Top official: Sports unlikely before Thanksgiving in California’s Santa Clara County

SAN JOSE – Fans wanting to attend a 49ers game or any other sporting event in Santa Clara County could be waiting until late November, if not later.

That was the message Santa Clara County Executive Officer Jeff Smith delivered to the Board of Supervisors during a discussion Tuesday about when strict shelter-in-place orders might be relaxed. The orders, which were initially issued in mid-march, are intended to slow the spread of COVID-19.

“Sorry to say,” Smith told Supervisor Mike Wasserman, “I don’t expect that we’ll have any sports games until at least Thanksgiving, and we’ll be lucky to have them by Thanksgiving.”

“This is not going to be something that is easy to do,” Smith added.

Santa Clara County, along with the rest of the state, appears to be slowing the spread of COVID-19, but life likely won’t return to normal without a substantial increase in testing. It’s an issue that has dogged the United States’ response to the virus from the start.

Smith, who has the authority to close sports facilities, highlighted other reasons for keeping the shelter-in-place orders in place. In addition to the San Francisco 49ers and the San Jose Sharks, the county is home to the San Jose Earthquakes, the San Jose Giants and three major universities, including Stanford, Santa Clara and San Jose State.

“When the orders are weakened, it’s pretty much guaranteed there will be new infections because, at least at this point, there’s no herd immunity for those who are uninfected,” Smith said.

“There will definitely be individuals who will get sick,” he continued. “And because there are individuals who get sick, there will be individuals who die after the order is released, unless we come up with a foolproof immunization, which is highly unlikely.”