Updated on March 16, 2021 at 6:20 pm
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Just over one year ago, the Bay Area went into lockdown for the first time as the coronavirus continued to spread. The person many see as the face of that decision is Santa Clara County Public Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody.
At the time, she said the pandemic posed too many unanswered questions and they were hoping a three-week lockdown would help answer some of those and save lives. Now, one year later, Cody sat down with NBC Bay Area to talk about the past year and what lies ahead. Download our mobile app for iOS or Android to get the latest breaking news and local stories.
Our North Star continues to be equity, he said. California is doing things that other states are not doing. He used Texas as an example in comparison to the Golden State s mandatory mask rule.
While in Alameda students celebrated reopening and teachers have been prioritized for vaccinations, the governor said there s much more work to do before California reaches a so-called green tier, including controlling COVID-19 variants. That s what green tier will look like, he said, not Texas, but a version to look forward to.
According to Newson, California is now prepared to distribute close to 3 million vaccines per week, but has been receiving close to 2 million doses from federals in recent weeks.
Following the reflection, the board heard from Colleen Chawla, director of the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency, who provided some reasons for more optimism.
Nearly 15 percent of the Alameda County population has been fully vaccinated from COVID-19 and daily case rates are going down, she said.
Over the past 10 days, 60 to 130 cases of COVID-19 have been reported. That s down from the peak of 1,275 cases reported on Jan. 7.
About 2 million tests for the coronavirus have been completed and nearly 600,000 doses of the vaccine administered, Chawla said. But more work is needed in the Black community around vaccinations, according to Chawla.
Updated on March 15, 2021 at 6:24 pm
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Tom Butts is defying the odds again.
The triathlete from San Jose almost lost his life to COVID-19. He spent more than 100 days in the hospital most of it on a ventilator. Now, the 67-year-old is training for a half triathlon in September. Download our mobile app for iOS or Android to get the latest breaking news and local stories.
Back in July, Butts was wheeled out of the hospital on a gurney. Weighing less than 100 pounds, the triathlete could barely utter a sentence.
He said he had it handed to him by the coronavirus, but he continues to fight back and still wants to compete.
Ibi Oluwole has been in business for almost 14 years, most of them in the Willow Glen location, face to face with her customers. Everyone says e-commerce, e-commerce, everyone’s shopping online, but I just didn’t see the value in it, Oluwole said.
That is until the coronavirus pandemic forced her to shut her doors last year. Oluwole fast-tracked her website, retrained her employees and started reaching customers online.
The pandemic has taken a big toll on small businesses like Oluwole’s. One in six small businesses closed, and 40% reported lower revenue. About 56% of small businesses say they won’t expect to be back at pre-pandemic levels for at least six months.