San Francisco Bay Area COVID Roundup: Safe Family Thanksgiving Activities; Newsom Family Quarantined; 3rd Vaccine Shows Promising Results
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- With a surge in coronavirus cases, the information you need to know is coming fast and furious. Here's a roundup of the COVID stories we've published over the last 48 hours.
Health Officials Warn Negative COVID Test Not A Green Light For Large Gatherings
MILLBRAE -- San Francisco Bay Area residents flocked to COVID testing sites Sunday instead to the local supermarkets as the days counted down to the Thanksgiving holiday. Generally, Bay Area grocery stores and markets are in a state of bedlam the weekend before Thanksgiving as shoppers pick up supplies for a traditional gathering. But the COVID pandemic has changed all that and people were rushing to get a test for the virus in the wake of any Thanksgiving family celebration. Still health officials say just because you get a negative COVID test result, you don't have the greenlight to ignore warnings about travel, large Thanksgiving holiday gatherings and the use of proper social distancing precautions. "It's one of the biggest misconceptions I've heard during the entire epidemic," said Dr. John Lapook, CBS News health expert, on what a negative test means. "So here's the deal. It's a 2-to-14 day incubation period. That means I could get infected today and will not become infectious, able to infect other people for 2-to-14 days. Read More
AstraZeneca COVID Vaccine Shows Promise; Late Stage Trials Up To 90% Effective
LONDON -- Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca said Monday that late-stage trials showed its coronavirus vaccine was up to 90% effective, giving public health officials hope they may soon have access to a vaccine that is cheaper and easier to distribute than some of its rivals. The results are based on interim analysis of trials in the U.K. and Brazil of a vaccine developed by Oxford University and manufactured by AstraZeneca. No hospitalizations or severe cases of COVID-19 were reported in those receiving the vaccine. AstraZeneca is the third major drug company to report late-stage results for a potential COVID-19 vaccine as the world anxiously waits for scientific breakthroughs that will bring an end to a pandemic that has wrought economic devastation and resulted in nearly 1.4 million confirmed deaths. Pfizer and Moderna last week reported preliminary results from late-stage trials showing their vaccines were almost 95% effective. But, unlike its rivals, the AstraZeneca vaccine doesn't have to be stored at ultra-cold temperatures, making it easier to distribute, especially in developing countries. Read More
Safe, Low-Risk Thanksgiving Week Activities In the Bay Area
OAKLAND -- The holidays will be anything but normal this year. Still, the Oakland Zoo wants to make it memorable. It just debuted 'Glowfari,' which is a socially-distanced, family-friendly experience. Animal-shaped lanterns are lighting up the holiday season like never before. "This is the first time a lantern festival like this is happening in the Bay Area," said Oakland Zoo Executive VP Nik Dehejia. "So to have these wonderful lights up, going for two months...Just really, we all need some joy, we all need some fun right now." Glowfari features a mile-long stroll through different habitats, featuring more than a hundred intricate lanterns. It also highlights the Oakland Zoo's commitment to conservation. Read More
Newsom Confirms 3 Children Exposed To Infected CHP Officer; Family In Quarantine
SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday night confirmed that three of his children were recently exposed to COVID-19 from a CHP officer who had tested positive for the virus. Newsom tweeted out the news just after 10 p.m., noting that he and his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom learned about the exposure late Friday evening. Newsom went on to say that so far, he and his wife and kids have tested negative for coronavirus. "Thankfully, the entire family tested negative today," a subsequent tweet read. "However, consistent with local guidance, we will be quarantining for 14 days." Read More
'It's Not A Joke, It's Real And It's Scary'; Health Officials Urge Residents To Get Tested
REDWOOD CITY -- With new COVID cases surging across the San Francisco Bay Area, health officials are delivering a familiar message but it bears repeating. They are urging everyone to get tested. It's a lesson Liliana Zaragoza learned firsthand. In July, first her mom and then her daughter got sick with the virus. "It has to hit your family for you to believe how bad it is," she told KPIX 5. "Once it hits someone you really care about or love, that's when you are going to realize that it is real and it's bad...It's not a joke. It's real and it's scary. Once it's at your house, it's scary." With case numbers rising and Thanksgiving nearing, public health officials are encouraging people to get tested. On Sunday, a Redwood City test site was targeting its message to members of the Latinx community who are often essential workers without the luxury of working from home. Read More
Bay Area Spirit Of Holiday Giving -- Aptos Church Raises $428,949 For Second Harvest Food Bank
APTOS -- Across the San Francisco Bay Area residents are struggling with the impact of the COVID pandemic and its economic fallout. Local food banks have been stretched to the limit. In Aptos, the congregation of the Twin Lakes Church decided to do something about it. Over 6-week food drive, church members have generated $428,949.09 for the annual Second Harvest Food Bank holiday food drive. "We always hope to kick off Second Harvest's holiday food and fund drive with a splash, but I never expected to bring in this much," said Twin Lakes pastor Rene Schlaepfer in a news release. It was the largest donation ever received by Second Harvest during the holiday food drive. The previous record was $319,000 from Plantronics in 2017. Read More
