Santa Clara County Reports 137 New Coronavirus Cases, 3 Deaths

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — The Santa Clara County Public Health Department reported 137 additional coronavirus cases Wednesday.

The latest report brings the countywide case count to 23,591.

The county reported three additional coronavirus-related fatalities Wednesday, bringing its COVID-19 death toll to 385.

There were 96 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Santa Clara County as of Wednesday, of which 23 were being treated in intensive care units.

Elsewhere in the Bay Area and beyond, San Mateo County History Museum, the Woodside Store and the Sanchez Adobe reopened on Tuesday after being closed for most of the year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"It's been really exciting for us to open our doors again and start seeing people come in," said Carmen Blair, deputy director of the San Mateo County Historical Association, which operates the three historic sites.

The county museum, located at 2200 Broadway in Redwood City, is open every day except Monday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

It is located at the 110-year-old "Old Courthouse" in Redwood City, and has exhibits related to natural resources, suburban development, ethnic experiences and entrepreneurial achievements throughout history.

The Woodside Store opens Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The Store, built in 1854, is located at 3300 Tripp Road, Woodside.

It operated as a country store, post office and community center until its owner, Dr. Robert O. Tripp died in 1909.

The Sanchez Adobe opens Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. It is located at 1000 Linda Mar Boulevard in Pacifica.

Francisco Sanchez, a leader of Mexican California in the 19th century, built the adobe home between 1842 and 1846. Sanchez was owner of Rancho San Pedro and a one-time mayor of San Francisco.

To comply with Covid-19 safety precautions, visitors and staff must wear a face mask and practice social distancing. Staff will also clean the venues before, during and after opening hours.

People can visit www.historysmc.org/faqs for more information.

San Mateo County's Board of Supervisors on Tuesday allocated an additional $2 million to the county's Immigrant Relief Fund, which provides financial assistance to immigrants during the COVID-19 pandemic. The relief fund provides $1,000 grants to low-income, undocumented San Mateo County residents who may not qualify for federal benefits.

The $2 million allocation came from the county's Measure K funds. John Sobrato, a real estate developer and founder of the Sobrato Organization, seeded the fund in July with a $5 million contribution. He challenged the board to match his contribution during an Oct. 6 board meeting.

The supervisors requested that an agenda item be added for their meeting Tuesday to allocate $2 million to the fund, in addition to the $2 million they initially allocated in July.

Sonoma County supervisors on Tuesday unanimously agreed to spend $4 million on a public health strategy intended to push back against the spread of coronavirus in disadvantaged communities.

Public health officials said they would most likely be back to request another $11.9 million to carry the program on from Jan. 1 2021 to June 2021 - and supervisors suggested they would support that request.

The strategy's aim is twofold. First, it is to reduce stark inequities in COVID-19 related health outcomes that have hit Latinos disproportionately hard.

Latinos make up 26 percent of Sonoma County residents, but a few months ago were just under 80 percent of local COVID-19 cases.

Though that number has since come down, it remains an alarming 54 percent of total cases.

"Long standing socioeconomic inequities do place our most vulnerable residents at risk," said Sundari Mase, the county's public health officer, citing the Latino, indigenous, low-income and essential worker communities as among those particularly impacted.

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There have been 885,559 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 17,113 coronavirus-related deaths in California as of Wednesday afternoon according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The United States had 8,312,109 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 221,694 coronavirus-related fatalities as of Wednesday afternoon.

There have been 41,053,723 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 1,128,090 deaths reported globally as of Wednesday afternoon.

— Bay City News contributed to this report