COVID-19

UNITED STATES — The average number of vaccine doses being administered across the United States per day topped 2 million for the first time Wednesday, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A month ago, the average was about 1.3...

SALINAS VALLEY — Monterey County health officials have been working with agricultural companies and have reiterated safety plans with the onset of the new growing season, with the goal of keeping ag workers safe and the food supply network stable. “With the start of the...

CALIFORNIA — Coronavirus cases have continued to recede. President Joe Biden said that there will be enough vaccine available for all U.S. adults by the end of May, sooner than previously expected, because of a deal with Johnson & Johnson to boost supply. More...

COACHELLA, Calif. — The sun-baked desert valley tucked behind the San Jacinto Mountains is best known for an annual music festival that draws 100,000 fans a day and a series of lush, oasis resort towns where well-heeled snowbirds go to golf, sunbathe and party....

SALINAS — Northwest Laboratory will open and operate a new drive-thru Covid-19 testing site in Salinas starting March 3. “Our organization has worked closely with the communities across the U.S. since this pandemic began, providing laboratory analysis for multiple community testing programs,” said Jennifer Bull,...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — New claims for unemployment fell last week, the government reported Thursday, the latest sign that the labor market’s recovery, however slow and unsteady, is continuing. “The numbers look encouraging on the face of it,” said Gregory Daco, chief U.S. economist at Oxford...

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,...

KING CITY — Monterey Bay Aquarium has loaned a freezer capable of reaching sub-zero temperatures to Mee Memorial Healthcare System in an effort to help the South Monterey County hospital administer Covid-19 vaccines in the area. “While vaccines remain in short supply in Monterey County,...

CALIFORNIA — Arts advocates and elected officials in California called Thursday for additional government spending to avert what one organization leader called a “pending cultural depression” brought on by the pandemic. “There is no economic recovery in our area unless a working creative engine is...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Elementary schools in Monterey County may begin planning to reopen after the Feb. 16 announcement that the county’s adjusted case rate has fallen to 24 infected per 100,000 residents. The school grades affected would be pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. Schools wishing to...