It’s #WildlifeWednesday! From above.. the largest animal to ever exist on Earth.. the blue whale! This magnificent animal can grow over 100 feet long and are one of 27 species of whale you can see in our national marine sanctuary. Whale watching tours are open with COVID-19 safety protocols at Old Fisherman’s Wharf.

Old Fisherman's Wharf is celebrating Monterey's namesake, Whale Watching Capital of the World, with the 11th Annual Whalefest- going on now! Enjoy virtual, educational activities tonight and tomorrow- all about whales! Learn more at montereywharf.com. Photo credit: Slater Moore Photography

On the topic of wild weather, this current storm is a big one as we all know. We are grateful for the much needed rain and hoping everyone stays safe. The City of Monterey activated the Storm Center web page at monterey.org/stormcenter. Please take a look for updates and ways to stay engaged so you know the very latest on the local weather conditions and related impacts. A huge thank you to our county-wide emergency storm ready task force! You keep our roads cleared and safe, you restore power and internet, you make sure we have sand bags, and the very latest information on flood zones, evacuations, and more. We appreciate all you do!

Also on the storm front, the Monterey County’s hospitality industry has mobilized to support the community as new evacuation orders were announced for areas impacted from burn scars during 2020’s wildfire season. Hotels have quickly come together to offer assistance to those impacted in both Monterey County and Santa Cruz County through providing discounted rates to those in need of lodging. Find a full list of hotels offering assistance or visit seemonterey.com

Now that the state lifted the stay at home order and ICU capacity is improving, the Monterey Sports Center is reopening the Outdoor Group Exercise Classes starting February 1. Please see the updated schedule, and not the requirement for face coverings. We hope you can join us!

Please note, the Monterey County Health Department provided a significant update of the recovered case numbers last week due to a state data review that provided an updated status with more accurate numbers. Accordingly, we thankfully show a 90% recover of all 93940 positive cases. Despite that, positive local cases continue, and a more contagious variant of the coronavirus has been detected in our county. Health experts are now suggesting that wearing two masks can help prevent the spread, and perhaps more importantly, the more we continue to be vigilant with social distancing protocols, the more we help reduce the chance of further new and more contagious variants of the virus.

More to come on this and more details on the vaccine registration coming in the next emails! For a good COVID-19 vaccine data tracker, check out https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations

Below are CHOMP's daily COVID-19 numbers and ICU capacity. Also posted at https://chomp.org/coronavirus. To see more data visit https://www.chomp.org/coronavirus/data

Have Your Say Monterey - the City's new public engagement portal:

Visit https://haveyoursaymonterey.org and register to have YOUR say!

Please note: Beginning January 19, 2021, data refreshes will occur Tuesday through Saturday.

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