COVID-19

State prison systems across the United States have begun allowing visitors for the first time since the pandemic started, presenting challenges for facilities that want to balance much-needed contact between inmates and their families with the need to limit the spread of COVID-19 in...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Monterey County’s Environmental Health Bureau has conducted 1,971 visits to area businesses since September, which resulted in 12 citations for violations of Covid-related health orders and one permit revocation. Ricardo Encarnacion, assistant bureau chief for the Environmental Health Bureau, made the announcement...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — New claims for unemployment fell last week, the government reported Thursday, the latest sign that the labor market’s recovery, however slow and unsteady, is continuing. “The numbers look encouraging on the face of it,” said Gregory Daco, chief U.S. economist at Oxford...

GREENFIELD — Dr. Joshua Deutsch, a physician with Mee Memorial Healthcare System, recently spoke to students at Greenfield High School to encourage them to get the Covid-19 vaccination. Deutsch, who has shared his experiences of first-hand patient interaction in King City and Greenfield with Monterey...

In a sharp turnabout, federal health officials Thursday advised that Americans who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus may stop wearing masks or maintaining social distance in most indoor and outdoor settings, regardless of size. The advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...

MONTEREY COUNTY — All Monterey County employees and the public are now required to wear a mask in county facilities regardless of their vaccination status, effective Monday. According to Communications Coordinator Maia Carroll, many county departments continue to offer online services and information for those...

SALINAS VALLEY — Nursing students from Hartnell Community College administered hundreds of Covid-19 vaccine doses to area firefighters last Saturday. The vaccinations took place at Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas locations in Salinas, Castroville, Greenfield and King City. Students involved were part of the...

The push to mandate coronavirus vaccinations amid sharply rising caseloads nationwide accelerated Monday, as the country’s most populous state and its largest city both announced that they would require hundreds of thousands of government workers to get inoculations or face weekly testing. At the same...

MONTEREY COUNTY — For those feeling stressed, anxious and lonely in the wake of the ongoing pandemic, Interim’s Crisis Counseling Program (CCP) continues to provide outreach opportunities. Interim’s short-term program offers support to individuals struggling with mental illness, and their families who have been affected...

California has one of the lowest coronavirus case rates in the nation. And after being one of the nation’s most stringently locked-down states for more than a year, the state next week will lift nearly all of its pandemic rules in what officials have...