Tag Archives: Benicia CA

Benicia CA, Benicia Fire Department, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Delta variant, Vaccine

Benicia City Council: Please Require Our Firefighters to be Vaccinated

By Roger Straw, September 25, 2021

A Benicia firefighter tested positive for COVID last year – Fire Department staff now only 62% vaccinated

Benicia Fire Department

Yesterday, I published a recent City of Benicia disclosure that over a third of Benicia’s Fire Department staff is unvaccinated.

At the end of that article, I called for the City to consider and adopt a vaccination mandate for all City staff who come into contact with the public, most especially our firefighters who interact intimately at aerosol-sharing levels when responding to 911 calls.

That call is all the more important considering a Vallejo Times-Herald news report from summer of 2020.  On July 2, 2020, the Times-Herald published “Benicia firefighter tests positive for coronavirus“.

The unnamed firefighter told the city on Wednesday that they have the coronavirus, as city officials work with the Solano County Public Health Department to determine the source of the infection, according to a city of Benicia news release.

An almost identical press statement was released by the City of Benicia two months later, on September 10, 2020.  It is unclear whether this is referring belatedly to the same firefighter, or a second firefighter.

The Benicia Fire Department has had over a year living with the reality of COVID among staff.  Surely the Department is well-informed as to the possibility of re-infection and the high danger of transmission by asymptomatic carriers of the delta strain of the virus.

I am personally acquainted with the incredible heroic up-close measures of these public servants in times of 911 crisis.  I want them safe, and I want those they help to be safe from them.

>> If it is not already doing so, I call upon the Fire Department to at minimum test its unvaccinated staff daily, and to rigorously quarantine any who test positive.

>> If it is not already doing so, Fire Department leadership should strongly encourage all staff to get vaccinated.

>> And I call upon our City Council to act quickly to require all City staff who deal directly with the public to be vaccinated, especially those who deal with Benicia residents in emergencies.

#wearamask, Benicia CA, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Delta variant, Face coverings, Hospitalizations, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Department, Vaccine

Solano County’s 2-day COVID update: 142 new cases and 11 hospitalized

By Roger Straw, Friday, September 24, 2021

Friday, September 24: Solano County reports 142 new infections and 11 additional hospitalizations

Solano County COVID dashboard SUMMARY:
[Sources: see below.]

DEATHS: no new deaths today.  Total Solano deaths over the course of the pandemic now at 290.  Solano Health Officer Dr.  Bela Matyas recently noted a surprising 24% of deaths during the recent Solano surge were vaccinated individuals.  It seems a clear signal for those of us who have been vaccinated to continue to wear masks and steer clear of close aerosol contact with unknown others.  Total deaths by age and race/ethnicity:

CASES: The County reported  142 new COVID cases since Wednesday, 71 per day.

COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION RATE: Over the last 7 days, Solano has seen 556 new cases, 2.5 TIMES the CDC’s population-based definition of a SUBSTANTIAL rate of transmission and 1.2 TIMES the CDC’s definition of a HIGH rate of transmission.

(CDC FORMULA: Based on Solano County population of 449,432, the CDC would rate us in “SUBSTANTIAL” transmission with 225 cases over the last 7 days.  Double that, or 450 cases in the last 7 days would rank us in “HIGH” transmission.  Reference: CDC’s “Level of SARS-CoV-2 Community Transmission”.]

ACTIVE CASES: Solano’s 646 ACTIVE cases is down slightly from Wednesday’s 649, and still far above our summer rates.

POSITIVE TEST RATE:  Our 7-day average percent positivity rate was 7.5% today, down a bit from 8.2% on Wednesday.  COMPARE: today’s California rate is 2.3%.  Today’s U.S. rate is 7.9%.  [Source: Johns Hopkins]

HOSPITALIZATIONS:

CURRENT hospitalizations were down today from 74 to 64 persons, but still in the range we saw during the winter surge.

ICU Bed Availability is up some today, from 18% to 21%, and still low in the yellow danger zone.  Again, we are in the worrisome range we saw during the winter surge.

