COVID-19

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...

The U.S. job market remains challenging, with the government reporting Thursday that initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose last week. A total of 741,000 workers filed first-time claims for state jobless benefits last week, an increase of 18,000, the Labor Department said. It was...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Since launching in March 2021, the Rent and Utility Assistance Program through the County of Monterey in partnership with United Way Monterey County has provided nearly $34 million to help keep residents in their homes during the pandemic. The program used state...

Robert Hesse was expecting an imminent promotion to manager of Sub Zero Ice Cream, a nitrogen ice cream shop in Ventura, California, when it shut down in March because of the pandemic. “I like to work,” said Hesse, a college graduate who turns 26 on...

KING CITY — Monterey County has started the process of demobilizing Operation Oasis, its isolation housing program that assisted more than a thousand residents during the Covid-19 pandemic. As of June 24, referrals are no longer being made to Operation Oasis and assigned staff have...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Representatives from Monterey County’s hospitals reflected on the one-year anniversary of the Covid-19 pandemic and the many impacts felt locally during last week’s press briefing. “This past year has been very challenging for Monterey County residents,” said Dr. Edward Moreno, the county’s...

KING CITY — King City High School was among many schools in the area that passed out free, take-home rapid Covid-19 tests for students earlier this month. The high school hosted a drive-thru distribution for the tests on Jan. 6 at the Broadway Street parking...

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...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Monterey County Health Officer Dr. Edward Moreno said in an Aug. 18 press briefing that the county continues to have higher case rates of Covid-19 from the Delta variant, and that data is backing up the effectiveness of vaccines. “In Monterey County,...

CALIFORNIA — California surpassed 50,000 known coronavirus deaths Wednesday, the first state to reach that chilling milestone. The news comes as a bleak reminder that the recent progress the state has made against the pandemic may be fragile. Most of those deaths were recorded recently,...