This Week on the Central Coast

Vaccinations for fieldworkers, SPCA helping with rescues, and rallies to bring back school sports.

After a crazy week of rain and wind, the news was filled with reports about the roads washing out in Big Sur. Coupled with California reopening to the tier system, there has been little other news! Monterey will be seeing big crowds coming to enjoy outdoor dining and camping while positive cases return to over 30%. Positive news includes the county fighting to include fieldworkers in the next round of vaccinations and the SPCA helping animals that were displayed by the storms.

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Monterey County mayors request vaccinations for fieldworkers.

The mayors of Monterey County have requested that fieldworkers be included in the next round of COVID

vaccinations. In addition, they urged county health officials to allow those in the agricultural industry to be tested for free before being allowed to work in the area. With the farming season set to begin in the spring, it is expected that many workers will be traveling from Arizona, where winter farmer is just ending. Arizona currently has the worst infection rate per-capita in the nation.

SPCA Monterey County takes in animals as stormy weather causes evacuations.

As of Wednesday, SPCA MC has taken in 41 animals. The stormy weather, which caused mudslides and flooding, made it difficult for people to take their pets with them. Most of the animals taken in were horses and cats.
“Anyone in the county who needs assistance with sheltering animals is asked to call the organization at (831) 373-2631 during day hours and (831) 264-5424 at night.”

Salinas community rallies to bring live sports back to schools.

Parents, coaches, and students rallied to bring back live sports to schools. Supporters carried signs that read “Let us play!”, arguing that live sports could safely be brought back. One of the coaches interviewed said he believes that the lack of live sports will lead to an increase in obesity and depression in students.

This was one of many rallies aimed at getting Governor Gavin Newsom’s attention during a time when recall efforts are gaining support.

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This past week, our COVID positivity reached 37% with 26 more deaths. Remember to shelter in place and wear a mask when you must go out.

For more information on Monterey County’s COVID-19 numbers, check out this Reddit user’s graphs on Imgur. They update every week and cover a variety of statistics, including case counts by city. Here is the original Reddit post, which gives greater detail of their sources, including the state of California and CHOMP.

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