BENICIA AUTHOR STEPHEN GOLUB: Springsteen, Faith and Looking Up in 2022

Springsteen, Faith and Looking Up in 2022

Facing the storms ahead.

Happy New Year?

Benicia resident and author Stephen Golub, A Promised Land

If you haven’t yet rung in 2022 by seeing the Netflix film Don’t Look Up, consider doing so asap.

Directed, co-produced and co-written by Adam McKay, who also gave us The Big Short and Vice, it’s an over-the-top, hilarious, heartbreaking and bang on critique of our times…in a giant-comet-is-going-to-smash-into-the-earth-and-wipe-out-humanity sort of way.

Some summaries of the movie call it an attack on climate change denialism. True enough.

But it’s also about Trump, politics, pop culture, social media, commercial media, Covid, corporate greed, Silicon Valley and Americans. Its brilliance flows partly from the fact that so many scenes are both ridiculous and realistic.

Despite my praise for Don’t Look Up, the point of this post is not to pull the plug on hope. Quite the contrary. Yes, we can’t deny the many exhausting, daunting messes we’re in, simultaneously skewered and spotlit by the flick. But let’s take all that as a starting rather than end point for how we respond to them.

Which brings us to Springsteen

You need not be a Bruce Springsteen fan to appreciate that some of his music rings true these days. I named this blog after one such song, “The Promised Land,” for that reason.

I’ve probably seen him play the song in about 20 concerts over the years. But back in 2002, at his Tacoma Dome show, it hit me harder than ever. The anthem’s refrain, “And I believe in a promised land,” punched with particular power in an America still reeling from 9/11.

Twenty years later, these lyrics from the song are also hitting home:

Well there’s a dark cloud rising from the desert floor

I packed my bags and I’m heading straight into the storm

Gonna be a twister to blow everything down

That ain’t got the faith to stand its ground

For years, I mistakenly thought Bruce sang “strength” rather than “faith” in that verse’s closing line. But I now see how faith makes much more sense. So much of his music is about that. Not blind or religious faith. But faith in the face of death, denial and despair. Without it, we lose track of life, truth and hope.

Which brings us to 2022

A year ago, we said good riddance to 2020, with the notion that 2021 would be much better. A demagogue had been defeated. His insurrectionist mob shocked us. But January 6 seemed like something temporarily rabid, rather than the reflection of machinations we now know to be far more systematic, sustained and sinister.

Even as recently as the hopeful, halcyon days of last July, “only” 250 Americans were dying daily from Covid (as opposed to five times that today). We assumed so many folks would welcome vaccinations that we might achieve herd immunity and pulverize the pandemic. We imagined that, come 2022, America could pretty much leave Covid behind, that we could face life without facemasks.

July now seems like ages ago.

I’ve barely scratched the surface of the challenges ahead. But choosing despair is no choice at all.

Which brings us back to faith

From Covid to democracy to weather to whatever, 2022 will be a tempestuous year for the United States and the world. I’ll discuss details, as well as some rays of hope, in posts to come.

For now, I’ll leave it at this: Whether we can stand our ground in the face of America’s coming storms could well hinge on our retaining or regaining faith.

Faith in ourselves. Faith in the power of looking up rather than down. And perhaps most of all, faith in the promise of this land.


Stephen Golub, Benicia – A Promised Land: Politics. Policy. America as a Developing Country.

Benicia resident Stephen Golub offers excellent perspective on his blog, A Promised Land:  Politics. Policy. America as a Developing Country.

To access his other posts or subscribe, please go to his blog site, A Promised Land.

Solano County and Benicia now in EXTREMELY HIGH COVID transmission rates

NOTE: The information below is not the latest.  CLICK HERE for today’s latest information.

Solano County Public Health corrected the January 3 COVID dashboard this morning, including shockingly high 7-day positive test numbers, over 1,200 new cases, 4 deaths, hospitalizations, major increases in City data, as well as age and race details.  This is the first accurate update since experiencing technical problems in December.

January 3, 2022 UPDATED SUMMARY: Solano County recorded 1,229 new infections over the New Year holiday, and
4 new COVID-related deaths.  Solano & Benicia continue in EXTREMELY HIGH rate of community transmission.

