The Chronicle began covering the coronavirus crisis before the first cases were reported in the Bay Area and a pandemic was declared. We reorganized the newsroom to dedicate nearly every resource to stories focusing on the health and economic disasters. Every day we have published live updates to reflect the most critical local, national and global updates on COVID-19, and this news is free of charge in an effort to keep our community safe and informed.
• Read the previous batch of updates from Aug. 5-6.
• See the full timeline.
Updates from Saturday, Aug. 8:
7:11 p.m. Very few San Francisco firefighters have coronavirus antibodies: Just three San Francisco fire department employees tested positive for coronavirus antibodies, according to a UCSF study that included more than 1,000 workers. As first responders, firefighters are on the front lines of helping people — so the low numbers may reflect the close attention to masks and distancing in the department. Read the story by the Chronicle’s JD Morris here.
5:50 p.m. Trump event ignores social distancing: An event at President Trump’s golf club in New Jersey included dozens of people, many of whom did not wear masks for at least part of the event, the Washington Post reported. Photos show people crowded together. The president described it as a “peaceful protest.”
4:39 p.m. University of California to mandate flu shots: Students, faculty and staff in the University of California system will be required to get flu vaccinations before November 1 under a new executive order — part of an effort to ease the strain on medical facilities during the coronavirus pandemic. Read the story here.
4:10 p.m. Hospitalizations in California continue downward trend: Hospitals in California are caring for 5,746 COVID-19 patients, continuing a slide of a few weeks, state officials reported Saturday. Of those currently hospitalized, 1,868 are in intensive care units. Hospitalizations in the Bay Area have been trending down also, standing at 663 patients on Friday, down from 815 on July 28.
3:52 p.m. Santa Rita Jail population includes 10 with coronavirus infection: Ten inmates in Santa Rita Jail’s population of more than 1,800 are infected with the coronavirus, and eight of those have no symptoms, Alameda County sheriff’s officials reported. Eleven staff and contractors are infected. To date, 207 inmates have tested positive with 33 test results pending. Fourteen recovered and are no longer in custody, and 23 who tested positive were released, officials said Friday.
3:40 p.m. Free testing site opens at Santa Clara library: A free coronavirus testing site is opening at Central Park Library on Homestead Road, Santa Clara officials said Saturday. People can begin scheduling appointments on Sunday for Wednesday tests from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. No insurance is needed, but appointments are required. The site is to test “individuals without COVID-19 symptoms,” a city statement said.
3:34 p.m. Red Cross creates volunteer network to support families: American Red Cross officials created a Virtual Family Assistance Center to provide support to families and communities “who have suffered a loss as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to officials with the San Mateo County Office of Community Affairs. For more information, visit: redcross.org/VFAC.
3:28 p.m. Santa Clara County reports more cases, additional death: Public health officials reported 221 new cases of the coronavirus on Saturday, bringing the county’s total to 11,687 cases. The county reported one additional death, for a total of 204 lives lost to date. The new figures represent “new diagnoses and death occurring over the past several days,” public health officials said on Twitter.
3:18 p.m. Obesity hampers vaccine promise: With researchers nationwide burning midnight oil to develop a vaccine against the raging coronavirus, another insidious and growing U.S. epidemic threatens to stymie the broad effectiveness of such vaccines: obesity. Kaiser Health News reports that scientists are skeptical a vaccine will deliver immunity tailored to needs of the 107 million American adults who are obese. A little-noticed study from China found that heavier COVID-19 patients were more likely to die than leaner ones.
2:34 p.m. Biker rally in South Dakota defies virus safeguards: Hoards of maskless bikers are thronging to a massive annual motorcycle rally at a small city in western South Dakota, the Associated Press reports. The vroom-vroom scene in the streets was familiar Saturday at the 80th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, though organizers expected fewer than the usual half a million to arrive overall. Republican Gov. Kristi Noem has taken a largely hands-off approach to the pandemic, avoiding a mask mandate. She supported holding the rally.
