March 23, 2020
  • Redwood City, Calif. – The County of San Mateo continues to work to protect public health and safety in response to the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19.

    The County of San Mateo’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) remains open to coordinate countywide response and communications in response to the situation. The EOC’s Joint Information Center will provide daily status reports Monday through Friday until further notice. Today’s report:

    Health Officer Reinforces Social Distancing Message
    Responding to reports about crowds in beaches and parks over the weekend—despite the Bay Area and statewide orders—San Mateo County Health Officer Dr. Scott Morrow says, “We are in a grave crisis. I believe the virus is growing at an exponential rate in our county. Unless everyone does their part and follows the County’s Shelter-in-Place order and the Governor’s Safer at Home order, we will be facing an Italy-type catastrophe very soon. These orders are not recommendations, they are rules to be followed.”

    Read the full message at https://cmo.smcgov.org/sites/cmo.smcgov.org/files/Health%20Officer%20Reinforces%20Social%20Distancing%20Message.pdf

    SMC Parks Takes Protective Action Against the Spread of COVID-19
    Message from County Parks Updated Saturday, March 21: The health and safety of park visitors, volunteers and staff are of utmost importance to San Mateo County Parks. In response to COVID-19, we are taking immediate protective actions, which will remain in effect through Sunday, April 12. At that time, we will reassess the situation to see if precautions need to be extended.

    Now more than ever, parks are valuable resources to our communities. To safely keep park trails open for you during this unprecedented time, we’re asking for your help:

    • Practice social distancing outdoors, too. Keep 6 feet between you and others on the trail.
    • Adopt the “Leave no Trace” philosophy.
    • Whatever you pack in, pack out.
    • Plan your visit -- all restrooms, picnic areas, playgrounds, and visitor centers are closed.
    • Stay on the trails.

    Learn more about closures at: https://parks.smcgov.org/press-release/smc-parks-takes-protective-action-against-spread-covid-19

    San Mateo County COVID-19 Cases
    San Mateo County Health has updated the number of positive cases to 142 as of today.

    Updates can be found at https://www.smchealth.org/coronavirus

    Call Center Update
    Residents with non-medical, non-emergency questions about the coronavirus can call 211 at any time, day or night. Callers from landlines and cellular telephones located within San Mateo County are connected with a trained service professional from 211, a confidential service available in 180 languages.

    The 211 service received 3,592 calls from the evening of March 6 through Sunday, March 22.#