Submitted by mike kraft on
But now, more than four months after the region put some of the nation’s first shelter-in-place orders in effect, the Bay Area is experiencing a surge in cases and counties are rolling back reopening plans.
The Bay Area, which consists of nine counties and nearly 8 million people, is a cautionary tale for government and health officials. Even though leaders here tried to do everything cautiously and by the book, cases still eventually spiked over a month and a half, to an average of 877 cases a day at the end of July from 217 a day in mid-June.
Medical experts say a slow but steady rise in complacency is worsening the case count. Contact tracers have told public health researchers that people are getting sick after indoor gatherings. And the numbers show that Latino residents and essential workers are being hit the hardest.
Many people who live here say they are worn out — that a hermitlike existence is impossible for months on end. Tired of being stuck at home, friends and families are starting to gather again, and some parents are letting their children use still-closed playgrounds, ducking under the caution tape that has been wrapped around jungle gyms since March....
The Bay Area is still in a better place than many parts of California and other large cities. It had reported a total 53,086 positive cases and 817 deaths on July 31.
That’s still relatively low in comparison to other large communities such as Miami and Los Angeles. And California itself is experiencing a dramatic surge in cases, mostly concentrated in Southern California. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) rolled back reopening plans in mid-July, ordering all bars and indoor dining closed for the entire state, and gyms, hair salons and houses of worship shuttered for at-risk counties....
But one by one, Bay Area counties have all been added to a state watch list, which places additional restrictions on what can be open....
