Second E. coli outbreak in Central Calif. shuts down Capitola Beach

Santa Cruz County's Public Health Department announced Tuesday that Capitola Beach near Santa Cruz has been closed while officials investigate a suspected E. coli O157 outbreak that has sickened nine children. According to CBS News, all nine cases involve children from Santa Cruz County and counties in the San Francisco Bay Area, and the cases are linked to likely exposures at the beach. The health department described E. coli O157 as a "potentially serious bacterial infection" that can cause abdominal cramps, diarrhea, fatigue, nausea, with little to no fever, and urged anyone with symptoms to contact their healthcare provider. While the beach remains closed, officials urged beachgoers to stay out of the water in posted closure areas, keep children and pets away from the water, and not to drink untreated water from creeks, lagoons, or other natural waterways. SFGATE reported this is the second E. coli outbreak in Central California, noting the event was recorded by Global Incident Tracker on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at 20:09 UTC and classified as an epidemic incident with a severity rating of Minor. The Global Incident Tracker rating is derived from the volume of independent media reporting and is described as a monitoring signal rather than an official government assessment. ABC7 Bay Area, KSBW, and KRON4 also reported the beach closure and the nine children sickened, with KRON4 referring to the illness as a bacterial infection. The source of the outbreak remains under investigation.