It’s the anniversary of COVID arriving in SLO County. Here’s a look back at 2 years of pandemic
It’s both an understatement and a cliche to say the world changed two years ago.
On March 14, 2020, the first case of novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, was confirmed in San Luis Obispo County — kicking off a chain of events that few would ever have predicted before.
In these past two years, we’ve seen mass closures of businesses — both temporary during the initial pandemic shutdown, and permanent as those businesses struggled to adjust to the times — and a surge in support for local stores and restaurants.
We’ve seen the words “quarantine” and “social distancing” enter the common parlance at the same time debates over vaccines and masking created stark divisions in our communities.
We’ve seen a bunch of people learn how to make sourdough, while others stockpiled toilet paper.
We’ve seen schools move to virtual learning and drive-through graduation ceremonies before reopening amid parent and teacher concerns about the spread of a contagious virus.
We’ve seen multiple variants of COVID sweep through our county at alarming rates.
We’ve seen neighbors, friends and family die due to the disease, unable to have their loved ones with them in their final moments.
In short, we have seen unprecedented times.
Today, the count totals at least 52,728 confirmed local cases (though there have likely been many more) with more than 1,500 hospitalized in that time and 470 deaths attributed to the virus.
In recognition of the anniversary of the day our worlds changed forever, here is a look back at the spread of coronavirus through San Luis Obispo County over the past two years:
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February 2020: Paso Robles woman aboard cruise ship that was one of earliest COVID outbreaks
COVID’s first connection to SLO County came when public health officials warned that passengers quarantined on a cruise ship in Japan for two weeks due to a novel coronavirus outbreak could be housed at Camp Roberts.
The passengers, including a Paso Robles woman who documented her experiences onboard the ship during the outbreak, did not end up being sent here, but concerns over the possibilities of local spread of the virus due to exposure emerged quickly.
March 6, 2020: SLO County Public Health Lab begins testing
The San Luis Obispo County Public Health department began testing for coronavirus locally on March 6, 2020, with a maximum capacity of only 50 tests per day.
Because of this, only those with COVID-19 symptoms and who met a range of other criteria were being tested.
March 10, 2020: Stores run short on supplies amid COVID-19 fears
Though no local cases of coronavirus had been confirmed, San Luis Obispo County store shelves were barren as residents flocked to stock up on masks, toilet paper, hand sanitizer and other supplies amid growing fears of the virus.
Public Health urged local organizations to consider ways to reduce close contact through social distancing, while also offering guidelines for higher-risk people over the age of 60 or with serious chronic health conditions.
“The public should take precautions now,” the department said at the time. “While this new disease is of concern to everyone and especially older persons and those who suffer from certain chronic diseases, there is no need for panic.”
March 11, 2020: Coronavirus cancellations begin
Still with no confirmed case of coronavirus locally, San Luis Obispo County organizations began to announce they were temporarily postponing or canceling upcoming gatherings, with others following their lead in the coming days.
These included the Thursday night Farmers Market, the SLO International Film Festival, Fremont Theater concerts, the Spartan Race in the North County and a number of Central Coast conferences.
At the same time, Cal Poly announced it was delaying and then switching to online classes for the start of the spring quarter, while other schools canceled large gatherings like sporting events and performances.
March 13, 2020: SLO County schools begin closing, public health emergency declared
Central Coast schools began announcing closures of their campuses one-by-one on a hectic Friday.
In a statement that afternoon, San Luis Obispo County Superintendent of Schools Jim Brescia said the rapid spread of COVID-19 “has caused anxiety in our schools and community.”
“While local health officials have yet to confirm any local cases, we do not know how this will ultimately impact our county,” Brescia said. “Simply put, we are in uncharted waters, and the time has come to hit the pause button until we know more.”
Schools would remain closed for months.
That same day, the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department declared a public health emergency due to coronavirus.
March 14, 2020: First SLO County case confirmed
In the early evening, San Luis Obispo County Public Health officials sent out a brief email to media outlets confirming the first case of coronavirus in San Luis Obispo County.
The individual was identified as a North County resident, over the age of 65 with underlying health conditions who exhibited a fever, cough and shortness of breath.
“We have expected to see cases of COVID-19 in our county and have been planning and preparing accordingly,” Public Health Officer Penny Borenstein said in a release a the time. “We are now encouraging the public to prepare for the likelihood of local community spread here as well, unrelated to this case, because that is what we have seen happen in other communities.”