2:17 p.m. Trump signs orders against eviction, for tax deferral: President Trump in an executive order Saturday that he said will protect renters from eviction, and another to extend student loan-payment relief until the end of the year. He also claimed authority to defer payroll tax payments with an order to defer them through December for middle- and low-income people. He said if reelected he might extend the deferral and try to “terminate” the tax. The tax funds Social Security and Medicare benefits, and it’s unclear what would happen to those programs without the money.
1:50 p.m. Trump claims executive powers to provide relief: President Trump signed an executive order Saturday that he said would extend the unemployment benefits for Americans after a stalemate with Congress on a new stimulus package. At his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., Trump said his order would give Americans $400 a week in jobless benefits; the previous $600 weekly benefit expired last month, but Trump said the $400 is what people want and that it will suffice. Trump said states will have to pay 25% of the benefit. “If they don’t, that’s going to be their problem,” he said when reporters asked what states agreed to that. It remains unclear what the spending mechanism would be or how it would stand up in court. Trump abruptly shut down the news conference after just a few questions, with golf club supporters jeering at the questions.
1:40 p.m. Pelosi sticks to guns in tough strategy on stimulus: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is steering a hardball strategy on a new stimulus relief package, emboldened by GOP divisions and a favorable political landscape, a New York Times analysis reports. Talks with the White House reached impasse Friday, with the Democratic speaker from San Francisco refusing to agree to a narrow relief measure, unbothered by charges she is an impediment to a deal. With polls showing Republicans sagging under the weight of President Trump’s coronavirus response, Pelosi and Democrats have been emboldened to press their advantage.
1:20 p.m. SF area among US regions with highest loss of businesses: More than 2,000 Bay Area businesses were reported permanently closed since March as the pandemic walloped the economy, according to data from Yelp. The closures include more than 300 restaurants and 300 retailers. About 3,000 more San Francisco businesses have temporarily closed, according to San Francisco-based Yelp’s listings. Only Honolulu and Las Vegas have lost a higher share of businesses, the data shows. Read the story here.
1:10 p.m. Latino businesses shutter at higher rates during pandemic: Latino businesses in California have been especially pummeled by the coronavirus. Before the pandemic, Latinos were opening businesses at a faster rate than any other demographic group, but one survey now finds that 70% of Latino-owned businesses across the country had to shutter since mid-March — if not for good, at least temporarily halting operations. Read the story here.
1:00 p.m. SF researcher zooms in on asymptomatic rates: An infectious-disease specialist at UC San Francisco is zeroing in on the unusually high rate of coronavirus cases that are without symptoms — about 40% of infections by estimate of the Centers for Disease Control — in seeking to understand the mysterious virus, the Washington Post reports. Scientists hope that understanding will help on the path to vaccines and treatments.
12:46 p.m. Trump said to plan use of executive powers on stimulus: News organizations report that President Trump planned to sign executive orders Saturday in a bid to provide new pandemic relief to Americans as the White House and Congress stall on details of a new package. It’s not clear what powers would allow Trump to provide funding since spending power rests with Congress under the Constitution.
12:21 p.m. LA cases still soaring: Los Angeles County remains the state’s far and away leader in the number of coronavirus cases as California officials say the statewide numbers seem to be stabilizing. Los Angeles County recorded 204,167 infections as of Friday, with 4,918 deaths so far, compared to 60,122 confirmed cases across the Bay Area, with 904 deaths. By comparison in other hard-hit areas, Riverside County has recorded just over 40,452 cases and San Bernardino County 34,939.
12:01 p.m. Posters in SF honor health care workers: A 7-year-old’s slogan, “I Would Like to Give You a 6 Foot Hug,” has become an art poster on kiosks up and down S.F.’s Market Street. It’s among artists’ posters commissioned as tributes to COVID-19 health care workers, with 40 posters going on display Monday in a series titled “Heroes: San Francisco Thanks Frontline Healthcare Workers,” a project of the San Francisco Arts Commission. Read the story here.
