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Coronavirus Roundup: Schools Face New Challenge -- Budget Cuts; Airlines Returning To San Francisco International

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.


Coronavirus And Health

4 More Test Positive For COVID-19 At SF's Laguna Honda Hospital
SAN FRANCISCO -- Universal coronavirus testing for residents at Laguna Honda Hospital has been completed, while testing for hospital staff remains underway, San Francisco Department of Public Health Director Dr. Grant Colfax said Tuesday. So far, of the 2,500 staff and residents combined at the facility, 718 residents and 1,369 staff members have been tested, with two staff members and two residents testing positive over the weekend. "This testing allows the hospital to proactively protect residents and staff from exposure by identifying COVID-19 cases among people without symptoms. And we know that many people who have COVID-19 may not show symptoms," Colfax said. Read More

Report: No COVID-19 Bay Area Deaths For 2 Consecutive Days; First Time Since Mid-March
SAN FRANCISCO -- It may be the most significant milestone reached since the San Francisco Bay Area was plunged into an unprecedented shelter in place to fight the spread of the deadly coronavirus. According to county tracking and a San Francisco Chronicle report, there were no local deaths on either Sunday or Monday. The two-day respite from the virus's human toll is the first since just prior to the shelter-in-place mandate being put into place. The illness has claimed 392 lives and infected 11,279 local residents in the Bay Area. Even in Santa Clara County, the initial epicenter for the virus in California, the pace has slowed dramatically, allowing for the limited reopening of curbside retail sales later this week. Read More

Study: COVID-19 Lockdowns Sends Emissions Down 17%, But Change May Be Temporary
STANFORD -- As predicted, carbon dioxide emissions have declined during the Covid-19 pandemic. But if past crises are any indication, the environmental gains may be short-lived, according to a study co-authored by researchers at Stanford. An international study of global carbon emissions found that daily emissions declined 17% between January and early April, compared to average levels in 2019, and could decline anywhere between 4.4% to 8% by the year's end. That figure would mark the largest annual decrease in carbon emissions since World War II, researchers said. The findings appeared Tuesday in the journal Nature Climate Change. Read More

FTC: Nursing Homes, Assisted Living Facilities Cannot Take Stimulus Money From Medicaid Patients
WASHINGTON -- Some nursing homes and assisted living facilities are wrongfully taking stimulus checks from residents who are on Medicaid, the Federal Trade Commission said Friday. In a blog post, the FTC says states across the country have received reports of nursing homes and assisted living facilities falsely claiming that stimulus checks count as "resources" under the rules of federal benefit programs that must be used to pay for services. "They're claiming that, because the person is on Medicaid, the facility gets to keep the stimulus payment," FTC Elder Justice Coordinator Lois Greisman wrote. Read More

Coronavirus Reopening

Napa County Prepares For Expansion Of COVID-19 Reopenings To Include Dine-In Restaurants, Schools
NAPA -- Health officials announced late Tuesday night that the state has given them approval to lift COVID-19 restrictions including shopping malls, dine-in restaurants and schools. Swap meets, residential cleaning and maintenance services, outdoor museums, and other retail stores were also included, but wineries will remain shuttered. The businesses can open immediately while schools can be opened on June 1. All reopenings will have to obey local social distancing restrictions. "It's not a lesser standard," county Supervisor Belia Ramos said during an online meeting Tuesday. "It's a different standard." Read More

Airlines May Reopen International Routes But Many Travelers Not Ready To Go Abroad
SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT -- Escalators run eerily empty at San Francisco International Airport. Tarmacs where planes should be loading and unloading are construction sites, and there's only five flights on the departure board. "Right now our passenger volumes are only about four percent of what we would normally be seeing at this time of year," says SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel. But for the first time since the start of the pandemic, bookings are outpacing cancellations and some airlines are beginning to move back into the international realm. Read More

Bay Area Churches Eager To Reopen After COVID-19 Shutdown Make Changes To Keep Worshipers Safe
VACAVILLE -- So far, the coronavirus shelter-in-place struggle between churches and the state has only produced a lot of heat. But some church leaders are now beginning to add a little light into the discussion about when they may reopen. The Valley Church, in rural Vacaville, in Solano County has space for about 320 worshipers. So Pastor Jeremy White says it does feel a little strange right now with only about 80 chairs set up to accommodate 6-foot social distancing. "I mean, it's a little different, you know," he said, "but we've got to make adjustments and keep people safe -- do what we need to do." Read More

