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CALIFORNIA
3:40 p.m.
California, as of May 19, has 84,057 confirmed cases of COVID-19. That’s an increase of 2,262 cases from the prior day. A total number of 3,436 people have died from the virus. That’s a daily increase of 102 deaths. 1,380,120 tests have been conducted in California.
MONTEREY COUNTY
4:30 p.m.
Monterey County has extended its eviction moratorium through July 31, 2020. It applies to both residential and commercial evictions. Tenants and landlords can find more information here.
3 p.m.
Monterey County Administrative Officer, Charles McKee, is urging businesses not to reopen before restrictions are lifted, adding that reopening “is on the horizon”. McKee said if the county doesn’t follow the rules put in place by the state, they risk having monetary restrictions put on the county, and also risk seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases. The county is hoping to submit a variance to the state next Tuesday, May 26, to move further into Stage 2 of California’s roadmap to reopening.
2:45 p.m.
The new drive-thru COVID-19 testing site at Monterey Peninsula College (MPC) has seen a strong turnout from the community. Because of this they’ve had to turn people away at various times during the day. The site has limited capacity. They can do approximately 100 tests per day. Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, who are running the site, say they’re looking at ways to expand capacity, but for now they’re having to turn people away if they have reached their capacity for morning and afternoon testing sessions. More details on the site can be found here.
2:30 p.m.
The WIC program in Monterey County is reminding the public that they are still working through shelter-in-place. WIC is a nutrition education and supplemental food program that helps pregnant and postpartum women, infants and children under 5 to eat well and stay healthy. The program serves approximately 13,000 individuals a month throughout the county. They say some of their recipients have found it challenging to find the foods they need during the coronavirus pandemic.
2:20 p.m.
The OptumServe COVID-19 testing site in Salinas at Alisal High School will be moving from next week. From Tuesday, May 26, the Alisal High School site will no longer be a testing site and rather operations will be moved to the Office of the Agricultural Commissioner (1432 Abbott St, Salinas). Only the location has changed. Hours of operation and how to make an appointment remain the same (online or call 1-888-634-1123). Clients with appointments will be notified of the new location.
1:35 p.m.
During the coronavirus pandemic, the City of Monterey challenged its residents to recreate their favorite works of art using themselves and asked them to take photos. The photos are now posted on the city’s website.
1:30 p.m.
The City of Monterey’s Public Works Department has put together a video of projects completed during shelter-in-place. The projects include fixing windows at a fire station, sidewalk repairs and storm drain improvements. On May 27, the city will begin resealing the parking lot that serves Fisherman’s Wharf. The lot, which is used to pick up to-go meals from restaurants on the Wharf, will remain open. This week is National Public Works Week.
1:15 p.m.
The Monterey City Council has approved some adjustments to parking rates in the city. The adjustments were recommended by the City Manager and were discussed in a virtual public town hall last week. The new rates will go into effect on July 1. The only rates not approved at the city council meeting last night (May 19) were those near the city’s sports center. Those will be reexamined and discussed at a later date. Parking tickets or fines will also increase from $34 to $46.
10:50 a.m.
The Monterey County Board of Supervisors and health department staff say they are committed to applying to the state for a variance from the stay-at-home order, which would allow the county to move more quickly in re-opening the community. They say Monterey County is close to meeting the milestones required to re-open more. The county has reached milestones in testing and hospitalization numbers. But hasn’t reached the required milestones in contact tracers and making sure skilled nursing facilities have enough PPE. Supervisors vowed to meet as soon as staff were ready, as early as next week, with an application to the state. The county hopes to have an application ready by Tuesday, May 26.
10:15 a.m.
Monterey County is reporting, as of May 18, 349 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among residents. This is an increase of 5 cases compared to the prior day. Fatalities remain at 8. 49 people have required hospitalization and 243 have recovered from the virus. 5,782 tests have been conducted.
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY
4 p.m.
Second Harvest Food Bank will be hosting community food drive through distributions throughout the month of June on Friday’s between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. This Friday, May 22 the food bank will be at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.
Other food drives:
May 29: WATSONVILLE: Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds
June 5: SANTA CRUZ: Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
June 12: WATSONVILLE: Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds
June 19: SANTA CRUZ: Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
June 26: WATSONVILLE: Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds
10 a.m.
Santa Cruz County is reporting, as of May 19, 168 known cases of COVID-19 in the county. That is an increase of 1 case compared to the prior day. Fatalities remain at 2. The total number of negative test results is 6,276.
SANTA CLARA COUNTY
10:20 a.m.
The City of San José and Santa Clara County have announced free COVID-19 testing for all residents, with or without symptoms, at PAL Stadium in East San José (680 S 34th St) and at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds. To be eligible, residents must be 18 years or older and electronically sign a COVID-19 Public Health Authorization Form and Lab Consent. The tests are being offered by the State of California in collaboration with Verily, an Alphabet company. Appointments can be booked here.
9:45 a.m.
Santa Clara County is reporting, as of May 19, 2,483 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the county. A total of 137 people have died from the virus. The county says this represents 15 new cases and 2 new deaths. 82 people are currently hospitalized because of the coronavirus, 25 are in ICU.