Coronavirus updates: 3 more coronavirus cases in SLO County; cities declare emergencies
The global coronavirus pandemic continues around the world, including in San Luis Obispo County where there are currently six confirmed cases of a resident testing positive for COVID-19.
Around California, there were nearly 500 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 11 deaths as of Tuesday morning.
Here is your daily roundup of San Luis Obispo County coronavirus information:
SLO County cases double overnight
San Luis Obispo County Public Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein said the number of local cases of confirmed coronavirus doubled overnight Tuesday.
According to Borenstein, the number of cases has increased to six. Two of the new cases are in North County, while the third is on the coast.
Borenstein said unlike the first two cases in SLO County, the latest cases do not appear to be community-transmitted.
Cal Poly goes online, urges students to go home
In a letter to the campus community late Monday evening, Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong announced the university will not hold in-person classes at all during the upcoming spring quarter.
Students were urged to return to their homes, where they will instead take entirely online courses for the final quarter of the school year. Spring commencement has also been postponed.
Grocery stores cut hours
With masses of people buying and stockpiling goods due to panic over the coronavirus, San Luis Obispo County grocery stores have had bare shelves in recent weeks.
To address this and to help protect the health of their employees, many local grocery stores have reduced their hours.
Meanwhile, San Luis Obispo County Public Health officer Dr. Penny Borenstein continued to advise residents to “use common sense” when shopping for supplies, and not hoard essential goods like toilet paper and bottled water.
Stores announce special hours for seniors, at-risk customers
Dollar General across the United States, including in San Miguel, will make its first hour seniors-only, to give some of those most at-risk during the pandemic an opportunity to shop for needed supplies without fear.
California Fresh Market in San Luis Obispo and Pismo Beach will also hold an exclusive shopping hour from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. for elderly or immunocompromised customers.
Target announced late Tuesday that starting Wednesday, it would set aside the first hour of operation every Wednesday for elderly customers or those with underlying health conditions.
SLO County schools offer free food for kids
When San Luis Obispo County school districts announced they would close for weeks to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the community, many parents and families worried how they would feed their children.
In response, Atascadero, Coast Unified, Lucia Mar, Paso Robles and San Luis Coastal school districts are all offering food services to children in the community.
The school districts are providing free food to children 18 years old and younger from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Children must be present to receive a meal. Each child will receive a free lunch and breakfast for the next day.
Santa Barbara County’s second case linked to SLO County’s
Santa Barbara County Public Health announced its second confirmed case of coronavirus Tuesday.
Like its first confirmed case, the resident who tested positive for COVID-19 lives in northern Santa Barbara County. They are in their 50s and do not have underlying health conditions.
According to Noozhawk, the person had ties to one of San Luis Obispo County’s three confirmed cases.
The individual is recovering in isolation at home until cleared by the public health officer.
Cities declare local emergencies
Paso Robles, Grover Beach, Atascadero and Arroyo Grande are the latest San Luis Obispo County cities to declare a local emergency in light of the coronavirus outbreak.
Other cities include Morro Bay and Pismo Beach.
The emergency declarations allow cities to access funding and resources from the state and federal government to deal with the outbreak. San Luis Obispo County declared a public health emergency on March 13.
This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 1:19 PM with the headline "Coronavirus updates: 3 more coronavirus cases in SLO County; cities declare emergencies."
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