County’s opening may be different

SALINAS >> As Monterey County lingers in the state’s most restrictive tier, county Health Officer Dr. Edward Moreno told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday there is another path to moving into a less restrictive tier under the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy system.

According to Moreno, the county could move from the purple or “widespread” tier to the red or “substantial” tier and allow more business and other activity if it can lower just its COVID-19 test positivity rates even if its case rate remains above the state limit.

Currently, the county’s overall test positivity rate is at 4.9%, below the state limit for moving into the even less-restrictive yellow or “moderate” tier. But its equity test positivity rate is still at 7.4%, which is below the state limit for moving into the red tier.

Moreno said if the county’s equity test positivity rate also falls below 5% for at least two weeks then the state could consider moving the county into the red tier even if the county’s average daily case rate — currently at 8.5 per 100,000 — remains above the state limit of seven per 100,000 to move into the red tier.

The equity measure considers test positivity rates in census tracts that fall in the lower quarter of health outcomes based on the stateemployed Healthy Places Index. It is designed to help identify and address the “disparate impact” of the virus on certain communities in a county that are often marked by a higher number of people of color.

Local census tracts identified as part of the equity measure include parts of North County including Pajaro and Castroville, parts of Seaside and Marina, parts of Salinas, and south Salinas Valley communities including Chualar, Gonzales, Greenfield, King City and San Lucas.

According to a county health report, the county has now had 10,827 COVID-19 cases, 639 hospitalizations, and 81 deaths with the virus since the pandemic began. About 78.5% of all COVID-19 cases, 82% of hospitalizations and 79% of all deaths with the virus have involved Latinos, and more than 82.5% of all cases have been located in Salinas or the south Salinas Valley.

The county is currently working on an “equity plan” to address the issue in an attempt to qualify for state funding. A report to the county board is expected in the next few weeks.

Moreno’s report came as local businesses and others are increasingly expressing concern about surviving the holidays under the state restrictions that have been in place since mid-March and as a World Health Organization official warns against relying on prolonged economic lockdowns to fight the virus due to the harm they cause.

During a county briefing on Wednesday, Moreno said the county is “aligned” with the state Department of Public Health on the pandemic-related lockdown and “re- opening the economy” and tries to adhere to the state’s guidance. He did not say whether he or county officials have considered the relative impact of the shutdown compared to the pandemic.

Also on Tuesday, the county board approved a $468,000 small business relief program aimed at offering grants of up to $10,000 to businesses with up to 50 employees in the unincorporated areas of the county to start. Companies in cities and those with up to 75 employees are also encouraged to apply for the grants in case there is money remaining in the program after the smaller businesses in rural county areas are prioritized.

The program, which will be administered by the county Workforce Development Board, is tapping federal CARES Act funding diverted from the District Attorney’s Office after it originally reported it would be unable to spend its full allocation of the funding. Businesses can claim expenses dating back to the start of the local pandemicrelated shutdown in midMarch but those that have already received funding assistance will be given less preference.

Supervisors Mary Adams and John Phillips initially called for the grants to be focused on restaurants and other hospitality industry businesses and later added arts-serving businesses. The board ultimately decided not to favor any specific industry.

According to a timeline, the program will begin outreach to the business community next week, conduct informational webinars the following week, and begin accepting applications on Nov. 2 for a two-week period.

Also Tuesday, Moreno told the county board the state had issued new guidance for “private gatherings,” which can include up to three households outdoors for up to two hours at a time. Shade structures are allowed as long as three sides are open, but singing is discouraged unless using a mask, and musical instruments are allowed except for wind instruments. A 6-foot distance must be maintained between households, and there is no sharing of items allowed. Organization of multiple gatherings is not allowed. Face coverings are required.

Moreno also told the board that seven more local schools had qualified for inperson elementary gradelevel instruction waivers, including five private schools and two public schools. Private schools include Madonna del Sasso School and Sacred Heart School in Salinas, San Carlos School and Santa Catalina School in Monterey, and Pacific Valley School in Big Sur, and the public schools include San Ardo Union Elementary School in San Ardo and San Antonio Elementary School in Lockwood.