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Coronavirus Roundup: Tesla Reopening Plans Approved; Deadly Nursing Home Outbreak; Restaurant Guidelines Released

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 -- Neighbors Helping Neighbors

California Air National Guard Flyover To Salute Frontline Workers Across Bay Area, State
SACRAMENTO -- People battling on the front lines against the coronavirus pandemic across California will be saluted with a military flyover Wednesday by the California Air National Guard. The Cal Guard's 144th Fighter Wing, based in Fresno, will be performing the flyover across the state to salute health care workers, first responders and other frontline workers in the fight against COVID-19 beginning at 10 a.m. Wednesday. The flyover will be comprised of four F-15C Eagle fighter jets which will take off from Fresno Air National Guard Base and pass over medical facilities in the San Joaquin Valley, Sacramento, Bay Area, Monterey, and cities in Southern California before returning to Fresno. Read More

For Uplifting Stories Of Neighbors Helping Neighbors Visit Our Better Together Section

Coronavirus And Tesla

Alameda County Health Officials Approve Tesla Reopening Plans
FREMONT (CBS SF) -- After days of contentious debate, Alameda County health officials have approved plans by automaker Elon Musk to fully reopen his Fremont Tesla assembly plant next week under the watchful eyes of the local police department. Workers have been streaming into the plant since early Monday in defiance of a local coronavirus shelter in place ordinance while Musk has taken to social media to defiantly challenge the mandate. He even threatened to move the operation out of the state of California. Both sides became entrenched for nearly two days in a standoff. President Donald Trump, Gov. Gavin Newsom, local officials, Tesla workers, nearby business owners and Fremont residents all weighed in. Some showed their support for Musk's demands while others cautioned against what they believed was a too early reopening. Read More

President Trump Says To Open Tesla Plant -- 'Now'
FREMONT -- President Donald Trump joined the raging debate early Tuesday over Tesla owner Elon Musk's open defiance of Alameda County's shelter-in-place mandate in reopening his Fremont assembly plant. Workers arrived for their day shifts early at the sprawling plant on Tuesday -- a day after Musk took to social media to announce: "Tesla is restarting production today against Alameda County rules. I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me." The county on Tuesday sent a letter to a Tesla ordering electric car-maker to cease operations. Read More

Coronavirus And Reopening

Gov. Newsom Offers New Guidelines For Restaurant Operations Once They Reopen
SACRAMENTO -- California Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday offered up more detailed guidelines businesses will need to follow when they reopen in the state, including giving restaurant owners an idea of how intensive cleaning protocols will be as the coronavirus shelter order becomes less restrictive to allow dining in. During his daily update on the state's coronavirus response, Newsom said progress made in the second stage of reopening with modifications was allowing him to announce additional modifications statewide that applied to offices that don't allow for telecommuting and strip malls including outlet malls (only for pick up) in addition to some other services like car washes and pet grooming. Read More

San Francisco Restaurant Owner Unsure How Some Will Survive Under State's New Guidelines
SAN FRANCISCO -- The new guidelines California Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled Tuesday for dine-in eating at restaurants when they are allowed to open amid the COVID-19 pandemic left restaurateurs facing a host of major new changes and challenges. The guidelines are leaving some restaurant owners wondering how and if they will be able to survive once they reopen to customers. Among the changes laid out by the state's released new guidelines for restaurants include servers wearing masks and plastic partitions being installed at pay stations and in bar areas. It is a long list of things that will dramatically alter the dining experience for customers and business owners alike. Read More

Coronavirus And Nursing Homes

COVID-19 Death Toll At Central California Skilled Nursing Facility Rises To Fourteen
TURLOCK -- More than a dozen people have now died of COVID-19 at a skilled nursing facility in Turlock, in one of the deadliest outbreaks at an elder care home in Northern California. Officials at the Turlock Nursing and Rehabilitation Center reported three deaths at the facility on Tuesday, bringing the total to fourteen people who have now died from the coronavirus. Some 149 patients and staff member have tested positive for COVID-19, according to Covenant Care, the company that owns the center. Read More

Coronavirus And Health

Hundreds Of COVID-19 Antibody Tests With Questionable Accuracy Flood Market
BERKELEY -- While medical experts have been saying that people should't waste their money on the COVID-19 antibody tests currently on the market, KPIX 5 found that discouragement is not stopping many who still want to get tested. "I got to say, it's not like good news. So my heart sank a little bit," said Lan Vu. When he discovered he had been exposed to COVID-19 on a business trip in early March he immediately put his fan import business on hold. "I came back and got a swab test, and it was positive," said Vu. Then he got curious: Could the positive swab mean he had COVID-19 antibodies? Read More

