Coronavirus updates: New SLO County cases, Strawberry Celebration canceled
San Luis Obispo County added three coronavirus cases on Friday, bringing the total number of patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 to 240.
As California continues its efforts to help people hurt financially by the coronavirus pandemic, some local businesses are reopening while others are shutting their doors.
Here are your local updates for Friday:
SLO County adds 3 coronavirus cases
San Luis Obispo County added three coronavirus cases on Friday — 240 residents have now tested positive for COVID-19 since March, according to ReadySLO.org.
Friday marks the first time in three days the county has added fewer than five cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus.
It’s now been two months since the county Public Health Department announced the first local coronavirus case.
Arroyo Grande Strawberry Celebration canceled
Only a couple of months after announcing the annual Arroyo Grande Strawberry Festival was being rebranded and refocused as the Strawberry Celebration, the South County Chambers of Commerce have canceled the inaugural event.
The event, originally planned for Memorial Day weekend in the Village, was canceled because of coronavirus tourism restrictions limiting the number of visitors to Arroyo Grande, the chambers said in a news release.
It is unclear if the event will be rescheduled for next year. The release said only that “its debut will have to wait.”
Undocumented immigrants get COVID-19 relief funds
Help is on the way for undocumented immigrants in San Luis Obispo County who’ve been impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.
California is providing $75 million in relief funds for undocumented immigrants who’ve lost work during the pandemic and aren’t eligible for federal stimulus checks or unemployment benefits.
Adults can apply for $500 each and up to $1,000 for each household. State officials expect to help about 150,000 residents with the allocated funding.
SLO drive-in movie theater reopens
San Luis Obispo’s Sunset Drive-In movie theater is set to reopen after shuttering during the coronavirus pandemic.
The theater has announced it plans to reopen Friday night with showings of “Trolls: World Tour” and “The Secret Life of Pets 2.”
The drive-in theater closed its gates in mid-March in response to the county’s public safety orders to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Since then, the county has said that drive-in movie theaters could continue to operate under shelter-at-home orders.
Now the theater has laid out a series of social distancing measures that will allow it to operate safely, according to a Facebook post Wednesday.
Bamboo clothing store closes due to coronavirus
A downtown San Luis Obispo store that specialized in bamboo clothing and decor is closing after 14 years in San Luis Obispo County.
Bambu Batu, located at 1023 Broad St. across the road from the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, will shutter its doors at the end of the month.
Asked why he’s closing the business, also known as The House of Bamboo, owner Fred Hornaday cited the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and a desire to reunite with his wife and children in Europe, where he has lived off and on the past few years.
This story was originally published May 15, 2020 at 10:39 AM.
