The COVID-19 Emergency Order was terminated by City Council Resolution at the February 21, 2023 City Council Meeting, effective February 28, 2023. See the most recent news item for details.

• Dennis the Menace Playground, Basketball Courts, Picnic and BBQ Areas Reopening

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  It’s been nearly a year (April 29, 2020) since the closing of City parks due to the State’s Stay at Home Order caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. While neighborhood parks reopened March 5, 2021, a new emergency order signed Friday, April 9, 2021, expands the reopening of all City of Monterey playgrounds including Dennis the Menace Playground, picnic tables and barbeque areas, and the public basketball courts. Beginning Tuesday, April 20, 2021, Dennis the Menace Playground at El Estero Park Complex will be open Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to sunset, and 1:00 p.m. to sunset on Mondays. All other playgrounds are open to the public during the opening hours posted pursuant to City Code section 23-5. NEWS RELEASE IN PDF | EMERGENCY ORDER

  

  
  

  

  
  

• Why Covid-19 testing is still important and how to get one

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  Why is testing important?

  • Testing helps to save lives and livelihoods: reduces transmission; breaks the chain of infection; improved targeting and monitoring of Covid-19 strategy, surveillance.
  • Testing and vaccinations are complimentary strategies (not an either-or scenario)
  • Testing is still needed to protect against new variants, reinfection, and as a tool to help manage reopening.

  The Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce has put together an up-to-date list of testing sites and times.

  
  

• Monterey Sports Center Reopens, March 22, 2021

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  The City of Monterey today announced the reopening of the Monterey Sports Center, Monday, March 22, 2021. Per State Health Guidelines for counties in the Red Tier based on the Blueprint for a Safer Economy, gym and fitness centers are allowed to reopen indoors at ten percent capacity. Amenities to open include group exercise classes (Mar. 29), use of all fitness areas, weight training equipment, and cardio equipment. Opening hours are Monday through Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Friday and Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. A new Group Exercise schedule starts March 29. Indoor swimming pools are allowed to reopen for “drowning prevention classes”. The pools are scheduled to reopen April 5. NEWS RELEASE IN PDF | FREQUENT QUESTIONS

  

• Watch 500 Hearts on Trees Decorating Live on YouTube

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  We will decorate the magnolia tree in Friendly Plaza with 500 hearts in observance of the one year mark of the pandemic in Monterey. We are streaming part of this live on YouTube at youtube.com/cityofmonterey starting at 3:00 p.m. on March 10, weather permitting. We hope you can check it out!

• City of Monterey Neighborhood Playgrounds Reopen - Sports to Reopen Mid-March with Some Restrictions

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  Today the City Manager signed a new emergency order reopening many City of Monterey Playgrounds and ordering fields to reopen soon. NEWS RELEASE IN PDF | EMERGENCY ORDER

  

• City of Monterey Presents a Community Observance "Tree of Hearts" Marking One Year of the Pandemic - Mar 13, 2020 - Mar 13, 2021

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  March 13, 2021 marks one year since the City Manager declared a local emergency due to the coronavirus. In heartfelt memory of the community lives lost to Covid-19, and in admiration, appreciation, and care to healthcare workers, public safety workers, teachers, all frontline workers including those in grocery, farm, non-profit, businesses, partner agencies, as well as anyone struggling financially or otherwise due to the pandemic, the City of Monterey City Council and Staff wish to say, “We care and we hope you feel supported. Thank you for helping us get through this crisis. We continue to make good progress, as we start to see signs that the end of the pandemic is in sight. Monterey remains strong, thanks to so many local community heroes.” NEWS RELEASE | FLYER IN ENGLISH | FLYER IN SPANISH (posted 3/8)

  

  
  

  

• A moment of silence - 500,000 American lives lost to COVID-19

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  The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus topped 500,000 on Sunday. This number of deaths represents the population of Atlanta or Sacramento. President Biden ordered the flag of the United States to half-staff from February 22-26, 2021 in honor of the 500,000 Americans lost to COVID-19. He is also encouraging Americans to join in a moment of silence at sunset. The Presidential proclamation reads, in part:

  As of this week during the dark winter of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 500,000 Americans have now died from the virus. That is more Americans who have died in a single year of this pandemic than in World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War combined. On this solemn occasion, we reflect on their loss and on their loved ones left behind. We, as a Nation, must remember them so we can begin to heal, to unite, and find purpose as one Nation to defeat this pandemic. Read the full proclamation - https://flagsexpress.com/flags-half-staff/february-2226-2021-halfstaff-alert-entire-united-states/

  Photo: Thank you to the City of Pacific Grove and their community partners for this lovely memorial at Lover's Point Park.

  

• CDC Says Double-Masking Offers More Protection Against The Coronavirus

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  NPR reports that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that double-masking offers more protection against COVID-19.

  
  The report states:

  "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new research on Wednesday that found wearing a cloth mask over a surgical mask offers more protection against the coronavirus, as does tying knots on the ear loops of surgical masks. Those findings prompted new guidance on how to improve mask fit at a time of concern over fast-spreading variants of the virus. For optimal protection, the CDC says to make sure the mask fits snugly against your face and to choose a mask with at least two layers."

  For more information, read this article.

• Myths About COVID-19 Vaccines

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  The County of Monterey has posted information from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to address myths and misinformation about COVID-19. Click here to download the fact sheet.

  
  

  
  

• Do not gather. The party can wait.

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  Whether you're rooting for Kansas City or Tampa Bay, we would like to encourage you to please don't gather. The Super Bowl party can wait. Protect your family, friends, and community.

  Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, spoke about the Super Bowl as a superspreader event on ABC News this week. "I mean, watch the Super Bowl on TV, enjoy it. Have a party in your house with your family with the people who are there," Fauci continued. "But you don't want parties with people that you haven't had much contact with, you just don't know if they're infected. So as difficult as that is, at least this time around, just lay low and cool it."

  Gatherings for NBA and MLB championship games as well as Halloween resulted in the "beginning of a surge that led to a lot of death in California -- a really hard and dark period," Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Department of Public Health, said.