11:48 a.m. How to beat the vacationing park crowds: Due to the pandemic, many California rural areas have never seen so many vacationers as they during this summer when air travel is curtailed and for many people nervewracking. People are packing parks, campgrounds and easily accessible lakes — just about any recreation site that can be reached by 2-wheel-drive. Tom Stienstra has some tips on how to ditch the throngs.
11:24 a.m. California isn’t releasing youth prisoners amid outbreaks: The coronavirus is spiking in California’s youth prisons, but the state is not releasing young prisoners for their safety as it has done in its adult lock-ups. With nearly 70 reported cases in the state’s three youth prisons — or about 9% of the current population — corrections officials temporarily halted transfers into the Stockton and Ventura County facilities. Read The Chronicle’s story here.
10:20 a.m. Brazil nears 100,000 deaths: Brazil is approaching the grim milestone of 100,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths, five months after the first reported case in a nation of 210 million. Brazil has reported an average of more than 1,000 daily deaths from the pandemic since late May. The death toll compares to more than 161,000 in the much larger United States.
10:08 a.m. New rapid bus for East Bay: Mass transit in the Bay Area has plunged as people fear coronavirus transmission, but in a striking parallel development, bus rapid transit will start Sunday in East Oakland. AC Transit’s new “Tempo” line promises ease and speed with bus-only lanes along a roughly 10-mile route and 46 stations between the San Leandro BART station and 20th Street and Broadway in uptown Oakland. It’s among the Bay Area’s first bus rapid transit lines: One is up and running in the South Bay and two are under construction in S.F. Read the story here.
9:59 a.m. Central Valley workers suffer on front lines as essential workers: The coronavirus is surging in the Centeral Valley as agricultural workers deemed “essential” have taken taken their places at the production lines and sorting tables, against all social distancing guidelines, while their employers make excuses for why coworker after coworker stopped showing up, the Guardian’s Vivian Ho reports. Some workers said they learned from news reports that they had been exposed to COVID-19. Others felt obligated to work even when showing virus symptoms.
9:50 a.m. Mid-American Conference cancels football, other sports for fall: The Mid-American Conference announced Saturday it’s canceling all fall sports contests because of the pandemic. The MAC is the first conference in Division 1 college football to voluntarily forego all its games in 2020. The conference said in a statement the decision was made “with the health and safety of its student-athletes, coaches and communities as a top priority.”
9:25 a.m. Jobless picture more grim than numbers indicate: Data show the fragile U.S. economy added 1.8 million jobs in a month, but the current picture is actually worse, The Chronicle’s Carolyn Said reports. That’s because the government data were collected in mid-July — before weekly unemployment filings rose for two consecutive weeks, the first increase since they peaked in late March. Short story: The reopening rebound is over and more Americans are grappling with long-term unemployment.
8:59 a.m. It may be too late to rescue millions of Americans: With Washington talks on a new stimulus package now gone bust, it could be already too late to prevent lasting financial harm for many of the 30 million Americans relying on unemployment benefits, the New York Times reports. Getting by on regular state unemployment, often a few hundred dollars a week or less, won’t prevent eviction, hunger or mounting debt for many that will make it harder to climb out of the hole.
8:40 a.m. Stanford grad students worried about being protected: Graduate students at Stanford, one of the nation’s richest and most prestigious universities, fear the school is not addressing their coronavirus concerns. More than 300 signed an open letter to the university calling for periodic testing and isolation options for students awaiting test results.Stanford has a specific testing and quarantine plan for undergraduates’ return, but grad students say there is no uniformity in plans for them. Read The Chronicle’s story here.
8:24 a.m. Two-thirds of stricken kids have no pre-existing conditions: Analysis by government scientists reveals that as with adults, more than 55% of children with COVID-19 are male and 40.5% Latino, the highest percentage of any racial or ethnic category. The most common underlying condition was obesity, but two thirds of the children did not have any pre-existing conditions, according to new reports by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
8:10 a.m. More kids getting COVID-19 and deadly inflammation: While President Trump dispenses an unfounded message that children are virtually immune to COVID-19, the illness is infecting an increasing number of them and more than 200, including 29 in California, suffer severe inflammatory reactions that can be life threatening, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Two CDC reports Friday provided troubling insight into the coronavirus’impact on those under 18. Read the story here.