March 16, 2020: Alcohol sales banned ahead of St. Patrick’s Day
San Luis Obispo County officials ordered all bars and restaurants to stop selling alcohol as of 5 p.m. on March 16, in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.
The establishments were told they could not sale alcohol until after the St. Patrick’s Day holiday, though some (rightly) worried a more permanent shut-down was imminent.
“This will bankrupt me,” one local bar owner said of the decision.
March 18, 2020: SLO County orders shelter-in-place
After six confirmed cases of coronavirus in less than a week, San Luis Obispo County ordered residents to shelter at their homes on March 18.
Over the coming days, businesses would close entirely, office workers would be sent home, restaurants would switch to pickup only and the rest of the county waited in isolation with baited breath to see what might happen next.
April 4, 2020: First death due to COVID reported
The first local resident to die due to coronavirus was a North County resident in their 80s who had underlying health conditions, according to the Public Health Department.
April 8, 2020: SLO County case count hits 100 mark, Alternate Care Site opens
Less than a month into the pandemic, San Luis Obispo County passed the 100-case mark with 102 confirmed cases of coronavirus.
Health officials say the virus is spreading slower and encourage residents to continue social distancing.
The county also opened its Cal Poly alternate care site, a $3.5 million project that transformed the Rec Center into an overflow hospital facility that could care for 165 patients.
April 11: First California Men’s Colony inmate tests positive
The California Men’s Colony reported its first case of an inmate testing positive for COVID-19.
An outbreak that month led to 11 inmates testing positive.
April 17, 2020: Shelter order extended
The San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department announced the emergency shelter-at-home order would be extended another 14 days, to May 16, to give time for officials to draft a reopening plan.
April 21, 2020: Restaurants, shops allowed to reopen with restrictions
SLO County wasn’t allowed to implement its own reopening plan, but instead had to follow the state’s guideline, which allowed some restaurants and retails shops to reopen in-person with restrictions.
May 6, 2020: Public Health starts offering free testing to some
The county opened two free testing clinics in Paso Robles and Grover Beach to help expanding testing availability.
Appointments could be made by those experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, or those who worked in essential jobs.
The county later added more testing locations and expanded availability to all.
May 26, 2020: SLO County salons, barbershops and places of worship can reopen
Places of worship, hair salons and barbershops could reopen with limited service and other modifications after being closed since the start of the pandemic.
May 28, 2020: Mid-State Fair canceled
The 2020 California Mid-Sate Fair was canceled due to coronavirus concerns.
“The well-being and health of our community is our top priority,” board president David Baldwin said in a news release at the time.
June 18, 2020: California issues face covering mandate
Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statewide mask mandate requiring face coverings or masks in indoor public spaces, as well as in many other public situations.
July 4, 2020: SLO closes bars for Fourth of July
All bars in city of San Luis Obispo were ordered to close during the Fourth of July holiday weekend to help prevent summer spread of the virus.
Bars in other cities around the county remained open.
July 13, 2020: Businesses once again ordered to close as cases pass 1,000 mark
SLO County bars and indoor dining establishments once again closed after the county confirmed its 1,000th case of coronavirus.
The state introduced more restrictions for counties placed on a coronavirus monitoring list — a list that includes SLO County.
Several days later, other business sectors like gyms and fitness centers, places of worship, non-essential offices and hair salons were also ordered to close.
Aug. 6, 2020: SLO County passes 2,000 cases
SLO County added another 1,000 cases in less than a month, bringing the total number of cases to more than 2,000.
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Sept. 1, 2020: SLO County passes 3,000 cases
The quick spread of coronavirus continued with another 1,000 cases being added in a little less than a month, bringing the case total to 3,006 by the beginning of September.
That same week, incoming Cal Poly freshmen started moving into the dorms after previous quarters were almost entirely online.
Sept. 22, 2020: County moves into red tier of California’s reopening
As the local case total surpassed 3,400, San Luis Obispo County officially entered the state’s red tier, indicating coronavirus spread was “substantial” but not “widespread” in the area.
That allowed more businesses like movie theaters to reopen, restaurants to serve food indoors with restrictions and retail establishments to increase capacity.
The county also lifted its ban on nursing home visitations.
