Bay Area COVID-19 Roundup: Bars, Breweries, Wineries Reopenings; San Francisco High Schools Won't Likely Open Until Fall
CBS San Francisco Staff Report
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- It's been a year since the historic COVID-19 shutdown and the battle with the virus is still impacting our daily lives. Here's a roundup of the COVID stories we've published over the last 24 hours.
State Health Officials Give Updated Guidance For Bars, Breweries, Wineries
SACRAMENTO -- The California Department of Public Health on Wednesday released updated public health guidance changing the restrictions and requirements for bars, breweries, wineries and distilleries starting this weekend. The state's Blueprint for a Safer Economy showed significant changes for additional safe and sustainable reopening activities that will impact the above businesses as well as outdoor live event venues and sleepaway camps. The Department of Public Health outlined the changes to guidance with new documentation on its Blueprint for a Safer Economy website. Effective March 13, bars not serving food will remain closed in the Purple (widespread) and Red (substantial) tiers. However, in the Orange or moderate Tier, bars will be allowed to resume outdoor operations with modifications. In the Yellow or minimal Tier, bars will be allowed to resume indoor operations with modifications at 25% maximum capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer. Read More
Pleasanton School District Welcomes All Levels Of Students Back to Classrooms
PLEASANTON -- Bay Area schools are eagerly pushing ahead with COVID reopening plans Thursday, with the Pleasanton Unified School District becoming the first in Alameda County to have all grade levels back in classrooms. Just one day after Alameda County moved into the red tier, Pleasanton has brought back in-person classes for all grade levels in an attempt to try and salvage what they can of this school year. It was not the most perfect first day of school, but for Pleasanton students, it was better than another day of Zoom classes. "It's good to be back!" said Foothill High student Ian Romo. Read More
Insurance Commissioner Says Auto Insurers Owe Drivers More Pandemic Refunds
SACRAMENTO -- Auto insurers shortchanged California drivers on refunds ordered last year as crashes dropped during the coronavirus pandemic, the state's insurance regulator said Thursday. Traffic plummeted after California imposed the nation's first stay-home order a year ago to slow the spread of the coronavirus. But insurers said dangerous driving trends have worsened even as the number of miles driven declined. Collisions dropped by 55% and injuries and deaths from traffic accidents fell 53% in the week after Gov. Gavin Newsom's order, University of California, Davis, researchers found. Read More
California Leaders Push One-Shot Johnson & Johnson Vaccine In Visit To Coliseum Vaccination Site
OAKLAND -- California officials pushed the safety and efficacy of the new one-shot Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine on Thursday as the state looks ahead to drastically loosening restrictions that have altered life in the nation's most populous state. "The thing that came into my mind when that vaccine went into my arm was hugging my mom again. And I think that is something too many Californians have been without since this pandemic began," said Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, California's surgeon general, who is African American. California's supply of the single-shot vaccine is limited for now but officials are eager to build confidence, particularly in minority communities. Read More
Biden COVID Relief Plan Dollars Help Spell Salvation for Oakland Employees
OAKLAND -- Just before addressing the nation Thursday night, President Biden signed a $1.9 trillion relief package called the American Rescue Plan. Out of that, the city of Oakland is expecting to get roughly $190 million. Councilmember Noel Gallo said the city was just a month away from another round of layoffs. As Gallo phrased it, Oakland is not trying to fly to the moon with this money, it's just trying to stay afloat. "The American Rescue Plan is a rescue plan for Oakland," said Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf. With Oakland facing a deficit close to $45 million, the American Rescue Plan money is going to help the city fund basic services, maintain its infrastructure and provide public safety. "I can't tell you how gut-wrenching this last year has been as the needs of our communities have never been more acute or desperate," Mayor Schaaf said. Read More
Governor, Health Experts Applaud Pres. Biden's Push to Expand Vaccination Efforts
BERKELEY -- During a primetime address Thursday night, President Joe Biden announced a plan to ask state health departments to open COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to all Americans over the age of 18. Bay Area public health experts say it's going to be a massive logistical challenge but it is possible. Experts say it's important to keep in mind how far we've come in one year. It was exactly one year ago when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. "One year ago today. That was the last day I was in my office at UC Berkeley. I haven't been back since. It almost brings tears to my eyes to think of where we are now," said UC Berkeley public health professor and infectious disease specialist, Dr. John Swartzberg. Read More
Constrained Supply Leads to Sparse Turnout at South Bay COVID-19 Vaccination Sites
SAN JOSE -- Public health officials in Santa Clara County say a significant shortage of the vaccine has throttled and threatened to stall their efforts to battle the virus. "We're very interested in getting the vaccine but now, with this situation, it's too hard to get an appointment," said Yadeel Lopez about her difficulty obtaining a vaccination appointment. The number of people receiving vaccine at once-busy sites like Emmanuel Baptist Church and Berger Avenue nosedived over the past week — down 70 to 90 percent. "Clearly, most of the vaccinations that we're doing are second doses," said Dr. Marty Fenstersheib who's in charge of vaccinations for the county. "The appointment schedules are closed for most of our sites because we can't open them up to first doses yet." Read More
Suspect In San Francisco Uber Assault Case Arrested In Las Vegas
SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco Police on Thursday announced the arrest in Las Vegas of one of two suspects in the assault and robbery of a Uber driver during a confrontation in San Francisco last weekend. Officers from the Las Vegas Police Department apprehended 24-year-old Malaysia King Thursday afternoon in connection with the incident on March 7. The other suspect, 24-year-old Arna Kimiai, remained outstanding but informed police through her legal counsel that she intended to turn herself into the authorities. A police source on Wednesday night informed KPIX that the two women were wanted for assault and robbery in connection with the incident. During the confrontation, which was captured on video, the Uber driver said the women called him racial slurs, grabbed his phone and ripped off his mask. Read More
San Francisco Officials Decry Anti-Asian Violence In Wake Of Fatal Attack
SAN FRANCISCO -- Speaking in front of the Hall of Justice, District Attorney Chesa Boudin, along with several Supervisors and Assemblymember Phil Ting came together to denounce crimes against the Asian-American Pacific Islander community. "This is not a new problem. This is a problem that has existed for decades, that has gotten very little investment and very little attention," said retired District 1 Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer. Among the actions, Assemblymember Phil Ting announced $1.4 million in state funding to track crimes against the AAPI community. "If you don't have the data, then you think it's just an isolated incident. And we have one case, we have one court trial, but we really don't know how prevalent the situation is. Well, now we do," Ting said. Read More
75-Year-Old Asian Man Critically Injured In Oakland Assault Dies; Suspect Faces Murder Charge
OAKLAND -- The 75-year-old Asian man who was left brain dead from an Oakland assault and robbery earlier this week has died and the suspect in the case now faces a special circumstances murder charge and additional felony charges, according to authorities. A statement from the Alameda County District Attorney's Office confirmed that the victim in the Tuesday assault, identified as 75-year-old Oakland resident Pak Ho, had died Thursday afternoon shortly before 1 p.m. Carl Chan, the president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, also told KPIX 5 Thursday afternoon that the victim had passed away. Read More
San Francisco School Board Approves Elementary Reopening In April
SAN FRANCISCO -- A year after San Francisco schools moved to remote learning at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the school board just approved the plan to get its youngest students back into class. Under the plan, in-person learning for preschoolers through second grade begin will happen in multiple waves starting April 12. Additional schools would reopen on April 19 and April 26. In-person learning for grades 3-5 would also begin on April 26, district officials said. Under the plan, students would return to class either for two or four days per week. Middle schools and high schools likely won't open at all until the fall. Read More
Oakley School Board OKs Plan to Replace Themselves
OAKLEY -- The Board of Trustees of the Oakley Union Elementary School District settled on a plan Tuesday night to replace themselves with new appointees. The current board, three interim appointees from the Contra Costa County Board of Education, stepped in when the previous board resigned en masse in February following a "hot mic" video of their disparaging comments about local parents went viral. Last week, the board appointed their first trustee replacement, Lynette Fuller. Meeting in only their second gathering, board president Mike Maxwell, Annette Lewis and Consuelo Lara got a blast of public comments criticizing them for their method of choosing Fuller for the first open seat. After hours of grappling with the difficulties of scheduling, Maxwell said, "I don't want to get caught up in the weeds of the process and suddenly it's May and we don't have a full board. I would rather get the community involved as soon as possible." Read More
Transit Agencies Provide Info On Transit-Accessible COVID-19 Vaccination Sites
OAKLAND -- A cadre of Bay Area transit agencies announced Thursday that they have launched a list of COVID-19 vaccination sites that are accessible by transit as well as the promotions offered to vaccine recipients. The list of vaccine sites includes locations served by BART; the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District; the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority; the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency; the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District and SamTrans. "We are committed to making sure that the folks who rely on public transit can not only get to the vaccination sites but that they can easily find information about their best options," BART Board President Mark Foley said in a statement. Read More
2021 Dipsea Race Rescheduled From June To November
MARIN COUNTY -- The 110th Dipsea Race has been postponed to Nov. 7 because of the pandemic, organizers said Wednesday, the first time in 82 years the trail-running event has been held in November. The event was originally scheduled for June 13, but organizers cited the unpredictable COVID-19 vaccine rollout, the potential impact of new variants of the virus and the unknown future of public health guidance for large outdoor events among the reasons for the postponement. "We want to put the safety of our runners of all ages, volunteers, families, friends and the community-at-large first and we felt it would be too ambitious, even risky, to attempt to hold the race on June 13 with so many unknowns," Dipsea Race Committee Chairman Merv Regan said. "We apologize for not holding the race on the traditional date on the second Sunday in June as we had hoped, but, for this year only, we are moving the race back to November with the goal of staging a race that provides a safer and more comfortable environment," Regan said. Read More
MDUSD Delays Decision on Reopening Schools Pending More Negotiations
CONCORD -- The Mount Diablo Unified School District Governing Board put off a decision on how and when to reopen schools on Wednesday night while negotiations continued with the district's teacher's union and other labor partners. Superintendent Adam Clark last week told the district community in a message last week that in-person learning could start as early as March 22, but with no memorandum of understanding yet reached with the Mt. Diablo Education Association and other labor unions, the board Wednesday decided to give the two sides more time to negotiate. The board still kept March 22 as a target date for reopening and said a special meeting will be held on Tuesday to make a final decision on how to move forward. Read More
