Lunar New Year, also known as Tet, is one of the most important celebrations in Vietnamese culture.
In Santa Clara County, home to the largest Vietnamese community outside of Vietnam, extravagant festivities normally take place all over San Jose. Fireworks, tasty treats, little red envelopes and large crowds mark the occasion.
So officials recognize that requesting residents to stay at home and tune into celebrations online is a big ask. As a Vietnamese American physician, Tet is extremely important to me and my family. It s a time of celebration together with family, said Dr. Phuong Nguyen, chief medical officer at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center.
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) As COVID-19 casts a shadow over the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, health officials in Santa Clara County are urging the public to resist any temptation to gather in groups. We saw a spike after Thanksgiving, we saw a spike after Christmas, and we do not want to see a spike after Lunar New Year, said Betty Duong, a spokesperson with the Santa Clara County Emergency Operations Center, during a press conference outside Grand Century Mall Wednesday morning.
San Jose is home to the largest Vietnamese population within a city outside the country of Vietnam. In fact, 10% of the city s population is Vietnamese, and the majority of them will be celebrating the Lunar New Year in some form or fashion starting on Friday. That s why county officials are teaming up with various community groups to help educate the public about the ongoing dangers associated with COVID-19.
Updated: 1:06 PM CST February 6, 2021
One year ago, 57-year-old Patricia Dowd died in California’s Santa Clara County. Autopsy results would later reveal that the woman, identified by family members as being from San Jose, had the coronavirus.
Dowd had not traveled outside the country to a coronavirus outbreak area. Her death came about three weeks before health officials in the Seattle area announced what were believed then to be the first U.S. deaths from the virus.
According to CNN, Dowd lived and worked in the Bay Area in California as a manager for a semiconductor company. She was known to have exercised regularly and was careful with her diet and did not take any medications.