Mayor London Breed is said to be issuing an order today that will ban all large gatherings of 1,000 people or more in San Francisco for at least the next two weeks — including Warriors games.
The order is reportedly coming from public health officials in the city, as the Chronicle reports, and it comes a day after Santa Clara County took the same step toward social distancing. In San Jose, that means that Sharks games will either be played in empty arenas, or in front of audiences of less than 1,000.
And as the disembarkation process continues Wednesday for the Grand Princess cruise ship at the Port of Oakland, we're learning a new fact about the 19 crew members who all tested positive for the coronavirus — they are all now reportedly asymptomatic, presumably because the virus has run its course.
The detail came in an official update from Princess Cruises on Tuesday evening, which reads:
As of 22:00 last night, 407 people had disembarked, including two guests who tested positive for COVID-19 on March 6. They, as well as their travel companions, have been transferred to local hospitals.
Nineteen (19) crew members who tested positive for COVID-19 have been deemed asymptomatic and were not disembarked from the ship. These crew members are currently in isolation in their individual cabins.
All 19 were reportedly tested last week because they had shown symptoms.*
As of last night, more than 1,400 passengers had left the Grand Princess, including 228 Canadians who were flown home. Governor Gavin Newsom gave a press conference about the situation, saying that about 100 people were leaving the ship per hour, and he said he hoped the entire process could wrap up within 72 hours, per the Associated Press.
Newsom also issued a warning to older Californians who might be thinking of going on cruises. "I don't think people should be on cruise ships that are elderly," he said. "I don't think you should high-five one another and hug strangers at large sporting events if you have an underlying health condition."
Newsom further said of social distancing efforts, "We want to maximize the disruption for nonessential events, so we can minimize the impact of essential functions and events."
This very scary set of charts discusses the exponential growth of the coronavirus in various countries — and how social distancing can slow it down and ultimately save lives. All we need to do is slow things down until a vaccine or treatment gets approval.
In related news, three TSA workers at Mineta San Jose International Airport have been diagnosed with the virus and are self-quarantining at home.
*This post has been corrected to show that the crew members have been deemed asymptomatic as of Tuesday, not that they were never symptomatic.