Coronavirus updates: SLO concerts canceled, antibody testing in Santa Barbara County
San Luis Obispo County had 204 cases as of Tuesday, adding two new cases.
On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that retail shops may reopen in a modified manner as early as Friday. But, the county’s reopening plan is more ambitious.
However, before California counties can further their individual reopening plans, testing criteria must be met. And the county recently partnered with the state to add two additional testing clinics.
Meanwhile, a law firm with local offices is giving out free lunch money to support local businesses.
Here are your local updates for Tuesday:
SLO County adds 2 coronavirus cases
San Luis Obispo County added two new coronavirus cases Tuesday, bringing the total of local COVID-19 cases to 204.
On Sunday, 50 days after the first coronavirus case was confirmed in San Luis Obispo County, the county passed 200 cases. A total of 13 cases were added over the weekend, and a single one Monday.
At Monday’s news briefing, San Luis Obispo County public health officer Dr. Penny Borenstein said the county expects the number of positive cases to increase in the coming days as the county ups testing of residents.
Concerts in the Plaza canceled due to coronavirus
San Luis Obispo’s popular free summer concert series has been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Downtown SLO, the nonprofit organization that produces Concerts in the Plaza at Mission Plaza in downtown San Luis Obispo, announced the cancellation in a news release Tuesday.
Concerts in the Plaza would have celebrated its 25 anniversary in 2020.
Central Coast hospitals, clinics provide antibody testing
Some clinical laboratories and medical partners in Santa Barbara County are providing antibody testing for the novel coronavirus, which could provide an improved understanding of how widespread COVID-19 is in the county.
Zugan Health Urgent Care announced in late April that it would offer COVID-19 IgG antibody testing.
Performed by Quest Diagnostics, the test is designed for people who are interested in evaluating their past exposure to COVID-19, according to the Santa Barbara-based urgent care center.
Antibody testing is still not available in San Luis Obispo County.
San Luis Obispo pizza place opens carhop service
A San Luis Obispo restaurant is turning the clock back to the 1950s with drive-up carhop service at a location that offered the same option to diners some 70 years ago.
Gino’s Pizza kicked off its new carhop service Friday at the Monterey Street building that was the former home of the Little Chef restaurant, which was a drive-up in the 1950s.
SLO adds touch-free street crossing lights
To help reduce the spread of COVID-19, the city of San Luis Obispo is converting some signalized intersections to be temporarily touch-free.
“This is an effort to reduce the number of frequently touched surfaces for the public and increase the overall health and safety of the community,” the city said in a news release.
Automatic walk cycles and new signage will be rolled out to twenty locations with high pedestrian activity.
“When approaching an intersection that has been converted to touch-free activation, pedestrians can now simply wait for the walk sign to appear without touching any buttons,” city officials said in the release. “Selected intersections featuring audible indicators for the visually impaired will also be touch-free.”
Currently, the city has implemented these changes at five of its planned 20 locations: Foothill Boulevard/ Broad Street, Foothill Boulevard/ Chorro Street, Broad Street/Pismo Street, Broad Street/Buchon Street and Broad Street/ Pacific Street.
When will SLO County stores and shops reopen?
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that some retail shops and manufacturing that closed due to the shelter-at-home order may open for curbside pickup or delivery, possibly as soon as Friday.
The list of businesses allowed to open with modifications is not as inclusive as San Luis Obispo County officials planned in their reopening guidelines.
Still, “it is a step in the right direction,” county public health officer Dr. Penny Borenstein said at a news conference Monday afternoon.
What’s the latest on testing in SLO County?
Both Newsom’s plan and the county’s guide to begin reopening businesses and public spaces rest heavily on the ability to track new cases. But, access to testing has been limited so far.
That’s starting to change, as the state works toward opening 86 new testing clinics throughout the state, including new clinics in Paso Robles and Grover Beach.
Meanwhile, public demand has grown for testing beyond whether the virus is active to testing for antibodies and potential immunity. But for now, San Luis Obispo only has nasal testing available.
Here are five things you need to know about local testing.
Public Health tests 200 CMC employees for COVID-19
Nearly a dozen California Men’s Colony inmates and two employees have tested positive for coronavirus. As a result, the county Public Health is providing free testing for roughly 10 percent of the state prison’s employees, the county announced Monday.
All the current cases have been limited to one block of the prison in San Luis Obispo, Borenstein said, and the county is providing the testing to any prison employees who may have come into contact with inmates on that block.
Borenstein said roughly 200 employees meet that criteria, and the county will expand testing to more employees should positive cases be reported in other areas of the facility in San Luis Obispo.
Law firm offers free lunch money to support local businesses
A California law firm with an office in San Luis Obispo is offering the public up to $25 to help support local restaurants statewide that have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
The May Firm is donating $10,000 to encourage people to order takeout or delivery food.
People can order from a local restaurant in San Luis Obispo County, or from an eatery anywhere in the state of California, and then fill out a form and submit a photo of their receipt to www.mayfirm.com/local-restaurant-relief-fund.
Churches can gather in parking lots, but most stay online
San Luis Obispo County announced April 22 that houses of faith are allowed to hold “drive-in” style services to maintain social distancing practices and prevent the spread of coronavirus — however, most are staying online until further notice.
Many churches and houses of faith, especially in San Luis Obispo, don’t have access to a parking lot and must remain closed or hold online services until they can reopen their doors.
Others with parking lots have chosen to remain online as well.
Community Foundation donates $120,000 to nonprofits
The Community Foundation of San Luis Obispo County has awarded more than $120,000 to five local nonprofit agencies through their Disaster Support Fund in the past month. In March, the foundation donated more than $30,000.
The disaster fund was created as a result of coronavirus through donations from community members.
According to the news release, the Community Foundation awarded $56,500 in rapid response grants to SLO Noor Foundation, The Link Family Resource Center, Wilshire Community Services, Atascadero Loaves & Fishes, Child Development Resource Center of the Central Coast, Peoples’ Self-Help Housing and Transitional Food and Shelter, in the past two weeks.
The Women’s Legacy Fund also awarded Stand Strong $10,000 to address domestic violence, according to the release.
The money was given to nonprofits providing support for vulnerable communities in San Luis Obispo County affected by COVID-19.
The Community Foundation is asking for donations to be able to continue granting funds to local nonprofits. May 5 is Giving Tuesday Now day, a global emergency response to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the release.
This story was originally published May 5, 2020 at 9:16 AM.
