Monthly Archives: June 2021

Benicia CA, California State Prison Vacaville, Coronavirus, Covid 19, COVID-19 tier assignments, Jails and prisons, Re-opening, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Officer Bela Matyas

State Prison in Vacaville experiencing COVID outbreak, Solano County adjusting its numbers

By Roger Straw, Monday, June 7, 2021

Solano County reports 20 new infections over the weekend, but there were surely more.  County reports negative 9 cases in Vacaville.

Solano County COVID report on Monday, June 7.
[Source: see far below.  See also my ARCHIVE spreadsheet of daily Solano COVID updates.]
Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard – SUMMARY:

Solano County reported 20 new COVID cases over the weekend, but the actual total was closer to 40 (explanation below).

Actually more like 40 cases over the weekend…
Today’s total of 20 new cases includes a negative number (-9) for Vacaville, indicating an adjustment of some kind.  The 6 other Solano cities had a total of 29 new cases, so that 29 – 9 = today’s supposed total of 20.  Stay with me here – it is certain that Vacaville would have had 4 or more new cases per day (based on previous 4 weeks averages). So it is highly likely that the County actually had around 12 new Vacaville cases over the weekend and an actual total of 29 from the 6 other cities + about 12 from Vacaville = about 41 new cases.  Got it?  The math would then also indicate that the Vacaville adjustment was approximately -21 cases (41 – 21 = 20).

Outbreak at the State Prison in Vacaville
Who were the 21, and why were they counted last Friday and removed today?  Based on an email from Dr. Bela Matyas, my hunch is that they were inmates in the State Prison in Vacaville.  Responding to my question as to the reason for last week’s atypical surge of 108 new cases from Vacaville, Dr. Matyas wrote on June 4 that “There is an outbreak at the state prison, which accounts for most of those cases.”  My BenIndy speculation today is that some of those prisoners were initially counted as Solano cases, but later determined to be more properly documented according to the person’s city of residence.

Oh, and…
Of course, Vacaville MIGHT have had more than an average number of new cases over the weekend.  It’s entirely possible, for instance, that there were 10-15 new cases per day.  That would mean Solano actually saw 30-45 new cases in Vacaville, for a Countywide total of 59-74 new cases over the weekend, and a subtraction of 39 to 54 Vacaville prisoners.  My guess is we’ll never know for sure.  The County gives daily cumulative totals without a lot of detail.

Monthly: Solano County saw 1,288 new cases in April, an average of 43 per day.  In May, Solano reported 920 new cases, an average of 30 per day.  Over the weekend, maybe about 41 new cases, an average of only 14 per day.

Solano County reported no new deaths today.  The County total is now 244 deaths since the pandemic began.

SOLANO NOW IN ORANGE TIER – Solano County was finally moved into the orange tier last week, the last Bay Area County to leave the red tier.  See details on remaining restrictions and new freedoms in the County’s press release, also in the account of the Vallejo Times-Herald.

JUNE 15 RE-OPENING – Solano County Public Health posted 2 links on its dashboard today detailing new re-opening developments:

Cal/OSHA prepares for the June 15 Beyond the Blueprint announcement.  The revised Cal/OSHA standards will go into effect no later than June 15. For more information, visit: https://www.dir.ca.gov/DIRNews/2021/2021-58.html

For more information about Beyond the Blueprint, see the flyer “What will California look like after June 15?”

Solano’s Active cases are now at 65, down dramatically from Friday’s 193.  Our percent positivity rate also fell today from 10.6% to 5.5%.

>> The virus is still active here.  Stay safe, get vaccinated, wear a mask in crowds and social distance if you’re not sure who’s vaccinated!  We will get through this together.