Economic Situation Remains Dire As Some Contra Costa Shops Reopen
MARTINEZ -- As Contra Costa County entered Phase II Tuesday, easing restrictions and allowing many retail businesses to open for curbside pickup, a number of shops decided to stay shut down. For many that did reopen, the situation remains dire. "You know, we've been closed for over two months," said Anne Mobley, owner of the White Rabbit Boutique in downtown Martinez. "No money coming in. Can't pay my employees. They're starving." Mobley reopened Tuesday morning, but getting the doors open again did not sit atop her list of concerns. Read More

Businesses In San Jose's San Pedro Square Market Reopen For Curbside Service
SAN JOSE -- A popular destination for diners and shoppers reopened in downtown San Jose Tuesday as San Pedro Square Market welcomed customers for the first time in over two months. It was back to business, but certainly not business as usual as restaurants and stores opened for curbside pickup. The market itself remains closed to diners, but ten of the mom and pop restaurants inside were happy to see people come for meals. Pizza shop owner Jenneke de Vries literally applauded her customers on the first full day of reopening. Read More

Parking Lots Partially Reopen At 27 California State Parks
SONOMA COUNTY -- The parking lots of 27 California state parks, including some in the Bay Area, have partially reopened weeks after the 280 state parks and beaches closed their parking lots to discourage non-local visitors, officials said Tuesday. Parking lots were partially reopened at Jack London State Historic Park in Sonoma County, Lake Oroville State Recreation Area in Butte County and several state beaches in Orange County, including Huntington, Bolsa Chica and Crystal Cove, among others. Gloria Sandoval, deputy director of California's state parks department, said even though there is increased access at some parks and beaches, officials still encourage people to stay close to home. Read More

Contra Costa Retail Businesses Begin Curbside Sales As COVID-19 Phase 2 Reopening Gets Underway
WALNUT CREEK -- With the dawning of a new day, Contra Costa County retailers were given the opportunity Tuesday to begin curbside sales or other outdoor pickups as long as they abide by certain safety measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The restrictions on all retail sales put into place in mid-March and were partially lifted at 6 a.m. Tuesday. "While this is not a return to normal, it is one step in that direction" said Dr. Chris Farnitano, Contra Costa County's health officer, in a release. "We will be closely monitoring the effects of allowing curbside retail on the spread of COVID-19 in the community." Read More

Coronavirus And Schools

Bay Area Schools Facing Tough Challenges As Newsom Trims Budget To Weather COVID-19 Shortfalls
OAKLAND -- As schools in the San Francisco Bay Area look at the possibility of opening schools for the next school year, Gov. Gavin Newsom has dealt them a new challenge. Newsom is proposing roughly a $7 billion cut from education as the state tries to climb out of a budge deficit. Two school districts, San Francisco and Oakland Unified, joined 4 others in writing a letter to legislators saying reopening of schools will be delayed if cuts do happen. The districts say during this pandemic they need more resources, not less. "Obviously any cuts are going to hurt but that right there for Oakland Unified amounts to a 35 million dollar cut to our district," said John Sasaki, a spokesman for the Oakland Unified School District. Read More

San Francisco, Oakland Among School Districts Warning Budget Cuts Will Delay Reopening
SAN FRANCISCO -- Six California school districts representing more than 900,000 students, including two in the Bay Area, say the governor's proposed budget cuts will delay the reopening of schools. Officials with the Los Angeles Unified, which is the second largest school district in the country with 600,000 students, joined with five other urban districts in a Monday letter to legislators, saying they need more money to safely reopen schools and not less. The other districts are Sacramento, San Francisco, Oakland, San Diego and Long Beach. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed $14 billion in budget cuts because of the coronavirus, with more than half coming at the expense of public schools that have struggled to teach students remotely since mid-March, when he issued a statewide stay at home order. Read More

