Coronavirus Reopening Roundup: Jobs Put Latino Youth At COVID-19 Risk; Santa Clara Retailers Enter Phase Two
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 Business
Bay Area Cafe Chain Specialty Gives Away Free Cookie Dough As Farewell
REDWOOD CITY -- The Pleasanton-based chain Specialty's Cafe and Bakery closed its doors this week, but before the business bid its final farewell, it offered one last treat to its customers Thursday at its warehouse in Redwood City. The cafe and bakery chain announced it was shutting down last week. It had seven locations in San Francisco's financial district, two in Oakland and employed hundreds of workers. Boxes of 90 frozen cookie-dough pucks in all flavors were being given away to the public. From white chocolate macadamia nut to peanut butter chocolate cookie dough, lines were drawn with chalk outside the warehouse to separate the boxes of cookie flavors. Read More
Owners Of San Francisco's Iconic LGBTQ Bar 'The Stud' Lament Coronavirus-Forced Closure
SAN FRANCISCO -- Bar owners across San Francisco have been warning that the ongoing shelter-in-place rules are putting them in danger of extinction. The shutdown has now permanently closed a piece of city history. "Yeah, this is a time for all of us to mourn that weird, smelly, strange building that so many of us found a home in," said Rachel Ryan, one of the 17 cooperative owners of The Stud. It was the bar where a community found each other. The Stud opened in 1966, with the past 33 years of that run at 9th and Harrison. It was the city's longest-standing LGBTQ nightlife venue. Read More
Coronavirus and Latinos
Young Latinos Disproportionately Contracting And Dying Of COVID-19 In California
SAN FRANCISCO -- The new numbers are alarming. Young Latinos in California are contracting and dying of COVID-19 disproportionately compared to other ethnicities. Workers like Taaple Santos are feeling the intense, growing and piercing pressure to put food on the table. "My family not working now. It only me now," said Taaple Santos, a delivery worker. Jho Smar believes many in the Latino community simply don't have jobs that allow them to work remotely. Read More
Coronavirus And Nursing Homes
Orinda Nursing Facility That Was Site Of Deadly COVID-19 Outbreak Under Investigation
ORINDA -- A nursing facility in an affluent East Bay suburb that was the center of a deadly coronavirus outbreak last month is subject of an investigation by state and local law enforcement, according to authorities. There were over 50 positive cases and at least four deaths among residents and staff at the 47-bed Orinda Care Center during the COVID-19 outbreak. Contra Costa County health officials first announced the outbreak on April 3. The Contra Costa County District Attorney's office confirmed the investigation by both local and state law enforcement agencies to KPIX 5 early Thursday evening. Read More
Coronavirus Reopening
Social Distancing Practices To Be Challenged During Sunny Memorial Day Weekend
SAN FRANCISCO -- Ahead of the Memorial Day weekend where crowds of people are expected to take advantage of relaxed shelter-in-place restrictions, keeping up the social distancing could be a challenge. In San Francisco, call them hipster crop circles, or Twister for Giants, but white rings have suddenly appeared on the grass at parks ranging from Mission Dolores to Washington Square Park - all space six feet apart. "I think it's good to divide things because people are not quite sure what six feet is," said resident Kathleen Campion in North Beach. Read More
San Jose Police, Mayor's Office At Odds Over Enforcement Of Proposed Face Mask Ordinance
SAN JOSE -- The City of San Jose will be voting on a face-covering ordinance to slow the spread of COVID-19 that would go beyond the requirements of Santa Clara County. But the city's police chief and mayor appear to be at odds over its enforcement. The ordinance would make people wear masks practically anytime they are in public or even outdoors, or risk the possibility of getting a ticket. "It's to prevent you from infecting someone else," said San Jose Vice Mayor Chappie Jones. Jones said San Jose would be the last big city in the Bay Area to have a face-covering ordinance. Read More
Solano County Joins Napa County In Entering Expanded Stage 2 Reopening
SOLANO COUNTY -- Solano County on Thursday received state approval to begin reopening various sectors of their economies such as dine-in restaurants, the California Department of Public Health said. The county filed attestation forms with the state health department, arguing that they meet state targets for indicators like active COVID-19 coronavirus cases and testing capacity to reopen certain businesses and industries. "We believe that we are ready for this next step in the recovery process and look forward to expanding opportunities for our public and business communities," Solano County Supervisor Erin Hannigan said. Read More
49ers Star Raheem Mostert's Family Concerned About NFL Return Amid COVID-19 Outbreak
SANTA CLARA -- For San Francisco 49ers star running back Raheem Mostert returning to the playing field amid the COVID-19 outbreak is just part of his job, but it has raised an emotional response from his family. During a Wednesday remote video call from his Cleveland home with San Francisco Bay Area media, Mostert said fears over the threat of the virus has brought his wife to tears. Mostert was concerned enough about the pandemic very early. He cancelled a March 4 appearance at an autograph show at the Santa Clara County Convention Center because of those concerns. That was was more than 10 days before Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a state-wide shelter-in-place order, grinding all sports to a halt. Read More
