After months of battling against a pair of bacterial outbreaks in Santa Cruz County, local health officials say they are ready to taper down the response to one, but remain vigilant in the face of another.
Cases of a bacterial infection known as Shigellosis have been reported in the county and prompted the relocation and possible postponement of an event in Harvey West Park that was planned for Saturday.
The original complaint, now held up by the court, alleged that the state failed to consult with local law enforcement before approving the coalition's syringe exchange application, failed to notify three of the affected local law enforcement agencies about the comment period, impermissibly provided only 45 of the required 90 days for public comment and failed to conduct an environmental review of the distribution.
As countywide efforts to increase the availability of overdose remedies ramp up, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office Coroner's Unit has been weighed down by a growing backlog of deaths, many related to drug overdoses.