Oct. 6, 2020: Schools return to in-person
After transitioning to virtual learning for the end of the 2019-20 school year, SLO County schools were allowed to return to in-person, though some local districts choose to hold off at first.
Nov. 30, 2020: Cases reach 5,000 mark
After Halloween and the Thanksgiving holidays, local cases increased once again, reaching 5,038 total by the end of November. The death toll climed to 33 people.
Spikes among Cal Poly students after Halloween contributed to the surge, health officials said.
In response to the surge, SLO County moved back to the more restrictive puple tier of the state’s COVID-19 response plan.
Dec. 6, 2020: Stay-at-home order issued
Along with the rest of California, San Luis Obispo County residents were once again ordered to stay at home, though this mandate did allow some businesses to stay open in a limited capacity.
The mandate was tied to ICU capacity across the state, as a post-holiday surge stressed local hospitals and medical providers to their limits.
Dec. 17, 2020: SLO County receives first shipment of coronavirus vaccine
The first shipment of coronavirus vaccine, 1,950 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus shot, arrived in San Luis Obispo County.
Emergency responders, including emergency medical technicians, and health care workers were among the first to be vaccinated.
“There’s light at the end of the tunnel,” Public Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein said.
Dec. 30, 2020: SLO County case count tops 10,000
The San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department announced an additional 576 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of local cases to 10,178.
That day, the department also announced eight more deaths due to coronavirus, bringing the total number of victims of the virus at that point to 82.
The county began to see the largest surge in new cases and hospitalizations to date.
Jan. 8, 2021: Death toll rises to more than 100
SLO County officials reported six new deaths, bringing the local death toll to 101 people.
By that point, 12,891 San Luis Obispo County residents had tested positive for coronavirus since the pandemic began.
Jan. 25, 2021: Regional stay-at-home order lifted
California health officials lift regional stay-at-home orders for the entire state — including San Luis Obispo County — as infection and hospitalization rates showed signs of improvement.
Local business owners who were allowed to reopen with restrictions rejoiced.
March 9, 2021: Concert venues allowed to reopen
Outdoor concert venues were allowed to open again with safety modifications, but SLO County entertainment representatives said it would take a while before large events return.
March 11, 2021: Case count passes 20,000, death toll more than 250
Almost exactly a year after the first case is reported, SLO County passed two grim milestones: more than 250 dead due to coronavirus, and 20,000 infected.
April 7, 2021: All SLO County residents older than 16 can get vaccine
All SLO County residents over the age of 16 became eligible for the coronavirus vaccine, just four months after the vaccine began rolling out.
The decision to open it up to the entire adult population came as local vaccination rates waned.
April 28, 2021: Officials announce closing of Cal Poly care site, moving into orange tier
While local coronavirus cases waned, officials announced the never-used Cal Poly care site would be dismantled.
“We hoped we would never have to use the ACS but were prepared for the worst,” County Administrative Officer Wade Horton said at the time. “It’s a relief to say that we no longer need an ACS for our community and that, even during the surge in COVID-19 cases here this past winter, our hospitals were able to provide the quality care our community members needed.”
Meanwhile, the county moved into the orange tier of the state’s Blueprint to Reopening, which allowed bars and non-essential offices to reopen for the first time since March 2020.
May 6, 2021: Farmers Market returns
After more than a year, San Luis Obispo’s downtown Farmers Market returned with some coronavirus restrictions in place.
“It has been a lot of work to get to this point, and we are so thankful for the support of city and county officials as well as our community over this last year,” Program Director Whitney Chaney said at the time.
June 4, 2021: Health Department closes vaccinations clinics
The San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department closed its three mass vaccination clinics in San Luis Obispo, Arroyo Grande and Paso Robles after administering more than 151,000 doses of the vaccine.
Instead, the vaccine was offered at the county’s existing testing sites, as well as by a number of health care providers throughout the area.
June 8, 2021: SLO County moves into least-restrictive tier before state reopens
A week before the entire state is allowed to reopen as a whole, SLO County finally was given the go-ahead to enter the least-restrictive yellow tier of the state’s soon-to-be-defunct reopening plan.
On June 15, the entire state reopened with virtually no restrictions on businesses, and the mask mandate was dropped.
June 22, 2021: Health Department shutters free testing clinics
The San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department closed its Morro Bay and Grover Beach testing clinics due to lack of demand. The clinics would later reopen once variant-driven surges forced a demand in testing once again.
