Coronavirus: White House says Santa Clara County should ban gatherings over 250, businesses should screen all workers

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As health officials declared the rapidly spreading coronavirus infections a pandemic Wednesday, the White House recommended new preventive measures for Santa Clara County that would further limit public activity in an area with some of the country’s highest numbers of infections.

The measures would prohibit gatherings of more than 250 people — significantly stricter than the county’s current limit of more than 1,000 — instruct businesses to let employees work from home, and require them to do daily health screenings of those who come to the office.

But county officials, who have been unusually aggressive so far in their efforts to control the spread of a virus that has sickened more than 118,000 and killed more than 4,200 around the world, balked at some of the recommendations. They declined to incorporate them into a current legal order banning large gatherings, and one official late Wednesday said the recommendation for health screenings may not be feasible.

The conflict came on a day when the coronavirus may have had its biggest impacts on American life so far. Stocks officially fell into bear market territory — down 20 percent from their peak — for the first time in 11 years, and sports teams and leagues around the country announced plans to play games without fans allowed.

Still, President Trump in a nationwide address continued to insist that “the risk is very low” for infection from the coronavirus. He announced a suspension of travel from Europe to the United States for 30 days and also offered a modest slate of recommendations including loan programs for small businesses, deferred tax payments for affected businesses and individuals, and payroll tax relief, though he offered no specifics on the latter.

Wednesday’s recommendations — coming from a White House Coronavirus Task Force headed by Vice President Mike Pence and working closely with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — went further. Santa Clara County was one of a handful of regions around the country receiving the most aggressive guidance. The county, which declared its first coronavirus infection Jan. 31, now counts 48 cases with one fatality.

In addition to the public gathering and workplace recommendations, it urged Santa Clara County community and faith-based groups to cancel events of 250 people or more. It called on professional and college sports teams to cancel games or broadcast them without audience participation.

Santa Clara County issued a statement Wednesday evening saying that it would not be amending its current ban on gatherings of more than 1,000 people to meet the recommendations to cancel events of larger than 250 people.

“We are pleased that the White House has adopted many of the recommendations the County Public Health Department previously issued,” the statement said. “However, we recommend that all community residents follow the more stringent guidance issued by the County, including the legal order to cancel all events with 1,000 or more people, and the further recommendation that all large events (including but not limited to all events of 250 or more) be canceled.”

Cindy Chavez, president of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, said Wednesday that the county is working to understand the White House’s reasoning and “determine whether that number (the event attendance that falls under the county’s ban) should drop.”

As for the recommendation for employers to do health screenings — including checking their employees’ temperatures and looking for any “respiratory symptoms” — Chavez said that she was “not sure it is feasible.”

“Every day, multiple times a day, we’re reassessing the positions we’ve taken to determine what is in the best interest of our community, and we’ll continue to do that,” Chavez said.

The White House task force also made recommendations for Seattle-King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties in the state of Washington, also hard hit by the outbreak. The task force said the recommendations came after Pence consulted with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who Wednesday announced bans on gatherings over 250 people in those affected counties in his state.

“President Trump has made clear that the task force must move decisively to protect the health and safety of all Americans,” Pence said in a statement. “These recommendations outline a whole-of-community approach to immediately minimize the impacts of coronavirus in these cities and towns.”

In the Bay Area, cases have been reported in nearly every county, and on Wednesday, a cruise ship docked in Oakland continued to release passengers into quarantine after 19 crew members and two passengers tested positive for the disease.

The county’s previously announced ban on large gatherings for any event with more than 1,000 attendees began Wednesday and will span at least three weeks. San Francisco followed with its own ban on Wednesday.

San Mateo County issued a different kind of legal order aimed at protecting residents most at risk of contracting the virus. The county’s order bars family members of residents and other unauthorized visitors from entering licensed skilled-nursing facilities in the county, which now has 15 confirmed cases of the virus.

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Many Silicon Valley companies — including Apple, Facebook and Twitter — already have taken steps to encourage employees to work from home, cancel nonessential travel and stay home if sick.

Matthew Mahood, president and CEO of the region’s largest chamber of commerce, said Wednesday that he was concerned about how new precautionary measures and recommendations will affect the region’s small businesses.

“I don’t think we understand the full economic impact yet, but I fear it will be very significant,” Mahood said.

Still, the organization canceled all of its upcoming events with an expected attendance of 100 people or more.

“It’s always been our job to make sure the economy thrives and the greater community benefits from that, but right now the first priority is protecting the public health,” Mahood said.

The Diocese of San Jose had no immediate response to the White House recommendations. Oscar Cantú, Bishop of San Jose, on Friday dispensed those at greater risk of severe illness from the virus — people age 50 and over and those in poor health — from attending Mass.

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