Ventilator Availability remained at only 48%, somewhere in the range of last February’s winter surge.

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.  The County updated its Hospitalizations charts today, adding 11 previously unreported hospitalizations.  See below.  The race/ethnicity numbers indicate a number of persons whose race/ethnicity was not given or recorded.  All percentages remain unchanged.

FACE MASKS… Required for all in Benicia and Vallejo

GOOD NEWS! Benicia City Council passed a citywide indoors mask mandate that went into effect on August 24 and includes everyone 4 years old and up when indoors in public places, even those of us who are vaccinated.  Benicia was joined by Vallejo on August 31.  In the Bay Area, Solano County REMAINS the only holdout against a mask mandate for public indoors spaces.

THE SOLANO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS failed to even consider an agendized proposal for a countywide MASK MANDATE last week.  On Tuesday, September 14, the Board’s agenda called for discussion of an indoors mask mandate for all and a vaccination mandate for county workers.  The Board voted 4-1 to require county-run facilities in Vallejo and Benicia to abide by local mandates.  But the Board voted down the vaccination mandate 3-2, and failed to even consider the county-wide mask mandate.  The Solano Board of Supervisors now joins with Dr. Bela Matyas in officially showing poor leadership on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cases by City on Friday, September 24:
  • Benicia added 4 new cases today, a total of 1,412 cases since the outbreak began.  Benicia has seen 24 new cases over the last 7 days, dropping just below the CDC’s definition of HIGH community transmission (defined as 28 cases, based on Benicia population), but still in the high range for SUBSTANTIAL community transmission (defined as 14 cases, based on Benicia population).  [Note that Solano County is also rated far above high transmission, and Solano’s 6 other cities are likely also individually experiencing high or substantial transmission.]
  • Dixon added 5 new cases today, total of 2,447 cases.
  • Fairfield added 39 new cases today, total of 11,815 cases.
  • Rio Vista added 2 new cases today, total of 561 cases.
  • Suisun City added 14 new cases today, total of 3,115 cases.
  • Vacaville added 31 new cases today, a total of 11,573 cases.
  • Vallejo added 47 new cases today, a total of 12,875 cases.
  • Unincorporated added 0 new cases today, a total of 137 cases (population figures not available).

Continue reading Solano County’s 2-day COVID update: 142 new cases and 11 hospitalized →

Benicia CA, Benicia Fire Department, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Vaccine

Over a third of Benicia firefighters are not vaccinated

By Roger Straw, September 24, 2021

Only 62% of Benicia firefighters have been vaccinated

The Benicia Fire Department reported on September 23, 2021 that only 23 of its 37-member staff are vaccinated.

The City of Benicia provided a Public Records email with this information in response to a request submitted by Benician Gregg Horton.

Gregg Horton, Benicia

Horton wrote on September 10, “Please provide record sufficient to determine the number of Benicia Firefighters who are vaccinated for COVID-19. Please also provide any records tracking the vaccination rate of Benicia Firefighters over time.”

The City’s formal response began with three paragraphs detailing it’s legal obligation and desire to cooperate fully under California’s Public Records Act (Government Code section 6250 et seq.).

The City’s response then very briefly offered the following: “In response to your request, the Fire Dept. provided the following information: – Currently, 23 of 37, or 62%, of Fire Dept. staff are vaccinated.”

I am concerned, maybe a little alarmed, that unvaccinated first responder firefighters may be in close aerosol contact with residents in times of emergency.  I am personally acquainted with and highly appreciative of the quick response our firefighters provide in a resident’s home or in public places when a 911 call goes out.

The City of Benicia ought to quickly agendize and take action to mandate that city workers who come into contact with the public are vaccinated and/or tested routinely.

#wearamask, Benicia CA, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Delta variant, Face coverings, Hospitalizations, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Department, Vaccine

Solano COVID report: 6 new deaths Monday, 3 more today, and 141 previously unreported hospitalizations

By Roger Straw, Wednesday, September 22, 2021

Wednesday, September 22: Solano County reports 3 more deaths, 212 new infections and 141 additional hospitalizations

Solano County COVID dashboard SUMMARY:
[Sources: see below.]

