Large Events At Alameda County Fairgrounds Banned

PLEASANTON, CA — Gatherings of more than 250 people are to be banned at the Alameda County Fairgrounds, the Alameda County Public Health Department announced.

The ban on large, non-essential events will be effective immediately and in place through the end of March, the county said Thursday in a statement.

The ban comes after the California Department of Public Health issued an advisory on mass gatherings Wednesday. Prior to that recommendation, public health officials had asked people to call off events of 1,000 people or larger.

The state and county also recommend the postponement of smaller gatherings where it's not possible for attendees to stay six feet away from each other. Gatherings of people at high risk of coronavirus complications should cap at 10 people, public health officials say.

Don't miss updates about precautions in Alameda County as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters here.

Preventative measures help reduce the number of people who become ill and slow down the spread of coronavirus, said Alameda County Health Officer Erica Pan in the statement.

“Alameda County Health Care Services Agency supports the state’s efforts to slow and reduce the reach of COVID-19 in our community,” said Colleen Chawla, director of the county Health Care Services Agency, in the statement.

Also Thursday, the county announced four new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total to seven.

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency last week to provide additional resources, prevent price gouging and help the state better prepare for the virus's spread.

The emergency declaration followed the first known coronavirus-related death in California — an elderly Placer County resident who was exposed to the virus on a Grand Princess cruise Feb. 11-21 from San Francisco to Mexico and back.

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).

The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21. Ninety-nine cases have been reported across 13 states, with 10 U.S. deaths confirmed, according to a Thursday CDC update.

The disease, which apparently originated in animals, is now transferring from person to person, although the mechanism is not yet fully understood. Its symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, and many patients develop pneumonia. There is as yet no vaccine against COVID-19 it and no antiviral treatment.

According to the CDC, the best way of preventing the disease is to avoid close contact with people who are sick, to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, to wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and to use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol if soap and water are not available.

To avoid spreading any respiratory illness, the CDC recommends staying at home when you are sick, covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throwing the tissue in the trash, cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.

Read more about the coronavirus outbreak here on the CDC website.