Coronavirus Watch List Unlocked, But Contra Costa Still Listed

Richmond CA

19 August, 2020

6:30 PM

Description

EL CERRITO, CA — For weeks the California coronavirus Watch List maintained by the state has been locked, no counties on or off, because of problems with testing data. The issues have been resolved and the Watch List unlocked. Contra Costa County is still on the list, but just one area is troublesome. Santa Cruz and San Diego counties have been removed from the list. Newly added: Mendocino, Calaveras, Sierra, Amador, and Inyo. About 40 counties are one the list, representing some 95-percent of the state's population. Getting off the list is important for reopening schools for in-class teaching, and for reopening more businesses. The Watch List monitors six data points centered around testing, new cases, and hospitalizations. Contra Costa County's problem area is case rate per 100,000 over a 14 day period. The county is in compliance with other factors. The latest data from the county shows 162 new cases and a total of 11,886 since the beginning of the pandemic, and one new death, the first this week. The death toll since the start of the pandemic is 158. There are 97 people currently hospitalized for complications from COVID-19, caused by coronavirus. Across the entire Bay Area, the number is 669. Testing centers in both Hayward and San Francisco have been closed because of wildfire smoke. Here in El Cerrito, there have been 73 confirmed cases and 1 death. Full coronavirus coverage: Coronavirus In California: What To Know