Coronavirus Roundup: Newsom Puts The Hammer Down On Orange County Beachgoers; May Rent Challenging For Many Recently Unemployed
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
Celebrity Chef Jose Andres Urges Federal Action On Pandemic Food Relief
SAN FRANCISCO -- The federal government needs to fully activate existing food security programs to help millions of Americans who are at risk of going hungry due to the coronavirus and the efforts to stop its spread, according to celebrity chef Jose Andres. The Trump Administration should also be working with restaurants, farmers, non-profit groups, food banks and the nation's food distribution system operators to ensure that crops and agricultural products that are being dumped or left to rot make it to American tables, Andres said. "We need to get the food from rural areas to places where people need the food," he said. "We need to recognize that food is a national security issue. We need to take care of food the same way we protect our military defense." Read More
For Uplifting Stories Of Neighbors Helping Neighbors Visit Our Better Together Section
Coronavirus Shelter In Place
Angry Newsom Brings The Hammer Down On Orange County Beachgoers
SAN FRANCISCO -- After rumors that he would be issuing an order closing all beaches and state parks in California, on Thursday Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that he was instead ordering the temporary closure of all Orange County beaches beginning Friday. The governor announced a "hard closure" of all state and local beaches in Orange County during his Thursday update on the state's response to the coronavirus. "We're gonna do a hard close in that part of the state, just in the Orange County area," Newsom said. Read More
Die-In Outside San Francisco Mayor's Home Protests Lack Of Hotel Rooms For Homeless
SAN FRANCISCO -- Clad in black and holding red flowers, about 10 people laid on the street in front of San Francisco Mayor London Breed's home Thursday evening to call attention to the potential fate of the city's unhoused amid the coronavirus pandemic. The die-in began at about 6:30 p.m. The mayor so far has stopped short of implementing an emergency ordinance passed April 14 by the city's supervisors to acquire more than 8,000 hotel rooms for unhoused residents to keep them and others safe from the virus. Read More
San Francisco Acquires RVs, Trailers To House Homeless
SAN FRANCISCO -- City officials have announced they have acquired more than 120 recreational vehicles and trailers to house homeless people living on the streets in the city's Bayview and Hunters Point neighborhoods during the coronavirus pandemic. During a briefing at the city's Emergency Operations Center, officials said trailers and RVs will be located at Pier 94. Of the 120 trailers, the city has leased 29 and 91 were provided by the Governor's Office of Emergency Services. Human Services Agency Executive Director Trent Rhorer said the city decided to put the site in the neighborhood in order to reach some of the city's historically disadvantaged residents. Read More
Federal Judge Questions 'Social Distancing' At Crowded California Immigration Detention Facilities
SAN FRANCISCO -- Citing a "significant risk of harm" from the spread of the coronavirus, a federal judge has ordered the possible release of more than 400 ICE detainees from federal immigration holding facilities in Marysville and Bakersfield. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to provide information about social distancing practices at the Yuba County Jail in Marysville and Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield by Friday or he'll begin the process of releasing detainees to ease overcrowding. Many of the immigrants, who are in civil administrative detention while awaiting immigration hearings, "are still sleeping in barracks-style dorms within arms-reach of one another," Chhabria wrote in issuing a temporary restraining order Wednesday. Read More
Elon Musk Criticizes Coronavirus Stay-At-Home Orders, Calling Them 'Fascist'
PALO ALTO -- Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is railing against stay-at-home orders meant to slow the coronavirus pandemic, calling them "fascist" and likening them to "forcibly imprisoning people in their homes" during an earnings call for Tesla Wednesday. "I would call it, 'forcibly imprisoning people in their homes' against all their Constitutional rights, in my opinion, and breaking people's freedoms in ways that are horrible and wrong and not why people came to America or built this country," Musk said. "It's an outrage." "Give people back their g-----n freedom," he added. Read More
Alameda Joins Oakland, San Francisco In 'Slow Streets' Program During Coronavirus Shelter-In-Place
ALAMEDA -- The city of Alameda will begin a "slow streets" pilot program on Thursday. The program, which is similar to initiatives already in place in Oakland and San Francisco, calls for implementing "soft" closures of selected streets in Alameda to through traffic in order to make it easier to maintain social distancing of more than six feet during the coronavirus pandemic. City officials said they expect the program to last for at least the duration of Alameda County's shelter-in-place order. Read More
Coronavirus Testing
2 SF COVID-19 Testing Facilities Still Operating Below Capacity
SAN FRANCISCO -- Even as both federal and state officials continued to emphasize the importance of increased testing to beat the coronavirus, on Thursday it looked like another slow day at San Francisco's two designated test sites. KPIX 5 first reported on the two sites operating below capacity on Tuesday night and followed up with San Francisco officials Wednesday. "I just wanted to know, because I live in an SRO," said Benny Allen, who showed up at the city's South of Market test site. "A lot has been written about dense populated places and stuff like that. So I just had to know for myself." Read More
Ready For Primetime Or False Hope? Richmond's ARCpoint Labs Providing COVID-19 Antibody Tests
