Coronavirus Update: Number Of Deaths In Santa Clara County Rises To 4

SANTA CLARA COUNTY (CBS SF) — Health officials in Santa Clara County announced early Monday evening that there were two more deaths from coronavirus, raising the toll in the county to four.

Both patients died on Sunday, March 15, officials said.

The first victim was an adult male in his 80s who was hospitalized on Saturday, March 7, according to officials. The second, also an adult male, but in his 50s, was hospitalized on Thursday, March 12.

The Public Health Department said in a press release that officials were saddened by the news and expressed their condolences to the family and friends of the two patients.

The Santa Clara Police Department also confirmed Monday that an officer had tested positive for COVID-19 and is self isolating for two weeks.

The department announced the illness on its official Twitter account.

The officer, who the department is not identifying, last worked on March 9 and has been home since. The officer is expected to make a full recovery.

The Santa Clara Police Department is taking steps to notify other employees, staff and the public who may have come in contact with the officer. It remains unclear how the officer became infected with the virus.

Earlier Monday, health officials in Santa Clara County confirmed an additional 24 new coronavirus patients, raising the total for the county to 138 cases.

Officials posted the update on the Santa Clara County Department of Public Health Twitter account. According to the latest numbers, 52 of the 138 patients diagnosed with the coronavirus have been hospitalized.

A total of 63 of the cases were spread by community transmission in Santa Clara County. So far, there have been two confirmed deaths from coronavirus in the county.

Santa Clara County is among the six Bay Area counties that issued a joint shelter-in-place order that goes into effect at midnight Tuesday and is set to last until early April.

Earlier Monday, Officials in San Jose announced that ten people employed by the city’s fire department have been confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus.

According to a report from the city, along with the ten San Jose Fire Department workers who have tested positive, 57 others are currently being monitored.

COMPLETE COVERAGE: CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK

The coronavirus infection among San Jose firefighters was first reported by the department last Thursday. The number of confirmed cases had grown to eight by the next day.

While last week it was confirmed that the sick firefighters had multiple family members who had tested COVID-19 positive, there was no word if the number of cases associated with the infected firefighters had also increased.

Officials also confirmed that a person who attended a March 7 community soccer event at the Bascom Community Center was infected, prompting a deep cleaning of the facility.

The volunteer was asymptomatic on March 7, according to the city.