Santa Clara County Reports 150 New Coronavirus Cases, 3 Deaths

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — The Santa Clara County Public Health Department reported 150 additional coronavirus cases Thursday.

The latest report brings the countywide case count to 19,891.

The county reported three additional coronavirus-related fatalities Thursday, bringing its COVID-19 death toll to 295.

There were 100 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Santa Clara County as of Thursday, of which 39 were being treated in intensive care units.

Elsewhere in the Bay Area and beyond, elementary schools in Sonoma County can now apply for waivers allowing them to bring students back into the classroom, but county Superintendent of Schools Steve Herrington is urging school leaders and parents to proceed with caution.

"Everyone needs to know that children are a protected class, and so when you look at a store operation versus a school operation, it has a higher standard protocol," Herrington said.

"You cannot compare a school to Home Depot or Raley's or Safeway." The county's 106 public elementary schools and more than two dozen private elementary schools are now able to seek waivers in order to offer in-person instruction because the county's COVID-19 case rate has dropped below 200 per 100,000 residents, to 195.5.

Saying some health providers are not providing their share of COVID-19 tests, Contra Costa County's health officer and one county supervisor said a health order mandating more testing by providers is in order, and in the works.

County Health Officer Dr. Chris Farnitano mentioned it during a presentation to the Board of Supervisors centering on the need for more COVID-19 testing to help slow the spread of the virus.

He said Contra Costa health officials have been working with health care providers on this, but said a health order is needed to require both more testing and protocol changes adjusting testing limits and eliminating requirements for doctors' referrals.

Farnitano said about half of Contra Costa residents with health plans are Kaiser members, but that Kaiser has performed, as of Tuesday, 18 percent of COVID-19 tests in the county since the pandemic began in March.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Thursday authored by a Bay Area state legislator that will expand access to workers' compensation for front-line workers affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Senate Bill 1159 creates a rebuttable presumption of infection for people like grocery store employees, health care workers, firefighters and law enforcement officers who believe they contracted the coronavirus at work.

The law, authored by state Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, also creates a presumption of infection whenever there is a workplace outbreak over a two-week span of time.

San Mateo County's "Mask Mobile," a resource and mask distribution van, is launching Thursday with an event in Daly City. County Supervisor David Canepa was set to unveil the Mask Mobile program at 12:30 p.m. at Top of the Hill Cafe on Mission Street.

"This is an incredibly fun, exciting and educational way to promote the mandate that face masks must be worn in public," Canepa said. "It might look a bit like Scooby Doo's Mystery Machine but we're calling it the 'Mask Mobile.'"

Don't miss updates about the coronavirus in California as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters.

There have been 773,708 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 14,775 coronavirus-related deaths in California as of Thursday afternoon according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The United States had 6,670,496 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 197,589 coronavirus-related fatalities as of Thursday afternoon.

There have been 30,019,763 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 943,515 deaths reported globally as of Thursday afternoon.

— Bay City News contributed to this report

More coronavirus coverage:

• Stanford Experts' Letter Over Trump Adviser Atlas Spurs Pushback
• South Bay Teacher Seen Coughing On Toddler Still Sought: Report
• South Bay's Smash Mouth Headlines Potential 'Superspreader' Event
• Silicon Valley Cracks Down On 'Harmful' Trump Coronavirus Misinfo
• Watch: 'Karen' Rant At South Bay Post Office Captured On Video