San Jose City Manager Dave Sykes told the city council Tuesday that the city has entered Stage 5 of the Pandemic Response Plan, the highest risk level, because of the surge of new coronavirus cases in
Santa Clara County.
“Today, the pandemic is no longer a possibility, but a reality,” Deputy City Manager Kip Harkness said.
During a PowerPoint presentation, Harkness said at best the city is only a few weeks behind Italy, and at worst the city may only be one week behind.
As of Tuesday, 155 cases of the coronavirus and five deaths because of the virus have been confirmed in
the county, according to the Santa Clara County Public Health Department.
The meeting took place in the council chambers which were open to the public, and in a separate room for council members who livestreamed the meeting.
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said city staff allowed a maximum of 35 people in the room to comply with the social distancing ordinance.
Councilmember Raul Peralez added that the council is continually educating itself about the unexpected effects of coronavirus.
In a memorandum, he said that the rates of transmission are uncertain and that within the past few days, several city workers have tested positive for COVID-19.
Several firefighters from the San Jose Fire Department have tested positive for the coronavirus and are currently under quarantine, Liccardo said.
According to the city staff’s verbal report, COVID-19 is 20 times more deadly than the seasonal flu.
“Sounds like right now, we’re able to get some priority testing, but only [for] an individual that may have been exposed in some way or [is] displaying symptoms,” Peralez said.
Liccardo said that the county cannot compare to countries like Singapore and South Korea when it comes to the amount of tests they perform because of the lack of testing kits.
According to the city staff presentation, containment is likely no longer possible because of a lack of testing kits and delays which caused COVID-19 to spread rapidly.
In response, the city has developed a road map to navigate through the pandemic which prioritizes enforcement of the public health order for residents to self-quarantine.
But some council members raised concerns that San Jose residents will face economic hardship.
“In my opinion, I think it will get really real next week because people won’t have the cash and they’re going to be looking at even tougher choices,” Councilmember Maya Esparza said.
Some of the new guidelines include temporarily closing nonessential service businesses such as restaurants and bars to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
This follows a countywide order from the Santa Clara County Public Health Department to shelter at home which allows for only essential businesses and services to remain open. The order also suggests residents limit going outside and prohibits all nonessential gatherings of any number of individuals.
In order to get through this pandemic, city staff said all members of the community need to take these city guidelines seriously.
“There’s a public statement that the chief of police had made and it actually just came out maybe 30 minutes ago, where he states this is not martial law,” Peralez said.
However, council members stressed the importance of protecting residents’ safety without controlling the community.
“We could do everything perfectly on the city side and nothing would change unless the community changes their behavior,” Harkness said.
