COVID-19

MONTEREY COUNTY — Since launching in March 2021, the Rent and Utility Assistance Program through the County of Monterey in partnership with United Way Monterey County has provided nearly $34 million to help keep residents in their homes during the pandemic. The program used state...

SAN JOSE, Calif. — On an unseasonably warm day in February, two men working with a local community group went door to door in an ethnically diverse neighborhood to persuade people to sign up for COVID-19 vaccinations. It was just after 11 a.m. when they...

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,...

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...

MONTEREY COUNTY — While the state of California lowered the tiers of multiple counties to the most restrictive tier (purple) earlier this month, Monterey County has never left the purple tier since the new system was implemented this summer. The latest restrictions also come...

The U.S. job market remains challenging, with the government reporting Thursday that initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose last week. A total of 741,000 workers filed first-time claims for state jobless benefits last week, an increase of 18,000, the Labor Department said. It was...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Thousands of new cases and dozens of deaths related to Covid-19 have been reported in Monterey County since the beginning of the new year, less than two weeks ago. According to California’s Covid-19 reporting system, last updated Jan. 12, Monterey County’s virus...

MONTEREY COUNTY — For those feeling stressed, anxious and lonely in the wake of the ongoing pandemic, Interim’s Crisis Counseling Program (CCP) continues to provide outreach opportunities. Interim’s short-term program offers support to individuals struggling with mental illness, and their families who have been affected...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Residents in the counties of Monterey, Napa, San Benito and Santa Cruz are being advised to wear masks indoors in public places, regardless of vaccination status. Announced Monday, the multi-county recommendation is not an order, but was issued in response to cases...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Monterey County Health Officer Dr. Edward Moreno said in an Aug. 18 press briefing that the county continues to have higher case rates of Covid-19 from the Delta variant, and that data is backing up the effectiveness of vaccines. “In Monterey County,...