(Image courtesy of WebMD.com)

The number of deaths in the Bay Area from the coronavirus increased 120 percent in a week. 

On the first Friday in April, 77 deaths were reported by county officials, up from 35 on the last Friday in March 2020. The number of deaths was again highest in Santa Clara County with 36, up 80 percent from the week before.  

Here’s how the counties ranked by the number of COVID-19 deaths as of Friday morning, April 3.1. Santa Clara County — 362. San Mateo County — 133. Alameda County — 94. San Francisco — 75. Marin County — 66. Contra Costa County — 37. Napa County — 18. Solano County — 19. Sonoma County — 1Health officials on Thursday recommended that people cover their mouths and noses with cloth, such as fabric masks, bandanas or face gaiters when outside to help stop the spread of the disease. Officials continue to urge residents to stay at home, if possible, to help end the pandemic. 

“When we ask people to stay home, we don’t take it lightly,” Dr. Sara Cody, Santa Clara County’s health officer, said in a statement. “Right now we all need to reduce the number of people with whom each of us comes in contact. We each have a part in slowing the spread of this virus.”

Source: Bay Area county health departments

Keith Burbank is currently a fulltime reporter covering Alameda County and Oakland news for Bay City News. He has also worked on the Data Points project for Local News Matters, finding trends and stories about the region through data. In 2019, he was a California Fellow at the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism, producing a series about homeless deaths in Santa Clara County. He worked as a swing shift editor for the newswire for several years as well. Outside of journalism, Keith enjoys computer programming, math, economics and music.