Despite frightening headlines and increased lockdown orders, total COVID-19 deaths in Santa Clara County, California remain remarkably low with total officially reported deaths of only 503 in a county with 1.9 million and close contact with China, the presumed source of the pandemic. This is a number comparable to the number of expected deaths in the county from ordinary pneumonia and influenza based on previous years. The county continues to authorize many luxury apartment and other construction projects with teams of workers in close proximity five full days per week, after a brief 3-4 week shutdown in May. The lockdown continues to herd large numbers of citizens into a few gigantic stores such as Safeway, Walmart, and Target, enabling what would seem like an efficient route for rapid spread of the disease. References/Links: Full Text Article: http://wordpress.jmcgowan.com/wp/improbably-low-covid-19-death-numbers-in-santa-clara-county-california-december-2020/ Santa Clara County COVID Dashboard: https://www.sccgov.org/sites/covid19/Pages/dashboard-cases.aspx US Census Population of Santa Clara County: https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/santaclaracountycalifornia/PST045219 Santa Clara County Death Statistics: https://www.sccgov.org/sites/coroner/death-investigation/Pages/statistics.aspx US CDC United States Death Rate for 2018: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/deaths.htm US CDC FluView Web Site (click P&I Mortality Tab): https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/fluviewinteractive.htm New York Times on 430,000 Traveled from China to US Since Coronavirus Surface: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/04/us/coronavirus-china-travel-restrictions.html First US COVID Death in Santa Clara County: https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/First-U-S-COVID-19-death-was-57-year-old-Santa-15218813.php Construction Projects Authorized in Santa Clara County: https://www.sccgov.org/sites/covid19/Pages/mandatory-directives-construction.aspx Leading Causes of Death Rep