Krispy Kreme Keeps Promise To Honor Class Of 2020 With Free Doughnuts
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Class of 2020 can get free doughnuts at Krispy Kreme shops all day on May 19 to celebrate their academic achievement with something sweet. All week Krispy Kreme is selling its Graduate Dozens, but seniors can get one for free on Tuesday if they come in person, and brought in proof of graduation (ID, a tassel, diploma, class ring, or similar). At some shops the original Graduate Dozens ran out, but the company posted an apology online saying no grad will leave empty-handed. Krispy Kreme will be giving them a dozen of the iconic Original Glazed instead. Read More

Coronavirus And Law

CHP: Motorcyclist Clocked At 114 MPH In Fairfield Cited Twice For Speeding In Space Of 7 Miles
FAIRFIELD -- A motorcyclist who was ticketed Tuesday by a CHP officer for riding at 114 miles per hour on I-80 in Fairfield was cited for speeding a second time by another officer only seven miles later, authorities said. The Solano County CHP office posted about the reckless rider on the office's Facebook page Tuesday afternoon. The first ticket was issued when the CHP officer pulled the motorcyclist over for speeding after clocking the rider traveling at 114 miles per hour on westbound I-80 near the Lagoon Valley exit shortly before 12 p.m. Read More

Accused Dublin Child Molester Walid Hamze To Seek Bail Reduction Over Coronavirus Concerns
DUBLIN -- An accused child molester, Walid Hamze, could be the latest high-profile suspect to get out of jail in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Hamze has been in custody at Santa Rita Jail for a year on multiple charges of child molestation. His attorneys are scheduled to argue in front of Alameda County Superior Court Judge Thomas Reardon Friday that he should have his bail reduced, according to prosecutors. Hamze is accused of sexually molesting multiple victims between the ages of six and 12. His bail is currently set at $20 million. Both city leaders and law enforcement on Tuesday announced their opposition to his possible release, saying Hamze poses a serious safety risk to the public. Read More

Coronavirus And Business

North Carolina Mounts Campaign To Lure Tesla Away From Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO -- North Carolina's campaign to lure disgruntled automaker Elon Musk away from the San Francisco Bay Area took to the skies over the company's Fremont assembly plant on Tuesday. A small plane flew a banner over the Tesla Fremont factory that read: "Tesla come to NC. We want you at GR Megasite." That's a reference to the 1,800-acre Greensboro-Randolph Megasite. It was recently passed over for a Toyota-Mazda plant. "We knew we had to do something outside of the box, these are outside of the box times, to get his attention," said Greensboro President of the Chamber of Commerce Brent Christensen. Read More

Square Joins Twitter In Allowing Employees To Work From Home Indefinitely
SAN FRANCISCO -- Employees at mobile payments company Square will be allowed to work from home indefinitely, even after restrictions related to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic are lifted. According to The Verge, Square co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey told employees about the change on Monday. "Moving forward, Squares will be able to work from home permanently, even once offices begin to reopen.Over the past several weeks, we've learned a lot about what it takes for people to effectively perform roles outside of an office, and we will continue to learn as we go," a company spokesperson told the tech news site. Read More

Coronavirus And Homelessness

Some Santa Rosa Homeless Skeptical Of New City-Run Camp Site, Despite Pandemic
SANTA ROSA -- Those without housing living in Santa Rosa now have somewhere to stay amid the coronavirus pandemic after the city opened its first-ever safe site for the homeless. However, some local homeless residents expressed skepticism over whether they would try the space out, regardless of the dangers presented by COVID-19. There are 28 people who have taken advantage of the new city-managed homeless camp as of Tuesday. Santa Rosa officials say that's about half capacity. Read More

Coronavirus And Sports

49ers Hopeful Of Training Camp Return To Santa Clara
SANTA CLARA -- San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk is encouraged by how productive the team's virtual offseason has been. He believes players are able to get even more time learning the intricacies of the offense without the pressure of going out on the field to practice each day and he has enjoyed the banter and bonding across the video screens. There's one aspect that can't be replicated. "The biggest obstacle is not being with each other on the football field, to be able to get those reps of reacting to a defender or vice versa for a defensive guy reacting to an offensive guy in front of them," Juszczyk said Tuesday. "Those are things that are hard to simulate." Read More

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