Caitlin Conrad, KSBW 8
MONTEREY, Calif. — Researchers at Stanford Medicine are working to find out what proportion of Californians have already had COVID-19. The new study could help policymakers make more informed decisions during the coronavirus pandemic.
The team tested 3,200 people at three Bay Area locations on Saturday using an antibody test for COVID-19 and expect to release results in the coming weeks. The data could help to prove COVID-19 arrived undetected in California much earlier than previously thought.
The hypothesis that COVID-19 first started spreading in California in the fall of 2019 is one explanation for the state’s lower than expected case numbers.
As of Tuesday, the state had 374 reported COVID-19 fatalities in a state of 40 million people, compared to New York which has seen 14 times as many fatalities and has a population half that of California. Social distancing could be playing a role but New York’s stay-at-order went into effect on March 22, three days after California implemented its order.
Read the rest of the story on SFGate
Mike Smith is a former Ventura County resident who now resides in Texas
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My son and his wife, age 30, both essential workers in low wage, no sick time, or health insurance jobs, became sick around the end of February. Their symptoms were mild, comparatively, but each had to take 2 or 3 days off, unpaid, sucked it up, and went back to work with symptoms. No masks were offered to them, a cook/food preparer and a grocery worker, directly assisting customers on the floor.
Now we’re seeing employee deaths in these forgotten ranks; the poorest, yet ESSENTIAL, are forced to bear the brunt, risking their live, (and others’), every day, while their small business owners are taking in higher profits than ever before.
The message being; they are expendable.
Containment is a joke, if essential workers are not protected, tested, given sick leave, etc. Small/Medium size Business owners, in these cases, put profits before the lives of their employees and the public.
This is a glaring, unacceptable gap in public health virus prevention strategy. A complete failure.
My son, my daughter in law, may die, or inadvertently infect and kill someone. But, hey, let’s open up the economy,reap in those profits, but…DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK!
I was very sick in Oxnard last November for about 3 weeks with very high fevers, persistent cough, and being very tired. When I finally went to the ER, they found I had an upper respiratory viral infection. That all sounds vaguely familiar now. I’d like to get an antibody test but our federal government doesn’t think it’s their responsibility to help states attain widespread testing. In my humble opinion, that is the most incompetent response by our government since we invaded Iraq to eliminate their weapons of mass destruction and when it was determined they had none, the response was “it doesn’t matter.” The only thing that will get us out of an economic depression is widespread testing and we have the equivalent of Nero playing a fiddle while roasting marshmallows.
Why aren’t governor’s pioneering up to pay for such testing? And maybe Counties and Cities may share that desired service.
I knew I had corona on oct 15th it was my dads wedding and I’ve never been so sick in my life it lasted about 3 weeks and I still haven’t returned to normal
Has there been any information whether this antibody test will be available here in Ventura County anytime soon?
My daughters who are twins and 43 had this in November and one in December. It was awful and was told it was the flu. Not tested. They are both Hygentist. They had the symptoms for sure.