Santa Cruz County health officials said Thursday that hospitals remain relatively quiet, but they anticipate COVID-19 patients to top a “surge capacity” of 50 intensive care unit beds this month or in May. Santa Cruz Local hosts Kara Meyberg Guzman and Stephen Baxter explain the top five takeaways from a news conference Thursday with county health officials. The full news conference with reporters’ questions follows their introduction.

Transcript: www.santacruzlocal.org

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Santa Cruz County's lockdown may last for months. We have to wait for one of three things: a vaccine, a treatment or herd immunity. A vaccine or treatment could take a year or more. Herd immunity — when enough people have recovered from the disease are now resistant — could also take a while. Local experts agree: A lockdown is needed to save our hospital system from being overwhelmed. But what if there's another way? What can Santa Cruz County learn from countries that are suppressing the coronavirus without long, drastic lockdowns?

Read our transcript and related links: https://santacruzlocal.org/2020/03/26/global-lessons-for-santa-cruz-in-the-covid-19-response/

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Donate protective gear to Watsonville Community Hospital: 831-763-6040

Donate protective gear to Dominican Hospital: 831-462-7712, https://www.dignityhealth.org/bayarea/locations/dominican/about-us/press-center/coronavirus

The time for coronavirus testing for the general public was in February, says Santa Cruz County epidemiologist Will Forest. The real question is how well can the county’s medical centers expand to meet expected demand. What may determine that is how well residents follow the county health officer's order to stay home. We talk to Santa Cruz Mayor Justin Cummings and leaders from Sutter Health, Santa Cruz Community Health Centers and others about what’s next. Spoiler alert: This could be just the start of mandatory stay-at-home orders.

Our coronavirus resource page: www.santacruzlocal.org/COVID-19

Read the transcript: https://santacruzlocal.org/2020/03/19/santa-cruz-county-medical-capacity-to-face-coronavirus-test/

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To stem the spread of the coronavirus, Santa Cruz County Health Officer Gail Newel ordered residents to stay in their homes for three weeks and not leave unless necessary. The mandate starts early Tuesday. It follows six Bay Area counties with similar measures. Hear Newel explain how the order protects the community, at a press conference Monday at the county government building.

Read our related story here: https://santacruzlocal.org/2020/03/16/santa-cruz-county-orders-residents-to-shelter-in-place/

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Tell us what questions you have about the local response to the coronavirus: www.santacruzlocal.org/coronavirus

Santa Cruz County has seven confirmed cases of the coronavirus as of Thursday night. County leaders now have evidence that the virus has spread within the community. Lives are disrupted by many closures and cancellations, including an announcement Thursday that Santa Cruz County public schools will be closed next week.

We talk to county epidemiologist Mikala Caton about the county’s testing capacity. We hear tips on how to be prepared, not scared: what you need to know to stay healthy and prevent the virus' spread.

Survey and transcript: https://santacruzlocal.org/2020/03/13/coronavirus-spreads-in-santa-cruz-county/

Despite a concerted effort to stop the recall of Santa Cruz City Council members Chris Krohn and Drew Glover, the pair seemed to be ousted from the council in Tuesday's election, according to unofficial results from the county. The results (which have all precincts reporting but do not include many vote-by-mail and same-day registration ballots) show that Krohn and Glover will be replaced by 87-year-old former mayor Katherine Beiers and elementary school educator Renee Golder. In the Santa Cruz County Supervisor District 1 race, incumbent John Leopold will face a November runoff against challenger Manu Koenig. Santa Cruz Local hosts Kara Meyberg Guzman and Stephen Baxter talk about these and more county election results.

There are two recall votes happening in the City of Santa

Cruz right now. This episode focuses on one of the races, for Councilmember Chris Krohn’s seat. We hear from Krohn and the candidates vying to replace him: former

Santa Cruz mayors Katherine Beiers and Don Lane.

The candidates discuss homelessness, jobs, the environment, housing and discord on the city council. Our questions come from our 10-day  listening tour around the community.

We press the candidates for Santa Cruz City Council on what we heard are your concerns: homelessness, housing, the environment, jobs and discord on the city council. We hear from Drew Glover, Renee Golder and Tim Fitzmaurice.

We explain what a recall is and why it's on your ballot. We also discuss who's funding the recall campaign.

Our work on the People's Agenda continues. Candidates for the District 1 supervisor race discuss plans for homelessness, the rail corridor, traffic, housing and jobs. We hear from incumbent John Leopold and challengers Manu Koenig, Mark Esquibel and Benjamin Cogan.

If you’re a voter in Live Oak, Pleasure Point, Soquel, western Capitola or the Santa Cruz Mountains north of Soquel, you’ll vote on this race. But even if you don't live in the district, this race still matters to you. The decisions of the board of supervisors affect the entire county.

Read the full transcript at www.santacruzlocal.org .

We press Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend and challenger Becky Steinbruner on what we heard are your top issues: homelessness, traffic, the environment, housing and the rail corridor. Friend and Steinbruner are the candidates in the District 2 county supervisor election that will take place March 3.

The district covers Aptos, Corralitos, Freedom, La Selva Beach, Pajaro Dunes, eastern Capitola and other areas.

This is part three of our local elections series "Vote March 3."