Crosscurrents

A mobile health team in Contra Costa county brings medication to people with addiction living on the streets. Now, the doctor leading that effort worries about the additional challenge the coronavirus poses for them. Then, an incarcerated father and son see each other for the first time in 22 years.

From the project Uncuffed : Lorenzo Fosselman Jr. and Lorenzo Fosselman Sr. hadn’t seen each other in 22 years. They both received life term sentences, and were incarcerated at different prisons. But thanks to a quirk of fate, we were able to bring Jr. and Sr. together face to face here at Solano Prison.

One population that’s especially vulnerable in this COVID-19 pandemic is people who are addicted to opioids. A medication known by the brand name Suboxone can help, but it can be difficult to access, especially for people who are homeless. In 2019, we reported on a dramatic increase in Fentanyl-related deaths in Contra Costa County, and one doctor who decided to bring the medication to the streets.

Shubham Goel is sheltering in place with his parents in Danville, but this isn’t the first time he’s been through a quarantine. He was on a reality TV show where isolation was one of the rules.

It’s been 38 days since the shelter-in-place order went into effect in the region. Since then, as part of our ongoing Quarantine Diaries series, we have been checking in regularly with a mix of people from all around the Bay, including a teacher, a restaurant owner, an artist, a grocery store worker, a nurse, and a ten-year-old.

Today, we hear how people around the Bay Area are experiencing their fifth week of quarantine in our continuing Quarantine Diaries series. Then, a reality show star and social media critic has tips for keeping in touch during the shelter in place.

UCSF professor of epidemiology Dr. George Rutherford explains how we've minimized coronavirus deaths so far and talks about a new program that may intrude on our privacy. Then, from The Stoop podcast, we explore how coronavirus is especially affecting black communities.

Recently, Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled the six criteria that must be met before we can all return to life as we knew it before shelter-in-place. That includes things like closely monitoring communities for the coronavirus, tracking down cases and isolating people who have it, and building capacity in local hospitals to handle sudden surges.

How is the pandemic is changing immigration courts in San Francisco? We'll hear from Francisco Ugarte, an immigration attorney with San Francisco’s Public Defender’s Office. Then, after almost a month of sheltering in place, we’ll hear from people all around the Bay Area about daily life during the coronavirus epidemic.

It’s been a month since health officials across the Bay Area ordered residents to shelter in place. Since then, we have been checking in regularly with a mix of people from all around the Bay to see how the pandemic is affecting our lives. This week, we will hear from a public defender, a high school student, a new parent and a single parent, a delivery driver and more.