7:49 a.m. US deaths soar past 160,000: The United States now has lost 161,456 lives to the coronavirus, tracking by researchers at Johns Hopkins University shows. At least 10,213 of those deaths have been in California.
7:43 a.m. Fierce fire season looms amid pandemic: A particularly ferocious California fire season looms as COVID-19 reshapes how the state and Cal Fire respond. Base camps where firefighters gather to eat, rest and plan now require masks and have spread out to allow for social distancing. Cal Fire is housing more people in hotels instead of cramming them into trailers. Crews are sticking together in pods. Read more about fire preparations in coronavirus times.
Updates from Friday, Aug. 7:
5:29 p.m. Bay Area surpasses 60,000 cases, reaches 900 deaths: The Bay Area on Friday recorded 60,049 coronavirus cases in total since the start of the pandemic, and the Bay Area death toll reached 900 lives lost as the insidious virus continued its rampage.
5:19 p.m. California hospitalizations stay below 6,000:People hospitalized with COVID-19 numbered 5,932 as of Friday in California, state health officials announced, with 1,798 of them in intensive care units. The numbers have been edging downward for a couple of weeks.
5:10 pm. SF Symphony offers bare bones: The San Francisco Symphony has a new outreach program for the pandemic era, called 1:1, that strips music down to its bare bones: One musician, one listener, in 30-minmute performances, back-to-back on the Davies symphony hall’s two outdoor terraces. The concerts every Thursday are among a range of initiatives that the orchestra has begun to keep the arts alive during the pandemic.
5:04 p.m. Contra Costa County sees jump in cases: Contra Costa Couny registered another 228 cases of the coronavirus on Friday, bringing its total to 8,760 cases since the start of the pandemic. The county also added two deaths to its mortality toll, for a total of 136 lives lost to date.
4:50 p.m. Test-result delays in Bay Area worsen: Delays in coronavirus test results from some Bay Area sites worsened this week, taking up to 19 days and frustrating officials trying to contain the summer’s surge in cases. Lags in processing results are more frequent at commercial than public health labs, and stem from increased demand, limited lab capacity and lack of supplies across the country. Read The Chronicle’sstory here.
4:44 p.m. SF homeless office unprepared for tragic crisis:As the pandemic pushes more people toward poverty, San Francisco’s homelessness office is understaffed and unprepared to handle the swelling crisis, a report by the Budget and Legislative Analyst’s Office states. The report issued Thursday reveals the department has a nearly 26% vacancy rate and high staff turnover, insufficient contract oversight, and $26.5 million in unspent revenue — despite a spike in homelessness that is growing. Read the story here.
4:29 p.m. California has a lot at stake as D.C. falters:California had a lot riding on the stimulus relief package that hit a standstill in Washington on Friday. The Democrats’ version would release at least $14 billion that California officials are counting on in the state budget. Without it, steep cuts will hit the UC and Cal State University systems, affordable housing programs, courts and state worker pay. In all, California state coffers stood to get more than $20 billion this year and $26 billion next year from the Democrats’ plan, in addtion to $30 billion this year and $15 billion next year for California cities and counties. Read the story here.
4:15 p.m. Computer problem fixed that led to underreport of cases: A computer problem that caused California to underreport the number of new coronavirus cases has been fixed, but the backlog of tests results could result in thousands more positive cases being added to the state’s total, Mark Ghaly, state health secretary, said Friday. He said the state will need a few days to sort through as many as 300,000 backlogged test results for the coronavirus and other infectious diseases to determine how many came out positive. Read the story here.
3:25 p.m. Alameda County case counts rise: Alameda County recorded another 313 cases of the coronavirus Friday, along with 3 additional deaths. The numbers bring the county’s case count to date to 12,079, and its death toll to 205.
