The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends the use of cloth face coverings, especially in hotspots of the coronavirus. The state of California also recommends the use of face coverings, which can be homemade.
All Californians are under orders from Governor Gavin Newsom to stay home in light of the coronavirus. Santa Cruz County and Monterey County health officers have extended their shelter in place orders for local residents through May 3.
This blog post will be updated periodically with new information about coronavirus.
Scroll down for older information.
On Friday, March 13, President Trump declared a "national emergency." On March 29, President Trump said social distancing guidelines will remain in place until April 30.
HELPFUL LINKS
- California Department of Public Health
- Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency
- Monterey County Health Department
- COVID-19 Dashboard by Johns Hopkins University
- California Public Media COVID-19 Tracker
HELPLINES & CALL CENTERS
- Santa Cruz County COVID-19 hotline: 831-454-4242 or text “COVID19” to 211211
- Monterey County COVID-19 hotline: 831-755-4521 or 211
- Natividad Hospital bilingual hotline: 831-772-7365
- Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System bilingual hotline: 831-755-0793
- Montage Health COVID-19 hotline: 831-622-8001
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8
SANTA CLARA COUNTY
- Santa Clara County’s Health Officer, Dr. Sara Cody, has issued an order today requiring entities and individuals to report large inventories of personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilators. This on-time disclosure will help the county understand what supplies currently exist as they plan for hospital surges. Reporting is due by 11:59pm on April 15 via an online survey.
MONTEREY COUNTY
- Door to Hope, a mental health and addiction treatment center, is hosting a webinar on opioid substance abuse amongst the youth. The webinar for parents will take place on April 30, at 12pm. Another webinar in Spanish, on the same topic, will take place on April 30, at 3pm. The local non-profit says they have seen increased use of alcohol and drugs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY
- The city of Santa Cruz is reminding residents that there are innovative ways to support local business during the shelter-in-place order. A coalition of local tech volunteers, along with Santa Cruz Works, have joined together to create a website that shares how you can support local business. Residents can buy gift cards, take virtual yoga classes, and businesses not listed on the website are encouraged to list their information.
TUESDAY, APRIL 7
SANTA CLARA COUNTY
- Santa Clara County reported 61 new cases of COVID-19 on April 7. A total of 43 people have died of the virus and 1285 people have tested positive for the virus.
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY
- Santa Cruz County is reporting as of April 7, 76 cases of COVID-19 in their county. 794 people have tested negative for the virus. The county has recorded one death.
- Parents and children making plans for when the shelter-in-place orders are no longer in place can start registering, on April 20, for Kids2Parks field trips. This is for the 2020-21 school year. The program by Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks and California State Parks is designed to help more students have access to local state parks and beaches.
MONTEREY COUNTY
- Beginning at dawn on Saturday April 11, Monterey County Parks will be closed for Easter Weekend. The county made this decision because of concerns about the potential for gatherings, that may violate the current shelter-in-place order. The order specifies that gatherings of any size with individuals outside of the household are not permitted.
- Local Monterey business Escape Room 831, is producing facial shields for health care workers. Using a 3D printer they are making up to 10 shields per day.
- The parents of Chinese students attending Stevenson School here on the Monterey Peninsula are donating 42,000 masks to the community to support Monterey County during the coronavirus pandemic. The parents live in China and have worked together to provide the face masks, surgical masks and N95 masks. So far masks have been distributed to local post offices and within the coming days masks will also go to local hospitals, the health department, first responders, Meals On Wheels Staff ,and other community members.
- The Monterey City Manager has put together a COVID-19 report which will be presented to the city council today. The report includes financial impacts to the city, proposals for a local stimulus plan, and a housing assistance program for workers.
- SPCA Monterey County is starting virtual family dog and puppy training classes this Saturday, April 11. The Virtual Puppy Class will continue for 6 weeks and goes over housetraining, mouthiness, socialization, impulse control, as well as basic manners such as sit, down and wait.
- From April 7 onwards, city of Monterey employees are required to cover their face when out in the community. Masks are not required but rather face coverings.
- As of April 5, there have been 63 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among Monterey County residents. 1,300 tests have been conducted. The county is providing more information on the cases such as age group, how the patient was exposed, and clinical information. You can find that in their daily situation report.
CALIFORNIA
- As of April 6, the California Department of Public Health is reporting 15,865 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state. There have been a total of 374 deaths. 269 health care workers have tested positive for the virus. Approximately 157,800 tests have been conducted.
- Governor Newsom has issued an Executive Order that expands price gouging protections from April 4, 2020 to September 4, 2020. Under the order, it is illegal for a person or business to charge more than 10% above the asking price regularly charged on or before February 4, 2020 for following products:
- Food items
- Consumer goods
- Medical or emergency supplies
- Federally designated Scarce Materials or Threatened Materials, such as respirators, masks, personal protective equipment for medical providers, ventilators, and certain medications.
- A person or business may charge more than 10% higher than the previous price they charged if there has been a corresponding increase in cost from a supplier.
- State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmund is hosting a virtual town hall on Tuesday, April 7 at 3pm. He’ll address the current state of California’s public schools during COVID-19. The town hall will be broadcast live via the California Department of Education’s Facebook page.