Santa Clara County Reports 240 New Coronavirus Cases, 1 Death

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — The Santa Clara County Public Health Department reported 240 additional coronavirus cases Tuesday.

The latest announcement brings the countywide COVID-19 case count to 11,030.

The county reported one additional coronavirus-related fatality Tuesday, bringing its COVID-19 death toll to 192.

There were 169 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Santa Clara County as of Tuesday, of which 49 were being treated in intensive care units.

Elsewhere around the Bay Area and beyond, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that the state's COVID-19 coronavirus positivity rate has trended down over the last week, a sign that the state pulling back its reopening plans may be working to prevent further spread of the virus.

The state's seven-day average of daily positive cases fell more than 20 percent from 9,859 cases July 27 to 7,764 Monday, Newsom said. The state's seven-day test positivity rate has also fallen from around 8 percent a week ago to around 6.1 percent as of Sunday.

Newsom cautioned that increased testing will drive the state's positivity numbers up and state public health officials will need to see at least two to three more weeks of sustained decreases in positivity before allowing businesses like salons and indoor dining to reopen.

Delays in the Senate over a new stimulus package will likely have detrimental effects in Santa Clara County, said county Supervisor Dave Cortese.

The expiration on Aug. 1 of the $600 weekly supplemental unemployment benefits from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act leaves thousands of families unable to continue covering rent, likely increasing the homelessness surge in the county.

Hundreds of families in East Palo Alto have been unable to pay rent due to the COVID-19 pandemic and are struggling to get assistance, housing advocates said at a briefing Monday.

An April survey by the city's Rent Stabilization Board showed that of 224 tenants who responded, more than half had lost their jobs or had their work hours reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and 29 percent could not pay their April rent in full.

The city has a moratorium on evictions if tenants cannot pay rent due to COVID-19. The moratorium currently ends Sept. 30, and will automatically extend if Gov. Gavin Newsom extends the state's order on evictions.

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There were 521,019 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 9,508 coronavirus-related deaths in California as of Tuesday afternoon according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The United States had 4,758,028 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 156,426 coronavirus-related fatalities as of Tuesday afternoon.

There have been 18,387,725 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 696,586 deaths reported globally as of Tuesday afternoon.

— Bay City News contributed to this report.

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