COVID-19

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—School district superintendents from 11 districts throughout Santa Cruz County will hold a town hall meeting Thursday to talk about bringing younger students back into the classroom. The discussion, led by Dr. Steven McGee of Dignity Health and Dr. Nanette Mickiewicz of Dominican...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Salvador Orozco’s days have been different since Santa Cruz County officials ordered residents to stay home and forced most businesses to shutter their doors to slow the spread of Covid-19. The owner of Foreverfly Skate and Apparel in downtown Watsonville has played the...

Roughly 17 percent of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Santa Cruz County have been hospitalized, according to data released by Santa Cruz County officials on Wednesday. There were 54 confirmed cases in the county as of late Tuesday. Nine of those county...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel told county leaders Tuesday that she plans to open the parks and beaches that were closed April 8 as part of several sweeping measures meant to slow the spread of coronavirus. Newel also said that...

WATSONVILLE—The City of Watsonville will have to make several tough cuts to meet a projected $6.5 million budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal year.  But more than two dozen community members defending the value of youth sports programs at Tuesday’s virtual City Council meeting urged...

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday is expected to announce the closure of all beaches and state parks starting Friday, multiple national news agencies reported late Wednesday night. The news comes days after Gov. Newsom expressed concern over numerous photos of people crowding beaches throughout the...

Santa Cruz County officials as of Friday morning had confirmed 34 COVID-19 cases. Neighboring Monterey County, meanwhile, had 27 confirmed cases of the highly-contagious virus as of Friday morning. That county also announced that it had tested more than 400 residents. There are a total of...

Various Bay Area health officers are asking communities to keep their Halloween and Dia de Los Muertos celebrations small to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Traditional trick-or-treating and attending large parties are both considered high-risk activities, according to health officials, because it...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Families across Santa Cruz County are invited to participate in Noon in the Park, a free, virtual program featuring community leaders singing, reading books and creating art. Each day is different.  Kate Pavao and Aaron Lazenby, who run the Live Like Coco Foundation, will...

WATSONVILLE—The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday updated its recommendations for personal and social activities, giving people a brief playbook of how they can lessen their chance of contracting the novel coronavirus while dining at restaurants, using gyms and attending gatherings. Though health...