Coronavirus Roundup: UCSF Doc Stunned By Air Travel Conditions; COVID-19 Impacts Mother's Day Celebrations
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
San Francisco's 'Honey Bear' Artist Raises Over $100,000 For COVID-19 Charities
SAN FRANCISCO -- Images of 'Honey Bears' wearing masks have popped up all around San Francisco on boarded up shops since the shelter-in-place order took effect. Now, a local artist is using his work and instant stardom of his 'Honey Bears' to help others in a big way. The artist who goes by the name of Fnnch has already raised more than $125,000 for various charities. He's working on a new project that could make these bears even more visible. "To me it's a universal symbol of happiness," Fnnch told KPIX 5. "It's positive. It's nostalgic. It's inclusive." Read More
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Coronavirus Headlines
Staffers From Giants, A's, Other MLB Teams Participate in Nationwide Antibody Test
PALO ALTO -- Staff from the Oakland A's and the San Francisco Giants joined thousands of other Major League Baseball employees to participate in a Stanford study to help scientists determine when businesses and sports should reopen across the country. According to results from a Stanford-led study, the coronavirus has not spread widely among MLB workers. The study tested about 5,603 MLB employees, mostly front office staff from 26 clubs, including the Giants and A's. Only 60 people tested positive. "Personally, I thought there would be a larger fraction. From the antibody tests we've done in Santa Clara, LA county, New York; there's other groups that are doing New York and Miami-Dade, we've seen numbers more like three percent, four percent. In New York it's 25 percent," said Stanford Professor of Medicine Jay Bhattacharya. Read More
Bay Area Economists Weigh In On Whether U.S. Is Headed For A Depression From COVID-19
OAKLAND -- With new unemployment figures showing 20 million American jobs lost in the month of April alone, KPIX 5 asked two Bay Area experts to explain where the U.S. could be headed at this historic economic moment in time. "We are definitely in a great recession," said Dr. Jack Rasmus, a professor at St. Mary's College. He added that it does not quite fit the criteria of a depression. "[It's] an abnormally deep contraction of the economy," said Dr. Rasmus. "But if you look at history, depressions are always associated with financial crashes as well." Read More
Moms in Senior Care Visit Families From Balcony at Walnut Creek Facility
WALNUT CREEK -- In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet the Bard used a balcony to symbolize the yearning of loved ones kept apart but, on Sunday, balconies were used to bring them together for Mothers Day. "We're celebrating Mothers Day a little different this year," said Jennifer Pastora, executive director of Byron Park senior assisted-living community in Walnut Creek. "We've had to pivot some of our operations to accommodate COVID." Because of the pandemic, families cannot enter the facility. So staff set up some areas outside where they could greet their mothers and grandmothers from first-floor balconies. Read More
California Hair Salons, Barber Shops Say They're Safe, Ready to Reopen
SAN JOSE -- A San Jose hair salon owner is among the growing number of stylists who believe salons and barber shops should be part of the phase two reopening of California. Karie Bennett, who owns several Atelier salons in San Jose, said stylists must undergo weeks of training on disinfection, sterilization and sanitation as a requirement by the state of California to earn a cosmetology license. "Next to a hospital, salons are going to be one of the cleanest places you can go," Bennett said. <a href="https://cbsloc.al/2SPiBkA"Read More
Intel Corp Mulls Building New U.S. Chip Factory to Hedge Against Asia Supply Disruption
SANTA CLARA -- Intel is talking to the Trump administration about building a new semiconductor plant in the United States amid concern about relying on suppliers in Asia for chips used in a wide variety of electronics. A spokesman for Intel, the biggest American chip maker, said Sunday that the company is in discussions with the Defense Department about improving domestic technology sources. Spokesman William Moss said Santa Clara, California-based Intel is well-positioned to work with the government "to operate a U.S.-owned commercial foundry." Read More
UCSF Doctor Returning From Battling COVID-19 In New York Stunned By Conditions On Flight
