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COMMUNITY NEWS New Statewide COVID-19 Closures

Effective Monday, July 13, California has closed some indoor business operations statewide in an attempt to slow the spread of the contagious coronavirus COVID-19.

Statewide indoor closures include restaurants, bars and breweries, wineries and tasting rooms, movie theaters, family entertainment centers (such as bowling alleys, miniature golf, batting cages and arcades), zoos and museums, and cardrooms. This affects Santa Cruz County.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the closures at a noon press conference Monday, a day after California officials revealed that the number of deaths related to coronavirus in the state had passed 7,000.

He noted that hospitalizations and the rate of positive tests trended up over the past 14 days.

In addition, 30 counties on the state monitoring list for 3 consecutive days — which includes Monterey County — must close fitness centers, places of worship, indoor protests, offices for non-critical infrastructure sectors, personal care services, hair salons and barbershops, and malls.

As of Wednesday, Santa Cruz County reported 602 confirmed cases including 286 active cases, and 22,443 negative test results for a positivity rate is 3.9 percent. Half the cases are Latinos. There are three deaths, unchanged since mid-June. The state reported 20 people hospitalized in Santa Cruz County including three people in intensive care.

Monterey County reported 2,724 confirmed cases, 11,332 negative test results for a positivity rate is 9.2 percent, and 18 deaths. The state reported 50 people hospitalized in Monterey County including 9 people in intensive care.

The Santa Cruz County Public Health Division invites members of the public to join a community conversation at 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday July 14 to discuss COVID-19 in the Latinx community.

According to Centers of Disease Control and Prevention data, COVID-19 impacts Latinos at rates that exceed other racial or ethnic groups. Within California, Latinos comprise 55 percent of all cases, including two of every three cases among children.

Hosted by the Thriving Immigrants Collaborative, including steering agencies Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County and Salud Para La Gente, and featuring Santa Cruz County Public Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel, the virtual event will include discussion of current trends and measures the community can take to protect itself.

The event will be available in English, Spanish and Mixteco on Zoom. Registration is required at https://us02web. zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMrdOCgqjgpG9aBaOXZJFadKJ_LM92WW3eX n •••

For local information on COVID-19, go to www.santacruzhealth.org/coronavirus, call 211 or text “COVID19” to 211211. Residents may also call (831) 454-4242 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.

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