COVID-19 live updates: CA’s 7-day positivity rate is 1.8%, state officials say

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — The COVID-19 pandemic is having a major impact across the world and also in cities across Northern California. The latest number of confirmed cases in the U.S. can be found at the CDC’s 2019 Novel Coronavirus in the U.S. page. (The CDC updates the webpage on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.)

Join anchor Kristen Sze for ABC7’s daily interactive newscast about the novel coronavirus outbreak in the Bay Area and other hot topics. You can check here to stream the show Monday-Friday at 3 p.m.

Here are the latest developments on the respiratory illness in the U.S.:

March 21, 2021

11 a.m.
California’s 7-day positivity rate is 1.8%, state officials say
State health officials released the most recent statistics on COVID-19 Sunday. California has 3,545,278 confirmed cases to date. There were 3,350 newly recorded confirmed cases Saturday, with 7-day positivity rate of 1.8%. 56,118 COVID-19 deaths have been reported since the start of the pandemic. As of Mar. 21, providers have reported administering a total of 14,520,575 vaccine doses statewide. The CDC reports that 18,234,500 doses have been delivered to entities within the state.

March 20, 2021

4 p.m.
7-day positivity rate in CA remains under 2%
California has 3,541,928 confirmed cases to date, and there were 3,107 newly recorded confirmed cases Friday, according to the California Department of Public Health.

The 7-day positivity rate is 1.9%.

There have been 52,047,615 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 211,492 during the prior 24-hour reporting period.

There have been 56,072 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

As of March 20, providers have reported administering a total of 14,180,095 vaccine doses statewide. The CDC reports that 18,234,500 doses have been delivered to entities within the state. Numbers do not represent true day-to-day change as reporting may be delayed

March 19, 2021

7:40p.m.
Cal/OSHA fines Alta Bates Summit Medical Center for 8 COVID-19 related workplace safety violations

The California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) has fined Sutter Health’s Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland $155,250 for numerous COVID-19 related workplace safety violations. This follows an investigation after the July 2020 death of registered nurse
Janine Paiste-Ponder, according to a press release by the California Nurses Association emailed Friday night.

“Janine and many other nurses were calling on the hospital to address their many infection control concerns but their pleas for safety went unanswered when Janine ended up being exposed,” said Mike Hill, RN and the chief nurse representative at the facility, where nurses are represented by California Nurses Association (CNA). “It is heartbreaking Janine had to die before these problems were taken seriously enough for a state investigation,” the statement continues.

Cal/OSHA says it found numerous violations of state infectious disease control standards in its investigation, resulting in eight citations.

They include the hospital’s failure to ensure that COVID-19 positive patients were properly and securely isolated and failure to provide N95 respirators to the nurses who worked on Paiste-Ponder’s unit, the statement adds.

6:25 a.m.
Santa Clara Co. cancels thousands of vaccination appointments
Santa Clara County had to cancel thousands of vaccination appointments for next week due to a low supply. County officials say they are ready to give the shots but they just don’t have them.

March 18, 2021

7:25 a.m.
COVID-19 live updates: SF officials to give details on orange tier
Today San Francisco officials will announce details about what will change when the city enters the orange tier. City guidelines are expected to be more restrictive than state guidelines. The city is expected to enter the orange tier next week.

March 17, 2021

11 a.m.
SF mayor commemorates 1-year anniversary of stay-at-home order
San Francisco Mayor London Breed commemorated the one-year anniversary of when the COVID-19 stay-at-home order went into effect during an event Wednesday.

7 a.m.
San Mateo Co. moves into orange tier
San Mateo County has become the first Bay Area county to move back into the orange tier. Starting today, restaurants can fill up to 50% capacity. Gyms and indoor entertainment can open at 25% capacity.