3:14 p.m. State restricts college sports: Higher education athletic teams in California must require masks for coaches, staff, media and any players not engaged in play at games, under the new state guidelines issued Friday. “Practice may resume, only if regular periodic COVID-19 testing of athletes and support staff” is conducted. Competition between teams, without spectators, can occur only if the schools provide COVID-19 testing and results within 72 hours of competition in high contact risk sports. Schools must notify other schools if an athlete tests positive within 48 hours after competition.
3 p.m. California orders colleges to have and eforce campus-specific virus plans: Higher education institutions in California must have campus-specific COVID-19 prevention plans and conduct risk assessments of all work areas and tasks and student interactions, according to new state guidance for colleges and universities issued Friday. They must follow state guidelines on face coverings and 6-foot social distancing, and rigorously investigate any COVID-19 illness and its cause. Indoor lectures are prohibited.
2:38 p.m. Feds try to reassure public on vaccine safety:Federal health officials, worried about shaky confidence in a possible coronavirus vaccine, launched a public campaign this week to insist that regulators won’t clear any vaccine unless it’s vetted for safety and effectiveness. But President Trump then injected a political note by predicting Thursday that a vaccine might be available around Nov. 3, or Election Day. Top Food and Drug Administration officials, in published articlesand interviews, said they would approve a vaccine only after rigorous review and would consult an outside advisory committee to ensure decisions based “solely on good science and data.”
2:24 p.m. No new relief package for jobless: A last-ditch effort by Democrats to revive collapsing Capitol Hill talks on vital COVID-19 rescue money ended in disappointment on Friday, news accounts said, making it increasingly likely that Washington gridlock will mean more hardship for millions of people who are losing enhanced jobless benefits, and further damage for an economy pummeled by the still-raging coronavirus.
2:18 p.m. State failure on certificate renewal led to delay:California failed to renew a certificate, from July 21 to Aug. 5, for an intermediary that enables Quest Diagnostics, a major coronavirus test provider, to report test results, the state health secretary, Dr. Mark Ghaly, said Friday. That led to delay in test results getting reported to the state. The certificate must be renewed every two years and July 31 was the most recent deadline: It has since been renewed, Ghaly said.
2:10 p.m. California officials confident of downward trend:Despite failure of the state data system, California officials “feel confident in the trend,” that shows stabilizing of coronavirus case numbers, state Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly said Friday. “We believe the trend has been stabilizing and coming down,” a conclusion validated by declining hospitalizations in the last couple of weeks, he said. He added that by early next week, he will report on accurate numbers, and what the hang-up “meant in terms of cases and how it impacts the broader sense of transmission across the state.”
1:57 p.m. Communication lapse cited in state’s data foul-up: All state monitoring of county coronavirus data has been frozen as officials investigate a lapse in its technical systems, Dr. Mark Ghaly, California secretary of health, said Friday. “We are currently working to understand the communication of this issue within our organization,” he told reporters. “We are aware individuals there were aware of some of these challenges. We are taking a complete look at how that communication could have been better.” County officials warned in recent days that their case data may be lacking due to reliance on the state’s system.
1:47 p.m. State says data system ‘has failed,’ investigation launched: In a stark announcement following discovery that California’s coronavirus case counts are off due to a technical glitch, the state’s top health official said Friday, “Our data system has failed,” and Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered an investigation. “We will hold people accountable,” Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly told a news briefing. “We apologize. You deserve better. The governor expects better from us.” Authorities learned of the issue on Monday and believe “the root cause” goes back to a server outage on July 25, he said.
1:21 p.m. Outside Lands is latest fest to go inside: With no concerts happening in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park this year, the promoters of the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival are hoping to make it up to fans by bringing the live experience into their homes. The virtual Inside Lands Aug. 28-29 will feature past Outside Lands performances and premiere new live-stream content, promoter Another Planet Entertainment announced.
1:16 p.m. Stocks wrap up mixed: Investors weren’t exactly sure what to make of things Friday, but they did like those small companies. The Russell 2000 index jumped 1.3%, the Dow went up a scant 0.2%, the S&P 500 rose an even scantier 0.1% and the Nasdaq dropped 0.9%.
