COVID-19

SACRAMENTO—Outdoor dining and other services can resume after Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday ended the state’s regional stay-at-home order based on intensive care unit (ICU) capacity.  In its place, the state has returned to the Blueprint for a Safer Economy and the color-coded tier system...

WATSONVILLE—Covid-19 vaccines are now available by appointment only for residents 75 years and older at the county’s new mass vaccination center at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds. Residents who are at 95019, 95076 and 95077 zip codes must register at https://mhealthsystem.com/santacruzfairgrounds to schedule an appointment....

A mass vaccination site with the capacity to administer 1,000 injections per day will open at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in Watsonville next week, but it is unlikely that it will reach its capacity anytime soon because of a continuing shortage of Covid-19...

The Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League on Wednesday took a big step forward in the anticipated return of high school sports, announcing its 2021 sports seasons for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year. The board of managers took it a step further with...

CALIFORNIA—As California deals with a surge of Covid-19 cases, hope is in sight as the vaccine begins to be administered to healthcare workers and long-term care residents. And on Jan. 13, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared that farmworkers would be included in the next tier. The announcement...

APTOS—When Covid-19 began to sweep the U.S.—and brought with it an economic recession—Cabrillo College officials expected a jump in enrollment that typically comes with a battered economy. But the college is now seeing a significant drop in those numbers, which it pins on the double...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—At least 5,600 doses of vaccinations for the novel coronavirus have been distributed throughout Santa Cruz County, a number that county health officials at a Friday press conference said has been significantly impacted by plodding distribution from the state. Overall, the county has...

WATSONVILLE—Current positivity rates in Santa Cruz County’s low-income and disadvantaged communities are among the worst in the state and Bay Area region, according to data reported by the California Department of Public Health. The county’s so-called “Health Equity Quartile Positivity Rate” was 22.7% on Wednesday...

SACRAMENTO—California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Dec. 30 released a plan under which schools could reopen as early as February. The plan, which streamlines the process of applying for a waiver to bring students back for in-person instruction, is bolstered by a $2 billion package of...

The Santa Cruz Warriors will get the opportunity to play some basketball this year.  The NBA’s development league announced the 2020-21 season will start as soon as February. But they’ll be doing so nearly 3,000 miles away from the Santa Cruz team’s normal home of...