March 16, 2021

6:15 p.m.
San Mateo Co. official discusses move to orange tier
San Mateo County manager, Mike Callagy, joined ABC7’s Getting Answers Tuesday afternoon to discuss the loosening of restrictions. It’s the first county in the Bay Area to move back into the orange tier. Watch video below to see what it will look like.

12:15 p.m.
Gov. Newsom gives COVID-19 update at Alameda school
Gov. Gavin Newsom was at an Alameda elementary school to talk about the ongoing effort to reopen most California schools for in-person learning over the next few weeks. So far, about 400,000 educators have received a vaccine dose in the state, Newsom said.

Statewide, 12.6 million doses total have been administered so far. In the last 24 hours, Newsom said 464,000 people were vaccinated. He reminded everyone that the only reason that number isn’t even higher is because of limited supply. Over the last few weeks, the state has only gotten between 1.7 million to 1.8 million doses weekly.

As vaccination numbers increase, COVID-19 cases numbers continue to plummet. California is seeing a record low 1.8% positivity rate and only 1,260 new cases over the past day. “Just consider eight weeks ago, we were at 53,000,” Newsom said.

10:40 a.m.
First cases of U.K. COVID variant detected in Contra Costa County
Laboratory results have revealed the first two known cases of the highly infectious U.K. variant (B.1.117) in Contra Costa County. The B.1.117 variant, dubbed the U.K. variant because it is believed to have originated in the United Kingdom, is more contagious than others and possibly more deadly. While these are the first confirmed cases of the U.K. variant in Contra Costa, Dr. Chris Farnitano, the county’s health officer, said there are likely many more in the community that have not been detected.

9:30 a.m.
Assemblymembers call for end to statewide COVID-19 restrictions
Assemblymembers James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) and Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) are calling for an end to state-level COVID-19 restrictions in California, introducing Assembly Concurrent Resolution 46 to terminate Governor Newsom’s emergency powers. The Resolution is coauthored by other North State leaders, including Assemblymember Megan Dahle and Senators Brian Dahle and Jim Nielsen.

6:55 a.m.
Bay Area health officers tout safety of J&J vaccine
Health officers in all Bay Area counties are touting the safety of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. It comes as many have raised concerns about the vaccine’s effectiveness in clinical trials.

March 15, 2021

12:30 p.m.
California’s 1st case of Brazilian COVID-19 variant found in San Bernardino County
California’s first case of a COVID-19 variant first discovered in Brazil earlier this year was detected in San Bernardino over the weekend, county officials said. Get the full story here.

6 a.m.
Vaccine eligibility expands today
Starting today, 4.4 million Californians 16 to 64 years old with pre-existing health conditions will be prioritized for COVID-19 vaccines. Appointments could be tough to come by until vaccine supply really starts to ramp up. See more details here.

Mar. 14, 2021

2 p.m.
7-day positivity rate drops to 2%, state health officials say
The 7-day positivity rate has decreased to 2% statewide, California Department of Public Health announced Sunday. There were 2,772 newly recorded confirmed cases Saturday, adding to a total of 3,526,335 confirmed cases to date. Numbers may not represent true day-over-day change as reporting of test results can be delayed. As of Sunday, providers have reported administering a total of 11,785,750 vaccine doses statewide. The CDC reports that 15,702,230 doses have been delivered to entities within the state, and 16,361,975 vaccine doses, which includes the first and second dose, have been shipped.

Mar. 13, 2021
11:35 a.m.
7-day positivity rate is 2.1%, 3,230 new CA cases, state health officials say

On Saturday, California has 3,523,563 confirmed cases to date, according to the California Department of Public Health.
There were 3,230 newly recorded confirmed cases in the state as of Friday.
The 7-day positivity rate is 2.1%.
There have been 50,889,509 tests conducted in California.
There have been 55,095 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic (217 additional deaths as of Friday).

As of March 13, providers have reported administering a total of 11,418,507 vaccine doses statewide. The CDC reports that 15,702,230 doses have been delivered to entities within the state, and 15,896,795 vaccine doses, which includes the first and second dose, have been shipped.

