COVID in California: Latest news as Bay Area cases climb

COVID shut down some of S.F.'s coolest hidden public spaces. It's time to open them back up, says John King

Even before the pandemic, some of the coolest public spaces in downtown San Francisco were easy to miss — perched on tall buildings or tucked inside towers, off the map unless you were in the know.

Then came COVID-19. Now, even though workers are returning to the city's downtown core, some of the best public spaces remain off-limits.

We're still living in harrowing times, no question. But at some point before too long, the city will need to give an official prod to building owners who otherwise might try to make private amenities out of community benefits that they are required to provide. Read more from The Chronicle’s John King here.

Boosters for kids 5-11 could roll out as soon as this weekend

Federal approval of COVID-19 booster shots for the youngest group of Americans currently eligible for the vaccine sets the stage for rollouts to Bay Area children ages 5 to 11 as soon as this weekend. The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday granted emergency use authorization of Pfizer/BioNTech's booster for the new age group. But before parents can take their kids for the shot, the CDC must formally recommend the booster. The agency's advisory committee is expected to discuss the shot and issue its recommendation at a meeting Thursday. Read what you need to know about booster shots for younger children.

No let-up in Bay Area's swell of COVID cases

There's no relief for Bay Area counties from COVID-19. The latest tallies show new cases and hospitalizations driven by subvariants of the coronavirus continuing their upward trajectory. The Bay Area reported about 42 new daily cases per 100,000 residents on Tuesday, up from 35 a week ago. Eight of the nine counties in the region are among those with the highest infection rate in California, with San Francisco reporting 54 daily cases per 100,000 residents. Health officials say the actual number of infections is likely much higher due to people testing at home or not getting tested at all. The number of people hospitalized in San Francisco with COVID-19 climbed to 76, up from 61 last week. Read more about the renewed rise of the virus in the Bay Area and beyond.

UCSF's Wachter says wife is negative but still has brain fog

Dr. Bob Wachter, chair of medicine at UCSF, reported from personal experience Tuesday on the vagueries of how COVID-19 plays out in individuals. He tweeted that his wife Katie Hafner , who tested positive after recently traveling out of state, has "tested neg on day 7, but still brain fog & bad fatigue on d9." He added it was not "like a cold" and said they were watching for new symptoms that might indicate a rebound. Wachter said he's still testing negative, as have the elderly friends he and his wife stayed with before she knew she was positive.

Death toll at 1 million is almost certainly an undercount

COVID-19 has killed more than 30 out of every 10,000 people in the United States since the pandemic began. Since March 2020, an average of nearly 1,250 people per day have officially died of COVID-19 in the U.S. That count, which peaked in January 2021 with up to 4,400 deaths a day, has slowed down recently, with an average of 350 to 600 daily deaths in April and May, according to tracking by Johns Hopkins University. While this death toll is staggering, it's almost certainly a serious undercount. Read more about the tragic milestone and the course of COVID-19 in California and the Bay Area.

Hyper-transmissible BA.2.12.1 subvariant is nearly half of new U.S. cases

The BA.2 subvariant of the omicron coronavirus variant is being crowded out by its sublineage BA.2.12.1, which accounted for 47.5% of new cases in the U.S. last week, according to genomic sequencing by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. BA.2 made up the other half of last week's cases, a drop from its nearly 60% proportion the prior week. The hyper-transmissible BA.2.12.1 is believed to be behind the swell of cases causing a sharp uptick of infections in the Bay Area and other U.S. regions. "The bunk that cases are not important is preposterous," Dr. Eric Topol, a scientist with Scripps, wrote in an analysis of virus variants. "They are infections that beget more cases, they beget long COVID, they beget sickness, hospitalizations and deaths."

School district in Monterey County reinstates mask mandate

Pacific Grove Unified School District, a small district at the south end of Monterey Bay, began requiring indoor face masks again on Tuesday after county health officials reported a leap in infections. The county reported a seven-day average test positivity rate of 5.2% and a seven-day average of 12.4 cases per 100,000 residents. Last month, the district's board set thresholds for indoor masking when the test positivity rate exceeded 5% and the case rate surpassed 10 per 100,000 residents. The district enrolls about 2,050 K-12 students in five schools.

With cases rising, here's how to get eight free COVID-19 tests

The Biden administration said it would make eight more free, at-home COVID tests available to the public, the Associated Press reported, as new coronavirus cases rise across the country. Households can request an additional eight tests at https://www.covid.gov/tests , and the tests will ship via the U.S. Postal Service.

Apple again delays three-days-in-office plan

Apple has indefinitely postponed plans to require its workers to return to the office three days per week, Amid rising COVID-19 cases across the Bay Area, the company informed its employees by email Tuesday that it was postponing the requirement beyond the planned date or May 23. The delay marked the latest back-to-the-office setback for Apple, which initially planned to bring workers back three days a week by last September. Many workers have lobbied the company to grant more flexibility for telework. Read more about Apple's efforts to recover from the pandemic.