COVID-19

When asked about how dire the situation is for local businesses despite the recent relaxing of Covid-19 restrictions imposed by the state, Scotts Valley Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Danny Reber did not hold back. About a handful of businesses have already shuttered, and...

Continued decreases in case and positivity rates have Santa Cruz County on track to enter a less restrictive tier of the state’s Covid-19 reopening plan on March 31, County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel said at Thursday’s weekly virtual press conference. According to data released...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County officials on Friday said they will not yet join five other Bay Area counties in preemptively adhering to the regional stay-at-home order announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom Thursday. Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, Marin and Santa Clara counties will adopt...

The June 15 reopening date set by California Gov. Gavin Newsom will now mark another pandemic milestone: the day many Californians can go without masks in most settings. California’s Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly on Monday told reporters the state will continue...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a plan to join a state-run rent relief program, which makes more than $16 million in federal funds available to local renters unable to pay their rent and utilities due to...

After vaccinating roughly 4,500 teachers and staff, County Office of Education Superintendent Faris Sabbah, alongside 10 school district superintendents, announced on Feb. 25 to more than 700 attendees that public districts would begin full hybridization in March. “Throughout the pandemic students, parents and school personnel...

Covid-19 vaccinations for Santa Cruz County residents are being expanded to include workers in education and childcare, emergency services, and food and agriculture industries, the county announced today. Eligibility will be based on occupation definitions from the California Department of Public Health, according to the...

Jennifer Wadsworth and Mat Weir, Contributing Reporters If you ask beauty salon owners in Santa Cruz County, they’ll tell you the on-and-off lockdowns during the pandemic have been downright backward when it comes to their industry.  Deborah Riley, owner of Lavish Salon in Santa Cruz, says...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Just hours before President Joe Biden said that every adult in the United States should have access to a Covid-19 vaccine by May 1, Santa Cruz County health officials said they expect the county will march along into the orange tier of...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Outdoor amusement parks in California counties in the red tier of the state’s Covid-19 reopening plan will be allowed to welcome back customers next month, the California Department of Public Health announced Friday afternoon. Live outdoor sporting events and performances will, too, be...