Solano dashboard, Monday, January 3:

DEATHS: Solano reported 4 new deaths as of Monday, January 3.  Demographic data on these and two previous deaths were reported: Two who died were age 18-49, two were age 50-64 and two were over 65. One was Black, one Hispanic/Latinx, and two White.  Trending: The County reported 27 COVID deaths in September, 18 in October, 14 in November, 22 in December, and 4 already in January (40 of us have died over 50 days since the uptick beginning on November 15).  A total of 355 Solano residents have now died of COVID or COVID-related causes over the course of the pandemic.

CASES BY AGE GROUP: The County reported 1,229 new COVID cases today, but the County’s demographic report updated information on 1,872 new cases reported over the last 7 days.  331 of these 1,872 new cases (18%) were youth and children under 18.  The majority, 1,151 cases (61%) were age 18-49.  270 cases (14%) were age 50-64, and 120 (only 6%) were 65+.
BELOW: color-coded chart shows CASES SINCE THE OUTBREAK BEGAN BY AGE GROUP, expressed as a percentage of TOTAL CASES SINCE THE OUTBREAK BEGAN.  Increases are in red and decreases are in green as reported by Solano County since April of 2020.  Note the steady increase among children and youth of Solano County.  The population of those age 0-17 in Solano County is roughly 22%.COMPARE – U.S. cases among children and youth aged 0-17 as percentage of total cases is at 15.8% as of today.  (From the CDC covid-data-tracker.)

COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION RATE: Over the last week, Solano has risen dramatically into what I would call EXTREMELY HIGH transmission, with 1,872 new cases, up from 1,486 at last report.  CDC FORMULA: Based on Solano County’s population, 450 or more cases in 7 days places Solano in the CDC’s population-based definition of a HIGH transmission rate.  We would need to drop below 225 cases in 7 days to rate as having only MODERATE community transmission.

ACTIVE CASES: Solano’s 2,017 ACTIVE cases is up dramatically from the County’s last report of 1,382 active cases.

CASES BY CITY – Monday, January 3, 2022:

  • Benicia added 92 (!) new cases since the County’s last report 7 days ago, an average of 14 every day and a total of 1,817 cases since the outbreak began.  Benicia remains in the CDC’s HIGH rate of community transmission(see chart below).  Based on Benicia population, MODERATE is defined as less than 14 cases over the last 7 days, SUBSTANTIAL is 14-27 cases, and HIGH is 28 or more cases.  Benicia will need to maintain fewer than 14 new cases-per-7-days for 30 consecutive days before relaxing its mask mandateNote above that Solano County is currently also experiencing HIGH transmission.

  • Dixon added 74 new cases today, total of 2,763 cases.
  • Fairfield added 439 new cases today, total of 13,403 cases.
  • Rio Vista reported 20 new cases today, total of 669 cases.
  • Suisun City added 116 new cases today, total of 3,548 cases.
  • Vacaville added 397 new cases today, a total of 13,254 cases.
  • Vallejo added 729 new cases today, a total of 14,996 cases.
  • Unincorporated added 5 new cases today, a total of 156 cases.

CORRECTED DATA ON POSITIVE TEST RATE:  On Dec. 29, I observed a dramatic discrepancy between Solano’s 7-day test positivity data as displayed on a PC (16%) compared to that displayed on an android phone (22.9%). I held off posting an update until now, awaiting today’s conclusive and corrected County numbers. Solano County Public Health Officer Bela Matyas reported that they have been experiencing “transmission errors” and were looking into quality control measures to reduce such errors. My best guess proved true: our 7-day positivity numbers have been well over 16% over the holidays.  We will watch in coming days for further updates.  These numbers come from the dashboard’s Percent positive tests LINE GRAPH.

  COMPARE: The 1/3/22 California rate is 10.8%.  [Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Tracking Center]  The U.S. rate jumped to 17.13% as of 1/3/22. [Source: CDC COVID Data Tracker.] 

