Coronavirus California

When will the San Francisco Bay Area reopen? Track progress on 6 key metrics to reopening here

ByLindsey Feingold and Alix Martichoux KGO logo

Monday, July 20, 2020

The latest videos about coronavirus in the US

Here's a look at the latest videos about novel coronavirus and the spread in the U.S. and across the world.California is the first U.S. state to treat Covid as endemic but are we there yet? ABC7 News explains the difference between a pandemic, epidemic and endemic.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- When it comes to further reopening, Bay Area counties are taking it at their own pace. Parts of California have had shopping malls open for weeks; in some places, dine-in restaurant service is resuming. But the Bay Area has been taking it slower than more rural parts of the state.

LIFE AFTER COVID-19: What will restaurants, gyms, flights, stores will look like after COVID-19?

Before reopening more of the economy, the region's public health leaders are tracking six key metrics: COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, hospital capacity, testing, contact tracing and the supply of personal protective equipment.

We've compiled public health data and reached out to each of the nine Bay Area counties' public health departments to monitor their progress. The more green on the chart, the closer the county is to meeting requirements for further reopening.

App users: For a better experience, click here to view the graph in a new window

In some cases the chart is incomplete, as we did not hear back from local public health departments or they declined to give specifics on certain metrics.

Taking a look at how many new cases there are around the Bay Area can give us a sense of how the curve is flattening.

App users: For a better experience, click here to view the graph in a new window

It's important that an uptick in new COVID-19 cases may sometimes be attributed to more widespread testing, rather than an outbreak of the virus.

We can get a better sense of the human toll the virus is taking by looking at the case rate and death rate county-by-county. The case rate shows the number of coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents. The death rate shows the number of coronavirus-related deaths per 100,000 residents.

App users: For a better experience, click here to view the graph in a new window

Viewed on a map, it's even more clear Santa Clara, Alameda and San Francisco counties have been hit hardest.

App users: For a better experience, click here to view the graph in a new window

One of the most important metrics going forward will be how much testing is being done. The map below shows which counties are doing the most testing.

App users: For a better experience, click here to view the graph in a new window

And finally, we can take a look back at when this all started in earnest in early March. The graph below shows how the number of cases has grown in the Bay Area since then. Note the curve of this graph will never go down, as it tracks the total of known positive cases since the beginning of the outbreak. It will only flatten as there are fewer new cases every day.

App users: For a better experience, click here to view the graph in a new window

We'll continue to update this page as we learn more. Check back for updates as the Bay Area prepares to reopen in Phase 2 and beyond.

If you have a question or comment about the coronavirus pandemic, submit yours via the form below or here.

Get the latest news, information and videos about the novel coronavirus pandemic here
RELATED STORIES & VIDEOS: