Monterey County COVID-19 Digest

On Sept. 4, the federal unemployment insurance program known as the Pandemic Unemployment Insurance benefit expires. In response, the Workforce Development Board has expanded hours for job seekers at its One Stop Career Centers.

California has some of the most extensive workplace vaccine requirements in the nation, but they don’t cover every industry. Some advocates say the state should expand its vaccine mandates to certain industries.

A Harvard University study found evidence linking smoke from wildfires in California, Oregon and Washington in 2020 to rising COVID cases and deaths. They said that fine particulate matter acts as a vehicle for spreading infection and makes existing cases worse.

The contagious Delta variant is fueling a nationwide COVID-19 surge. And while the best weapon for students ages 12 and up is vaccination, there are ways to keep younger kids safe before, during and after school.

Hostelling International’s Monterey location was shuttered by the pandemic in early 2020, which led to new ownership and the start of a complete renovation. The hostel is now set to reopen in 2022.

Community members who registered for a COVID-19 vaccine on Aug. 6-7 at McDonald’s in Greenfield got a free Big Mac. The a two-day event was a partnership between McDonald’s and Virus Integrated Distribution of Aid (VIDA) Monterey County.

With the COVID-19 Delta variant spreading quickly, more vaccination mandates are being announced, including for U.S. military personnel and California teachers.

Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec empire, fell to the Spanish invaders on Aug. 13, 1521. In an article titled “Ode to Tenochtitlan,” Claudia Meléndez Salinas writes, “The date has been on my mind a lot lately ... because the circumstances leading to the Mexica’s surrender became a lot easier to envision starting March 13, 2020.”

More patients are being relocated to an Alternate Housing Site at San Lorenzo Park in King City, due to an overall increase in COVID-19 cases countywide. The site, called Operation Oasis, went from housing one person to housing 22, according to Deb McAlahney from Monterey County Department of Social Services.

In April 2020, shortly after shelter-in-place took effect, drug-related overdose cases fell dramatically at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. In summer, the numbers jumped back up to pre-pandemic levels and since January, they’ve steadily increased. “It’s just been really getting out of hand,” says a hospital rep.

Low-income Californians enrolled in Medi-Cal have been vaccinated at far lower rates than the overall population. About 45 percent of eligible Medi-Cal enrollees had received at least one dose as of July 18, compared to about 70 percent of all eligible Californians, state officials said.

The Monterey County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved requirements for all Monterey County employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or show proof of an exemption, and also a mandate for mask-wearing inside county buildings.

Following in the footsteps of the University of California, the California State University system also will require students and staff who attend the fall term in person to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

According to the Monterey County Health Department, 100 percent of the population aged 12 and over living in the Aromas zip code 95004 has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties have all issued a mask recommendation as the state and country see growing COVID-19 cases.

A year ago, Seaside City Manager Craig Malin says he wasn’t sure the city would have enough money to pay its electrical bills come 2021. Now, he says, “It went from the worst budget to the best budget I’ve ever presented to a council in my career.”

While the federal government has loosened mask mandates, California Health officials announced Monday that masks will be required indoors until June 15.

Weekend travelers have slowly returned to the city; however, the future of weekday and business travel remains uncertain in a post-pandemic world.

“Staff has been working on a plan for reopening for several weeks,” said Sara Papineau, recreation coordinator in the city of Gonzales.

“It’s just a joyful day today to be able to see everyone again,” said Principal Carissa Edeza, whose Washington Union School District was the first in Salinas to reopen for K-6 in-person learning.

Board members from South Monterey County Joint Union High School District recently toured King City High School to see its cohort classrooms—small student groups who gather for in-person instruction. High school principal Janet Matos said, “King City is leading in many areas.”

A Monterey County Superior Court judge turned off the lights at Aloha Coffee & Cafe, demanding that owner Richard Dunnuck secure a new health permit before utilities would be restored. The anti-masker defiantly said, “I’m getting a generator.”