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0000017a-a073-da61-a1ff-fe7bfe8f0000NOTE: THIS COVID-19 BLOG HAS BEEN ARCHIVED AND INCLUDES OUTDATED INFORMATION.WE CURRENTLY PUBLISH WEEKLY NEWSLETTER UPDATES.FOR OUR CURRENT COVID-19 COVERAGE & RESOURCES PAGE, CLICK HERE. HELPFUL LINKSCalifornia Department of Public HealthCalifornia COVID-19 WebpageSanta Cruz County Health Services AgencyCity of Santa Cruz Coronavirus WebpageMonterey County Health DepartmentCity of Monterey Coronavirus WebpageCOVID-19 Dashboard by Johns Hopkins UniversityCalifornia Public Media COVID-19 TrackerLocal COVID-19 Testing Appointments ?COVID-19 Case Mapper?Bay Area & Monterey Co. Resources- Food, Medical, LegalHELPLINES & CALL CENTERS Santa Cruz County COVID-19 hotline: 831-454-4242 or text “COVID19” to 211-211Monterey County COVID-19 hotline: 831-755-4521 or 831-769-8700 or 211

Monday Updates: 5/11/20

Click to return to updates landing page.

CALIFORNIA 

3:45pm

As of May 10, California has 67,939 confirmed cases of COVID-19. 2,770 people have died from the virus. That’s an increase of 1,259 cases and 25 deaths since May 10.
991,897 tests have been conducted in the state. Local health departments have reported 7,211 confirmed positive cases in health care workers.

(Click the headline to read all of the day's announcements.)

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY

10:40am

Dignity Health Dominican Hospital, which serves the Santa Cruz County community, has announced the gradual reopening of elective procedures. Emphasis in this first phase will be placed on medically necessary, time-sensitive procedures including surgeries, endoscopies, cardiac catheterization lab procedures, and interventional radiology procedures.

Steps have been taken to protect patients and staff from COVID-19: a strict visitor policy, screening all patients for COVID-19 symptoms and ensuring masks are worn. Also, daily staff symptom monitoring, rigorous social distancing, isolating patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 from other patients at the hospital, enhanced cleaning and disinfection processes throughout the hospital, and adjusting operating room schedules to allow for additional cleanings after each procedure.

MONTEREY COUNTY

3:50pm

The Monterey County Health Department says they are continuing to expand their COVID-19 contact tracing team. These workers find and monitor individuals who have come into close contact with someone who has tested positive for the coronavirus.
The county says they will soon be receiving increased help from the state. State workers will be assigned to different counties to help with this type of work remotely. The state is also starting ‘tracing training’ this week. Monterey County has been chosen to be part of this pilot program.

3:35pm

Monterey County’s Department of Social Services is alerting clients and the community to beware of a letter circulating on social media that looks like it comes from the state telling clients they must get tested for COVID-19 to continue their benefits. The letter also tells clients that if they test positive for the virus, their children will be removed into foster care. The county says this information is absolutely false. The letter asks the recipient to visit a website which is fake.

3:10pm

Monterey County is now providing information on the industries COVID-19 patients work in. As of May 9, the most cases are from the agriculture industry - 110 confirmed cases of a total of 279. The second highest number of confirmed cases comes from those retired or unemployed.

1:40pm

Monterey County Health Officer, Dr. Edward Moreno, is encouraging essential workers to go and get tested for COVID-19. This includes healthcare workers, food service workers and first responders. Two new testing sites opened last week in Salinas and Greenfield with capacity for over 100 tests per day at each facility (by appointment only). Dr. Moreno added that all hospitals in the county are able to conduct their own testing with quick turnaround of results.

1:30pm

United Way Monterey County’s 211 informational call center says they are currently averaging 80-100 calls per day. In the month of April they took around 2,200 calls. These numbers are about 3 times the normal volume of calls.

211 is encouraging residents to get in touch if they have any questions about the coronavirus pandemic. They can share information on the face covering order, a senior restaurant program, income tax credits and much more. You can also visit their website for more information and resources.

1:15pm

Gerry Malais, Monterey County’s Emergency Services Manager, says the county expects the Emergency Operation Center (EOC) will continue to run at Level 1 Activation for the next few months. They have over 100 people assigned to EOC positions currently.

1pm

The City of Monterey says it is seeing a slight increase in tourists. A warm weekend saw more visitors flocking to the beaches and along the Monterey Bay Coastal Recreation Trail. Most businesses are still closed, though many restaurants are offering food to go.  The city says it will roll out new signage on Fisherman’s Wharf explaining social distancing requirements.

10am

City of Monterey Councilmember Tyller Williamson will be hosting another “Talks with Tyller” today (May 11) from 6-7pm. 

Williamson will be joined by Monterey County District 5 Supervisor Mary Adams and they will give a COVID-19 update. 

Join by Google Meets or by phone +1 541-581-0287 PIN: 572 392 756#

SANTA CLARA COUNTY

9:45am

As of May 10, Santa Clara County has 2,339 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 129 deaths from the virus. This represents 32 new cases and 1 new death. 
95 people are currently hospitalized because of the virus, 34 are in ICU. 
40,651 COVID-19 tests have been conducted.