Speedway Races and Flea Market at Fairgrounds Cancelled
Story and Photos By Jondi Gumz
UPDATE (Friday Morning, Mar 13): The County of Santa Cruz Public Health Division is announcing additional cases of COVID-19, for a total of seven.
Many more people have been tested in recent days, and more cases are expected. Santa Cruz County Public Health is in daily contact and is actively monitoring all cases. The County of Santa Cruz is now considered to have community spread.
“We have shifted our efforts away from containment and towards mitigation,” Health Officer Dr. Gail
No further details are available at this time.
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The coronavirus has up-ended the Santa Cruz County Science and Engineering Fair, slated to take place this weekend at the Santa Cruz County fairgrounds in Watsonville.
The event, which last year involved 400 students from kindergarten to 12th grade setting up an describing their projects to the judges, is being turned into a virtual fair. All judging will be done virtually and through some phone conversations, and there will be no awards ceremony.
Fairgrounds staff have cancelled three other events, the opening night of the Ocean Speedway races on Friday, the Ag History Project’s Second Saturdya on the Farm and the flea market on Sunday.
However, the Santa Cruz flea market run by Central Coast Goodwill is expected to open Friday, Saturday and Sunday as usual unless there is rain, according to spokeswoman Marci Bracco.
A wave of cancellations and rescheduling is sweeping over Santa Cruz County in wake of the global coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak. Cases have been confirmed in Santa Cruz County, causing the temporarily closing of Rio Del Mar Elementary School in Aptos and Kirby School in Santa Cruz, but more cases are expected as testing becomes more available.
Testing
LabCorp, a testing firm with an office in Santa Cruz, reports it can produce COVID-19 test results in three-four days.
LabCorp, a private company with a location in Santa Cruz, posted a message March 12 on its website, saying, “The 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), NAA test is available for ordering by physicians or other authorized healthcare providers anywhere in the U.S.”
The test requires a swab through the nostril to the upper part of the throat behind the nose and for those with coughs, collecting sputum. Turnaround time is three to four days from specimen pickup to test result.
At Sutter Health in Scotts Valley Wednesday, a technician wearing a mask was outside the clinic screening patients in the parking lot.
The coronavirus, which broke out in China in late December, has spread dramatically: 127,863 cases, 4,718 fatalities and 68,000 recovered, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracking site. Three-fourths of the fatalities are in China, and more than 800 people have died in Italy, which has shut down the country’s northern provinces, 400 in Iran and 66 in South Korea. The numbers are higher on Worldometers.info, a site run by a private company.
California: 198 Cases
Wild Roots Market in Felton halts sampling of soups, citing coronavirus.
The U.S. has 1,215 cases, with 988 under investigation, and 36 deaths as of March 12, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control. California reports 198 cases and four deaths, and the CDC reports the state has “sustained community transmission.”
As of the morning of March 12, there are a total of 198 confirmed cases and four deaths in California. Of the total, 79 are people 65 and older, 113 are people 18-64, four are under age 17, and in two cases, the age is not known.
Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an order Thursday morning cancelling all events involving 250 or more people. He exempted theaters, casinos and amusement parks but Disneyland announced it would close Saturday through the end of March.
Newsom’s order allows the state to commandeer hotels and hospitals to treat people with coronavirus. Princess Cruise passengers are quarantined at the state-owned Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove.
Tensions prompted a run to Costco in Santa Cruz, creating such a traffic jam that some gave up and went home. In the afternoon, the line for toilet paper, which is kept at the back of the store, started at the cash registers at the front, an Aptos couple reported.
Cancellations
March 10-11
- Lifelong Learners at MAH Museum of Art and History.
March 10-19
- Parent’s Nook at MAH Museum of Art and History, Santa Cruz:
March 14
- Pajaro Valley Unified School District job fair.
- Santa Cruz Symphony League’s “Wings of Glory” 1940s ball. New date to be announced.
- Better Angels in Aromas. Email [email protected]
March 18
- Classes taught by Nancy Wainer at the Santa Cruz Bridge Center.
March 20
- San Benito County Arts Council kick-off party at ArtSpace Annex in Hollister for Open Studios Art Tour. A decision on Open Studios, scheduled for April 18-19, has not been made.
March 21
- Kids Day Downtown, sponsored by Downtown Santa Cruz. A virtual kids day is planned, with information about summer activities and many businesses are still offering specials for kids.
March 28
- Aptos LaSelva Fire District’s community CPR class. Check www.aptosfire.com to find out when classes resume. To view coronavirus symptoms, see http://www.aptosfire.com/246/Coronavirus-COVID-19
Limited to Under 50
March 15
- Seymour Marine Discovery Center in Santa Cruz will host Science Sunday at 1:30 p.m. March 15 with Sean Vitousek, research oceanographer with U.S. Geological Survey talking on sea level rise, but seating will be limited to less than 50 people as per public health guidelines.
Rescheduled
March 13
- The LeAnn Rimes performance Heritage Theatre in Campbell has been rescheduled to July 30. Original tickets will be good for the new date. For a refund, tickets must be returned to the Box Office by April 24.
March 18
- National Agriculture Day Spring Luncheon has been rescheduled for May 27 at the county fairgrounds.
March 25
- San Lorenzo Valley High School’s College & Career Fair has been postponed to tentatively April 30.
March 28
- Aptos Wine Wander, 14 wineries participating in school fundraiser sponsored by Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association, has been rescheduled for May 30 in Aptos Village. Existing tickets will be valid for the new date or request a refund if the new date does not work for you.
- The Joint Safe on 17 Task Force and Traffic Operations Systems Oversight Committee Meeting has been postponed until April 15, from 10 a.m. – noon at CHP San Jose, 2020 Junction Ave., San Jose. People who cannot attend in person can call in to (515) 604-9928, use access code: 631038# and online meeting ID: santacruzrtc or use this link: https://join.freeconferencecall.com/santacruzrtc
Small Business
The U.S. Small Business Administration, following President Trump’s announcement, is offering low-interest federal disaster loans for working capital to small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of COVID-19.
The loans can be up to $2 million and can cover debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can’t be paid because of coronavirus. The interest rate is 3.75% for small businesses without credit available elsewhere; businesses with credit elsewhere are not eligible. The interest rate is 2.75 percent for nonprofits.
For information, contact the SBA disaster assistance customer service center. Call 1-800-659-2955 (TTY: 1-800-877-8339) or e-mail [email protected].