Family Gatherings Driving Coronavirus

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Public health officials in Santa Cruz are investigating four discrete clusters of COVID-19 infections, all associated with family gatherings, including a multigenerational Mother’s Day celebration.

The flare-ups likely triggered last week’s 20 % surge in the county’s case count, a sudden explosion after weeks of relatively flat growth. The week saw 31 new cases, the biggest spike since shelter-in-place orders took effect. The most recent county data, from Thursday, shows 186 total cases so far.

Regulators hope the upswing is a blip. Even as the county gradually loosens its rules, enabling businesses to do curbside pickup and opening child care facilities for families of essential workers, it still bans get-togethers of any size. The Mother's Day bash and three other events all violated the orders, said county spokesman Jason Hoppin.

Read more here.