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Vol. 20, No. 17
YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
City may reinstate rentals
Food Pantry Spreading some quilting joy Going Strong
M
embers of the Delta Quilters Guild put quilts on display to spread a little cheer for neighbors out walking in East County, Saturday, April 18. Quilts were on display in Oakley, Brentwood, Antioch, Bethel Island, Clayton and Discovery Bay. To view more photos of the event, visit www. thepress.net/ multimedia/ slideshows
by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer
The Oakley City Council has opened the door for the likely return of short-term rentals. The governing body has given initial approval to an ordinance that would permit privately owned shortterm rentals, while minimizing their potential negative effects on surrounding neighborhoods. A city moratorium on such facilities has been in effect since late 2018 to allow state-level court cases about such properties to play out and allow city officials to finalize plans to regulate the
Photo by Tony Kukulich
see Rentals page 20
County surpasses 700 COVID-19 cases by Tony Kukulich Staff Writer
Contra Costa Health Service (CCHS) announced this week that the county has surpassed 700 confirmed COVID-19 cases. According to CCHS data, 707 COVID-19 infections have been confirmed. The death toll related to the novel coronavirus pandemic climbed to 22 in the county. While new cases continue to be added, the rate at which new cases are confirmed has been slowing over the last three weeks. For the week ended April 18, new cases grew by 3.7% per day on average. The prior week, new cases were added at an average rate of 4.8% per day, and the
“ Stay in place, maintain your space, cover your face. One key way the COVID-19 virus spreads is through respiratory droplets that people expel when they breathe or sneeze.
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Dr. Chris Farnitano, county health officer week before that, confirmed cases grew at an average of 12.1% per day. There are 35 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in the county as of April 19. Hospitalizations started to rise noticeably April 9 when the number jumped from 31 to 35. The number of hospitalized patients peaked at 44 on April 14 and has been slowly declining since then. Over
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that same period, fatalities increased from 9 to 22. Hospitals are operating well within available resource limits according to CCHS data. Of the 185 available intensive care units in the county, 106 are occupied. There are 289 ventilators in the county, with 64 in use. In East County, there are 54 confirmed cases in Antioch, 43 in Brentwood, 29 in Oakley,
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seven in Discovery Bay and one on Bethel Island. In the latest effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, a CCHS order now requires county residents to wear a face covering while in public as of Wednesday, April 22. Failure to comply with the new provision is punishable by fine, imprisonment or both, according to the order. “We now know that a significant number of people with COVID-19 lack symptoms, or become infectious before they start showing symptoms,” said Dr. Chris Farnitano, Contra Costa County health officer. “That is why we all need to start wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where it’s somesee Cases page 20
Emergency Plans www.thepress.net/news/webextras
Jerry McNerney, Kamala Harris lead push for FEMA disaster plans.
Delta Christian Community Food Pantry feeding families and souls during pandemic. Page 5
Celebrating Virtual Art
Budding artists in Brentwood Union School District celebrate art from a distance. Page 8
Making A Splash
Former Heritage High swimmer Tyler James takes his talent to the pool at UCSD. Page 15
Adopt a Pet...........................18 Cop Logs................................21 Education................................7 Food........................................11 Legals.....................................19 Opinion..................................14 Sports.....................................15
Face Mask Order www.thepress.net/news/press_releases
County health requires all BART riders to wear face and onboard trains.