Santa Clara Hospitals Launch Study Using 'Convalescent Plasma' To Treat COVID-19 Patients
SANTA CLARA -- Health officials announced Tuesday that three Santa Clara County hospitals have begun a study in conjunction with Mayo Clinic to measure the impact of using convalescent plasma therapy to treat seriously ill COVID-19 patients. Santa Clara County has been the hardest hit region in the San Francisco Bay Area. As of May 11, there have been 2,341 confirmed cases since the outbreak began. There have been 129 deaths including 57-year-old Patricia Dowd, a senior manager for a Silicon Valley semiconductor firm, who is considered the nation's first fatality to the disease. Currently, there are 102 patients hospitalized in the county, suffering from the coronavirus. Of those 33 are being treated in the ICU. Read More

Coronavirus And Rent

Santa Clara Supes Hold Off On Extending Coronavirus Eviction Moratorium
SAN JOSE -- The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors punted Tuesday on a potential extension of the county's temporary moratorium on evictions for residents affected by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The county's moratorium currently ends at the end of the month but allows the board to extend or shorten its duration depending on the state of the pandemic. The board avoided extending it at Tuesday's meeting, however, because Gov. Gavin Newsom has yet to extend the suspension of state law that prohibits local moratoriums on evictions for missed rent payments. Read More

State Senate Proposal Tackles Rents, Economic Recovery From Coronavirus
SACRAMENTO -- The government would cover rent payments for some low-income Californians impacted by the coronavirus under a proposal backed by state Senate leaders. The Senate wants to forgive rents for low-income tenants, giving landlords tax credits equal to the value of their missed payments, which they can keep or sell for cash. Tenants would then have up to 10 years to pay back their missed rents to the state, with some not having to pay the full amount because of an unspecified "hardship exemption." "This is not a giveaway to anyone," Democratic Sen. Steven Bradford said. "Our goal is to keep tenants housed and keep landlords out of foreclosure." Read More

Coronavirus And Business

Alameda County Fair Auction May Go Virtual But Young Livestock Farmers Take It Like Pros
PLEASANTON -- The Alameda County Fair, the largest fair in the Bay Area, is the latest victim of COVID-19. But along with its cancellation comes questions about what will happen to all the farm animals that are normally auctioned off there. "Fair time to me is fun time. You get to spend time with friends, family, show off all your hard work," said Livermore High FFA student Crayton McCafferty. McCafferty has put in nearly a year of hard work raising his Angus steer, "Stitch" from a young calf. By this summer, he expects Stitch to weigh about 1,300 pounds and fetch about $4,000 at auction, which is only slightly above what it cost to raise him. Read More

Struggling California Malls Prepare For Business Not-As-Usual With Phase 2 Reopenings
SAN FRANCISCO -- As part of the loosening into Phase 2 modifications, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday some malls can now partially re-open for curbside pickup only. The era of lazily wandering from store to store and nibbling on a pretzel is dead -- at least for now. The move comes weeks into the stay-at-home order, but was it already too late for the American mall? Pamela Danziger, the owner of Unity Marketing and a contributor to Forbes, thinks so. "It's going to be devastating to the entire mall sector," Danziger told KPIX 5 via Skype. "Time will tell, but I really think we're gonna see a radical restructuring of American retail." Read More

Speaker Pelosi Unveils $3 Trillion COVID-19 Aid Package For States, Cities, Workers, Individuals, USPS
WASHINGTON ii House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled a more than $3 trillion coronavirus aid package Tuesday, a sweeping effort with $1 trillion for states and cities, "hazard pay" for essential workers and a new round of cash payments to individuals. The House is expected to vote on the package as soon as Friday. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said there is no "urgency." The Senate will wait until after Memorial Day to consider options. "We must think big, for the people, now," Pelosi said from the speaker's office at the Capitol.v"Not acting is the most expensive course," she said. Read More

