restaurant because they have peanuts? No, we put that responsibility on the individual. So if you are high risk, shouldn’t they stay away/SIP?
Elementary schools will have peanut free classrooms, but by the time they get to Middle School, those ‘government’ restrictions go away.
Hopefully many employers will see the advantages of having employees work from home. While it is not possible for some jobs it is a viable option for many.
How does releasing criminals help with Covina-19? How is it that people actually believe this stuff? These are people who break the law, yet supposedly they are going to implement all these preventable practices…. lol. Many are homeless or couch surf, so HOW does this work?
Schools are now closed basically until next year, and then we will still have C-19 so then what???? It isn’t going to magically go away. A vaccine “the big push” for those who will line up to take it, really isn’t going to be ready for at least 18 mo. There are already safety issues with vaccines, so anything sooner is really quite dangerous.
None of this makes sense. It will be interesting to say the least when the truth comes out. Don’t hold your breaths that MSM will report on any of it, but it’s already coming out. Also how awkward all this will be when it just “ goes away”, and becomes a normal part of the flu season, and no 24/7 news reporting and death ticker. They didn’t even do this when H1N1 hit. Nothing even close to this level. There is something very strange going on. That I know for sure.
The Contra Costa Health Services interview above addresses nothing regarding first responders, health care professionals, and small business owners; all crucial to our nations physical and financial recovery. No disrespect to the homeless, but our priorities and resources must focus on those people most crucial to the nations recovery.
I know some people that work at the clarion inn in concord and they just got their first case of the corona virus in the upscale rooms of the hotel. According to the workers there the owner went off when some of the workers didn’t want to come back to the job because of the covid 19 case. The owner himself said if they stop coming to work due to the covid outbreak to not ever come back because their job wont be their.
You think it’s bad now? Wait until people receive their COBRA paperwork and discover it will cost $2,200/month to insure their families.
Cobra is expensive, but Covered California costs more.
Exactly. Also, the introduction of penalties for not having it is asinine. To top it off, your credit card number is required.
By looking at New York and what’s happening there Contra Costa County is doing a great job and protecting all of us. It may suck but the more we follow direction the sooner we will be out enjoying the wonderful spring air And bringing life back to normal. Possibly a different normal, but normal. Please Follow the guidelines. I went to the grocery store today and was shopping for one of my 80+ neighbors and myself to cover the next 14 days I was very surprised on how many people were not following the gloves and mask And mainly not following the 6 feet guideline. Please stay safe concordians
It’s not the county. It’s OUR willingness to follow the guidelines plus the fact there’s lower population density here and the majority of people rely on automobiles as opposed to public transportation. I would add I think people here are probably healthier in general. Fewer smokers and fewer overweight people.
If any of you have watched 24 China did this on purpose….WW3 bout to happen
Really resent people saying “We’re all in this together.” There are any number of people I’m not “in this together” with … criminals, immoral, people like Jeff Bezos, London Breed, Nancy Pelosi. In fact, there’s a whole list of people I’m not “in this” with and Gavin Newsom is at the top of the list. How dare they lump me in with cheaters, liars, killers, rapists and sodomists. Their sick, perverse “anything goes” thinking is what has gotten us into this predicament. So they can stay “over there” in their “We’re all in this together” and I’ll stay “over here” in my idea of what’s ethical and stop trying to drag me down into your cesspool.
@ Gittyup
Years ago, anthropologist Margaret Mead was asked by a student what she considered to be the first sign of civilization in a culture. The student expected Mead to talk about fishhooks or clay pots or grinding stones.
But no. Mead said that the first sign of civilization in an ancient culture was a femur (thighbone) that had been broken and then healed. Mead explained that in the animal kingdom, if you break your leg, you die. You cannot run from danger, get to the river for a drink or hunt for food. You are meat for prowling beasts. No animal survives a broken leg long enough for the bone to heal.
A broken femur that has healed is evidence that someone has taken time to stay with the one who fell, has bound up the wound, has carried the person to safety and has tended the person through recovery. Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts, Mead said.”
We are at our best when we serve others. Be civilized
Well said, I agree
JWB, I majored in Anthropology. Different strokes for different folks. I’m not in this together with a whole class of people I despise. Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not a doormat.
I’m with you 100%
Carnac,
I’m well aware of the economic forecast that you cite from the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank. They came from their Governor, James Bullard back on March 23rd. This is nothing new to me.
Well then explain the rosy “1.) Many people are already working from home” comment when you knew those working at home didn’t amount to hill of beans compared to the projected unemployment rate?
While you at it, how come you buried your reply so I had to go looking for it?
“Absolutely correct Mitch.
And Wagner, stop shilling. You’ve already been exposed.” – – – Anon
You’re funny!
Yeah, unlike you I don’t believe for a minute all of those conspiracy theories that you gullibly believe, like Covid-19 is due to the roll-out of 5G.
I actually have a brain.
You don’t think that hospitals have access to testing for their healthcare workers???
The reason for the steady increase is because people still just don’t get it or don’t care. People are still playing baseball in parks which have officially closed their fields. Unqualified parents are letting their kids ride bikes all over the place and play in playgrounds (which have also been closed).
Even more people are letting their dogs socialize with other dogs while walking by.
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