RICHMOND -- It's being touted as the newest weapon in the battle against the deadly coronavirus: an antibody test that promises to tell you if you've been infected and developed antibodies. More than 100 companies are marketing the COVID-19 antibody test kits, but so far only one lab in the Bay Area is offering them, and KPIX 5 found lots of people are signing up. ARCpoint Labs of Richmond advertises a coronavirus antibody test that will tell you not only if you've been exposed but also if you have protective antibodies, according to its website. Read More
Coronvirus And Crime
Vallejo's Alleged 'Coughing Robber' Surrenders To Police
VALLEJO -- A woman who allegedly coughed in security guards faces at the height of the coronavirus outbreak to elude arrest on a shoplifting charge at a Vallejo retail store has turned herself in, authorities said. Vallejo police said Julie Santos, a 40-year-old local resident, turned herself on Tuesday. She is suspected of committing a string of robberies along with Kadeem Reese, a 30-year-old Vallejo resident, who was also in custody. Investigators allege that Santos attempted to shoplift merchandise from a retail store on March 27th. Read More
Police, DA Critical Of Alleged Cold Case Rapist's COVID-19 Release From Jail
UNION CITY -- The Alameda County District Attorney's Office and the Union City and Livermore police departments voiced strong criticism Thursday of a judge's decision to release without bail a suspect who's accused of assaulting two women in 1997 in a case that wasn't solved until last year. Last Friday, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Thomas Reardon, a veteran judge who formerly was a prosecutor, granted Gregory Paul Vien, 61, of Livermore, a reduction of his bail from $2.5 million to zero. "Union City PD was shocked to learn that Alameda County Superior Court Judge Thomas Reardon recently released suspect Gregory Vien from jail over alleged Coronavirus exposure concerns," the agency said in a statement. "In this case, Judge Thomas Reardon reduced the bail for suspect Gregory Vien from $2.5 million dollars to $0, effectively releasing the suspected serial rapist back into the community." Read More
Coronavirus And Business
Out Of Work Bay Area Residents Face Another Rent Due Date
BERKELEY -- Friday is the first of the month, meaning rent is due for hundreds of thousands of people across the Bay Area. Newly released data from UC Berkeley shows just how big of an impact COVID-19 is having on renters. "I won't be making that rent payment tomorrow because I don't have it," Merika Reagan said. She owns City Hikes, a once-thriving dog walking and pet care business in the East Bay. As soon as the Bay Area wide shelter-in-place order was announced, her business came to a screeching halt. Read More
Bay Area Pediatricians Seeing Steep Drop In Patient Visits During Coronavirus Outbreak
SAN RAFAEL -- While hospitals and many doctor's offices have been busy treating patients with COVID 19 symptoms, many pediatricians are seeing a steep decline in yearly check ups. At some pediatric offices in the Bay Area, only a third of their patients are showing up for their yearly exams. The annual well check visit is a time when pediatricians get a glimpse of a child's physical and mental health. "One of the reasons we are really anxious to get kids back in is that we've all been through this unprecedented time," said Dr. Nelson Branco with Tamalpais Pediatrics. Read More
California Unveils Child Care Web Portal
SACRAMENTO -- The state of California is unveiling a web portal for parents working essential jobs to access child care facilities, including a number of new pop-up facilities across the state. The MyChildCare.ca.gov portal allows parents to enter their zip code and be shown on a map the available child care facilities in their area. The results would list the sites and include contact information, current availabilty and licensing information. Read More
Pelosi Seeks $1T For Cities, States To Avert Mass Layoffs
WASHINGTON -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday state and local governments are seeking up to $1 trillion for coronavirus costs, a stunning benchmark for the next aid package that's certain to run into opposition from Senate Republicans. Pelosi acknowledged the federal government may not be able to provide that much. But she said a "heroes" fund is needed to prevent layoffs as governors and mayors stare down red ink in their budgets. Many jurisdictions are facing rising costs from the health pandemic and plummeting revenues in the economic shut down. The best way Americans can support local nurses, bus drivers and other front-line community workers, Pelosi said, is to make sure they don't lose their jobs to budget cuts. Read More
Twitter Stock Slumps Following 1st-Quarter, Pandemic-Powered Losses
SAN FRANCISCO -- Twitter's stock tumbled Thursday after the company failed to show that it's weathering the pandemic-borne digital advertising slump the same way its bigger rivals Facebook and Google are. The San Francisco-based social company's higher expenses outweighed its revenue growth in the first three months of the year, leading to a loss of $8.4 million. And when asked during a conference call how April looked in terms of revenue, executives pointed back to the second half of March — when advertising declined. Read More
Salesforce Cancels Its Annual Dreamforce Conference For 2020
SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco's tourist and convention industry has been dealt another major blow due to the coronavirus outbreak as Saleforce has cancelled plans to hold its massive Dreamforce conference this year. The event annually brings some 170,000 attendees to the city and has generated more than $150 million in annual spending for the local economy. "As the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve, our first priority is to help ensure the health and safety of our customers, partners, employees and communities," the company posted on its Twitter page. "With this in mind, we have decided to reimagine our events through the end of the year in new and virtual ways. This will be true for all events, including Dreamforce, Tableau Conference 2020, Tableau Conference Europe, TrailheaDX India and our World Tours." Read More