HOSPITALIZATIONS:

CURRENT hospitalizations: rose substantially today from 44 persons to 56 persons.  (See also TOTAL hospitalizations, next below…)

TOTAL hospitalizations: Solano County’s TOTAL hospitalized over the course of the pandemic must be independently discovered in the County’s occasional update of hospitalizations by Age Group and by Race/Ethnicity.  Solano Public Health minimally updated its age and race hospitalizations charts today. The age chart showed 2 previously unreported hospitalizations today, including 1 young adult age 18-49, and 1 of our elders age 65+.  One was Black and one was Hispanic.  Solano hospitals have now reported a total of over 3,227 COVID patients since the beginning of the outbreak.  (Data on age is more reliable than that on race/ethnicity.)

ICU Bed Availability in Solano County rose from 20% at last report to 23%, in the Yellow danger zone.  [See also in today’s SF Chronicle: Napa County runs out of ICU hospital beds amid spike in Bay Area virus cases.]

Ventilator Availability  was up slightly from 69% to 71%.

STATE OF CALIFORNIA MASK MANDATE

From COVID19.CA.GOV:
Wear your mask in indoor public spaces and workplaces!
Due to a recent increase in cases, CDPH has mandated that everyone in California wear a mask in indoor public spaces and workplaces. The order is in effect December 15, 2021 to January 15, 2022.  LEARN MORE…

SOLANO COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT REQUIRES MASKS INDOORS IN ALL PUBLIC PLACES
Masks Required in Solano

Solano County follows State of California guidelines, requiring the wearing of a mask indoors – in all public places – even if you’re fully vaccinated.

From Solano County’s COVID-19 Dashboard:

12/20/21 Update
Mask Requirement Flyers: (English – PDF) (English – Word Doc) (Spanish – PDF) (Spanish – Word Doc)
12/13/21 Update

CDPH Face Coverings Updated Guidance
From December 15, 2021 – January 15, 2022, the state requires wearing a mask indoors – in all public places – even if you’re fully vaccinated. 
CDPH Travel Guidance
CDPH Mega Events Guidance

Solano County guidance for celebrating holiday traditions safely
Visit the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) website or the CDC website for additional holiday tips on protecting yourself and your family during the holidays

BENICIA’S MASK MANDATE REMAINS IN PLACE – DETAILS…
On December 7, Benicia City Council chose to keep the city’s mask mandate in place for another 30 days and review again in January. All Councilmembers expressed confidence that Benicia’s case numbers are likely to remain in MODERATE transmission for a 30-day period soon, [note that this has NOT been the case – Benicia has lapsed back into the HIGH transmission rate].  After 30 days in the MODERATE rate, the City Manager is empowered to unilaterally lift the mask mandate.  Four Councilmembers (excluding Mr. Largaespada) chose to remain cautious under the current mandate, requiring the 30-days at MODERATE.  If all goes well, the mandate may have been lifted before a possible reconsideration at the January 18 Council meeting.  But if the mandate is still in place on January 18, Council has now directed staff to bring a recommendation at that time for changing the METRICS by which the City determines a safe cutoff date for lifting the mask mandate.   All members agreed that the 7-day-case-rate metric would be strengthened if in some fashion it could be combined with hospitalization rates and vaccination rates.  How to determine those rates, and how to combine them for a determination would be covered in the staff recommendation.
See the video discussion of the Dec. 7 Council meeting – CLICK HERE (then scroll down on the agenda and click on item number 21.A – UPDATE ON FACE COVERINGS MANDATE.)
Vallejo also passed an indoors mask mandate on August 31.  In the Bay Area, Solano County REMAINS the only holdout against a mask mandate for public indoors spaces.

SOLANO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS failed to consider an agendized proposal for a countywide MASK MANDATE on Tuesday, September 14.  Bay Area news put Solano in a sad light: all other county health officers issued a joint statement offering details on when they would be able to lift mask mandates (not likely soon).  TV news anchors had to point out that Solano would not be considering such a move since our health officer had not been able to “justify” a mask mandate in the first place.  The Solano Board of Supervisors has joined with Dr. Bela Matyas in officially showing poor leadership on the COVID-19 pandemic.


