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SANTA CRUZ COUNTY
10:05 a.m.
Santa Cruz County is reporting, as of June 29, 349 known cases of COVID-19. That’s an increase of 1 case from June 27. Fatalities remain at three. 16,374 negative test results have been recorded. A total of 44 people have required hospitalization. 238 have recovered from the virus. The county’s positivity rate is at around 2% (that’s the number of people who have tested positive out of all that have been tested for the virus).
MONTEREY COUNTY
3:10 p.m.
The 2020 Monterey County Fair set for September 3-7, has been cancelled and rescheduled for 2021. The fair will be holding a closed exhibit program and livestock show and traditional junior livestock auction format, which will be offered virtually. And, there will be a drive-through fair food experience showcasing local businesses.
3 p.m.
The Monterey County wine industry has provided some insight into what tasting experiences will be like as the community reopens during the coronavirus pandemic. Self seating will not be allowed at local tasting rooms and reservations are recommended. Tastings will be for a set time of 45 minutes and then 15 minutes will be allotted for cleaning after each set of guests leaves. Masks are required to enter the tasting rooms and if children come along parents are encouraged to bring entertainment for them as children will not be able to play around the room. California winegrape growers are anticipating a loss of $437 million in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
2:50 p.m.
Despite Monterey County averaging more than 100 coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents over the past week, the county’s health officer Dr. Edward Moreno says there is some positive news about the spread of COVID-19 in the community. He says hospitalizations have remained stable over the past week, meaning hospitals are still able to provide care to sick patients. He also said the county is also not seeing an upward trend in morbidity or severity of illness.
2:30 p.m.
Some skilled nursing facilities in Monterey County are now reporting cases of COVID-19 among residents. The health department says of the 16 facilities in the county four are reporting cases in the last 14 days. According to the state’s data dashboard these facilities have less than 11 cases as each facility. An exact number below 11 is not provided.
2:15 p.m.
Monterey County Health Officer, Dr Edward Moreno, says there is a chance that the county could be added to Governor Newsom’s County Monitoring List. The list includes county’s that have developed areas of concern when it comes to containing the spread of COVID-19. If that does happen the Governor could recommend the closure of bars across Monterey County. One of the areas of concern for Monterey County is the local coronavirus case rate. The county has exceeded 100 cases per 100,000 people over the past week. This is one of the indicators that both the state and county are monitoring.
1 p.m.
The Monterey County Health Department has revealed more information about the two COVID-19 fatalities that were recorded this past weekend. One of the deaths actually occurred in April and is only now being added to their data dashboard. The other death did occur over the weekend and was an adult with no pre-existing health conditions. The county’s health officer, Dr. Edward Moreno, says this is a reminder that the coronavirus doesn’t just affect individuals with diabetes or other pre-existing conditions. He says previously healthy people are succumbing to the virus.
11:50 a.m.
Natividad is inviting Salinas Valley residents to get tested for COVID-19 in Chualar this Thursday, July 2 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. The drive-thru testing site is located in front of Chualar Elementary School (24285 Lincoln St. Entry through South St.) Testing is free and limited to the first 100 participants. You do not need to have symptoms to be tested. No identification or insurance card is required and registration is easy.
10 a.m.
Two deaths from COVID-19 were recorded over the weekend in Monterey County. This brings the total number of fatalities to 14. A total of 1,605 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been recorded in the county, that’s an increase of 57 cases over a 24 hours period. A total of 122 people have required hospitalization. The county’s positivity rate is at 6.57% (that’s the number of people who have tested positive out of all that have been tested for the virus). 24,442 tests have been conducted.
CALIFORNIA
9:45 a.m.
The California Department of Public Health and California Governor Gavin Newsom have released guidance on the closure of bars for counties on the County Monitoring List. The Department recommends that counties on the list for three or more consecutive days, but less than 14 days, close bars through local health officer order (or do not allow for the opening if bars have not yet been allowed to open in the county). Counties which have been on the list for 14 days or more are required to immediately close bars.
Impacted Counties:
Recommended Bar Closure:
-Riverside
-Sacramento
-San Bernardino
-Santa Barbara
-Stanislaus
-Ventura
Mandatory Bar Closure:
-Fresno
-Kern
-Kings
-Los Angeles
-Tulare
The following counties do not have bars open currently and are recommended to keep them closed (Contra Costa and Santa Clara) or required to keep them closed (Imperial and San Joaquin) based upon their duration on the county monitoring list.
9:40 a.m.
In California, as of June 28, there are 216,550 confirmed cases of COVID-19. 5,936 people have died from the coronavirus. That marks a daily increase of 5,307 cases and 31 deaths. The rate of positive tests over the last 14 days is 5.5 percent. California’s hospitalizations due to COVID-19 increased by 199 from June 28. Over 3.9 million tests have been conducted. That’s an average of over 82,000 tests over a 14-day period.