Attorney: 1,200 California Pastors Agree To Reopen May 31 In Defiance Of Stay-At-Home Order
SACRAMENTO -- More than 1,200 California pastors say they will resume in-person services on May 31 in defiance of Gov. Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home order to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. Newsom has gradually allowed some businesses to reopen as the state's number of virus-related hospitalizations has flattened. But churches are still banned, along with hair salons and sporting events. Newsom said Monday churches could reopen in weeks, not months. Read More
Retail Apocalypse: Victoria's Secret, Bath & Body Works To Close Hundreds Of Stores
SAN FRANCISCO -- Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works are the latest retail chains to be impacted by the economic recession created by the spread of coronavirus. Victoria's Secret announced on Thursday that the company will close 250 stores in the U.S. and Canada and Bath & Body Works will be closing an additional 50 stores nationwide. L Brands is the parent company of both Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works and said in a statement that their sales declined 37% in Q2. Earlier this week, Pier 1 Imports announced it would shutter all its remaining 540 stores and J.C. Penny is in the beginning stages of filing for bankruptcy as it continues closing stores nationwide. Read More
Martinez To Close Downtown Streets On Weekends To Help Struggling Businesses
MARTINEZ -- To give downtown restaurateurs and merchants more room to stretch out in this social distancing era, the Martinez City Council on Wednesday night called for closing Main Street in the downtown area on weekends, allowing streets and sidewalks to become open-air extensions of stores and restaurants. The closure, which begins this weekend, is designed to allow merchants and restaurants with small spaces -- that is, most of them -- to show some of their wares outside as restrictions on their operations ease up, and to expand outside dining beyond the "flex-space" parking spaces for which they already pay a premium. "We need to give these small restaurants a chance to really spread out," Councilwoman Noralea Gipner said. Read More
Social Distancing Circles Painted On Grass At San Francisco's Dolores Park
SAN FRANCISCO -- With space at Dolores Park in San Francisco expected to be in demand this Memorial Day weekend, visitors will have no excuse not to practice social distancing. Crews have painted huge white circles on the grass. The idea is to help groups of park visitors who are not part of the same household remain six feet apart. After the circles were painted, park visitors were seen mostly adhering to the new guidelines. Earlier this month, Mayor London Breed threatened to shut down Dolores Park after crowds gathered and failed to maintain social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic. Read More
South Bay Small Business Owners Welcome Beginning Of Curbside Pickup
SAN JOSE -- With reopening set to begin in Santa Clara County Friday, officials have reached out to local businesses about how the importance of communicating with the public. Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors President Cindy Chavez is proposing a "community health and business engagement team" with 200 members. "In order to get robust compliance both with small businesses and the community, it's going to require folks to have a conversation with them," said Chavez. "Talking to people about wearing masks, making sure they have masks, and being able to get the information they need to keep themselves and their families safe." Read More
Zuckerberg Says Half Of Facebook Employees Might Work Remotely
MENLO PARK -- As many as 50% of Facebook employees could be working remotely within the next five to 10 years, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Thursday. The projection — a guess, Zuckerberg said, not a target — marks a major pivot by the world's biggest social media company, headquartered in Menlo Park, to support working from home after the pandemic. Zuckerberg pitched the idea as both a matter of satisfying employee desires and also as an effort to create "more broad-based economic prosperity." The remarks come less than two weeks after Jack Dorsey, CEO of rival social network platform Twitter, announced that certain employees would be able to work from home "forever." Earlier this week, Dorsey announced a similar policy for mobile payments company Square, where he is also CEO. Read More
Oakland Airport Passenger Volume Craters During COVID-19 Shelter-In-Place
OAKLAND -- Oakland International Airport on Thursday reported a nearly 100 percent drop in passenger volumes as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic. With much of the country still under strict or modified shelter-in-place orders since the middle of March, the airport reported that the number of people flying into or out of Oakland dropped 96 percent in April compared to the same month last year. In April 2019, more than 1.36 million passengers used the airport but last month that number plummeted to just 45,819, according to airport officials. "While passenger traffic levels are severely hampered, we understand the decline is a necessary sacrifice many are making in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19," Port of Oakland Director of Aviation Bryant Francis said in a news release Thursday. Read More