HOW DOES TODAY’S REPORT COMPARE?  See recent reports and others going back to April 20, 2020 on my ARCHIVE of daily Solano COVID updates (an excel spreadsheet).


>The data on this page is from the Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard.  The Dashboard is full of much more information and updated Monday, Wednesday and Friday around 4 or 5pm.  On the County’s dashboard, you can hover a mouse or click on an item for more information.  Note the tabs at top for “Summary, Demographics” and “Vaccines.”  Click here to go to today’s Solano County Dashboard.

RETURN TO TOP


Sources

Solano County COVID numbers soaring, Public Health Department issues partial report due to tech difficulties

NOTE: The information below is not the latest.  CLICK HERE for today’s latest information.

Solano County Public Health continues to have problems posting the usual updated details in a timely manner.  Today’s COVID dashboard (below) fails to update City data and cases, hospitalizations and deaths by age and race.  I will show a brief report here, but please check back tomorrow to find out if the County posts any more.

January 3, 2022 SUMMARY: Solano County recorded 1,229 new infections over the New Years holiday, and 4 new COVID-related deaths.  Solano continues in EXTREMELY HIGH rate of community transmission.

Solano dashboard, Monday, January 3:

DEATHS: Solano reported 4 new deaths as of Monday, January 3.  No demographic data was given on these deaths.  A total of 355 Solano residents have now died of COVID or COVID-related causes over the course of the pandemic.

CASES BY AGE GROUP: The County did not update the Demographics tab on its COVID dashboard since Monday, Dec. 27.  No new information is available on cases by age group.

COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION RATE: Over the last week, Solano has risen dramatically into what I would call EXTREMELY HIGH transmission, with 2,569 new cases, up from 1,486 at last report.  CDC FORMULA: Based on Solano County’s population, 450 or more cases in 7 days places Solano in the CDC’s population-based definition of a HIGH transmission rate.  We would need to drop below 225 cases in 7 days to rate as having only MODERATE community transmission.

ACTIVE CASES: Solano’s 2,017 ACTIVE cases is up dramatically from the County’s last report of 1,382 active cases.

CASES BY CITY – Wednesday, December 29 – SOLANO DID NOT GIVE AN UPDATE:

Cases by City from Monday Dec. 27, not updated since that date…
  • On last report, Benicia saw 65 new cases over the last 7 days, sending Benicia even deeper into the CDC’s HIGH rate of community transmission.  (see chart below).  Based on Benicia population, MODERATE is defined as less than 14 cases over the last 7 days, SUBSTANTIAL is 14-27 cases, and HIGH is 28 or more cases.  Benicia will need to maintain fewer than 14 new cases-per-7-days for 30 consecutive days before relaxing its mask mandateNote above that Solano County is currently also experiencing HIGH transmission.
Benicia’s CDC Case Rate from Solano’s Monday Dec. 27 report, not updated since that date…

CONFLICTING DATA ON POSITIVE TEST RATE:  Last Wednesday, I observed a dramatic discrepancy between Solano’s 7-day test positivity data as displayed on a PC (16%) compared to that displayed on an android phone (22.9%). I am holding off posting an update, hoping for conclusive County numbers. I asked Solano County Public Health Officer Bela Matyas to clarify and, grateful for my pointing out the error, he is looking into it. Matyas reports that they have been experiencing “transmission errors” and are looking into quality control measures to reduce such errors. My best guess is that the error has yet to be corrected, so I will not hazard a guess tonight.  COMPARE: The 1/3/22 California rate is 10.8%.  [Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Tracking Center]  The U.S. rate jumped to 17.13% as of 1/3/22. [Source: CDC COVID Data Tracker.] 

HOSPITALIZATIONS:

CURRENT hospitalizations: rose substantially today from 44 persons to 56 persons.  (See also TOTAL hospitalizations, next below…)

TOTAL hospitalizations: Solano County’s TOTAL hospitalized over the course of the pandemic must be independently discovered in the County’s occasional update of hospitalizations by Age Group and by Race/Ethnicity.   Solano Public Health did not update its age and race hospitalizations charts today.  Solano hospitals have reported a total of over 3,225 COVID patients since the beginning of the outbreak.  (Data on age is more reliable than that on race/ethnicity.)

