Coronavirus updates: SLO County gyms, hair salons must close, Lucia Mar Unified to remain online
San Luis Obispo County added 34 coronavirus cases Wednesday, according to ReadySLO.org.
As of Wednesday, there were 386 active COVID-19 patients in San Luis Obispo County, a record high number of active local patients during the pandemic.
The county also reported its sixth coronavirus-related death.
Here are your local updates for Wednesday:
Salons, gyms and other businesses must close
Several San Luis Obispo County business sectors will be forced to close again on Thursday to slow the spread of coronavirus as cases continue to rise locally.
Gyms and fitness centers, places of worship, indoor protests, non-essential offices, personal care services like nail salons and tattoo parlors, hair salons and indoor malls will have to close or limit operations to outdoor services only, according to a county news release.
According to county data, San Luis Obispo County has exceeded the case rate criteria to remain open — an average of less than 100 positive cases per 100,000 people over the last 14 days — for three days in a row. The county was placed on the watch list Monday.
SLO County adds 34 COVID-19 cases
San Luis Obispo County added 34 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday, bringing the total number of people who have locally tested positive for COVID-19 since March to 1,112, according to ReadySLO.org.
Paso Robles added 11 new cases of coronavirus, while San Luis Obispo added five and Nipomo added three.
Arroyo Grande also added three new COVID-19 cases. Grover Beach and Templeon both added two cases.
One new case was added in Atascadero, Pismo Beach, Morro Bay, Cambria, Santa Margartia and Avila Beach. One new case was listed as unknown and another one was listed as other.
Of the newest cases, 25 involve people under the age of 50, three of whom are minors, and the other eight cases involve patients 50 and over.
SLO County’s largest school district remain online in the fall
San Luis Obispo County’s largest K-12 school district, Lucia Mar Unified, will require distance learning for the start of the 2020-21 school year, the district announced Tuesday.
The school district will begin its online-only school year on Aug. 13.
Lucia Mar schools, which educate about 10,200 students, previously implemented fully online schooling during the first coronavirus-related closures in the spring.
SLO puts street closure program on hold
The city of San Luis Obispo has paused their temporary street closure program to focus on parklets as part of a refinement to better accommodate business and public health needs.
The Open SLO Program was launched in mid-June at Mission Plaza, Monterey Street and Higuera Street in the downtown area, allowing community members to come together and enjoy the pedestrian-friendly district.
The city announced in a Facebook post Tuesday that it was indefinitely suspending weekend closures on Higuera Street and the upper block of Monterey Street (from Morro to Osos streets).
Rite Aid adds two local coronavirus testing sites
In partnership with the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Rite Aid now tests at 258 locations across the country, adding 161 this week, including two on the Central Coast.
The Rite Aid in Atascadero, at 7025 El Camino Real, and in Santa Maria, at 2405 South Broadway, are now among those locations.
The testing sites use self-swab coronavirus nasal tests for people with or without symptoms, according to the release.
To schedule a test appointment, visit www.riteaid.com. Sites will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the weekends.
Sixth local patient dies due to coronavirus
A sixth San Luis Obispo County resident has died due to COVID-19, the county Public Health Department reported late Tuesday.
The person was in their 90s, lived at a long-term care facility for the elderly, and was not hospitalized.
The source of transmission was determined to have been person-to-person spread at the care facility.
The first COVID-19 related death was reported on April 4 and a second on July 1. Three more deaths occurred in San Luis Obispo County last week, including one on Saturday.
SLO County added to state watch list as indoor dining, bars close
San Luis Obispo County has been listed on the state’s watch list for rising coronavirus cases.
According to a tweet Monday from the San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services, the county was added to the watch list, which means it is not meeting the state’s criteria for reopening.
On July 8, county Public Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein said that if the county is on the state’s watch list for three consecutive days, the state will close indoor operations of various business sectors.
On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he is ordering indoor operations at a range of businesses to shut down immediately across the entire state, regardless of watch list status, including indoor restaurant dining, bars, wineries and tasting rooms.
This story was originally published July 15, 2020 at 11:20 AM.