Cases by City on Monday, June 7:  Prison outbreak in CA State Prison, Vacaville

  • Benicia added 1 new case today, a total of 1,001 cases since the outbreak began.
  • Dixon remained steady today, total of 1,921 cases.
  • Fairfield added 10 new cases today, total of 9,106 cases.
  • Rio Vista added 2 new cases today, total of 391 cases.
  • Suisun City added 5 new cases today, total of 2,291 cases.
  • Vacaville added an unknown number of new cases today (see above, “Actually more like…”, a new total of 8,797 cases.  Note that Vacaville is home to a California State Prison, which experienced an outbreak last week.
  • Vallejo added 11 new cases today, total of 9,901 cases.
  • Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 103 cases.

COMPARE: Screenshots from Solano County COVID Dashboard on Friday, June 4:

The data on this page is from today’s and the previous Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard.  The Dashboard is full of much more information and updated weekdays 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.

Sources
Benicia CA, Coronavirus, Covid 19, COVID-19 tier assignments, Re-opening, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Officer Bela Matyas

COVID still a threat in Solano County: 1 new death and 22 new cases today

By Roger Straw, Friday, June 4, 2021

Solano County reports 22 new infections today, 1 new death.  Vaccinate!  Stay safe when indoors or in crowds, and remember…

Solano County COVID report on Friday, June 4.
[Source: see far below.  See also my ARCHIVE spreadsheet of daily Solano COVID updates.]
Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard – SUMMARY:

Solano County reported 22 new COVID cases today.  1 new case in Benicia brought our small city of 27,570 residents to a total of 1,000 cases, or about 7%.  One in every 27 of us have tested positive for COVID!

[This week’s incredible increase of 108 new cases from Vacaville is still unclear.  On Wednesday, Fairfield Daily Republic reporter Glen Faison wrote, “Solano County officials did not respond prior to deadline to a request for information about the 82 new cases reported in Vacaville.”  BenIndy Editor: I suspect the County is playing “catch-up” with previously-unreported cases from Vacaville – conveniently just after getting State approval to move to the less restrictive orange tier.  Something doesn’t smell right here. ]

Monthly: Solano County saw 1,288 new cases in April, an average of 43 per day.  In May, Solano reported 920 new cases, an average of 30 per day.  Today, 22.

Solano County reported 1 new COVID death today, a person over 65 years of age.  The County total is now 244 deaths since the pandemic began.

SOLANO NOW IN ORANGE TIER – Solano County was finally moved into the orange tier this week, the last Bay Area County to leave the red tier.  See details on remaining restrictions and new freedoms in the County’s press release, also in the account of the Vallejo Times-Herald.

JUNE 15 RE-OPENING – Solano County Public Health highlighted on its dashboard last week that the State of California will discontinue COVID tier assignments on June 15.  The County references a thorough but outdated California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announcement of April 4, 2021.  A more current but less detailed CDPH announcement is “Beyond the Blueprint for Industry and Business Sectors – Effective June 15.”  The ending of the State’s tier system is being hailed as a return to normal, but it falls short of that for Mega Events (gatherings of crowds greater than 5,000 [indoors] and 10,000 [outdoors]).  And… ALL of us are advised to get vaccinated and continue to take precautions when sharing indoors air with others who may or may not be vaccinated.

MASKS – Governor’s update: “California will align its mask guidance with CDC’s on June 15, 2021.  California will keep existing mask guidance in place until June 15 when it aims to fully reopen the economy. After that, the state plans to allow fully-vaccinated Californians to go without a mask in most indoor settings. You will still have the option to wear a mask if you choose.”  Governor’s update based on a May 3 CDPH guidance.

Solano’s Active cases are now at 193, down from yesterday’s 218.  Our percent positivity rate rose today from 10.2% to 10.6%.

>> The virus is still active here.  Stay safe, get vaccinated, wear a mask in crowds and social distance if you’re not sure who’s vaccinated!  We will get through this together.

Cases by City on Friday, June 4:  Something is clearly now (or sometime in the past) going on in Vacaville!

