Coronavirus updates: Employee at Safeway distribution center in Tracy dies from COVID-19

A shopper wears a mask and shield while shopping. Pedestrians wear masks to protect themselves from the COVID-19 coronavirus in San FranciscoÕs Chinatown neighborhood in San Francisco, Calif. on July 28, 2020. A shopper wears a mask and shield while shopping. Pedestrians wear masks to protect themselves from the COVID-19 coronavirus in San FranciscoÕs Chinatown neighborhood in San Francisco, Calif. on July 28, 2020. Photo: Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE Photo: Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE Image 1 of / 48 Caption Close Coronavirus updates: Employee at Safeway distribution center in Tracy dies from COVID-19 1 / 48 Back to Gallery

LATEST April 16, 8:30 p.m. Marin County is likely to mandate that its residents wear masks in public.

In an update video published to YouTube on Thursday night, county health officer Dr. Matt Willis stated the order will likely be issued on Friday and will go into effect next Wednesday.

“In essence, this order will require facial coverings for public settings where we are coming into contact with people within 6 feet who we don’t live with, particularly indoors,” he said.

Sonoma County is currently the only Bay Area county requiring residents wear masks outside of their homes. Others have made recommendations.

April 16, 5:20 p.m. An employee at Safeway's distribution center in Tracy has died from coronavirus complications, the grocery chain announced Wednesday night.

Multiple cases were reported at the distribution center last week, and a widespread outbreak that shuts down operations could threaten the supply of groceries at Safeway stores across the Bay Area.

"Our hearts are heavy, and our thoughts are with that associate’s family," Safeway wrote in a statement. "This is difficult for the entire Safeway team."

The distribution center remains open and Safeway did not comment on its status going forward.

April 16, 3:45 p.m. In a White House press conference Thursday, President Donald Trump and Dr. Anthony Fauci addressed the timeline of when large events, like sports games, might be allowed to take place again.

Asked about Phase 3, which has “a focus on identification and isolation of any new infections” but is largely a return to normalcy, Fauci said, “It is conceivable we will be able to do [sporting events].”

“I think there will always have to be attention to making sure we don’t do all that packing in together,” he continued. “I think we’ll be able to have sporting events in that phase where you have participants there. I don’t think you’ll be able to do that uniformly and evenly, temporally with everyone. But when you get to that phase, paying attention to the fact that there is a rebound of any sort, that when you’re in that phase, you can respond to that, or turn around and go the other way. … There may be some setbacks — this is uncharted territory, but I do see us getting more toward normal.”

Trump underscored Fauci, saying that sporting events may be able to take place “depending on the area,” cautioning that though “a lot of great work has been done on vaccines,” testing is still under way.

“In terms of sports, they’ll probably start off, many of them will be starting without the fans — made for television — and then fans will start coming in. Maybe they’ll be separated by two seats. And when the virus is gone, we’ll have packed arenas.”

April 16, 3 p.m. President Donald Trump unveiled plans to ease social-distancing requirements and reopen parts of the country on a call Thursday with the nation's governors, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The three-part plan attempts to ease restrictions, particularly for those areas that have experienced a lower infection rate than cities like New York and Los Angeles.

Places with declining infections and strong testing would begin a three-phased gradual reopening of businesses and schools, with each phase lasting at least 14 days, meant to ensure that the virus outbreak doesn’t accelerate again.

The recommendations make clear that the return to normalcy will be a far longer process than Trump initially envisioned, with federal officials warning that some social distancing measures may need to remain in place through the end of the year to prevent a new outbreak. More here.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

April 16, 2:50 p.m. President Donald Trump doubled down on attacks on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday, reiterating a claim that Pelosi was encouraging people to "pack into Chinatown" in San Francisco.

Trump tweeted what he said was a video Pelosi deleted from her Twitter showing the speaker visiting Chinatown in a KPIX news segment. The video, as Amy Graff reports, was at the time meant "to show support for the neighborhood and encourage the community to support businesses." It was filmed three weeks before San Francisco issued a shelter-in-place order.

Drew Hammill, Pelosi's deputy chief of staff, quickly addressed Trump's claim, tweeting, "Fact check: We never posted this video."

April 16, 2:30 p.m. Two of the Bay Area counties hardest hit by the coronavirus announced increases in cases Thursday afternoon.

Alameda County, with the city of Berkeley's health department, reported 45 new cases, bringing the total past 1,000, to 1,007. Officials also reported three more deaths, for a total of 39. Alameda County did not release further details.

Santa Clara County, which has weathered the most cases, announced 40 new cases, for a total of 1,833, and four additional deaths for a total death toll of 69. This week, Santa Clara County has counted 18 deaths, making it the deadliest thus far for the county.

There are currently 188 individuals hospitalized in the South Bay county; 71 of those are in ICU beds.

April 16, 2:10 p.m. Alameda County announced Thursday that there were no new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours at the Santa Rita Jail. To date, jail officials have identified 14 cases of COVID-19-positive cases in inmates and two in staff members.

On Thursday, however, the county announced that 13 inmates have "completely recovered," while one was released from the jail. Further information on the infected staff members was not given.

April 16, 1:15 p.m. Governor Gavin Newsom released numbers around COVID-19 cases in the state on Thursday afternoon, noting percentage variations in hospitalizations and ICU admittances.

