Crime & Safety
Coronavirus: Santa Clara County Extends Shelter-In-Place Orders
The county's new shelter-in-place orders add new restrictions, including halting all non-essential construction projects.
SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — Santa Clara County, as one of eight Bay Area jurisdictions, on Tuesday extended its shelter-in-place order through May 3 and added additional public restrictions.
Santa Clara County officials said the order was extended in the hopes of lifting a significant burden off of the county's health care system and reducing the possible number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases.
The new order effectively mandates all non-essential businesses shutter their doors and essential businesses enforce social distancing between people of six-feet or more.
Find out what's happening in Los Gatosfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The new order also prohibits continuing most construction work, like commercial and luxury real estate projects, and closes all public playgrounds, dog parks, picnic areas and similar recreational sites.
Dr. Sara Cody, the Santa Clara County health officer, told reporters at the county's Civic Center that hospitals are taking on more patients with the COVID-19 disease.
Find out what's happening in Los Gatosfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Of the county's health care staff, Cody said, "They need more time. If we stay the course, we will save lives." Cody also said Tuesday that the new order is "as strict as we can get."
Dr. Jeff Smith, the county executive, said that the county's 11 hospitals are all reorganizing to be able to handle more COVID-19 patients, and mentioned the county's new federally stocked overflow sight at the Santa Clara Convention Center for up to 250 less severe patients.
Smith said the county expects "well over" 500 new ventilators for all area hospitals from state, federal and private sector sources. By Monday, he said the county's hospitals had 152 patients confirmed with COVID-19 and another 90 suspected of having the disease.
There are also a total of 1,475 hospital beds, a total of 300 intensive care unit beds, with 119 of those available for new patients. He added the county currently has 611 ventilators with 209 in use.
"At this point, we're not near capacity but we're getting prepared for capacity," Smith said. Santa Clara County's confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 890 and deaths had reached 30.
Copyright 2020 by Bay City News, Inc. — Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
Full coronavirus coverage: California Coronavirus: Live Updates On Cases, Closures, Orders
