Friends and Family of Senate District 12,

Senate District 12 is opening for business! The State has created a transparent process that each county must work through, in order to open economically, and still slow the spread of COVID-19. We can, must, and will successfully do both!

In Senate District 12, San Benito County met the state’s requirements first, and moved into stage 2. They were one of the first counties in the state to meet the mark.  Great job to the residents in Hollister, San Juan Bautista and all of San Benito County! You set a model for the rest of SD 12 to follow!  If you want to better understand the State’s process that balances public health with economic recovery, read the State’s guidance HERE. 

More good news! Great work by the county health officers in Fresno, Madera, Stanislaus, Merced, San Benito, and Monterey Counties!  At this point, all county public health officers in SD 12 have submitted a written attestation to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), that the county is prepared to open up more businesses and services. This plan requires the county to include detailed plans that the county can execute to protect residents from the spread of COVID-19 as we take careful steps to end the stay-at-home orders.

It is really important to understand what is happening in your local community.  To learn more about the steps that your local health office is taking to get our communities safely working again, check out this data HERE – you can learn about how many COVID-19 cases are in each county, and even see your local hospital capacity.

This detailed county data should give you confidence about going out into your community, and shows the importance of continuing simple but important actions of physical distancing at least six feet, washing your hands, and wearing a mask in closed spaces like retail shopping, groceries, pharmacies, and offices.  These good habits work to keep COVID-19 infections from overwhelming our health care facilities.  Again, check out how your county is doing HERE.

We should all be proud of our county health officers across Senate District 12, as they have done great work in the middle of hard times.