COVID-19

CALIFORNIA — Facing swelling political pressure and numerous lawsuits by businesses forced to shut down, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California on Monday lifted a strict stay-at-home order and handed to local authorities greater control over whether restaurants, hair salons and other commerce could reopen. The...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion economic relief package on Thursday afternoon, ushering in an aggressive infusion of federal aid in a far-reaching effort to address the toll of the coronavirus pandemic. “This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of...

California became the first state to issue a vaccine mandate for all educators in public and private schools when Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday ordered teachers and school staff members to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or face weekly testing. “We think it’ll be...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Monterey County’s indoor face covering ordinance has been triggered, with countywide mask requirements taking effect as soon as this Friday. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published data Monday morning showing that Monterey County was in the “substantial” community transmission rate...

MONTEREY COUNTY — An ordinance that would have required face coverings indoors countywide failed to receive enough support from the Monterey County Board of Supervisors during a special meeting last week. After extensive discussion and public comment at the Sept. 8 meeting, the board voted...

MONTEREY — The Monterey Bay Aquarium will reopen May 15 following an unprecedented 13-month closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic. New rules will be in effect for visitors, including online-only ticket sales, required face coverings and timed-entry. All guests age 3 and older, as well as...

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 — Dozens of times a day in COVID-19 wards across California, a scene like this plays out: A hospital chaplain watches as a death is announced by machine. Kristin Michealsen, a hospital chaplain in Los Angeles, stood at a man’s bedside, holding his hand....

More than two months after he was fully vaccinated against COVID, a doctor in New York woke up with a headache and a dull, heavy feeling of fatigue. A fever and chills soon followed, and his senses of taste and smell began to fade. This,...

SALINAS VALLEY — Monterey County residents were able to get vaccinated with six sessions of a mass Covid-19 vaccination effort last weekend at Greenfield Memorial Hall and Soledad Community Center. A total of 3,000 vaccine doses were distributed at the events, which were separate from...