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San Francisco Bay Area COVID Roundup: Six New Deaths In Santa Clara; Officials Brace For Post-Thanksgiving Surge; Black Friday Madness During Pandemic

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- With a surge in coronavirus cases, the information you need to know is coming fast and furious. Here's a roundup of the COVID stories we've published over the last 24 hours.


How Will COVID Affect Black Friday Sales? Stores 'Significantly Scaling Back,' Says Expert
SAN FRANCISCO -- COVID-19 will have a huge effect on Black Friday this year, much as it has on everything else. Some of those effects can already be seen in the expanded holiday shopping season, which has been going on since mid-October. Other effects will become more evident over the long Thanksgiving weekend. At one time, Black Friday, the Friday after Thanksgiving, marked the beginning of the holiday shopping season. The name is derived from the day retailers see their balance sheets turn from red to black. According to Jie Zhang, Professor of Marketing and Retail Management at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, "the legend was that retailers work their heads off for much of the year, and it's only the beginning of the holiday shopping season, that is, the Friday after Thanksgiving, that they turn black. So they turn red to black, meaning that this is first day they're going to start to making profits. Obviously, it's by no means precise." Read More

New Cases Continue To Soar In Santa Clara County; 6 New Deaths
SANTA CLARA -- Santa Clara health officials reported Thursday there had been 416 new COVID cases with six additional deaths pushing the toll of fatalities within the county to 476 since the pandemic's outbreak began in February. The number of available ICU beds in county continued to decline, falling to 56. "Heartfelt condolences to patients and their families and friends," county health officials tweeted. Santa Clara County has been ground zero in the Bay Area ever since the pandemic first erupted. There have been 32,454 confirmed cases in the Silicon Valley. The county has recorded 476 deaths since 57-year-old Patricia Dowd, a senior manager for a Silicon Valley semiconductor firm, was the first in the nation to died of the illness on Feb. 6th. Read More

Hospitals Brace for Post-Thanksgiving Surge in COVID-19 Cases
SAN FRANCISCO -- The CDC has a grim prediction: the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 could hit 321,000 by mid-December and hospitals might be overflowing with patients in many parts of the country. California hit 18,350 daily coronavirus cases on Wednesday. In Los Angeles, health officials expect shortages in nurse-staffed ICU beds over the next two weeks. "We have a full ICU of people with COVID who are fighting for their lives so this is real," said Dr. Jim Keany, an emergency room physician at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo. The numbers aren't as bad in the Bay Area. Still, Santa Clara county saw its highest daily number of hospitalizations on Wednesday with 197 patients. San Francisco did not move into the most restrictive purple tier as expected earlier this week but that could soon change. Read More

Pandemic Presses Bay Area Families to Find New Ways to Observe Thanksgiving Holiday
SAN FRANCISCO -- With the pandemic grinding on, Thanksgiving was always going to be the holiday where the realities of social distancing and safety collided with cherished family traditions. For those used to big family gatherings, like Oakland city councilmember Sheng Thao, it can mean making a new tradition, like handing out meals to those in need outside a Planet Fitness in Oakland's Laurel District. "There is still community out here," Thao said. "This has been uplifting for not only the people who are picking up the hot food but our volunteers as well." "It hurts -- not being able to give hugs," said Oakland city councilmember-elect Treva Reid. Read More

South City Seniors Facility Builds Outdoor Living Room for Family Visits
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO -- Across the Bay Area, seniors in assisted-living homes have been living in near isolation since March. At the Aegis Living home for seniors in South San Francisco, they've come up with an idea to safely bring families back together for the holidays. Aegis Living general manager, Chris Lyons calls it an outdoor living room. "It's a pretty thick piece of glass and a wood frame on wheels," he explained. It's not perfect but it lets seniors sit outside, warm and safe, and allows their families to visit with them in person. Julie Lozano is spending time with her husband Eddy. She recalled the first time they met 60 years ago. "My cousin told me ... 'Come on! There are some visitors at home and there's this one guy there who's really good looking!'" Julie says Eddy's memory isn't what it used to be. Thursday afternoon, they sat together and enjoyed some pumpkin pie. Two of Eddy's daughters were there too. Liza Lozano paused to consider the outdoor visiting booth. "It works, for the purposes of being able to see him. I don't see another way," she said. Read More

Virus-Reduced Team at San Jose Community Non-Profit Feeds Thanksgiving Dinner to Homeless
SAN JOSE -- Over the course of 2020, coronavirus has increased need for food and shelter throughout the Bay Area. On Thanksgiving Day, it also complicated efforts to provide help to those who need it "I was executive director with Hyatt Hotels for food and beverage," said Reynolds Stewart, food and service manager for City Team in San Jose. "Eventually, I saw a need. I always wanted to help mend and feed the community, so I took this position." After 25 years in the traditional hospitality industry, Stewart shifted focus to guests who cannot pay. This is now his twelfth year serving Thanksgiving dinner to the homeless and Thursday evening's meal was like none other. "It's a COVID-19 Thanksgiving," he said. "And what a COVID-19 Thanksgiving means is we had to use our imagination." Much like the restaurant industry, Stewart and his City Team staff had to pivot from dine-in to take-out for as many as 500 people. Read More