DEATHS: 3 new deaths today.  Total Solano deaths over the course of the pandemic now at 290.  Solano Health Officer Dr.  Bela Matyas recently noted a surprising 24% of deaths during the recent Solano surge were vaccinated individuals.  It seems a clear signal for those of us who have been vaccinated to continue to wear masks and steer clear of close aerosol contact with unknown others.  Total deaths by age and race/ethnicity:

CASES: The County reported  212 new COVID cases since Monday, 106 per day, back up to last weeks average of 105 per day and still in the range of last winter’s surge.

COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION RATE: Over the last 7 days, Solano has seen 599 new cases, 2.7 TIMES the CDC’s population-based definition of a SUBSTANTIAL rate of transmission and 1.3 TIMES the CDC’s definition of a HIGH rate of transmission.

(CDC FORMULA: Based on Solano County population of 449,432, the CDC would rate us in “SUBSTANTIAL” transmission with 225 cases over the last 7 days.  Double that, or 450 cases in the last 7 days would rank us in “HIGH” transmission.  Reference: CDC’s “Level of SARS-CoV-2 Community Transmission”.]

ACTIVE CASES: Solano’s 649 ACTIVE cases is up from Monday’s 627, and far surpassing our summer rates.

POSITIVE TEST RATE:  Our 7-day average percent positivity rate was 8.2% today, up from 7.6% on Monday.  COMPARE: today’s California rate is 1.9%.  Today’s U.S. rate is 8.0%.  [Source: Johns Hopkins]

HOSPITALIZATIONS:

CURRENT hospitalizations were down today from 81 to 74 persons, but still in the range we saw during the winter surge.

ICU Bed Availability took another big hit today, falling from 23% to only 18%, still in the yellow danger zone.  Again, we are in the worrisome range we saw during the winter surge.

Ventilator Availability went down today from 57% to only 48%, still in the range of last February’s winter surge.

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.  The County reported a MAJOR UPDATE on its Hospitalizations charts today, adding 141 previously unreported hospitalizations.  See below.  The race/ethnicity numbers indicate a number of persons whose race/ethnicity was not given or recorded.

FACE MASKS… Good News in Benicia and Vallejo

GOOD NEWS! Benicia City Council passed a citywide indoors mask mandate that went into effect on August 24 and includes everyone 4 years old and up when indoors in public places, even those of us who are vaccinated.  Benicia was joined by Vallejo on August 31.  In the Bay Area, Solano County REMAINS the only holdout against a mask mandate for public indoors spaces.

THE SOLANO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS failed to even consider an agendized proposal for a countywide MASK MANDATE last week.  On Tuesday, September 14, the Board’s agenda called for discussion of an indoors mask mandate for all and a vaccination mandate for county workers.  The Board voted 4-1 to require county-run facilities in Vallejo and Benicia to abide by local mandates.  But the Board voted down the vaccination mandate 3-2, and failed to even consider the county-wide mask mandate.  The Solano Board of Supervisors now joins with Dr. Bela Matyas in officially showing poor leadership on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cases by City on Wednesday, September 22:
  • Benicia added 10 new cases today, a total of 1,408 cases since the outbreak began.  Benicia has seen 30 new cases over the last 7 days, just above the CDC’s definition of HIGH community transmission (defined as 28 cases, based on Benicia population).  [Note that Solano County is also rated far above high transmission, and Solano’s 6 other cities are likely also individually experiencing high or substantial transmission.]
  • Dixon added 17 new cases today, total of 2,442 cases.
  • Fairfield added 64 new cases today, total of 11,776 cases.
  • Rio Vista added 3 new cases today, total of 559 cases.
  • Suisun City added 19 new cases today, total of 3,101 cases.
  • Vacaville added 40 new cases today, a total of 11,542 cases.
  • Vallejo added 58 new cases today, a total of 12,828 cases.
  • Unincorporated added 1 new case today, a total of 137 cases (population figures not available).

Continue reading Solano COVID report: 6 new deaths Monday, 3 more today, and 141 previously unreported hospitalizations →