As was expected, news of the spreading coronavirus and its impacts topped the most viewed stories on the Turlock Journal’s website for 2020. Here are the rankings of the top five most viewed stories of the year:

1.       “Coronavirus and drinking water” (published March 13): The Coronavirus (COVID-19) has been affecting the nation more and more each day. With panic over hand sanitizer and toilet paper, the City of Turlock wants to assure residents that your drinking water has not been affected by the virus and is still safe to consume.

2.       “Accident claims life of Foster Farms worker” (published April 29): A Turlock man was killed in an industrial accident Monday night at the Foster Farms facility in Turlock after repeatedly falling asleep on the production line, according to officials. The deceased was identified by the Stanislaus County Coroner's Office as Luis Salazar, 30, of Turlock.

3.       “Stanislaus County gets a 'D' for social distancing” (published April 1): The Stanislaus County public health director released new guidelines Wednesday for the stay-at-home order and what businesses are and are not essential services. The guidelines come as a new report shows Stanislaus County has some room for improvement when it comes to implementing social distancing. The data company Unacast gave Stanislaus County a D grade for social distancing.

4.       “Two Stanislaus County residents test positive for coronavirus” (published March 20): The coronavirus has reached Stanislaus County, with health officials announcing that two men in the county have tested positive for COVID-19…One person was a passenger on the Grand Princess Cruise to Mexico and one has no history of travel to a country with known community transmission and no known contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case.

5.       “Turlock to fine shelter-in-place violators” (published April 17): Turlock businesses and individuals not abiding by the shelter-in-place orders regarding the coronavirus pandemic could now be subject to fines. The Turlock City Council unanimously adopted an Urgency Ordinance during their Tuesday meeting that institutes administrative fines for violating the shelter-in-place orders given by Governor Gavin Newsom and the Stanislaus County Health Officer to limit the spread of the coronavirus. When enforced through a citation, the fines are $250 for the first violation, $500 for the second violation and $1,000 for the third and any subsequent violations.