Hospitalized: 3,250
In ICU: 942

Mar. 12, 2021
1:10 p.m.

Sonoma, Contra Costa County set to enter red tier Sunday
Two more Bay Area counties are set to enter the less restrictive red tier this weekend, according to the California Department of Public Health.

“After reassessment using new thresholds, 13 counties will move to a less restrictive tier, from Purple (widespread) to Red (substantial): Amador, Colusa, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Mendocino, Mono, Orange, Placer, San Benito, San Bernardino, Siskiyou, Sonoma and Tuolumne. Twenty-one counties will remain in the Purple (widespread) Tier, 33 will be in the Red (substantial) Tier, three remain in the Orange (moderate) Tier and one remains in the Yellow (minimal) Tier. These changes will take effect on Sunday, March 14,” the CDPH said in a statement.

For more context on what this means, click here.

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Mar. 11, 2021
5:35 a.m.
SF mass site to administer J&J vaccines today
San Francisco will administer some of its first doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine today. Officials say 1,000 doses will be given at the mass vaccination site at City College.

Mar. 10, 2021

3 p.m.
CA breweries, wineries that don’t serve food can now operate outdoors in purple tier
California health officials announced that breweries, wineries and distilleries that do not serve food can now operate outdoors with modifications in the purple and red tiers. Patrons must have reservations, observe a 90-minute time limit and service for on-site consumption must end by 8 p.m.
This change will go into effect March 13.

In the orange tier, indoor operations may begin with 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer. In the yellow tier, indoor operations may increase to 50% of capacity or 200 people, whichever is fewer.

For more details on what can reopen in each tier, visit this page.

6:10 a.m.
Students returning to classrooms in Pleasanton
Middle and high school students in Pleasanton are heading back to the classroom. Six campuses will be reopening this morning. Elementary school kids in the district returned to the classroom last week.

Mar. 10, 2021
Indoor dining, businesses reopen in 3 Bay Area counties
Three more Bay Area counties have moved from the purple tier to the less-restrictive red tier. Indoor dining and other businesses can now reopen in Alameda, Solano and Santa Cruz counties.

Mar. 9, 2021

10:30 a.m.
Newsom speaks in LA County
Gov. Newsom was at a Los Angeles County vaccination clinic on Wednesday,discussing California’s continued progress in battling the pandemic and commitment to vaccine equity one day after his State of the State address.

3:45 p.m.
Alcatraz reopens after year-long closure
For the first time since the pandemic started, visitors can go inside the prison to tour the jailhouse. Masks are required. And the National Park Service is capping the number of visitors, 900 per day on Fridays through Mondays and 600 per day midweek. Alcatraz reopened in August for outdoors-only tours, but things shut down again in December during the winter COVID surge.

11:30 a.m.
Disneyland announces plans to reopen by end of April
Disney CEO Bob Chapek says the company should be able to reopen its California theme parks, Disneyland Resort and Disney California Adventure Park, with limited capacity by late April. This comes after the state health officials said it would allow certain outdoor activities to resume with capacity restrictions, including the reopening of theme parks, as early as April 1. Here’s the full story.

10:30 a.m.

Alameda, Solano counties officially move into red tier
Alameda and Solano counties are officially moving into the red tier today. Santa Cruz County is also moving into the red tier. That means indoor dining will be allowed, also museums, gyms, and movie theatres could reopen. Here’s a map showing what reopening tiers counties are under and what is allowed.

Mar. 8, 2021
12 p.m.
SFUSD leaders give update on plans to reopen
San Francisco Unified School District leaders gave an update regarding the district’s plans to have students return to classrooms.

6:15 a.m.
SF parents propose changes to school board
Today a group of San Francisco parents will announce a plan to shift the school board to an appointed system. They say it would help address systemic issues. The announcements come the same day the district will release new details about their plans to reopen schools.

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