SAN FRANCISCO -- With all the reports of dramatic declines in air travelers, Dr. Ethan Weiss, a UC-San Francisco cardiologist, returning from an assignment at a New York City hospital to help battle that city's COVID-19 outbreak was shocked to see the crowded conditions on his flight back to San Francisco. Weiss was flying back to San Francisco out of Newark on Saturday. He was a member of the UCSF medical team that volunteered to fly to New York in April to give some relief to the doctors and nurses being overwhelmed by coronavirus patients. With much fanfare, United Airlines flew the team round-trip for free. But Weiss began tweeting about the flight soon after boarding. Read More
Berkeley Officials Warn Departing University Of California Students Over Stiff Fines For Illegal Dumping
BERKELEY -- Even though the University of California-Berkeley campus has been largely empty since the March coronavirus shelter in place order ended in-person classes, many students have returned to move out of residences with the end of spring semester instruction on Friday. The annual ritual typically involves leaving large amounts of discarded mattresses and furniture at curbside and Berkeley officials were reminding tenants and landlords Sunday to plan and properly dispose of items no longer needed during the move. The annual appeal has new meaning this year as the city seeks to keep sanitation workers safe from possible COVID-19 transmission. Read More
49ers Hope Roster Stability Pays Dividends To Overcome COVID-19 Schedule Challenges
SANTA CLARA -- For all the focus on the big names that left San Francisco this offseason like longtime left tackle Joe Staley and defensive anchor DeForest Buckner, the reality is the 49ers will look much the same in 2020. The defending NFC champion Niners are returning 18 of 22 starters from a team that fell one quarter short of winning it all, the type of continuity that could be especially crucial during this virtual offseason. While many teams are trying to install new systems or get several new players up to speed while teams are spread out around the country during the COVID-19 pandemic, the 49ers are mostly intact. Read More
Man Released On $0 Bail Leads Sonoma County Deputies On Wild Stolen Car Chase
SANTA ROSA -- A man who had been arrested days earlier and released on $0 bail because of the coronavirus was back in custody after allegedly stealing a car from a Santa Rosa dealership and leading Sonoma County deputies on a wild pursuit that ended in a crash. John Pote, a 41-year-old transient from Santa Rosa, appeared to be unharmed in the collision, but was transported to the hospital to be evaluated before going to jail. Investigators said the incident began on Thursday when Pote was arrested for several law violations after causing two separate disturbances at the Sonoma County Airport in less than one hour. He was released on $0 bail pursuant to California's emergency coronavirus bail schedule. Read More
Che Fico Restaurant Owner Will Likely Give Back His Relief Loan
SAN FRANCISCO -- Since its opening two years ago, San Francisco's Che Fico was considered one of the hottest new restaurants in the country, but co-owner David Nayfeld said it was barely making ends meet. "We were just getting by, in terms of making just enough money to save a little bit and incrementally get ourselves out of the debt that it costs to build a restaurant here in San Francisco," Nayfeld told KPIX 5. "So the truth is the industry here, and the industry all over the country has been on life support for quite some time." So when the government first rolled out its forgivable loan program or PPP, it was seen as a lifeline for small businesses. Nayfeld received his funding about two weeks ago. Now, Nayfled said he's more than likely going to give it back. Read More
San Francisco Paid $30,000 A Day For Empty Hotel Rooms During Pandemic
SAN FRANCISCO -- For weeks, nearly 1,000 hotel rooms meant for frontline workers have sat empty in San Francisco. The city leased them when they saw how overwhelmed New York City was when its surge hit. The move has come at the cost of about $30,000 a day. But officials now say they overestimated the need. 80% of the rooms regularly went unused for the past several weeks, according to the SF Chronicle. "It's pretty shocking, particularly when we were told that one of the reasons we couldn't get people into rooms was because it costs too much money," said SF Supervisor Matt Haney. Read More