12:45 p.m. Sonoma County latest to impose penalty for mask scofflaws: People who refuse to wear a mask or keep social distance now will face fines in Sonoma County. The Board of Supervisors on Thursday approved citations ranging from $100 for individuals who don’t wear face coverings or practice social distancing as required, up to $10,000 for businesses that flout state and local pandemic rules. Besides police officers, government employees such as code enforcement officers and park rangers can issue citations,
12:29 p.m. Fauci says voting in person can be done safely:Dr. Anthony Fauci says Americans can go to voting booths in person if they’re careful, the Washington Post reports. But when pressed during a Post interview on whether mail voting is a safer option, Fauci declined to answer definitively, saying, “It’s a sport now in Washington to pit me against the president. … Someone will take a quote and bingo, it’ll be me against the president, and I don’t want to do that.” President Trump, despite lack of evidence, has been flogging mail-in balloting as fraudulent.
12:17 p.m. Harry Reid calls Trump attack on mail-in voting foolish ‘hullabaloo’: Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Friday that President Trump “is raising concerns that are non-existent” by attacking plans for mail-in voting during the pandemic, including in Reid’s home state of Nevada. The attacks are “an effort by Trump and the Republicans to stop people from voting,” and are “making a big hullabaloo over nothing,” Reid said in a CNN interview. The Trump campaign is suing the battleground state of Nevada over its plan to send absentee ballots to all voters this November, a step California also is taking. Reid predicted mail-in ballots will improve voter turnout.
11:50 a.m. Teachers in SF will return to 7-hour work day:San Francisco teachers will resume seven-hour work days when fall-term distance instruction begins on Aug. 17, according to the tentative agreement reached by district officials and the teachers union. Teachers traditionally worked seven hours daily, but only had to work four hours a day during the pandemic-caused shutdown in the spring. The new deal, if approved, calls for at least two hours of live instruction or interaction every day, which could include Zoom calls with the entire class or small groups. Read Jill Tucker’s story here.
11:39 a.m. Dems say White House refuses to split the difference: Democratic leaders said Friday that the White House rejected an offer for a roughly $2 trillion coronavirus relief package, The Hill reports. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco said Democrats offered Thursday to reduce their $3.4 trillion price tag by $1 trillion if Republicans would agree to raise their roughly $1 trillion package by the same amount to help Americans weather the pandemic. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told reporters Friday that a $1 trillion increase was “a non-starter.”
11:25 a.m. Prison workers sue state over coronavirus safety: A union representing thousands of California prison employees is suing the state corrections department and its health care system, charging that officials are exposing staffers to “uncontrolled” coronavirus outbreaks inside state-run prisons. SEIU Local 1000 said corrections officials have propelled a system-wide outbreak by recklessly moving prisoners and failing to follow health and safety guidelines. Read the story here.
11:17 a.m. Post Office piles up financial woes as mail-in vote looms: The new postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, on Friday disputed reports that his agency is slowing down election mail or any other mail; and despite financial woes, he said it has “ample capacity to deliver all election mail securely and on time” for the November election.The U.S. Postal Service says it lost $2.2 billion in the three months ending in June as the pandemic-battered agency piles up financial losses that officials warn could top $20 billion over two years.
11:08 a.m. Fauci talks to parents: Parents of Rhode Island school children with concerns about this fall’s return to the classroom during the coronavirus pandemic will get the chance to have their questions answered by Dr. Anthony Fauci. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is scheduled to join Gov. Gina Raimondo next Thursday during a Facebook Live forum on the state’s school reopening plan.
11 a.m. Judge says detainees must be tested: A federal judge ordered immigration officials to test all detainees for the coronavirus at a Bakersfield facility where COVID-19 has broken out and to report test results quickly. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria of San Francisco said Thursday that ICE’s inaction endangers inmates, staff and the public, and that evidence suggests ICE has shown “deliberate indifference” to outbreak risks at the Mesa Verde Detention Center. Read The Chronicle’s story here.
