Berkeley Coronavirus Cases Rise As County Soars Past 38K Cases

Berkeley CA

14 December, 2020

7:47 PM

Description

As the first shipment of coronavirus vaccine arrives in California, the number of confirmed cases continues to rise here in Berkeley and throughout Alameda County. The county health department has been working on a coronavirus vaccination plan and, for now, the very limited vaccines will go to health care workers and those in long-term care facilities. As the months go by and more vaccine becomes available, expect to see vaccine clinics. The first 300,000 coronavirus vaccines arrived in California Sunday night. By the end of the month, the state should have received 2-million vaccines. Each person must receive two doses of the vaccine. There's a growing chorus calling for teachers and other school workers to receive vaccines as soon as possible as a way to reopen classrooms for all students. >>Read more 'Hope Has Arrived': CA's First Doses Of Vaccine Land In State Here in Berkeley, there have been 237 new cases reported since last Monday, bringing the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 1,534. In Alameda County, there have been 38,218 cases, an increase of 5,593 since last Monday's statistics. That's a significant increase from last Monday's report when 3,149 new cases were recorded. The county's death toll is now 546, with 26 deaths reported since last Monday. The reason Gov. Gavin Newsom gave for imposing a strict stay-at-home order was the strain COVID-19 is placing on hospitals, especially intensive care units. Alameda County still has 32 percent ICU bed availability, and the total Bay Area has 20 percent. The majority of the county's ventilators are also available, 64 percent. The Bay Area is faring better than most of the state, which is divided into 5 regions for coronavirus. The San Joaquin Valley has no ICU beds available, while Southern California has just 2.7 percent available. The Greater Sacramento Area is down to 14.8 percent. The only region that is doing better than the Bay Area is Northern California, which has 29 percent of ICU beds still available. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these are the symptoms of COVID-19: Fever or chillsCoughShortness of breath or difficulty breathingFatigueMuscle or body achesHeadacheNew loss of taste or smellSore throatCongestion or runny noseNausea or vomitingDiarrhea The CDC says that anyone with the following symptoms should call 911 or go to the emergency room: Trouble breathingPersistent pain or pressure in the chestNew confusionInability to wake or stay awakeBluish lips or face Coronavirus Vaccine: Most In CA Want, But Many Have ConcernsComing To California: What We Know About The Vaccine RolloutAlameda's U.S. Coast Guard Base One Of 16 Bases To Get Vaccine