Monterey County looking at “shelter in place” option

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION) - Monterey County is considering a "shelter-in-place" order to curb the spread of coronavirus.

County Supervisor Luis Alejo says he asked county counsel Sunday to look at options to bring to the Board of Supervisors.

No action was taken by Supervisors during an emergency session Monday, however, they will be meeting again Tuesday at 9 a.m.

For the Bay Area, the order will direct everyone to stay in their homes until at least April 7. No word yet on what something like this in Monterey County would entail.

As of March 16, no Monterey County residents have been confirmed with COVID-19, according to the Monterey County Health Department. 70 tests have been completed in Monterey County between March 6 and 15, 16 more are still pending in the Monterey County Public Health Laboratory.

Moving forward, Monterey County health officials says they will be able to conduct tests from about 300 people using materials from the CDC test kit over the next few weeks, until CDC testing supplies are depleted. Currently, they can process 40 patient specimens.

The Monterey County Public Health Laboratory also purchased materials to expand their COVID-19 testing capabilities. Once approved by federal licensing agencies, the county says they expects to be able to test an additional 700 patients.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.