Coronavirus updates: Santa Clara was 'looking' for community spread in early February

FILE - In this April 14, 2020, file photo, California Gov. Gavin Newsom gestures during a news conference at the Governor's Office of Emergency Services in Rancho Cordova, Calif. On Wednesday, April 22, Gov. Newsom is scheduled to give an update on the six indicators state officials are watching to determine when they might loosen the state's stay-at-home order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, Pool, File) less FILE - In this April 14, 2020, file photo, California Gov. Gavin Newsom gestures during a news conference at the Governor's Office of Emergency Services in Rancho Cordova, Calif. On Wednesday, April 22, Gov. ... more Photo: Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press Photo: Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press Image 1 of / 49 Caption Close Coronavirus updates: Santa Clara was 'looking' for community spread in early February 1 / 49 Back to Gallery

LATEST, April 23, 9:00 p.m. Santa Clara County public health officer Sara Cody told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Thursday night that health officials knew there was a "good probability" the coronavirus would be introduced to the region in early February, but there was no way to test for it.

"We were looking, looking, looking for signs, but we didn't have the capacity to test and to document that the virus was present," she said. "We couldn't see it and we didn't have data to show and share to the public so I don't think we could have gotten the public on board with the actions they have taken since March 16."

"What I wish is that we'd had more information."

...

"We were looking, looking, looking for signs, but we didn't have the capacity to test and to document that the virus was present."

-Dr. Sara Cody, county public health officer on the early response to the coronavirus crisis pic.twitter.com/E267lCh6i8 — Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) April 24, 2020

On Tuesday, the county reported that three individuals died of the virus before the county reported its first death on March 9. The first death was on Feb. 6, the second on Feb. 17 and the third on March 6.

April 23, 6:00 p.m. Solano County reported its fourth death due to the novel coronavirus Thursday night.

The county also reported five new cases, bringing its total to 191. Elsewhere in the North Bay, Sonoma County reported 22 new cases of COVID-19 to bring its total to 216.

April 23, 4:00 p.m. President Donald Trump said the federal government would be sending a second shipment of supplies to California Friday, a day after the first shipment arrived. In a White House press conference, Trump said Newsom "thanked us very much" for getting the state the supplies needed for testing.

"We got it to [Newsom] today, tomorrow we’ll get him even more," Trump said. "Would have been harder for him to get than us, we agreed to get it, we got it, on time. He said promises made, promises kept."

On Tuesday, Newsom said in a press conference the state needed swabs and transport media, and that he was in conversation with the Trump administration to secure them.

April 23, 3:50 p.m. The House has approved $484 billion in spending related to COVID-19 recovery, the Washington Post reported.

Trump has previously said he would sign the bill into law.

April 23, 2:45 p.m. Alameda County announced additional cases of the coronavirus Thursday, bringing the total in the county to 1,350. The county also disclosed a new death, bringing the death toll to 46.

April 23, 2:30 p.m. Three people have died and 36 have tested positive for the coronavirus at an Oakland senior care facility, the Mercury News reported Thursday.

A spokesperson for the Excell Health Care Center on High Street noted that the 36 infections are all in center residents; it was not disclosed if any additional cases are in staff members.

The center is one a growing number of senior homes disproportionately affected by high case numbers of the coronavirus.

April 23, 2:15 p.m. Several Bay Area counties reported additional COVID-19 cases Thursday afternoon. Contra Costa County announced seven new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the county to 770. Contra Costa also reported an additional death, its 23rd.

Napa County announced four additional cases, for a total of 154, and Sonoma County announced two new cases for a total of 194. Neither North Bay county reported any new deaths.

With the announcement of 25 new cases, Santa Clara County is now nearing 2,000 cases. It now reports a total of 1,987. The South Bay county also counted a new death, bringing the total to 95.

April 23, 2:00 p.m. The city of Oakland has expanded its testing to make eligible anyone who lives or works in Alameda County, regardless of immigration status or whether they are insured.

Those who want to be tested must be showing symptoms, such as a cough, fever or shortness of breath, or have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. They will then need to register to confirm an appointment here at the city's website.

April 23, 1:47 p.m. Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday that 115 people died from the novel coronavirus in California in one day, marking a 8.5% increase in the total number of deaths. There was also a 5.6% increase in the total number of people who tested positive in the state. (Previous reports tallied a higher death total for Wednesday, at 118 fatalities.)