  • Benicia added 1 new case today, a milestone total of 1,000 cases since the outbreak began, fully 7% of our 27,570 residents.
  • Dixon added 1 new case today, total of 1,921 cases.
  • Fairfield added 9 new cases today, total of 9,096 cases.
  • Rio Vista remained steady today, total of 389 cases.
  • Suisun City added 1 new case today, total of 2,286 cases.
  • Vacaville added 4 new cases today, a total of 8,806 cases.  Vacaville is home to 22.5% of Solano population, but has accounted for over half of all new cases in Solano this week.  What’s going on in Vacaville??
  • Vallejo added 6 new cases today, total of 9,890 cases.
  • Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 103 cases.

COMPARE: Screenshots from Solano County COVID Dashboard on Thursday, June 3:

The data on this page is from today’s and the previous Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard.  The Dashboard is full of much more information and updated weekdays 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.

Sources
Benicia CA, Coronavirus, Covid 19, COVID-19 tier assignments, Re-opening, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Officer Bela Matyas

Vacaville COVID surge: 104 cases newly reported so far this week

By Roger Straw, Thursday, June 3, 2021

Solano County reports 39 new infections today, 23 of them from Vacaville, 30 of them 18-49 years of age.  Vaccinate!  Stay safe when indoors or in crowds, and remember…

Solano County COVID report on Thursday, June 3.
[Source: see far below.  See also my ARCHIVE spreadsheet of daily Solano COVID updates.]
Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard – SUMMARY:

Solano County reported 39 new COVID cases today.  This week’s incredible increase of 104 new cases from Vacaville is still unclear.  Fairfield Daily Republic reporter Glen Faison wrote, “Solano County officials did not respond prior to deadline to a request for information about the 82 new cases reported in Vacaville.”  BenIndy Editor: I suspect the County is playing “catch-up” with previously-unreported cases from Vacaville – conveniently just after getting State approval to move to the less restrictive orange tier.  Something doesn’t smell right here.  Monthly: We saw 1,288 new cases in April, an average of 43 per day.  In May, Solano reported 920 new cases, an average of 30 per day.  Today, 39.

Solano County also reported no new COVID deaths today, a total of 243 deaths here since the pandemic began.

SOLANO NOW IN ORANGE TIER – Solano County was finally moved into the orange tier this week, the last Bay Area County to leave the red tier.  See details on remaining restrictions and new freedoms in the County’s press release, also in the account of the Vallejo Times-Herald.

JUNE 15 RE-OPENING – Solano County Public Health highlighted on its dashboard last week that the State of California will discontinue COVID tier assignments on June 15.  The County references a thorough but outdated California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announcement of April 4, 2021.  A more current but less detailed CDPH announcement is “Beyond the Blueprint for Industry and Business Sectors – Effective June 15.”  The ending of the State’s tier system is being hailed as a return to normal, but it falls short of that for Mega Events (gatherings of crowds greater than 5,000 [indoors] and 10,000 [outdoors]).  And… ALL of us are advised to get vaccinated and continue to take precautions when sharing indoors air with others who may or may not be vaccinated.

MASKS – Governor’s update: “California will align its mask guidance with CDC’s on June 15, 2021.  California will keep existing mask guidance in place until June 15 when it aims to fully reopen the economy. After that, the state plans to allow fully-vaccinated Californians to go without a mask in most indoor settings. You will still have the option to wear a mask if you choose.”  Governor’s update based on a May 3 CDPH guidance.

Solano’s Active cases are now at 218, down from yesterday’s 229.  Our percent positivity rate fell slightly today from 10.4% to 10.2%.

>> The virus is still active here.  Stay safe, get vaccinated, wear a mask in crowds and social distance if you’re not sure who’s vaccinated!  We will get through this together.

Cases by City on Thursday, June 3:  Something is clearly now (or sometime in the past) going on in Vacaville!