State Sets National Record For Single Day New Coronavirus Cases As Officials Brace For Thanksgiving Weekend
SANTA CLARA -- As Santa Clara officials warned the county was running out of ICU rooms, state health officials were reporting another dire statistic -- California had another day of record new COVID cases as Los Angeles restaurants prepared to close for three weeks and firefighters in Silicon Valley were being enlisted to help enforce public health rules to try to halt the spread of infections Dr. Marty Fenstersheib, COVID-19 Testing Officer for the County of Santa Clara, said new cases were soaring. Cases of COVID-19 in California have been climbing at an alarming rate for weeks and hit a new high of 18,350 recorded Tuesday, surpassing a previous record of more than 15,000 cases announced Saturday, state officials said. Read More

Despite Pandemic, Thanksgiving Day Marin County Mountain Bike Ride Rolls On
FAIRFAX -- COVID-19 didn't stop an annual Marin County Thanksgiving Day tradition called the "Appetite Seminar," said to be the longest-running mountain bike event in the country. It's arguably one of the best (as well as the oldest) mountain biking events in the Bay Area and features a 20-mile trail ride along fire roads that comprise the Pine Mountain Loop. "It's just a real special place out here, just quiet and serene," said Larkspur resident Rich Gutierrez. Some of the pioneers of mountain biking gathered at the Fairfax Theatre on Thanksgiving in 1975 and, 45 years later, hundreds of mountain bikers ride for hours -- working up a big appetite. "This is my first turkey ride and I'm really excited," said San Rafael resident Anne Andree. Read More

San Francisco Launches 'We Will Recover' Program to Promote Pandemic-Coping Strategies
SAN FRANCISCO -- As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the city and the state, San Francisco city officials last week launched the "We Will Recover" campaign as the holiday season gets underway. The campaign aims to promote ways people can do their part to limit the spread of COVID-19 including staying home for the holidays, patronizing local restaurants and businesses and helping neighbors through volunteering and philanthropic opportunities. "San Francisco will recover from COVID-19 but what that recovery looks like and how fast it comes is on all of us. Our individual actions to control the spread of the virus, to support our small businesses and to help our neighbors in need is the key to our city emerging from the pandemic together," Mayor London Breed said in a statement. "The choices we make in how we spend our time and our money will lay the groundwork for our recovery from COVID and the economic challenges that have come with it," Breed said. Read More

Other Local Coronavirus Trending Stories

COVID Cravings Drive Us To The Fridge In Search Of Comfort Food
SAN FRANCISCO -- COVID-19? How about the COVID 15? That is all the extra pounds you've gained? This pandemic is driving us to the fridge or pantry with some pretty intense cravings for comfort food. But there is good reason: we're nearly 9 months into the pandemic and life is full of restrictions and fears. KPIX 5 spoke to folks on Chestnut Street in San Francisco who were trying to enjoy some fresh air. "Things aren't getting better as we thought," said Brian Goebel. "You can't see your friends. You feel paranoid all the time," noted high schooler Nastasia Hoppe. "I haven't even started school yet, you don't want to get COVID, but you want to spend times with your friends," added her friend Sasha Briones. Read More

San Mateo Health Officer Points To Careless Behavior For Rising Cases, 'In Your Hands' To Stop Surge
SAN MATEO COUNTY -- Calling the holidays a "super critical time," San Mateo County's health officer appealed to residents to stay vigilant and called out careless behavior as COVID-19 cases surge ahead of Thanksgiving. Health officer Dr. Scott Morrow told residents in a statement posted Monday, "Right now, enough people are acting like they are individuals, carelessly, thoughtlessly, and I would add quite selfishly, whether by intent or not, resulting in a surge in new cases." Morrow said due to such behavior, "everyone's lives are disrupted, schools will not function properly, and your favorite businesses will close, likely forever." The county, which had made it to the Orange Tier in the state's reopening plan was among those moved back into the Red Tier last week. San Mateo, along with San Francisco and Marin, are the only Bay Area counties not in the Purple Tier, which has the most COVID-19 restrictions. Read More

'Shop Concord' Gift Cards Save Shoppers Big Money While Helping Local Businesses Survive
CONCORD -- Small businesses all across the Bay Area are struggling due to the pandemic. The Concord Chamber of Commerce says they have a new idea they think can help. It's a gift card program but this one is different. You buy a certificate online representing the "Shop Concord" gift card, then Concord will add 50 percent more value to it. This card has real financial teeth. "A consumer can go in, buy a gift card for $20 and then $10, or ten bonus dollars will come on to that gift card from the funds the city of Concord put into the program," explains Kevin Cabral, President and CEO of the Concord Chamber of Commerce. Concord has pledged $10,000 to make this plan work. Nearly 50 small businesses have signed up to promote and accept the gift cards. Read More

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