Two Years Since First COVID-19 Case Detected in Santa Clara County

Monday marked two years since the first reported COVID-19 case in Santa Clara County.

County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody and other officials addressed the anniversary and provided an update on the county’s health order on COVID-19 testing requirements for health care providers during a news conference Monday morning.

Cody, wearing a mask, started the briefing with what she called “a bit of good news,” saying “we know we’re on the downslope” of the pandemic.

The first case reported in Santa Clara County came Jan. 31, 2020. About a month later, as the virus began to spread rapidly in what was to become a global pandemic, Cody issued a shelter-at-home order. 

As of Monday, the county’s cumulative COVID-19 case count stood at 276,344, and deaths related to the virus totaled 2,012.

More than 1.6 million county residents, or 83.5%, have been vaccinated, and more than 900,000, or 63.8%, have received a booster shot, according to the county dashboard.

Cody in February 2020 was one of the first health officials in the nation to issue a shelter-at-home order, which included a tearful announcement that it would mean closing down schools.

Several other Bay Area counties followed suit with shutdown orders of their own.

Leave comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *.