A California county is imposing a ban of mass gatherings for several weeks due to the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Officials in Santa Clara County, which has a population of more than 1.7 million people and where the heart of Silicon Valley is located, announced that gatherings of more than 1,000 people will be banned for three weeks beginning on Wednesday, NBC Bay Area reported late Monday. This came shortly after health officials announced the first death from the coronavirus in the county, where 43 cases have been confirmed.
"Today's order and new recommendations will reduce the number of people who develop severe illness and will help prevent our healthcare system from becoming overwhelmed," Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody said. "This is critically important for anyone with healthcare needs, not just those most vulnerable to serious illness from COVID-19."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Previously, the city of Austin, Texas banned events with 2,500 or more people through May 1, though there are exceptions for cases where the organizers can show they have "mitigation plans for infectious diseases" in place, per KXAN. San Francisco has also banned "non-essential group events" in buildings owned by the city for two weeks. But Politico describes the ban in Santa Clara County as "the most dire coronavirus steps yet in the U.S."
-
Hurricane Melissa slams Jamaica as Category 5 stormSpeed Read The year’s most powerful storm is also expected to be the strongest ever recorded in Jamaica
-
Protesters fight to topple one of Africa’s longstanding authoritarian nationsIn the Spotlight Cameroon’s president has been in office 1982
-
Political cartoons for October 28Cartoons Tuesday's political cartoons include a bailout for Argentina, a frog prince, and Epstein distractions
-
Covid-19 mRNA vaccines could help fight cancerUnder the radar They boost the immune system
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the rightSpeed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
The new Stratus Covid strain – and why it’s on the riseThe Explainer ‘No evidence’ new variant is more dangerous or that vaccines won’t work against it, say UK health experts
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shotSpeed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