Twitter Allowing Employees To Work From Home 'Forever'
SAN FRANCISCO -- Twitter plans to allow most employees to work from home permanently, even after restrictions associated with the coronavirus pandemic are lifted. CEO Jack Dorsey made the announcement in an email to employees Tuesday, BuzzFeed News reported. "Twitter was one of the first companies to go to a work from home model in the face of COVID-19, but we don't anticipate being one of the first to return to offices," the company said in a blog post. Read More

High-Priced Real Estate Listings Returning To San Francisco Bay Area Market
SAN FRANCISCO -- A thaw is beginning to take place in the deep chill cast over the San Francisco Bay Area real estate market by the outbreak of the coronavirus, according to a survey released by the real estate website Zillow. According to the new Zillow numbers, there were 12.4% more expensive listings and 13.3% more affordable listings last week than the week before in San Francisco. And while the number of new listings overall was still down 37.1% from a year ago, they were up 18.3% from the previous week. Also there was some good news for potential buyers -- the median list price was $904,188, down 0.9% from last year. Read More

Massive Port Of Oakland Projecting Drop In Business Because Of COVID-19 Outbreak
OAKLAND -- While loaded cargo traffic saw a slight increase in April, officials warned Tuesday of a drop-off coming in May and beyond as shipments have been cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak. Port officials reported that April loaded container volume increased 1.4 percent compared to the same month last year. Export loads rose 3.6 percent, the Port said, while imports dipped 0.9 percent. But the outlook for the coming months is for reduced cargo volume. Port officials said their future outlook is being influenced by 11 percent of scheduled Oakland vessel calls in May and June having already been canceled by shipping lines. Read More

Coronavirus And Schools

Marin County Experiments With Bringing Students Back To School
SAN RAFAEL -- Marin County is getting ready for the students to get back to school and the first step starts next week. According to Marin County Superintendent of Schools Mary Jane Burke, come Monday a class will be in session at San Jose Middle School for a group of 12 kids.
"For some students, the distance learning approach is not working so we want to make sure we're not setting up for a one size fits all as we look to the fall," she told KPIX 5. Read More

New Southbay COVID-19 Rules Allow Drive-In Style Graduations For Class Of 2020</b.
REDWOOD CITY -- San Mateo County has eased its health order to allow drive-in style graduation ceremonies, providing an option for graduating seniors whose final year of high school has been dramatically interrupted by the coronavirus outbreak and shelter-in-place orders. "The purpose behind this order was to find some way to celebrate our graduates who have experienced a really disruptive end to their school experience," says Claire Cunningham, the San Mateo County Counsel. The county has capped the number of cars at a graduation ceremony at 200. Attendees must remain inside their car except for the moment when their family member crosses the stage to receive their diploma. Face masks are required anytime the car windows are rolled down. Read More

Nearly All CSU Fall Semester Classes To Remain Virtual Due To COVID-19
SAN FRANCISCO -- Distance learning will continue, at least through the Fall semester, for the nearly half million students attending California State University because of the coronavirus pandemic. The chancellor of the nation's largest 4-year university system made the announcement at a meeting of the CSU Board of Trustees, on Tuesday. CSU cancelled nearly all of its in-person classes last March, in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. Chancellor Timothy P. White said that a few in-person courses may be offered, like labs, but most of the courses at the 23 CSU campuses will remain virtual. Read More

San Mateo, Contra Costa Counties Open Door For Drive-Thru Graduation Ceremonies
REDWOOD CITY -- With the Class of 2020 set to graduate during the coronavirus pandemic, drive-by graduation ceremonies in San Mateo and Contra Costa counties are being allowed under a new order by the counties health officers. San Mateo County Health Officer Dr. Scott Morrow issued an order permitting certain "Highly Regulated Vehicle-Based Gatherings" on Monday. Among the many provisions in San Mateo County's order, gatherings would be invitation-only, are limited to no more than 200 vehicles and must be three hours or less. Any gathering with 10 or more vehicles will require security staffing and any gathering plan must be provided to law enforcement and to local officials at least a week in advance. Read More

High School In San Lorenzo Puts Together Virtual Commencement
SAN LORENZO -- It was not your typical graduation ceremony Tuesday as officials at an East Bay high school did their best to make sure members of the Class of 2020 still got their time to shine. At Redwood Christian High School in San Lorenzo, it took some creativity to handle graduation during the coronavirus lockdown. Like everything in this pandemic, it involved a little coordination, some technology and a lot of community. What the proceedings lacked in thunderous applause and cheers, they made up for in ingenuity and love. Read More

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