ICU Bed Availability rose from 20% at last report to 23%, still in the Yellow danger zone.

Ventilator Availability  was up slightly from 69% to 71%.

STATE OF CALIFORNIA MASK MANDATE

From COVID19.CA.GOV:
Wear your mask in indoor public spaces and workplaces!
Due to a recent increase in cases, CDPH has mandated that everyone in California wear a mask in indoor public spaces and workplaces. The order is in effect December 15, 2021 to January 15, 2022.  LEARN MORE…

SOLANO COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT REQUIRES MASKS INDOORS IN ALL PUBLIC PLACES
Masks Required in Solano

Solano County follows State of California guidelines, requiring the wearing of a mask indoors – in all public places – even if you’re fully vaccinated.

From Solano County’s COVID-19 Dashboard:

12/20/21 Update
Mask Requirement Flyers: (English – PDF) (English – Word Doc) (Spanish – PDF) (Spanish – Word Doc)
12/13/21 Update

CDPH Face Coverings Updated Guidance
From December 15, 2021 – January 15, 2022, the state requires wearing a mask indoors – in all public places – even if you’re fully vaccinated. 
CDPH Travel Guidance
CDPH Mega Events Guidance

Solano County guidance for celebrating holiday traditions safely
Visit the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) website or the CDC website for additional holiday tips on protecting yourself and your family during the holidays

BENICIA’S MASK MANDATE REMAINS IN PLACE – DETAILS…
On December 7, Benicia City Council chose to keep the city’s mask mandate in place for another 30 days and review again in January. All Councilmembers expressed confidence that Benicia’s case numbers are likely to remain in MODERATE transmission for a 30-day period soon, [note that this has NOT been the case – Benicia has lapsed back into the HIGH transmission rate].  After 30 days in the MODERATE rate, the City Manager is empowered to unilaterally lift the mask mandate.  Four Councilmembers (excluding Mr. Largaespada) chose to remain cautious under the current mandate, requiring the 30-days at MODERATE.  If all goes well, the mandate may have been lifted before a possible reconsideration at the January 18 Council meeting.  But if the mandate is still in place on January 18, Council has now directed staff to bring a recommendation at that time for changing the METRICS by which the City determines a safe cutoff date for lifting the mask mandate.   All members agreed that the 7-day-case-rate metric would be strengthened if in some fashion it could be combined with hospitalization rates and vaccination rates.  How to determine those rates, and how to combine them for a determination would be covered in the staff recommendation.
See the video discussion of the Dec. 7 Council meeting – CLICK HERE (then scroll down on the agenda and click on item number 21.A – UPDATE ON FACE COVERINGS MANDATE.)
Vallejo also passed an indoors mask mandate on August 31.  In the Bay Area, Solano County REMAINS the only holdout against a mask mandate for public indoors spaces.

SOLANO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS failed to consider an agendized proposal for a countywide MASK MANDATE on Tuesday, September 14.  Bay Area news put Solano in a sad light: all other county health officers issued a joint statement offering details on when they would be able to lift mask mandates (not likely soon).  TV news anchors had to point out that Solano would not be considering such a move since our health officer had not been able to “justify” a mask mandate in the first place.  The Solano Board of Supervisors has joined with Dr. Bela Matyas in officially showing poor leadership on the COVID-19 pandemic.


HOW DOES TODAY’S REPORT COMPARE?  See recent reports and others going back to April 20, 2020 on my ARCHIVE of daily Solano COVID updates (an excel spreadsheet).


>The data on this page is from the Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard.  The Dashboard is full of much more information and updated Monday, Wednesday and Friday around 4 or 5pm.  On the County’s dashboard, you can hover a mouse or click on an item for more information.  Note the tabs at top for “Summary, Demographics” and “Vaccines.”  Click here to go to today’s Solano County Dashboard.

RETURN TO TOP


Sources

Belated Solano County COVID update for Wednesday, Dec. 29

NOTE: The information below is not the latest.  CLICK HERE for today’s latest information.

