COVID-19

The surge in unemployment filings in March 2020 provided one of the first clear warnings of the havoc the pandemic was wreaking on the U.S. economy. One year later, that klaxon is still blaring. More than 746,000 people filed first-time applications for state unemployment benefits last...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Frontline Workers Counseling Project (FWCP), a San Francisco-based nonprofit that pairs frontline and essential workers with private-practice therapists for pro bono counseling services, is expanding its service area to Monterey County. FWCP, formerly called the Covid-19 Pro Bono Counseling Project, was created...

MONTEREY COUNTY — An ordinance that would have required face coverings indoors countywide failed to receive enough support from the Monterey County Board of Supervisors during a special meeting last week. After extensive discussion and public comment at the Sept. 8 meeting, the board voted...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Monterey County residents could soon be receiving an invitation to participate in the second wave of CalScope, a study that will help public health professionals better understand how many people in California have antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. The...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Cal Coastal has announced additional small business loans to assist Monterey County businesses impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. “New economic support is available for businesses in Monterey County, which are still being negatively impacted by the pandemic,” said Maia Carroll, the county’s...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo submitted a pandemic economic recovery ordinance for the county on Feb. 3, aimed at recalling laid-off county hospitality, restaurant and travel workers when the economy re-opens.  The ordinance would request those recalls based on greatest length of...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Covid-19 case rates, positivity rates and hospitalization rates continue to be low in Monterey County, as announced by County Health Officer Dr. Edward Moreno during the April 21 press briefing. Despite an alarming 24 virus-related deaths in the past week, Moreno said...

In a major policy revision intended to encourage more schools to welcome students back full time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday that elementary school students and some middle and high school students could be spaced 3 feet apart in...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Monterey County last week received its initial supplies of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccination, a total of 2,925 doses, and expects this week to receive its 4,700 doses of the Moderna vaccine.  Mee Memorial Healthcare System has been allocated 500 doses of the...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Monterey County is making good on its commitment to invest up to $1 million to secure more Covid-19 rapid tests for the community, with the first direct purchases from this effort arriving last week. About 750 test kits were delivered last Wednesday,...