Coronavirus Roundup: New Model Forecast Fewer Deaths; UCSF Launching Free Testing
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
SF-Based Frontline Foods Feeds Hospital Workers, Helps Struggling Restaurants
SAN FRANCISCO -- Perbacco in San Francisco's Financial District is closed Saturday, but owner and chef Staffan Terje is busy. He's packing 180 meals of duck breast with mole and rice on his own. Terje is personally delivering them to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. "First and foremost it's helping people that are on the frontline that are taking the brunt of this and working their behinds off, long shifts and also putting themselves at risk, so hopefully we can feed them and give them some good tasty food," said Terje. Read More
Students Tap World Connections As New Generation Unites To Battle COVID-19
SANTA CLARA -- All across the country, people are stepping up to do what they can to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic and the virus may be helping a generation find its power and its character. When WWII began in this country, young people of the Greatest Generation began pitching in to collect scarce materials to help the troops on the front lines. It looks like it's happening again. "I feel like we are responsible for our lives and for the lives of others," said Santa Clara University student Judith Li. Read More
For Uplifting Stories Of Neighbors Helping Neighbors Visit Our Better Together Section
Coronavirus Headlines
New Model Forecasts Lower Number Of COVID-19 Deaths But Expert Urges Caution
SAN FRANCISCO -- A leading model projecting coronavirus deaths is lowering its number and could be used as an argument to open up the economy sooner. As protests have erupted in some states over the shelter in place strategy, there's a warning from some leading experts on COVID-19. They say if the lock-down measures aren't continued, we could see spikes once again. "This is not the time to back away from the measures that are already working," said UCSF epidemiologist George Rutherford. Read More
UCSF Offers Free COVID-19 Tests To CA Counties; Cal Launches Asymptomatic Study
SAN FRANCISO -- Researchers at Northern California universities are not wasting any time in the race for more COVID-19 testing and research to find a cure. The University of California at San Francisco has doubled its coronavirus testing capacity and announced Saturday it is offering free tests to counties across the state. Its new lab can process some 2600 samples a day, in as little as 24 hours, according to UCSF. Read More
Gov. Newsom Announces Deal With Motel 6 Chain To House Homeless
CAMPBELL -- Standing in front of a Motel 6 in Campbell, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a deal Saturday with the national chain to house homeless during the current coronavirus outbreak. Newsom said the state's existing housing crisis and the outbreak of the coronavirus and need for social distancing has intensified the need to get an estimated 108,000 homeless individuals off the streets. "The reason we're here is at a Motel 6 is to mark an important milestone in an effort to address the needs of the most vulnerable Californians, particularly those out on the street and sidewalks in this state," the governor said. "People that are struggling to find housing, families torn apart because of economic conditions or tragedies that have occurred in their lives." Read More
San Francisco Mayor Breed Extends Paid Leave 2 Weeks During Coronavirus Outbreak
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Mayor London Breed signed a public health emergency ordinance Friday, putting the new law into effect immediately and making over 200,000 San Franciscans eligible for two additional weeks of paid leave. Supervisor Gordon Mar had proposed the extension and it was approved by his colleagues. "While we take shelter, we must also take care of frontline and furloughed workers, and take action to help people stay both physically and economically healthy," said Mar. "Economic policy is public health policy. We are only as healthy as our neighbor, our grocery store clerk, our frontline essential workers, and if they can't afford to stay home when they need to, we are all worse off." Read More
84-Year-Old Marin County Woman Battles Back From Bout With COVID-19
RICHMOND -- By now, it's understood that some of the most vulnerable to the coronavirus are seniors, especially those with serious underlying medical conditions. KPIX met with 84-year-old Doris Bloch, who told her amazing survival story. Bloch, from Marin County, has been through a lot--she survived lung cancer, has acute asthma and manages type 2 diabetes. Now, at 84, she was UCSF's tenth case of COVID-19. "When I was in a room at the ER, I was tested and I was told that I had the coronavirus! A doctor came in and asked, 'How do you feel?' and I said, 'Afraid,'" Bloch recalled. Read More
Santa Rosa Police Cracking Down On Shelter-In-Place Violators
SANTA ROSA -- Santa Rosa police chief Ray Navarro took to social media Friday to warn residents and business owners that his officers were beginning to issue citations for violations of the city and county's shelter-in-place order. Navarro said while the majority of local residents and businesses were complying with the order, several were not. "We appreciate the majority of business and individuals who have been complying with the shelter-in-place order, but we continue to observe some community members who are disregarding the health order," he said on a Twitter video. "Our approach has been to educate, but it is now necessary to issue citations." Read More
Richmond Pastor Vows To Continue Church Gatherings After Being Cited For Easter Service
RICHMOND -- A Richmond pastor said Friday he'll continue to hold Sunday services even after the sheriff's department ticketed him for having Easter service. It is the first known citation given to a Bay Area religious organization for defying the shelter-in-place order. Pastor Wyndford Williams with All Nations Church of God in Christ said church is essential business for the soul. He plans to fight the ticket. About 40 people packed the small church at 1225 York Street on Easter Sunday. The Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department said there was no social distancing and no masks. They said the pastor refused to stop service even after a deputy showed up. Read More