San Jose Protesters Defy New State COVID Curfew; Health Order Greeted With Anxiety And Anger
SAN JOSE -- The night-time curfew for most of the Bay Area, for counties in the purple most-restrictive tier, went into effect late Saturday. It was met with anxiety, resignation and anger. Some two dozen protestors gathered down the street from San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo's house a little after the 10 p.m. curfew deadline. Most of the crowd dispersed and left about an hour later. A couple trucks with signs saying, "Recall Newsom" also drove by a few times. San Jose police officers set up cones and a few police vehicles on each side of 15th street and Washington. "There is no curfew," said San Jose resident Chris Griffin. "They can't do that." Read More
FDA Allows Emergency Use Of Trump Treatment Antibody
WASHINGTON -- U.S. health officials Saturday agreed to allow emergency use of a second antibody drug to help the immune system fight COVID-19, an experimental medicine that President Donald Trump was given when he was sickened last month. The Food and Drug Administration authorized use of the Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. drug to try to prevent hospitalization and worsening disease from developing in patients with mild-to-moderate symptoms. The drug is given as a one-time treatment through an IV. The FDA allowed its use in adults and children 12 and over who weigh at least 88 pounds and who are at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19 because of age or certain other medical conditions. Emergency authorization allows use of the drug to start while studies are continuing to establish safety and effectiveness. Early results suggest the drug may reduce COVID-19-related hospitalization or emergency room visits in patients at high risk for disease progression, the FDA said. Read More
Coronavirus Warnings Slow Holiday Travel at Bay Area Airports
SAN FRANCISCO -- Health officials pleaded with people to not travel this Thanksgiving. From the look of things at Bay Area airports, many took that advice to heart. "In the Chicago suburbs where I live, the prevalence of Covid, it is almost nonexistent," said Scott Peterson after landing in San Francisco International Airport. "We've been traveling through all of this. It has not been a problem. Just take the proper precautions and try to do it right." For a pre-Thanksgiving weekend, it was a very quiet SFO Saturday with plenty of space in the parking lots and short lines at the security gates. There was no sign of a holiday rush. "I've been on far too many flights this year," said Cade Shipman. "I'm not too concerned, I know everyone is taking the right precautions. I am too." Shipman had just landed at Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International airport where there was even less evidence of a travel rush. Read More
Few Signs of Pre-Thanksgiving Pandemic Panic Buying in East Bay
CONCORD -- The surge in COVID-19 cases has reportedly caused a new round of panic buying days before the Thanksgiving but worries about a lack of toilet paper may be overblown. The Costco in Concord is busy most weekends. It may have been busy by pandemic standards but there were parking spaces available in the lot. Inside, crowded aisles and long checkout lines were nonexistent. "All I hear is 'Panic shopping! Panic shopping!'" said Robert Stewart of Walnut Creek. He avoided Costco and went to Safeway in Alamo instead. What he found there was also unexpected. "There's plenty of paper towels, there's plenty of toilet paper in there," he said. "I was actually shocked. I actually found sanitizing wipes as well." Read More
COVID Outbreak Keeps Live Racing At Golden Gate Fields On Hold; More Than 200 Workers Test Positive For COVID
ALBANY -- Golden Gate Fields will extend its suspension of live racing through the end of the month due a major COVID-19 outbreak among the horse track's staff, officials said. Golden Gate Fields officials originally announced they would close for one week because two dozen cases had been confirmed. During the ensuing weeks, the number of positive tests has climbed to "more than 200 people living or working on-site at the racetrack." Berkeley health officials said they were working with track management to address the outbreak. "City of Berkeley Public Health continues to work closely with Golden Gate Fields on a significant outbreak," health officials said in a statement Saturday. Read More
Hawaii Imposes New COVID-19 Travel Restrictions; Holiday Travel Plans Disrupted
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF/AP) -- Less than a month after several airlines restated flights to Hawaii from San Francisco Bay Area airports, the surge in new COVID cases threw holiday travel plans to the sunny Islands into jeopardy. Gov. David Ige has announced that anyone flying to Hawaii will be required to have a negative COVID-19 test result prior to their departure for the state, with the new rule going into effect two days before Thanksgiving. Until now, passengers flying to the islands using a pre-travel testing program were permitted to arrive and then upload their negative test results to a state database, allowing them to skip two weeks of quarantine. However, some travelers who arrived in Hawaii without their test results wound up later testing positive. That, in part, prompted the rule change, Ige said at a news conference. Read More
