Santa Clara County COVID-19 Digest

Workers denied pandemic-era jobless benefits are still struggling as they fight a state employment agency on edge about fraud and an appeals system facing a “historic” backlog. What happens next will help decide who pays for a multi-billion-dollar debacle three years in the making.

When Palo Alto adopted policies to allow city employees to work from home, its main goal was safety rather than convenience. Three years later, the city's auditors are suggesting stronger rules.

San Jose Mineta International Airport is seeing passenger numbers that are close to pre-COVID levels for the first time since the start of the pandemic. The airport is making great strides to accommodate all who wish to travel by air.

As the Bay Area's economy continues its up-and-down recovery, statistics show that many low-income households and communities of color are getting left behind.

Despite opposition from several downtown property owners and disagreement in its own ranks, the Palo Alto City Council came up with new rules—including a size limit and licensing fees—on parklets.

The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board voted to end the rule in part because it has become harder to enforce. Only people who caught the virus on the job are eligible to keep getting paid, but it is so widespread that it's hard to tell where someone got sick.

Just 67 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds and and 38 percent of 5- to 11-year-olds have had the primary two-shot COVID-19 vaccine series.

Overall undergraduate enrollment for the Cal State system fell once again, to 404,820 students this fall—about 17,500 fewer students than the previous year.

Stanford launches the nation’s first study of an antiviral strategy for long COVID.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control decided to list COVID-19 among the vaccines it recommends for children, but each state decides whether to adopt those guidelines. It's unclear what California will do.

2020 carbon emissions fell because of the COVID-19 pandemic–but now emissions are on the rise again.

As the number of COVID-19 infection surged during the pandemic, deaths from heart attacks rose sharply as well, with adults ages 25-44 experiencing the most significant increases, according to new research from scientists at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

“It's a cloak-and-dagger, spy-versus-spy game. … These variants that are bubbling up now are trying to get past some of our immunity."

After more than two-and-a-half years, California is retiring its COVID-19 emergency proclamation. Governor Gavin Newsom will lift the state of emergency declaration on Feb. 28.

One sign of COVID releasing its grip: free samples are back at some of the nation’s Trader Joe’s, which joins Costco and Sam’s Club in passing out morsels to shoppers.

Downtown Sacramento and other older, large cities have not fully recovered from the COVID-19 economic downturn more than two years into the pandemic, according to a study from the University of California, Berkeley.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has set a Sept. 5 deadline for Bay Area workers to be back in the Cupertino HQ at least three days a week. But some workers are circulating a petition in protest.

Although COVID-19 cases in California have started to plateau, some may face another infection as new variants spread. UC Davis infectious disease specialist Dr. Natascha Tuznik talks about reinfection, and if repeated bouts can worsen health risks.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use authorization to the first COVID-19 test that detects chemicals associated with the coronavirus in breath. The InspectIR COVID-19 Breathalyzer gives results in less than three minutes.

California is delaying a coronavirus vaccine mandate for schoolchildren until at least the summer of 2023. The state was the first to announce a mandate, but it will not take effect until federal regulators give final approval to the vaccine for children.

San Jose’s Calvary Chapel—Santa Clara County’s most notorious violator of COVID-19 public health orders—hasn’t yet paid the county a cent of the more than $2.8 million it owes.

On Feb. 16, California officials said that the state’s long-range plan for COVID-19 will focus on flexible responses to future variants and shift from an emergency mindset into one that assumes coexistence with the virus.

California health officials have announced changes to the Golden State’s COVID-19 safety mandates and recommendations. Here’s the latest on how the California Department of Public Health says things will change on Feb. 16.

San Jose will require all of its employees to get a booster shot in addition to the initial vaccine doses mandated earlier. The City Council also adopted a new ordinance requiring visitors of large, indoor events to show proof they received a booster shot.

As the omicron COVID-19 variant continues to spread through California, many are using over-the-counter testing kits. If you test positive, what do you do with your result?

The FDA has approved the Pfizer booster for adolescents, but it isn’t quite time to make appointments yet.

U.S. health officials have lowered isolation restrictions from 10 to five days for patients with coronavirus. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said the guidance reflects evidence that people are most infectious two days before and three days after symptoms develop.

Google has delayed its planned Jan. 10 office return with no new official date released. More than 600 employees have opposed the company’s vaccine mandate.

When the first U.S. case of the omicron variant of the coronavirus was discovered by scientists at UC San Francisco, they were aided by a company headquartered in Burlingame. The firm, Color, has become a force in COVID testing.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has extended California’s state of emergency in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic into 2022, prompting some to ask when an end will be in sight.

Once again taking the lead in the battle against COVID-19, Santa Clara County is one of the first to now make all adults eligible for the COVID-19 booster shot.

After a showdown with the San Jose Police Department over the city’s strict COVID-19 vaccination mandate—in which the police union warned more than 100 cops were ready to quit—only six city employees have chosen to forfeit a week of pay in order to stay unvaccinated.