Santa Clara County on Monday announced its first coronavirus-related death, marking California’s second death due to the growing global pandemic.
The patient was a woman in her 60s with chronic health conditions and had been hospitalized for a respiratory illness for several weeks, according to a news release from the Santa Clara County Public Health Department. She died at Mountain View’s El Camino Hospital Monday morning.
On Feb. 28, the woman became county’s third reported case of coronavirus and its first without any known international travel history or contact with a traveler or infected person, “suggesting she contracted COVID-19 in our community,” the release stated.
“This is a tragic development,” Sara Cody, the county’s health officer, said in a statement. “We are facing a historic public health challenge and know this is a very difficult time. Our top priority continues to be protecting the health of our community.”
As of Monday, there are 133 known cases within California, including 37 reported in Santa Clara County.
The county’s public health department last week called for employers and event organizers to cancel any large gatherings, such as concerts, sports games and conferences, in order to limit the spread of the virus. They have also urged employers to suspend non-essential employee travel, minimize employees working within arm’s length of one another and allow employees to work from home whenever possible.
California’s first death was recorded on March 4 in Placer County. The patient was an elderly man with underlying health conditions who lived in the town of Rocklin. He fell ill and died after returning from a Princess Cruises ship that departed Feb. 10 from San Francisco and sailed to Mexico, officials said.
Elsewhere across the Bay Area, Contra Costa County on Sunday reported five newly discovered cases in, bringing its total to nine. San Francisco on Monday identified five new cases, bringing its total to 13. And, Santa Cruz County uncovered a new case, for a total of two in the county.
San Mateo County has confirmed that four residents have been diagnosed with coronavirus, and the county is awaiting final confirmation from the Center of Disease Control on another five cases, for a total of nine.
This story will be updated.
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Workers in protective clothing move near the Grand Princess are photographed with masks on as the ship docks along the Oakland Outer Harbor Channel on Monday, March 9, 2020, in Oakland, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
Workers in protective clothing move near the Grand Princess are photographed with masks on as the ship docks along the Oakland Outer Harbor Channel on Monday, March 9, 2020, in Oakland, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
Ambulances are seen on Maritime Street heading toward the direction of the coronavirus-stricken Grand Princess cruise ship, which has docked along the Oakland Outer Harbor Channel on Monday, March 9, 2020, in Oakland, Calif. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
A man is loaded into an ambulance next to the Grand Princess cruise ship on Monday, March 9, 2020, in Oakland, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
The Grand Princess cruise ship passes underneath the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge on it's way to the port of Oakland as it passes Yerba Buena Island in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, March 9, 2020. Passengers on the Coronavirus-stricken ship will disembark at the port of Oakland after being in a holding pattern outside the Golden Gate bridge for several days. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
The coronavirus-stricken Grand Princess cruise ship passes under the Golden Gate Bridge, Monday, March 9, 2020. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
The Grand Princess cruise ship passes the San Francisco city skyline as seen from Yerba Buena Island in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, March 9, 2020. Passengers on the Coronavirus-stricken ship will disembark at the port after being in a holding pattern outside the Golden Gate for several days. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
The Grand Princess cruise ship passes by the Bay Bridge as it heads towards the Port of Oakland in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, March 9, 2020. (Randy Vazquez / Bay Area News Group)
Passengers on the Grand Princess cruise ship wave as they head towards the Port of Oakland in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, March 9, 2020. (Randy Vazquez / Bay Area News Group)
Passengers aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship stand outside on the deck as it passes the western span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as seen from Yerba Buena Island in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, March 9, 2020. Passengers on the Coronavirus-stricken ship will disembark at the port of Oakland after being in a holding pattern outside the Golden Gate for several days. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Crew members from the Grand Princess are photographed with masks on as the ship docks along the Oakland Outer Harbor Channel on Monday, March 9, 2020, in Oakland, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
Workers set up tents next to rows of portable toilets and sinks at the docking area for the coronavirus-stricken Grand Princess along the Oakland Outer Harbor Channel on Monday, March 9, 2020, in Oakland, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
San Francisco police escort the coronavirus-stricken Grand Princess on its way to dock at the Port of Oakland Monday. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Passengers aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship stand outside on the deck as it passes the western span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as seen from Yerba Buena Island in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, March 9, 2020. Passengers on the Coronavirus-stricken ship will disembark at the port of Oakland after being in a holding pattern outside the Golden Gate for several days. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
The Grand Princess cruise ship passes the western span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge on Yerba Buena Island in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, March 9, 2020. Passengers on the Coronavirus-stricken ship will disembark at the port after being in a holding pattern outside the Golden Gate for several days. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
The Grand Princess docks along the Oakland Outer Harbor Channel on Monday, March 9, 2020, in Oakland, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
The docking area for the coronavirus-stricken Grand Princess is photographed along the Oakland Outer Harbor Channel on Monday, March 9, 2020, in Oakland, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
The Grand Princess cruise ship goes under the Bay Bridge as it heads towards the Port of Oakland in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, March 9, 2020. (Randy Vazquez / Bay Area News Group)
The coronavirus-stricken Grand Princess passes under the Golden Gate Bridge on its way to dock at the Port of Oakland Monday. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
The docking area for the coronavirus-stricken Grand Princess is photographed along the Oakland Outer Harbor Channel on Monday, March 9, 2020, in Oakland, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
The coronavirus-stricken Grand Princess on its way to dock at the Port of Oakland Monday. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Workers set up tents next to rows of portable toilets and sinks at the docking area for the Grand Princess along the Oakland Outer Harbor Channel on Monday, March 9, 2020, in Oakland, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
The coronavirus-stricken Grand Princess passes under the Golden Gate Bridge on its way to dock at the Port of Oakland Monday. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
The Grand Princess cruise ship passes by the Bay Bridge as it heads towards the Port of Oakland in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, March 9, 2020. (Randy Vazquez / Bay Area News Group)