  • Benicia remained steady today, 6 consecutive days reporting no new cases!  Total of 999 cases since the outbreak began.
  • Dixon added 1 new case today, total of 1,920 cases.
  • Fairfield added 8 new cases today, total of 9,087 cases.
  • Rio Vista remained steady today, total of 389 cases.
  • Suisun City added 1 new case today, total of 2,285 cases.
  • Vacaville added 89 new cases over the last two days and 23 more today, total of 8,802 cases.  Vacaville is home to 22.5% of Solano population, but has accounted for 64% of all new cases in Solano this week.  What’s going on in Vacaville??
  • Vallejo added 6 new cases today, total of 9,884 cases.
  • Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 103 cases.

COMPARE: Screenshots from Solano County COVID Dashboard on Wednesday, June 2:

The data on this page is from today’s and the previous Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard.  The Dashboard is full of much more information and updated weekdays 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.

Sources
#BlackLivesMatter, California, California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, George Floyd, Reparations, Slavery, Tulsa race massacre, U.S. House of Representatives

California launches first-in-nation taskforce to study reparations for Black Americans

The committee’s first meeting marks the beginning of a two-year process to address the harms of slavery and systemic racism

The Rev Dr Robert Turner of the Historic Vernon Chapel AME Church holds his weekly Reparations March in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Photograph: Reuters
The Guardian, by staff and agency, June 1, 2021

A first-in-the-country taskforce to study and recommend reparations for African Americans held its inaugural meeting in California on Tuesday, launching a two-year process to address the harms of slavery and systemic racism.

The meeting of the first state reparations committee in the US coincided with a visit by Joe Biden to Oklahoma, during which the president marked the centenary of the Tulsa race massacre and commemorated the hundreds of Black Americans who were killed by a white mob in a flourishing district known as the “Black Wall Street”. It also comes just over a year after the murder of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minnesota.

A federal slavery reparations bill passed out of the House judiciary committee in April, but it faces an uphill battle to becoming law. The bill was first introduced in Congress in 1989 and refers to the failed government effort to provide 40 acres (16 hectares) of land to newly freed slaves as the civil war wound down.

California’s secretary of state, Shirley Weber, who as a state assemblywoman authored the state legislation creating the taskforce, noted the solemnity of the occasion as well as the opportunity to right a historic wrong that continues today, in the form of large racial disparities in wealth, health and education. African Americans make up just 6% of California’s population yet were 30% of an estimated 250,000 people experiencing homelessness who sought help in 2020.

“Your task is to determine the depth of the harm, and the ways in which we are to repair that harm,” said Weber, whose sharecropper parents were forced to leave the south.

The state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who signed the bill into law last year, issued a formal apology to Native American tribal leaders in 2019. He also announced the creation of a council to examine the state’s role in campaigns to exterminate and exploit indigenous people in the state.

Critics have said that California was not a slaveholding state and should not have to study reparations, or pay for it. But Weber said the state is an economic powerhouse that can point the way for a federal government that has been unable to address the issue. It would not replace any reparations agreed to by the federal government.

In 1988, Ronald Reagan signed legislation providing $20,000 in redress and a formal apology to every surviving Japanese American incarcerated during the second world war.

Members of the taskforce pointed out that Black Americans have heard all their lives that they need to improve themselves, yet the truth is that they have been held back by outright racism and discriminatory laws that prevented them from getting conventional bank loans and buying homes.

Slavery may not have flourished in California as it did in southern states, they said, but African Americans were still treated harshly. Their neighborhoods in San Francisco and Los Angeles were razed in the name of development.

The nine taskforce members, appointed by Newsom and leaders of the legislature, include the descendants of slaves who are now prominent lawyers, academics and politicians.

Steven Bradford, a taskforce member and state senator, said he would like to model a reparations program on the GI bill, allowing for free college and assistance with home-buying.

“We have lost more than we have ever taken from this country,” Bradford said. “We have given more than has ever been given to us.”