Last Wednesday, I observed a dramatic discrepancy between Solano’s 7-day test positivity data as displayed on a PC (16%) compared to that displayed on an android phone (22.9%).  I held off posting this update until today, Monday, January 3, hoping for conclusive County numbers.  I asked Solano County Public Health Officer Bela Matyas to clarify and, grateful for my pointing out the error, he is looking into it.  Matyas reports that they have been experiencing “transmission errors” and are looking into quality control measures to reduce such errors.  My best guess is that the 22.9% figure is correct, but as yet the County dashboard has not been corrected.  In advance of tonight’s January 3 County report, I will go ahead with a conflicted analysis of the County’s final 2021 report, below.  – R.S.

December 29, 2021 SUMMARY: Solano County recorded 643 new infections and 2 new COVID-related deaths.  County now in EXTREMELY HIGH rate of community transmission.

Solano dashboard, Wednesday, December 29:

DEATHS: Solano reported 2 new deaths as of Wednesday Dec. 29.  No demographic data was given on these deaths.  Trending upwards: the County reported 27 COVID deaths in September, 18 in October, 11 in November, but 25 deaths in December (36 of us died in the last 6 weeks of 2021).  A total of 351 Solano residents have now died of COVID or COVID-related causes over the course of the pandemic.

CASES BY AGE GROUP: The County did not update the Demographics tab on its COVID dashboard on Wednesday, Dec. 29.  No new information is available on cases by age group.  BELOW: color-coded chart shows CASES SINCE THE OUTBREAK BEGAN BY AGE GROUP, expressed as a percentage of TOTAL CASES SINCE THE OUTBREAK BEGAN.  Increases are in red and decreases are in green as reported by Solano County since April of 2020.  Note  the steady increase among children and youth of Solano County AND THE LARGE INCREASE AMONG YOUNG RESIDENTS TODAY.  The population of those age 0-17 in Solano County is roughly 22%, and of those age18-49 is roughly 41%.COMPARE – U.S. cases among children and youth aged 0-17 as percentage of total cases is at 15.8% as of today.  (From the CDC covid-data-tracker.)

COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION RATE: Over the last 7 days, Solano has risen from HIGH community transmission to what I would call EXTREMELY HIGH transmission, with 1,486 new cases, up from 842 at last report.  CDC FORMULA: Based on Solano County’s population, 450 or more cases in 7 days places Solano in the CDC’s population-based definition of a HIGH transmission rate.  We would need to drop below 225 cases in 7 days to rate as having only MODERATE community transmission.

ACTIVE CASES: Solano’s 1,382 ACTIVE cases is up dramatically from the County’s last report of 871 active cases.

CASES BY CITY – Wednesday, December 29 – SOLANO DID NOT GIVE AN UPDATE:

Cases by City from Monday Dec. 27, not updated on Wednesday Dec. 29
  • On Monday’s report, Benicia saw 65 new cases over the last 7 days, sending Benicia even deeper into the CDC’s HIGH rate of community transmission.  (see chart below).  Based on Benicia population, MODERATE is defined as less than 14 cases over the last 7 days, SUBSTANTIAL is 14-27 cases, and HIGH is 28 or more cases.  Benicia will need to maintain fewer than 14 new cases-per-7-days for 30 consecutive days before relaxing its mask mandateNote above that Solano County is currently also experiencing HIGH transmission.

CONFLICTING DATA ON POSITIVE TEST RATE:  See explanation at top of this page, and screenshots below.

Solano County info for Dec. 29 showed 22.9% on Android phone, but showed 16% on PC.

COMPARE: The 1/3/22 California rate is 10.8%.  [Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Tracking Center]  The U.S. rate jumped to 17.13% as of 1/3/22. [Source: CDC COVID Data Tracker.] 

HOSPITALIZATIONS:

CURRENT hospitalizations: rose substantially today from 26 persons to 44 persons.  (See also TOTAL hospitalizations, next below…)

TOTAL hospitalizations: Solano County’s TOTAL hospitalized over the course of the pandemic must be independently discovered in the County’s occasional update of hospitalizations by Age Group and by Race/Ethnicity.   Solano Public Health did not update its age and race hospitalizations charts today.  Solano hospitals have reported a total of 3,225 COVID patients since the beginning of the outbreak.  (Data on age is more reliable than that on race/ethnicity.)