There are some positives of note, however, Newsom said. The state has seen two days of declines in hospitalizations and patients in ICUs; the latest figure shows a 0.4% drop in hospitalizations, while ICU figures dropped by 1.2%. Despite those positives, he warned that "we're not out of the woods yet."

April 23, 1:14 p.m. California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced two plans that are aimed at providing some relief for Californians who either received money under the CARES Act, or are currently making student loan payments.

Under a new executive order signed by Newsom Thursday, debt collectors will not be allowed to garnish money received under the CARES Act, effective immediately. The order will also be retroactive, so any money already taken by debt collectors must be returned.

“Now is not the time to garnish those emergency contribution checks,” Newsom said in his address.

There are some caveats, however, as Newsom noted. The new order does not apply to those who owe childcare or spousal support, or those who have a “responsibility to a victim or a victim's account.”

Student loan borrowers will also see some relief, as 21 of the 24 largest student loan servicers have agreed to a 90-day forbearance on student loan debt, Newsom said. This is set to impact over 1.1 million Californians.

April 23, 12:10 p.m. San Jose State is planning for its Fall 2020 semester to take place online, the university reported Thursday.

"It is unclear the kind of world we will be walking into in August when the new academic year begins, or how it will change throughout the semester," a note to students from Provost Vincent Del Casino Jr. read. "The best option, for now, based on what we know is to plan that the majority of our courses — particularly lecture courses — will be fully online."

The school may modify plans under health and county official guidance.

April 23, 10:30 a.m. The San Francisco Public Health Department updated its coronavirus dashboard to include 69 new cases, bringing the total to 1302. Deaths remain 21. San Mateo County reported six new cases. The county total is now 966 with 39 deaths.

April 23, 9:05 a.m. California Gov. Gavin Newsom was a guest on KCBS Radio Thursday morning and discussed the first modification to the state's stay-at-home order that was issued last month to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Newsom said "essential surgeries" are now allowed "because we believe we have appropriate capacity within our hospitals and alternative care sites to allow scheduled surgeries to go back and be conducted."

Newsom added: "That's a very positive thing. It’s the first sign of progress — an indicator light that went green, not red. I hope to be making subsequent announcements over the next days and weeks so that we can get back into the beginning of some semblance of normalcy."

The governor initially announced the augmentation to the order at his Wednesday press conference and clarified that "essential surgeries" — not "cosmetic surgeries" — are allowed effective immediately. Examples include the removal of tumors or a heart valve procedure that isn't an emergency but, if neglected, could become a problem.

"These are surgeries that are scheduled but also essential," he said. "The surgeries where if it gets delayed it becomes acute."

Find the full KCBS interview here and read more about Newsom's press conference here.

Cumulative cases in the greater Bay Area (due to limited testing these numbers reflect only a small portion of likely cases):

ALAMEDA COUNTY: 1,350 confirmed cases, 46 deaths

For more information on Alameda County cases, visit the public health department website.

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY: 770 confirmed cases, 23 deaths

For more information on Contra Costa County cases, visit the public health department website.

LAKE COUNTY: 6 confirmed cases

For information on Lake County and coronavirus, visit the public health department website.

MARIN COUNTY: 203 confirmed cases, 11 deaths

Fore more information on Marin County cases, visit the public health department website.

MONTEREY COUNTY: 164 confirmed cases, 4 deaths

For more information on Monterey County cases, visit the public health department website.

NAPA COUNTY: 57 cases, 2 deaths

For more information on Napa County cases, visit the public health department website.

SAN BENITO COUNTY: 47 confirmed cases, 2 deaths

For more information on San Benito County cases, visit the public health department website.

SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY: 1,302 confirmed cases, 21 deaths

For more information on San Francisco County cases, visit the public health department website.

SAN MATEO COUNTY: 966 confirmed cases, 39 deaths

For more information on San Mateo County cases, visit the public health department website.

SANTA CLARA COUNTY: 1,987 confirmed cases, 95 deaths

Fore more information on Santa Clara County cases, visit the public health department website.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY: 114 confirmed cases, 2 deaths

For more information on Santa Cruz County cases, visit the public health department website.

SOLANO COUNTY: 191 confirmed cases, 4 deaths

For more information on Solano County cases, visit the public health department website.

SONOMA COUNTY: 216 confirmed cases, 2 deaths

For more information on Sonoma County cases, visit the public health department website.

In California, 1,229 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported, according to Johns Hopkins University. For comparison, New York has 18,653, New Jersey 4,520 and Illinois 1,349.





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Amy Graff is a digital editor with SFGATE. Email her: agraff@sfgate.com.