City of Benicia Coronavirus UPDATES
March 23, 2020City Manager Lorie Tinfow signed an order staying evictions for non-payment of rent in the City of Benicia in response to the COVID-19 Emergency. A press release informing the public was issued.
Governor Newsom ordered a “soft closure” of state parks by closing parking lots but not limiting access to state parks.
The City of Benicia closed all playgrounds and the skate park at Community Park.
The City of Benicia issued the following press release ordering a stay of evictions during the coronavirus emergency. The order prohibits residential AND commercial evictions. See also the 4-page Emergency_Eviction_Moratorium_Order.pdf.
Monday, March 23, 2020
PRESS RELEASE
CITY OF BENICIA
City Hall, 250 East L Street
Benicia, California 94510
Contact: Lorie Tinfow, City Manager
ltinfow@ci.benicia.ca.us
Benicia, CA (March 23, 2020) — On Sunday, March 22, 2020, City Manager Lorie Tinfow, in her authority as Director of Emergency Services, signed an order staying evictions for non-payment of rent in the City of Benicia in accordance with California Emergency Services Act and Benicia Municipal Code in response to the COVID-19 emergency.
The order does not relieve tenants of liability for unpaid rent but puts a moratorium on evictions for non-payment of rent due to the impact of COVID-19 and includes provisions for eviction notices and no-fault evictions. Under the order, tenants have a responsibility to let their landlord know that they are unable to pay some or all of their rent due to COVID-19. Payment is then due within 60 days of May 31, 2020, or when the order expires whichever is later.
The order staying evictions will remain in effect until May 31, 2020 or until superseded by a resolution of the Benicia City Council.
For up-to-date information about the City of Benicia’s response to COVID-19, please go to https://www.ci.benicia.ca.us/coronavirus.
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Attachment: City of Benicia Order Staying Evictions
FAIRFIELD — Solano County will soon receive more than $430,000 to help the local homeless population during the Covid-19 outbreak.
The governor’s office announced the emergency grants Monday in a press release. The grants are part of $100 million in emergency funding that’s being distributed across the state.
Solano County will have an emergency grant of $206,370. The Vallejo/Solano Continuum of Care will manage a grant of nearly $224,309.
The state awarded the emergency grants to California counties, Continuums of Care and the state’s 13 largest cities to help protect the health and safety of people experiencing homelessness during the novel coronavirus outbreak, the governor’s office reports.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has said there are an estimated 108,000 unsheltered homeless people across the state.
Funding for the emergency grants was included in Senate Bill 89, which Newsom signed into law March 17. SB 89 authorizes up to $1 billion in total spending to provide assistance to help fight the spread of Covid-19.
Newsom’s administration the next day allocated $100 million in emergency funding from SB 89 to local governments to help protect the state’s homeless population and reduce the spread of Covid-19 by getting homeless people into shelter and providing immediate housing options.
The Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency’s Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council sent out award letters Monday, the governor’s office reports.
“The fast action by the Legislature in approving this funding has been matched by the swift action taken by our Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council to get this money out the door and to the local jurisdictions where it’s needed,” Newsom said in a prepared statement. “This is money will be immediately available to help those who are homeless – among the most vulnerable to Covid-19.”
California’s 13 largest cities, or cities that are also a county, will receive nearly $42.97 million, while the state’s 58 counties will receive $27.34 million and California’s 44 Continuums of Care will receive nearly $29.69 million, the governor’s office reports.
The funding is intended for measures to help prevent and contain Covid-19 and can be used for medically indicated services and supplies, such as testing and hand-washing stations, according to the governor’s office. It can also be used for such things as acquiring new shelters, supplies and equipment for emergency shelter operations, increasing shelter capacity, street outreach and acquiring locations to place people who need to be isolated because of Covid-19 illness or exposure.
Solano County and the adjacent five counties combined will have nearly $7.09 million in emergency grant money available to help the homeless during the coronavirus pandemic.
The city of Los Angeles will see the largest single emergency grant – nearly $19.34 million. The Los Angeles City and County Continuum of Care will receive another $10.96 million, while Los Angeles County will receive nearly $10.57 million.
Most people who have the new coronavirus experience only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. Some people, especially older adults and those with underlying health problems, experience more severe illness, such as pneumonia.
The vast majority of people recover. The World Health Organization reports people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.
UPDATE: See today’s latest information
The orange button takes you to a SOLANO DASHBOARD, which, as of this morning (March 24, 2020) gives a bit more detail than previously known. Turns out the County reported a surge in cases yesterday, but those cases were tested over the last week, as shown in the “Date of specimen collection” chart (upper right). The Solano County curve spiked yesterday, but based on testing over the previous week.
The chart at bottom right, “Cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases…” gives a clearer picture of the surge reported yesterday.
Also of interest on the number of cases DASHBOARD:
The age breakdown seems rather wide, grouping together everyone 19-64 years. Still, it is remarkable that only a third of positive cases are 65 and older.
Solano has come under criticism for downplaying the seriousness of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The new Number of cases DASHBOARD begins to correct that, although we still don’t know where in the county the outbreak is located.
WHO AND WHERE?
Solano County has provided little detail on who has tested positive and where in the County they live.
We only know a few details on two of Solano County’s 21 cases. The nation’s first patient-to-patient or community-spread case of Covid-19 was a Vacaville woman who arrived Feb. 15 at NorthBay VacaValley Hospital in Vacaville and was later transferred to UC Davis hospital in Sacramento. And today’s Vallejo Times-Herald reports that a Vallejo police officer has tested positive.
Solano was slow to join other Bay Area counties in ordering a stay at home order. The order was issued on March 18, as was a widely distributed email which lacked the warning that “Violation of or failure to comply with this Order is a misdemeanor punishable by fine, imprisonment, or both.”
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