June 26, 2021: First case of delta variant reported
San Luis Obispo County detected its first local case of the delta coronavirus variant, which was believed to be more contagious than the previous variants.
The case was identified by the county’s Public Health laboratory.
Aug. 4, 2021: Tensions rise as schools debate masking
The community was fiercely divided over whether students and staff should be required to wear masks in schools, with tensions boiling over at packed school board meetings.
“Shame on you,” one parent said at a particularly contentious Lucia Mar Unified School District meeting. “Our children have to decide between education and breathing in America? Give me a break.”
Most districts at the time decided to uphold state and federal regulations requiring masking in schools.
Aug. 31, 2021: SLO County reinstates indoor mask mandate
The Health Department once again ordered residents to wear face masks in indoor public places as local hospitals saw a surge in patients needing medical treatment.
The order applied to everyone, regardless of vaccination status.
Oct. 2, 2021: SLO County offering free booster shots
The county began offering free coronavirus vaccine booster shots for eligible residents at public health clinics in Grover Beach, Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo.
Booster shots were recommended after studies indicated that immunity from the vaccine may start to drop over time.
Nov. 3, 2021: Younger kids eligible for COVID vaccine
Local children between the ages of 5 and 11 became eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.
Families could take their kids to pediatricians, local pharmacies or county public health clinics to get vaccinated.
Dec. 12, 2021: First omicron variant confirmed in SLO County
In the middle of the holiday season, the first confirmed case of the highly contagious omicron coronavirus variant was reported in San Luis Obispo County.
“It was only a matter of time before the omicron variant would find its way to our community,” County Health Officer Penny Borenstein said.
Dec. 30, 2021: Variants cause spike in local cases
A few days after Christmas, more than 500 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in San Luis Obispo County in two days, putting pressure on local hospitals and intensive care units.
In just 10 days, the number of active cases more than tripled to 1,130. The total case count reached 32,558.
The spike was attributed to both the omicron and delta variants, plus holiday gatherings and travel.
Jan. 7, 2022: COVID spikes at Cal Poly, isolation space limited
After returning from the winter quarter, Cal Poly reported almost 680 positive COVID-19 tests in a matter of days, the university’s biggest surge in the entirety of the pandemic up to this point.
The spike resulted in long lines of students seeking tests and the university being forced to once again house sick students in nearby hotel rooms.
A number of classes were also moved online in response.
The omicron surge also led to a rash of student and staff absences at local K-12 schools.
Feb. 10, 2022: SLO County passes 50,000 case mark
The county hit a milestone of 50,000 positive coronavirus cases at the same time the omicron variant surge seemed to be easing.
The number of people being treated at county hospitals dropped below 30 for the first time this year to 29, including seven people in the intensive care unit.
The 14-day rolling average of new daily cases dropped to 292, the first time it was under 300 in nearly a month.
Feb. 16, 2022: SLO County face mask mandate lifted (again)
After months of once again being required to wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status, San Luis Obispo County lifted its face-covering mandate.
This allowed fully vaccinated individuals to go maskless in most indoor settings, but still recommended masks for those who were unvaccinated.
“It’s not ‘everything is back to normal,’ but step by step,” Sicco Westra told The Tribune the day the mandate was lifted. “And it’s good to get to a situation where it’s more controlled.”
Feb. 25, 2022: SLO County lifts state of emergency
After almost two years, SLO County officials lifted the region’s state of emergency due to coronavirus, saying it was no longer needed given slowed rate of spread.
“While these declarations are no longer needed, the Public Health team and local health care providers continue to respond to this pandemic and provide resources, like vaccines and testing, to help residents protect their health and the health of the community,” Public Health Officer Penny Borenstein says. “We remain ready to respond to future surges.”
What is your SLO County COVID-19 story?
For two years now, we’ve lived with pandemic in San Luis Obispo County.
As the case counts continue to decline and we move into yet another phase of these unprecedented times, The Tribune wants to hear from you about how coronavirus has changed your life.
Submissions must be 300 words or less; the best responses will be published in an upcoming story regarding the two-year anniversary of coronavirus in San Luis Obispo County.
Submit your stories in the form here or below, or by emailing reporter Kaytlyn Leslie at kleslie@thetribunenews.com. The deadline to submit is Friday at 5 p.m.
Make sure to include your name and city of residence in your response.
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