With everything happening with the coronavirus pandemic, we at BenitoLink want to provide a roundup of recent articles, as well as closures and cancellations happening in San Benito County.
As of 4:46 p.m. on May 11 there are 56 confirmed cases in San Benito County since February, one of which is active, 53 recovered and two deaths. For the most updated information, visit the San Benito County COVID-19 Dashboard.


Recent Articles
Tips for exercising at home—How to adopt, or maintain, fitness goals while sheltering in place.
Balers respond to COVID-19—San Benito High School students share how they are affected during the pandemic.
Paine’s Restaurant working to stay afloat—Owner said event cancellations account for about $100K of lost income.
Anzar High students adapt to new instruction format—Anticipating the shutdown helped smooth the transition to remote learning.
Cannabis business donates personal protective equipment—Euphoric Life gives gloves, masks and alcohol to first responders and farmworkers.
Health
-The state has several hotlines for residents to call for suicide prevention, abuse, and mental health. Link to resources
-The Division of Occupational Safety and Health, better known as Cal/OSHA, helps protect workers from health and safety hazards in almost every workplace in California. Visit the Cal/OSHA website for information about workplace safety and health.
File a confidential workplace safety complaint
File a whistleblower complaint if you suffer retaliation for reporting a workplace safety hazard
Obtain free consultation services from Cal/OSHA
Contact at (844) 522-6734
Schools
On May 14, the San Benito High School Counseling Department will hold an informational presentation about community college, followed by a question and answer session, on Zoom. It is expected to cover:
- Benefits of community college
- Available degrees in the community college system
- Application process and timeline for applying
- Planning for community college and beyond
- Transfer pathways/process
To receive an invitation to this Zoom, please fill out our brief survey to help provide specific answers to questions.
Pre-Survey Community College Night 05/14/20
Ninth to 11th Grade Parents and Students: SBHS cannot guarantee elective choices, as room is based on the amount of student requests and teacher availability. A release noted that every effort is made to place students in the alternative electives chosen.
Counselors will be providing weekly check-ins through email and phone calls to students who need support academically and socio-emotionally throughout the school closure. If you need support, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your counselor.
- (A-Cas) Nydia Martinez nmartinez@sbhsd.k12.ca.us ext. 117
- (Cat-Gao) Tiffany Cotter tcotter@sbhsd.k12.ca.us ext. 116
- (Gar-Leb) Irma Lozano ilozano@sbhsd.k12.ca.us ext. 109
- (Lec-Olv) Andy Prisco aprisco@sbhsd.k12.ca.us ext. 467
- (Oma-R) Lorena Fernandez lfernandez@sbhsd.k12.ca.us ext. 127
- (S-Z) Tim Pipes tpipes@sbhsd.k12.ca.us ext. 128
- Assistant Principal Claire Grissom cgrissom@sbhsd.k12.ca.us ext. 129
Cancellations and Postponements
San Benito County Integrated Waste Management has cancelled the household hazardous waste collection event at John Smith Road Landfill scheduled for May 16.
Openings
-Hazel Hawkins’ lab on Sunnyslope will reopen on May 12 for individuals 65 years and over, women who are pregnant and anyone who is immunocompromised or has a serious underlying health condition. The lab will open on Tuesday and Friday from 7-10 a.m. by appointment only. Services available at lab include all lab services not related to COVID-19 testing.
To schedule an appointment, call (831) 636-2631.
-Parks in the county are open with modifications. Pinnacles National Park remains closed until further notice.
Government
State and federal elected officials’ COVID-19 web pages.
- Jimmy Panetta
- Anna Caballero
- Robert Rivas
- Kamala Harris
- Diane Feinstein
- State of California: https://covid19.ca.gov/ https://covid19.ca.gov/es/
Tips for avoiding COVID-19
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available.
- Avoid touching your face with unwashed hands.
- Keep a minimum of a six feet physical distance from others.
- Avoid people who are sick.
- Stay at home. Only leave to take care of essential errands.
- Cover your cough and sneeze.
- Cover your face (mouth and nose) with protective covering when in public
- Disinfect frequently touched objects.
- If you think you might be infected call your health care professional and follow their directions.
BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is working around the clock during this time when accurate information is essential. It is expensive to produce local news and community support is what keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s news.