There are 3,141 individuals in the hospital, a “modest decline” of 0.9% from yesterday. Of those cases, 191 are in the ICU, which is a slight 1.4% increase over the previous day.

To date, 18,800 tests have been conducted.

When asked about the number of potential COVID-19 cases in California who passed away in their homes and how it might impact official death toll numbers, Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Dr. Mark Ghaly stated officials are “looking closely” at it.

“We’re aware of a number of people who are dying in our hospitals and our delivery system and understanding how that contributes to our overall death toll number,” he said.

Ghaly added that in “the next weeks to come,” the state will be working to “ensure we communicate clearly what the death toll is in California as it relates to COVID-19.” He did not outline specifics.

April 16, 1 p.m. Calif. Governor Gavin Newsom announced Thursday a new initiative to provide two weeks of supplemental paid sick leave to California’s essential workers working in food sector, in grocery stores, on farms, packing plants and in restaurants.

“I’ve heard from a number of grocery store workers, ‘We’re called essential workers but increasingly we’re feeling disposable.’” I want you to know you’re not disposable,” he said. “You’re valued … You’re unsung heroes who need to be called out.”

Newsom issued a statewide executive order to address the issue; the sick leave is meant for “workers who have contracted COVID-19, who have been exposed to it, or who have been exposed to isolation or quarantine orders by local health officials.”

April 16, 1:15 p.m. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted a message on his social media site Thursday alerting employees that the company is "slowing our plans to return to the office in order to prioritize helping the rest of our community and local economy to get back up and running first."

Zuckerberg said when the office does reopen, it will happen in "staggered waves." Employees will be required to work from home through at least the end of May and most will have the option to continuing to work from home through summer.

April 16, noon Contra Costa County updated its coronavirus dashboard Thursday with 16 new cases for a total of 631. The county reported two additional fatalities, bringing the death total to 16.

San Francisco announced six new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 1,019. The death toll remains 17. Napa County reported one new cases and now has a total of 39. Deaths remain two.

April 16, 11:45 a.m. Fremont issued an order Thursday requiring workers and customers at essential businesses to wear face coverings amid the COVID-19 emergency.

The order goes into effect immediately and mandates workers and the public must wear coverings at businesses that are allowed to be open under the stay-at-home order. This includes grocery stores, hardware stores, bicycle repair shops, funeral homes, restaurants serving takeout and laundromats; find the full list here.

The face coverings don't need to be medical-grade masks but need to cover the mouth and nose. The order states that employers must supply staff with the coverings. Customers who don't wear a mask can be refused admission.

“On a daily basis, the men and women who perform essential functions within our community are at a higher risk for contracting COVID-19,” Fremont Mayor Lily Mei said in a statement. “The City of Fremont has issued this new Executive Order to keep these valuable members of our community safe, while also inhibiting the broader spread of COVID-19. In this challenging time, I want to thank you for your patience and anticipated cooperation as we take the appropriate safety measures to mitigate the effects of this public health crisis.”

April 16, 10:45 a.m. At a San Francisco Unified School District board meeting Tuesday night, an idea to give all middle and high school students A's in winter and spring quarters was discussed, with most members supporting the idea.

“It’s very stressful for educators and families. It’s not gonna be perfect. There are a lot of issues as we go forward. Our goal is to make sure every student is reached by educators every day and that the students are okay,” said SFUSD Board President Mark Sanchez.

The district will make a decision on grades later this month.

April 16, 8:12 a.m. The California Department of Public Health released new data this week on race and COVID-19, revealing black Americans face disproportionately higher death rates than other segments of the California population.

African Americans make up 6% of the total population yet and they represent 12% of the deaths from COVID-19.

Another group of "heightened concern" are Native Hawaiians or Pacific Islanders, according to a statement from CDPH, but the number of deaths in this population are extremely small, limiting statistical comparison. Pacific Islands represent .3% of the population and 1% of coronavirus deaths.

CDPH notes the data is complete for 65% of COVID-19 cases and 87% of deaths reported to the California DPH. The agency is working on parsing all the data.

Photo: CDPH The California Department of Public Health released new data on...

Many states and cities have noted that the virus is infecting and killing black people at high rates, and public health researchers say the numbers reveal the inequities in health and access to care and insurance.

"Initial indications are that doctors are less likely to refer African-Americans for testing when they visit a clinic with symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus," according to the New York Times. "Since the disease can progress quickly, researchers say, a disparity in testing can lead to considerably worse outcomes."

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

ALAMEDA COUNTY: 1,007 confirmed cases, 39 deaths

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

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY: 631 confirmed cases, 16 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: 187 confirmed cases, 10 deaths

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

MONTEREY COUNTY: 108 confirmed cases, 3 deaths

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

NAPA COUNTY: 39 cases, 2 deaths

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

SAN BENITO COUNTY: 42 confirmed cases, 2 deaths

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

SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY: 1,019 confirmed cases, 17 deaths

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

SAN MATEO COUNTY: 767 confirmed cases, 28 deaths

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

SANTA CLARA COUNTY: 1,833 confirmed cases, 69 deaths

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

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY: 96 confirmed cases, 2 deaths

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

SOLANO COUNTY: 156 confirmed cases, 2 deaths

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

SONOMA COUNTY: 163 confirmed cases, 2 deaths

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

In California, 864 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported, according to Johns Hopkins University. For comparison, New York has 11,586, New Jersey 3,156 and Louisiana 1,103.

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