In most cases, it's a lot more relevant to report the daily number of new cases rather than the total number of cases since the pandemic began. The number of new cases is what everyone will examine to guage how well we're handling the pandemic and how quickly we can open up the economy again.

For example, below just say that Santa Clara had 31 new cases and San Mateo had 48 new cases instead of giving the totals.

> NEW COVID-19 CASES, DEATHS: Santa Clara County reported 2,492 cases and 138 deaths on Wednesday, up from 2,461 cases and 137 deaths on Tuesday. Seventy-nine people are hospitalized. San Mateo County on Wednesday reported 1,738 cases of COVID-19 and 75 deaths, up from 1,690 cases on Tuesday.

@Jim Fehrle I completely agree -- what's the point of reporting all the cases we've ever had, most of that number at this point are old cases. Reporting it that way makes it sound like we have 2500 confirmed and infectious cases roaming the county (I mean, hopefully not roaming the county if they are confirmed cases, but still potentially out there), and given that everyone knows we likely have more than we actually can confirm, reporting 2500 as though it is a current number makes it sound like we have many more current coronavirus infections than we do.

Posted by S_mom, a resident of Community Center

>> @Jim Fehrle I completely agree -- what's the point of reporting all the cases we've ever had, most of that number at this point are old cases. Reporting it that way makes it sound like we have 2500 confirmed and infectious cases roaming the county

Both numbers, and much more, are "reported" on the websites. People following the progress of the pandemic are interested in all those numbers. If you are only interested in new cases, then, just focus on that ...

I’d like the county to post the deaths by city, age and pre existing condition so that the trend is specifically identified

It would be more helpful if they visualized the number of total cases in addition to the number of new cases since the start of this pandemic. This would clarify if these new numbers are worse, better or the same as what we have been experiencing.

I just read a news report that 1000 Christian churches in California have promised to defy the state's shutdown order beginning this weekend. That surely will cause another surge in the COVID-19 infection rate and extend our need for shelter-in-place.

Posted by resident, a resident of Downtown North

>> I just read a news report that 1000 Christian churches in California have promised to defy the state's shutdown order beginning this weekend. That surely will cause another surge in the COVID-19 infection rate and extend our need for shelter-in-place.

If they sit quietly with their masks on, it may not be too bad. If they all go maskless and sing hymns, then, it could get bad quickly:

Web Link

I've been checking the Santa Clara County COVID-19 cases on the sccgov.org site. The numbers don't add up. Double checking the report on this site also shows discrepancy.
For example, on 5/31 it showed 46 new cases but today it shows only 2 cases on 5/31. Yesterday (6/1) the total was 2805, today (6/2) with 17 new cases the total is 2819.
Someone should make them accountable to report actually numbers.

This is a comment on the headline which reads "Coronavirus central: Cases in people ages 50 and younger rise by the dozens over past week
Santa Clara County data shows 39 new cases of COVID-19 found in people ages 20 and under since May 26" There appears to be no more details other than the headline so here goes.

Supposing these numbers are correct about an increase in people 50 or younger, wouldn't it be wise to ask why this demographic has suddenly seen their numbers rise? Could it be anything to do with the protests since from my observation that is the demographic protesting without masks and without social distancing? Alternatively, could it be that school is now out and there are more bored young people who are abusing the SIP rules, meeting with friends and not complying with the social distancing rules?

We have to ask why these things are happening. If everyone is obeying the rules and only going out for solitary exercise and shopping expeditions, then why are these numbers rising? Don't start tightening restrictions for everyone just because some people are now breaking rules.

"*If* everyone is obeying the rules and only going out for solitary exercise and shopping expedition"

Well, there's the obvious answer right there... If.

@Resident
Notice that testing has gone way up in the last couple weeks so cases are also going to go up. Perhaps more young asymptomatic people are being tested. Test positivity is still like 1% and hospitalizations are low (though strangely higher today), so nothing appears to have changed. If protests or school being out has an impact that will be felt later, it is too soon to say.

Planning a recreational trip out of the county *again* this weekend. The lockdowns have been pointless for the last 2 months.

Not only that but now that we're two weeks into 24x7 mass blm protests nationwide, we see that the infection rate is still declining. Finally, if you guys aren't going to enforce your rules for blm protesters then they are meaningless.

I call BS and we're done.

Posted by resident, a resident of Adobe-Meadow

>> we see that the infection rate is still declining.

Web Link I call BS and we're done.

>> I call BS and we're done.

Web Link

Hey Anon, nice panic porn links. For other who are interested in data rather than media hysteria The actual daily case count in the US can be found at Web Link . It's now been over 2.5 weeks since the mass nationwide protests started and there is STILL no spike.

Plus since CA political operatives don't seem to think anything is wrong with mass protests for their pet selected causes, it's clear that the whole lockdown crap now is politically driven.

So, I have been ignoring the lockdown as have increasing numbers of people who have decided to behave like rational adults and free Americans.

Posted by resident, a resident of Adobe-Meadow

>> Hey Anon, nice panic porn links. For other who are interested in data rather than media hysteria The actual daily case count in the US can be found at Web Link .

"Panic porn"?!? In the -discussion- of states that are spiking, Arizona is number one. Normalizing by population (the bottom two of the four graphs), you can see right here that Arizona is now number one in new cases, followed by Alabama and Arkansas: Web Link The graphs of the states which are increasing rapidly are exactly what was meant by "spike".

>> It's now been over 2.5 weeks since the mass nationwide protests started and there is STILL no spike.

Read the graphs, then, get back to me.

>> it's clear that the whole lockdown crap now is politically driven.

Do you think that young Democrats trying to save old white Republican men is "political"? Spare me. If "they" really wanted to get you, they would encourage you to go out partying with your buddies so you would get COVID-19. Now, *that* would be "political". The reality is that "they" are trying to get you to protect yourself and others.

>> So, I have been ignoring the lockdown as have increasing numbers of people who have decided to behave like rational adults and free Americans.

FDR famously popularized the idea (from Thoreau/Emerson) "we have nothing to fear but fear itself". Great idea during an economic panic. Bad idea when what we actually have to fear is a virus. A virus only knows how to reproduce and propagate. "Confidence" is a bad, dangerous policy. You need to follow a protocol that minimizes the spread of the virus.

Read the data. Then, stick to the protocol.

State by state data is showing that Arizona, which had stabilized and drifted down slightly to less than 40 new cases per day per million people, three weeks ago, has now spiked up to 240 new cases per day per million. Web Link Arkansas and Alabama have also spiked.

No masks at the barbershop or construction site??

Gee ... at this spiked infection rate, it will only take about 800 days for ~ 5% of Santa Clara country to have been infected, tested and recovered. I guess we can just shelter-in-place till its all over.

A second to the request that total infections (since March) is a useless statistic. But a very useful replacement statistic would be a comparison to infections reported the last several weeks. That would tell us if it's rising or falling (and how much).

Also there was one comment from today's report that mystified me:

"The positivity rate has remained at a 5.1% average for the past 14 days, but Newsom said past week's average is 5.6%."

If the positivity rate has remained at a 5.1% average for the past 14 days, how could the past week's average be 5.6%? Am I missing something?

Why aren’t we getting more pertinent numbers? Who cares how many test positive....I want to know how many test positive but are asymptomatic. How many test positive but have very mild symptoms, how ,any have moderate symptoms, how many are hospitalized, how many end up on ventilators and ultimately how many die. THOSE are the numbers we need to see.

But we don’t. Because I guarantee you that they are much more hopeful and positive and not the dire click bait that’s in the media.

Many US states are seeing a surge in fatalities because they reopened too quickly, now they are trying to shut down again, which is really frustrating for customers, businesses, and of course the families of the dead. CNN News report: Web Link

"Something's not working," Dr. Anthony Fauci said of the nation's current approach. Overnight, Arizona and New Mexico joined Texas and eight other states in pausing their reopening plans. The developments mark a "heartbreaking situation" that demands stricter actions immediately, said Dr. Peter Hotez of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Northern California was very smart with our go-slow approach. Only open new business types when the science says it is safe, then wait a couple of weeks after each reopening so that a new round of testing can be evaluated.

I have been disobeying the stay at home orders all along, I have been taking my money to other counties, and will continue to do so. The lockdowns have just added unconscionable hardship to the damage done by the virus, especially to disadvantaged sectors and to children.

Of course the virus is going to continue to spread. Yes we will see case counts go up. What matters is how serious it is. The CDC is telling us now based on sampling data that the mortality rate as a % of cases is probably 10x LOWER than current estimates.

We need to stop adding social and economic harm to the harm caused by illness. If we can't remove Sara Cody then at least exercise some civil disobedience.

What about statistics for Palo Alto proper?

Clearly Santa Clara County, like the rest of CA, needs to slow down its phased reopening and perhaps even go backwards (no opening of bars, hair salons, indoor restaurants, or large gatherings, including protests) and enforce wearing masks outside the home. Otherwise all of our sacrifice with SIP for 3.5 months will have only delayed exponential growth of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the state.

