As more parts of the state can reopen, the six-county Bay Area health order still stands because it’s more restrictive and though the numbers look good, officials are still concerned.
The number of coronavirus cases in Santa Clara County is leveling off and there are only about half as many COVID-19 patients in hospitals as there were on April 1.
The architect of the Bay Area health order says she understands people are getting antsy but still says the stricter order must remain saying that good numbers aren’t enough.
“We have exactly the same conditions we had in March,” said Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody. "So if we did ease up we would see a brisk return in cases, hospitalizations, and a brisk return of deaths to be quite blunt.”
Cody said that on average, every person infected in the Bay still spreads it to at least one other person. Once that number drops below the one transmission average, things can start opening again.
“We are stabilizing so we’re not seeing an increase in case counts but we’re not seeing a huge decrease either,” Cody said.
On Tuesday, the White House Task Force Dr. Anthony Fauci echoed a cautious reopening approach during his remote testimony before a senate committee, but he indicated that as long as there is adequate testing, contact tracing and social distancing commerce can slowly resume, even schools opening up.
“I would hope by that time in the fall we would have more than enough to respond,” Fauci said.