10:47 a.m. Last-ditch effort to save new stimulus deal:House Speaker Nancy Pelosi planned to meet Friday afternoon with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows as Democrats launched a last-ditch effort to revive collapsing talks on vital COVID-19 rescue money. Both sides said the future of the negotiations was uncertain after a combative meeting on Thursday.
9:59 a.m. Death toll in U.S. projected to climb to 300,000:U.S. deaths from COVID-19 are expected to number almost 300,000 by December, nearly doubling the toll over the next four months, according to new data released Friday by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, an independent health research center at the University of Washington. But the institute says “consistent mask-wearing beginning today” by 95% of Americans could save about 70,000 lives.
9:46 a.m. Telemedicine not a panacea for older adults: While telemedicine has allowed patients to see their physicians in safety during the pandemic, it’s not so easy for many older adults. UC San Francisco researchers have found that more than a third of people over 65 face potential difficulties seeing their doctor via telemedicine, with low-income men in remote or rural areas having the greatest challenges, especially those with disabilities or poor health. The researchers published the findings this week in JAMA Internal Medicine.
9:38 a.m. Albany High alums’ short film is guide to single life during pandemic: If you’re navigating through the coronavirus pandemic solo, you are not really alone. The ten-minute animated short “Going It Alone” is a guide, exploring issues single people are dealing with during the pandemic, and letting people know that there are ways to cope.
9:27 a.m. New York to allow in-person school: Schools across New York can reopen for in-person instruction this fall, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday, opening the door for millions of students to return to classrooms and solidifying New York’s status as one of the few states with a virus transmission rate low enough to avoid fully remote learning. A few months ago, New York was a global epicenter of the pandemic. School districts and local politicians will decide how and when to return.
9:17 a.m. Sushi chefs forced to compromise: The coronavirus pandemic is forcing the Bay Area’s most serious sushi chefs to make a key philosophical decision: Compromise on either the experience or the food. The outcome will change omakase, an upscale form of Japanese dining where the chef deftly prepares and places each piece in front of you, one at a time. One potential outcome is no omakase at all. Read the story here.
8:53 A tech exodus from San Francisco: Several major tech firms have told employees they can continue working from home even after the coronavirus shutdown ends. That’s led many workers to flee the Bay Area for cheaper living elsewhere. On the Fifth & Mission podcast, Heather Knight talks to Jennifer Stojkovic of sf.citi, a Chamber of Commerce-style group for tech companies, who says she expects some of those companies will follow suit, leaving San Francisco and taking crucial tax dollars with them. Click here to listen.
6:44 a.m. Pfizer forms agreement with Gilead to make Remdesivir: Pfizer announced a multi-year agreement Friday with Gilead Sciences, Inc. to manufacture and supply remdesivir, Gilead’s investigational antiviral drug for COVID-19. Under the agreement, Pfizer will provide manufacturing services at its facility in McPherson, Kan., to make and supply remdesivir for Gilead. Read more here.
6:38 a.m. Stocks fall on July unemployment numbers: The Dow and the Nasdaq indices slipped as investors took stock of new job-market data, which showed a stumbling recovery. Gilead Sciences shares rose on news of a deal that Pfizer will help it manufacture a coronavirus treatment.
6:29 a.m. SF teachers union, school district reach tentative agreement for distance learning: The agreement — if ratified by a vote of union members and the San Francisco Unified School District — will remain in effect until June 30, 2021 “or until students return to in-person instruction,” according to a summary of the agreement released by the United Educators of San Francisco. Read the full story by Lauren Hernández.
6:18 a.m. SF’s beloved small businesses say a sad, quiet goodbye: Small businesses have long been the lifeblood of San Francisco, anchoring our eclectic neighborhoods and bringing us joy that Amazon never could. But this is proving to be the summer of their demise, as scores of stores have quietly shuttered for good. The Chronicle’s Heather Knight has the story.
6:01 a.m. Unemployment stayed in double digits in July:Despite the U.S. economy adding 1.8 million jobs, unemployment was at 10.2% in July, and more people reported being unemployed for an extended period of time. The many people made jobless by the pandemic also face going without federal benefits as Washington talks over a new rescue package remain stalled.