Coronavirus updates: More than 500 people tested at new SLO County clinics, 4 new cases
San Luis Obispo County had 208 coronavirus cases as of Wednesday, adding four new COVID-19 patients.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that retail shops may reopen in a modified manner as early as Friday, but the county’s plan will not be able to start this weekend.
Local businesses are finding new ways of serving their customers while organizations continue to cancel events.
Meanwhile, in Santa Barbara County, a ninth resident has died from coronavirus.
Here are your local Wednesday updates:
New SLO County clinics test more than 500 residents
Two state-operated coronavirus testing sites opened in San Luis Obispo County on Monday and have already tested more than 500 county residents, county public health officer Dr. Penny Borenstein said at a Wednesday news briefing.
Together the testing sites, located in Paso Robles and Grover Beach, have the capacity to test more than 260 people each day.
Borenstein said the results take about 48 hours to come in and the county has only received about 50 test results so far. She said only one of the most recent cases was reported from the new testing clinics.
The county is also planning on opening additional testing sites around May 19, but details on the additional testing sites are still being worked out, Borenstein said.
SLO County adds 4 new cases
San Luis Obispo County added four new coronavirus cases Wednesday, bringing the total of local COVID-19 cases to 208.
At Monday’s news briefing, San Luis Obispo County public health officer Dr. Penny Borenstein said the county expects the number of local positive cases to increase in the coming days as the county ups testing of residents.
Of the 208 people who’ve tested positive for COVID-19 in the county, 160 people have completely recovered, 42 are recovering at home.
Five people are receiving treatment in the hospital, and three hospitalized patients are in the intensive care unit.
One local resident has died from COVID-19.
New testing site opens in Santa Maria, with more on the way
The first of three new state-operated COVID-19 testing sites opened in Santa Barbara County on Tuesday, while two more community-based sites are ready to launch later this week.
Testing is currently taking place by appointment only inside a building at the Santa Maria Fairpark, 937 Thornburg St.
Two other sites will open later this week — on Thursday in Santa Barbara at Earl Warren Showgrounds and on Friday in Lompoc at the Anderson Recreation Center, 125 W. Walnut Ave.
Two state-operated testing sites also opened in Paso Robles and Grover Beach on Monday.
SLO County won’t start its re-opening plan this weekend
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to issue an executive order Friday allowing some retail businesses to partially reopen, according to a county news release.
However, the order will not authorize San Luis Obispo County to begin its reopening plan, called the START Guide, which had more ambitious reopening plans.
The state’s plan allows some retail businesses, such as bookshops and clothing stores, to begin offering curbside pickup and deliveries — something many smaller San Luis Obispo County businesses have already implemented.
Ninth Santa Barbara County resident dies from COIVD-19
On Tuesday, the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department reported a ninth coronavirus death — a Santa Barbara resident in their 40s with underlying health conditions.
The county also reported 18 new cases of COVID-19, the largest one-day total in more than two weeks.
But the number of active cases, which peaked at 227 on April 22, is down to 93, the lowest it has been since the April 1.
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.
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 25th anniversary in 2020.
This story was originally published May 6, 2020 at 10:19 AM with the headline "Coronavirus updates: More than 500 people tested at new SLO County clinics, 4 new cases."