Posted by Anon, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood

>> I have been disobeying the stay at home orders all along,

That Anon is not me, Anon. And, I, Anon, am observing social distancing, and recommend that everyone do so for the foreseeable future.

==
Posted by slow down, a resident of Community Center

>> Clearly Santa Clara County, like the rest of CA, needs to slow down its phased reopening and perhaps even go backwards (no opening [...]

Agreed.

People especially need to get real about bars:

"Bar-driven clusters

"More than 100 cases of COVID-19 have been reported among Minnesotans in their 20s in the Mankato area who said they went to bars on June 12 and 13 — the first weekend bars and restaurants were allowed to serve indoors.

"Two Mankato bars — Rounders and The 507 — were the focal points of that young adult outbreak, Ehresmann said Friday. [...] Social media from those bars shows they were crowded, with no room for social distancing, and people who were standing and not masked, [...] “It’s not that you can’t socialize. It’s not that you can’t have fun,” she said. “But you need to do in a manner that’s safe for you and the people around you.”

Web Link

Parties, not protests, are spreading COVID-19:

Web Link

[Post removed.]

Covid-19 WILL spread. All the lockdowns and silly "social distancing" measures may slow it down but will NOT stop it, and some people sadly will die. Nor are we going to have a vaccine available less than 18 months from now; maybe never.

Your ONLY choice is between adding the ruinous effects of lockdowns to the virus, or allowing people to minimize the total overall harm to society.

Posted by resident, a resident of Green Acres

>> Covid-19 WILL spread. All the lockdowns and silly "social distancing" measures may slow it down but will NOT stop it, and some people sadly will die.

What news sources are you using? Because, if you look at *data*, you will see that New Zealand is actually in the *elimination* phase, and, Japan and South Korea rates are very low now. Web Link

It isn't *impossible*, since we have existence proofs.

>> Your ONLY choice is between adding the ruinous effects of lockdowns to the virus, or allowing people to minimize the total overall harm to society.

Do you consider closing bars to be "ruinous"? Just wondering...

The people in other countries that have been successful are more disciplined than Americans. In other countries their are varying degrees of personal responsibility and subtle and not-so-subtle coercion that do not exist in the US.
A large minority of Americans are acting irresponsibly and are putting the general population at risk.

> Many US states are seeing a surge in fatalities because they reopened too quickly, now they are trying to shut down again,

Agreed. Many protesters of the lockdowns said the lockdowns hurt the economy. But they did not admit that if you lift the lockdowns you can spread the virus, which of course hurts the economy. Thanks to lifting the lockdown, we have the worst of both worlds -- a further spread of the infection *and* another lockdown that lengthens the economic shutdown. I don't think the civil rights protests helped, but I'm not sure what we can do about them, other than give them safe places to protest.

@PA Online. Report new cases, not total cases. Total cases since the beginning of time are meaningless and fear mongering click bait.

@ everyone. These numbers of cases/deaths/hospitalizations are totally misleading! San Mateo County breaks out the out-of-county cases in their percentage of hospitalizations (which has been as high as 40% so you can assume Stanford's is the same). Santa Clara County does NOT break out the out-of-county cases we are taking! That's WRONG. Our county is taking the overflow from rural areas that don't have ICUs and LA that's overwhelmed (google, it's in the news). And SCC is adding those out-of-county numbers to our case count! Totally misleading by a large percentage! Also, rate of hospitalization increase is now absolute instead of relative. For example, if you have one single person in the hospital in SCC, then add a second person (even if they are from out of the county), the SCC hospitalization rate would go up by 100%! And people need a better understanding of the data they are being fed.

SCC and PA Online need more responsible reporting of the data.

Stats, I have been saying this for sometime. We need accurate information which we are not getting and being given misleading information.

It is time for accurate information. It is also time to be asking why we are being given inaccurate information, because it is preventing sensible decisions from being made.

I am tired at the attempts to hoodwink us.

@Resident
What data do you have that the rest of us don’t ? And where did you get it ? Perhaps your source is not being forthright about their collection methods and attribution of cases. Regardless, you owe the community an accounting of this data that you’re apparently withholding from us.

Time to break out "recovered" cases, like most states report, so we know how much virus is circulating. We also need breakouts by city of residence and workplace because even if a case is not a Palo Alto resident, it could be someone who works in PA and is a valid data point indicator of community spread.

We need to get to a place where students can have some masked/outdoors/distanced in-person extra-curricular activities like clubs or even science labs at school, or we are going to have some real issues with mental health.