Nicki Edwards waves goodby after delivering groceries to Peggy Fabricius. David Middlecamp 4-15-2020
David Middlecamp
dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
In one week in March 2020, our whole world changed.
During that week, San Luis Obispo County went from ho-hum to a new reality filled with business and school closures, new health restrictions, isolation and most importantly, fear of the global pandemic that had hit our shores.
Throughout it all, Tribune photographers were there documenting this historic moment.
As we look back on the past year of coronavirus in SLO County, these pictures are some of what remain to remind us of what it was like to live in unprecedented times.
San Luis Obispo city Fire Captain Shayne Skove performs the cleaning protocol after helping someone exhibiting symptoms consistent with coronavirus in March 2020. Other firefighters are ready to dispose of used protective equipment. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton set up this screening tent after a patient there tested negative for coronavirus in March 2020. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
Caity McCardell, community resource coordinator with Transitions Mental Health, changes the message sign to a note of encouragement as shelter in home takes place due to coronavirus in March 2020. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
The usually busy streets in downtown San Luis Obispo were virtually empty after the “shelter-in place’”order was issued by the San Luis Obispo County Health Department because of the coronavirus. This is Higuera Street at Broad Street at 6:30 p.m. when the SLO Farmers Market would be happening. Laura Dickinson ldickinson@thetribunenews.com
Hundreds of Costco shoppers wait in one long line around the store to get in to shop in March 2020. Laura Dickinson ldickinson@thetribunenews.com
San Luis Obispo County Public Works Interim Director John Diodati looks over the Phase I area of the alternate care site at the Cal Poly Rec Center as workers prep the facility for COVID-19 patients in April 2020. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
Berenice Saint-Saens and Ryan Buckley were married and wave to wedding guests via Zoom in April 2020. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
Casandra Cox, her husband Scott and sons Ryan, 2 (in Scott’s lap), and David, 5, dress up every day to wave at cars passing their Arroyo Grande home on Highway 1, sharing positive messages and smiles during the coronavirus pandemic. In April, they dressed as “Mary Poppins” characters. Laura Dickinson ldickinson@thetribunenews.com
Nicki Edwards waves goodbye after delivering groceries to Peggy Fabricius in April 2020. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
Dr. Jaymie Noland, middle, and assistant Nicole Einfalt, left, hand out lunches to Cal Poly animal science students April 2020. The lunch was a thank-you sent by alum Jake Odello for their work caring for campus animals during the COVID-19 outbreak. Laura Dickinson ldickinson@thetribunenews.com
Port San Luis Harbor District prohibited loitering on its beaches as it tried to prevent the spread of coronavirus in April 2020. Laura Dickinson ldickinson@thetribunenews.com
Ray Shearer cuts client Bob Nichols’ hair at the Anderson Barber Shop in San Luis Obispo in May 2020. Customers and staff at salons and barbershops must wear masks under state guidelines. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
Downtown San Luis Obispo restaurants and businesses slowly reopen in May 2020. Seed’s owner Rammy Aburashed helps a customer that came in to the store. Laura Dickinson ldickinson@thetribunenews.com
More than 60 people gathered outside the courthouse in downtown San Luis Obispo to rally for SLO County and California to reopen amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) shutdown in May 2020. Laura Dickinson ldickinson@thetribunenews.com
The high schools of Atascadero coordinated to provide a combined drive through graduation due to coronavirus in June 2020. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
Daniel Cashdan has enlisted in the U.S. Army and gets a fist bump and diploma from principal Scott Ferguson in June 2020. Coast Union High School graduation drive-in ceremony was held in front of the gym at the high school. The traditional indoor ceremony was changed due to coronavirus. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
RACE Matters SLO County held a rally at Mitchell Park in San Luis Obispo in May to protest violence against people of color in America. The protest comes as numerous others pop up around the country in response to the death of a black man, George Floyd, while in police custody in Minneapolis. Laura Dickinson ldickinson@thetribunenews.com
Public health nurse Karen Gray takes a coronavirus nasal swab sample at the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department in May 2020. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
A June Black Lives Matter rally was followed by a march traveling up Marsh Street in San Luis Obispo. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
The crowd applauds as Tianna Arata speaks during a #FreeTianna rally on August 25, 2020, outside the San Luis Obispo County Courthouse. Event organizers called for District Attorney Dan Dow to drop the case against Arata. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
Lori Head, left and Melinda Luce, both of Atascadero, show off a photo of their mother, Margery McGoff. McGoff died from coronavirus in July. Laura Dickinson ldickinson@thetribunenews.com
Finn Robinson, 7, Oceano, holds a sign with his grandmother, Cindy Morton, Grover Beach. Hundreds of off-road enthusiasts gathered for a Freedom Rally to open Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area which was closed to vehicles during the coronavirus pandemic in October 2020. Laura Dickinson ldickinson@thetribunenews.com
Tracy Kosinski a guide 1 at Hearst Castle gives a virtual art and architecture tour to third graders in October 2020. She explains the Neptune pool and fields text questions from the class. Guides are conducting virtual tours of the castle for school groups and other organizations. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
San Luis Obispo Classical Academy teacher Ronelle Volk walks among socially distanced desks to help her fourth-grade students with their math lesson. The campus is one of a few private schools in the county to reopen its doors to K-12 students during the coronavirus pandemic in October 2020. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
Victor Taracevicz marks his ballot at the San Luis Obispo county government center for the November 2020 election. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
Chef Cody Thomasson puts the final touches roasted brussels sprouts. The crew at SLO Provisions worked for hours to produce ready to heat Thanksgiving meals, dishes in small and large from Brussels sprouts to turkey and gravy. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
The Cal Poly men hosted hosting Bethesda College of Anaheim for the basketball home opener in November 2020. Fans were absent from the bleachers due to coronavirus restrictions and team seats were spaced out. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
Dr. Matthew Williams, emergency physician at Sierra Vista Hospital receives a COVID-19 vaccination in December 2020. Williams was one of the first in SLO County to receive the vaccine. Laura Dickinson ldickinson@thetribunenews.com
Dr. Penny Borenstein, San Luis Obispo County public health officer, gives the weekly update on coronavirus statistics and trends. Average COVID-19 case counts are falling in early March 2021. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
Lanes are reduced to allow for dining areas in downtown San Luis Obispo, but traffic has returned. Almost a year after a stay-at-home order due to coronavirus turned San Luis Obispo into a ghost town, activity has returned to the city core. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
As the one-year anniversary of San Luis Obispo County’s first confirmed coronavirus case approached, we at The Tribune were left with an important decision. How do we mark the day the world as we knew it shifted?
Over the past year, SLO County has seen some monumental changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve lost businesses. We’ve lost family and friends. We’ve struggled to adjust to a new public health crisis, while keeping the character of the Central Coast intact.
There have been good times and there have been hard times.
As we look back at the past year, hopefully it will help us to move forward to the year ahead and the next potential phase of the pandemic: recovery.
That’s what this, and other stories from our COVID anniversary coverage is about: How SLO County took on coronavirus, and how it might finally now be turning the tide.
This story was originally published March 14, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
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Kaytlyn Leslie writes about business and development for The San Luis Obispo Tribune. Hailing from Nipomo, she also covers city governments and happenings in San Luis Obispo. She joined The Tribune in 2013 after graduating from Cal Poly with her journalism degree.
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