Health & Fitness

Another 15 Cases Of Coronavirus In Contra Costa County

No new deaths were reported, but neighboring Alameda County reported its second death.

Bea Karnes, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge
Briana Danyele sews cloth face masks that say "We Got This!" in her mother's living room in Greer, S.C., which will be sent to health care workers. Legions of everyday Americans are sewing masks for desperate hospitals, nursing homes and homeless shelters
Briana Danyele sews cloth face masks that say "We Got This!" in her mother's living room in Greer, S.C., which will be sent to health care workers. Legions of everyday Americans are sewing masks for desperate hospitals, nursing homes and homeless shelters (Christina Hunter via AP)

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA — The number of patients who have tested positive for coronavirus in Contra Costa County grew to 86 on Tuesday, up from 71 on Monday, according to a daily briefing from Contra Costa Health Services.

No new deaths were reported.

In neighboring Alameda County, a second death was reported on Tuesday, while the U.S. death toll attributed to coronavirus topped 600.

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In other developments today, the Public Health Officers of seven Bay Area jurisdictions including Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties, with the City of Berkeley, announced an order with new reporting requirements for laboratories that test for the novel coronavirus. Laboratories must report results of tests for all residents of eachjurisdiction to the ordering health care provider and the appropriate state and local health officials.

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Previously only positive tests were reported, so health officers could not track the percentage of positive tests.

The City of Hayward is now offering free coronavirus testing at a specially erected testing center. No referral from a physician is required.

The center can test up to 370 people each day. Test results are available in as little as six hours or by the next day in most cases. Here's more information.

The state will close all parking lots at state parks in an effort to discourage the public from going out in close contact with others, Gov. Gavin Newsom said at a news conference.

Hospitals in California currently have 75,000 beds and plan to add another 30,000 by expanding their own facilities to meet anticipated demand. The state is looking for ways to provide another 20,000 new beds, perhaps by purchasing several hospitals that were sitting unused. A list of hospitals is not available.

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