ICU Bed Availability fell dramatically on Dec. 29, from 41% at last report to only 20%, now back in the Yellow danger zone.

Ventilator Availability  was up slightly from 68% to 69%.

STATE OF CALIFORNIA MASK MANDATE

From COVID19.CA.GOV:
Wear your mask in indoor public spaces and workplaces!
Due to a recent increase in cases, CDPH has mandated that everyone in California wear a mask in indoor public spaces and workplaces. The order is in effect December 15, 2021 to January 15, 2022.  LEARN MORE…

SOLANO COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT REQUIRES MASKS INDOORS IN ALL PUBLIC PLACES
Masks Required in Solano

Solano County follows State of California guidelines, requiring the wearing of a mask indoors – in all public places – even if you’re fully vaccinated.

From Solano County’s COVID-19 Dashboard:

12/20/21 Update
Mask Requirement Flyers: (English – PDF) (English – Word Doc) (Spanish – PDF) (Spanish – Word Doc)
12/13/21 Update

CDPH Face Coverings Updated Guidance
From December 15, 2021 – January 15, 2022, the state requires wearing a mask indoors – in all public places – even if you’re fully vaccinated. 
CDPH Travel Guidance
CDPH Mega Events Guidance

Solano County guidance for celebrating holiday traditions safely
Visit the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) website or the CDC website for additional holiday tips on protecting yourself and your family during the holidays

BENICIA’S MASK MANDATE REMAINS IN PLACE – DETAILS…
On December 7, Benicia City Council chose to keep the city’s mask mandate in place for another 30 days and review again in January. All Councilmembers expressed confidence that Benicia’s case numbers are likely to remain in MODERATE transmission for a 30-day period soon, [note that this has NOT been the case – Benicia has lapsed back into the HIGH transmission rate].  After 30 days in the MODERATE rate, the City Manager is empowered to unilaterally lift the mask mandate.  Four Councilmembers (excluding Mr. Largaespada) chose to remain cautious under the current mandate, requiring the 30-days at MODERATE.  If all goes well, the mandate may have been lifted before a possible reconsideration at the January 18 Council meeting.  But if the mandate is still in place on January 18, Council has now directed staff to bring a recommendation at that time for changing the METRICS by which the City determines a safe cutoff date for lifting the mask mandate.   All members agreed that the 7-day-case-rate metric would be strengthened if in some fashion it could be combined with hospitalization rates and vaccination rates.  How to determine those rates, and how to combine them for a determination would be covered in the staff recommendation.
See the video discussion of the Dec. 7 Council meeting – CLICK HERE (then scroll down on the agenda and click on item number 21.A – UPDATE ON FACE COVERINGS MANDATE.)
Vallejo also passed an indoors mask mandate on August 31.  In the Bay Area, Solano County REMAINS the only holdout against a mask mandate for public indoors spaces.

SOLANO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS failed to consider an agendized proposal for a countywide MASK MANDATE on Tuesday, September 14.  Bay Area news put Solano in a sad light: all other county health officers issued a joint statement offering details on when they would be able to lift mask mandates (not likely soon).  TV news anchors had to point out that Solano would not be considering such a move since our health officer had not been able to “justify” a mask mandate in the first place.  The Solano Board of Supervisors has joined with Dr. Bela Matyas in officially showing poor leadership on the COVID-19 pandemic.


HOW DOES TODAY’S REPORT COMPARE?  See recent reports and others going back to April 20, 2020 on my ARCHIVE of daily Solano COVID updates (an excel spreadsheet).


>The data on this page is from the Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard.  The Dashboard is full of much more information and updated Monday, Wednesday and Friday around 4 or 5pm.  On the County’s dashboard, you can hover a mouse or click on an item for more information.  Note the tabs at top for “Summary, Demographics” and “Vaccines.”  Click here to go to today’s Solano County Dashboard.

RETURN TO TOP


Sources