Explaining Stay at Home Order, Vaccine Update, and More COVID-19 Updates
Below is a summary of the virtual Town Hall that took place on Thursday, December 10. You can watch the full video by clicking the image below.
Case, Testing, and Hospitalization Updates
As of Thursday, December 10, there have been 1,412 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Berkeley and nine deaths. The case rate is currently 19 new cases per day per 100,000 people. While the number of deaths remain unchanged since mid-October, COVID positive cases have been on the rise, with 254 new cases since the last town hall ten days ago. You can read the latest numbers on our COVID-19 dashboard.
Hospitalizations in Alameda County have reached record highs in recent days, with 254 people currently hospitalized, 69 of which are in ICUs. Alameda County’s ICU capacity is now at 30% and dropping. The Bay Area region (which includes the nine-county Bay Area plus Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties) ICU capacity is at 17.8% and dropping. Under the State’s Regional Stay at Home Order, which was preemptively put in place in Berkeley and five Bay Area counties, the region will automatically be put under this Order when ICU capacity dips below 15% (see details below). Statewide, ICU capacity is at 9.9%.
There have been 131,473 tests conducted on Berkeley residents since records began on March 2, with an overall positivity rate 1.18% and a four week positivity rate of 1.47%. There are two main testing sites in Berkeley. The Curative site releases appointments for the week on Saturdays, which fill up fast. The Optum site has an open appointment period. Testing capacity has increased, but so has the demand for testing, which creates backlogs at the labs. For information on how to get tested, click here.
New Stay at Home Order
Beginning on December 7, the City of Berkeley joined Alameda County and four other Bay Area counties in preemptively implementing the State’s Regional Stay at Home Order. This was done to prevent hospitals, especially ICUs, from becoming overwhelmed and reaching 0% capacity. Local hospitals remain in good shape as a result, but numbers continue to drop and there are hospitals throughout the state that now have no capacity.
What is closed:
Restaurants (indoor/outdoor dining)
Indoor Playgrounds
Hair salons, barbershops, and personal care
Museums & galleries
Movie theaters
Wineries, bars, breweries, distilleries
What is restricted:
Indoor Retail at 20% capacity
Grocery stores at 35% capacity
Hotels/lodging only for essential business
Offices only open for critical infrastructure when remote work not possible
Places of worship and political expression: outdoors only
Entertainment production and professional sports: permitted without live audience
Outdoor recreation: permitted only without any food, drink, or alcohol sales. Overnight stays at campgrounds prohibited.
At this point, any gathering with individuals outside of your household is prohibited. COVID-19 is more widespread than ever before, with impacts leading to hospitalization strains throughout the state. As difficult as it is, it is essential to limit exposure.
Vaccine Update
The State of California is expecting to receive as much as 327,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as early as mid-December, with another round of supply to come a few weeks later. In Berkeley, we are anticipating receiving 975 doses before the end of the year.
The City, like other jurisdictions around the region, will be following State and CDC guidelines for distribution. In California, the first phase of the vaccine distribution program prioritizes health care workers in healthcare facilities at the highest risk of infection.
Subsequent phases will prioritize populations at highest risk of developing severe complications for COVID-19, other at-risk populations, essential workers in critical industries, and eventually to the general public. It will be a while before the vaccine reaches everyone. It will be critical to maintain our essential daily habits not only for the long-term, but it is especially critical as we experience a statewide, unprecedented surge in this easily spreading, dangerous virus.
Golden Gate Fields Update
Over the past month, over 300 cases have been reported at Golden Gate Fields. The City has been working with Golden Gate Fields in addressing their outbreak, including moving all people who tested positive or were exposed off site, which was completed on Monday. Routine testing with all employees continues. Due to new evidence of ongoing transmission, all contacts who have been exposed are also quarantining off-site. Additional safety measures such as hand sanitizer stations and portable restrooms in place.
Roughly 71 staff, deemed essential to maintain the health of the horses, will be allowed to work -- but only under strict protocols about which locations they can access and also requiring protective equipment, such as fit-tested N95 respirators and eye protection. They will be limited to working on site to no more than 4 hours a day and they’ll be completely excluded from the “backside” or “backstretch,” the area where many normally live in dorm-like shared housing. The track and the 60-plus employers who use the facility and hire workers will all be required to test these still-susceptible employees at least twice a week, as required by Cal/OSHA.
Our goal is to ensure that these members of our community are protected by implementing effective measures to ensure a safer workspace for all.
Other Updates
Donate to the Berkeley Relief Fund to support fellow Berkeley neighbors and businesses. Berkeley is special because of our special businesses, dynamic arts organizations and the diversity of our people. We need to come out of this pandemic as healthy as possible.
Playgrounds and parks, including dog parks remain open. Basketball, pickleball, and tennis courts are allowed, but can only be used by people from the same household.
Outdoor dining is closed to keep people in their homes as much as possible. Mixing with individuals outside of your household in any setting increases your risk of contracting COVID-19.
Our primary focus of enforcement has been through education. Hundreds of signs have been posted, and facilities have been tapped off. Enforcement focused on indoor activities, where spread is more likely. Call 311 or email covid19@cityofberkeley.info if you see an issue.