Tag Archives: benicia

Benicia CA, Coronavirus, Covid 19

Benicia Parks & Community Services – closed or postponed through March 31

March 13, 2020

Benicia Parks & Community Services Closures

PRESS RELEASE
CITY OF BENICIA
Benicia Fire Department
250 East L Street
Benicia, California 94510
Contact: Fire Chief Josh Chadwick
Benicia Fire Department
(707) 746-4275 jchadwick@ci.benicia.ca.us

CITY OF BENICIA UPDATE ON COVID-19

Benicia, CA (March 13, 2020) — The City of Benicia continues to closely monitor the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak through local, county and state health officials. Our top priority remains the health, safety and well-being of our community.

California Department of Public Health issued guidelines on postponing or canceling gatherings and events through the end of March 2020 to protect public health and slow the transmission of COVID-19.

To that end, the City of Benicia Parks & Community Services Department announced that to address the possible spread of COVID-19, all Parks & Recreation programs, classes, events and rentals have been postponed or canceled from March 14 – 31, 2020 at the Benicia Community Center, Benicia Senior Center, Benicia City Gym and Benicia Clock Tower. Parks and athletic fields remain open.

City Hall and Benicia Public Library remain open and operational with appropriate measures in place to protect the health of staff and the community.

As conditions change, or City meetings or events are canceled, updates will be shared on the Coronavirus webpage at https://www.ci.benicia.ca.us/coronavirus.

What can you do?

• See the CDC’s Coronavirus Disease website for updates, news and
symptoms to watch out for: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
• Wash your hands often and cover coughs and sneezes.
• Increase your social distance (no hand shaking or hugging) at events and gatherings.
• Stay in touch with older adults and encourage them to seek medical assistance, if they develop symptoms.

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Benicia, Coronavirus, Covid 19

Coronavirus – Benicia closes Senior Center and Community Center

This notice appeared around 2:30pm March 13 on Nextdoor:

City Closes Community Center and Senior Center

Based on recommendations from Solano County, we are cancelling all programming at the City Gym and Senior Center, and closing the two facilities until March 31st. The City will continue to post updates about COVID-19 on the website at www.ci.benicia.ca.us/coronavirus.

In a March 12 press release, the City of Benicia announced detailed closures and postponements:

In response to the guidelines, the City of Benicia has canceled or postponed the following:

  • All senior activities at the Benicia Senior Center will be cancelled from March 13 – March 31, 2020 except for the Meals on Wheels program on Friday, March 13. Staff is working with Solano County to provide home delivery of Meals on Wheels beginning Monday, March 16.
  • Due to the difficulty in achieving recommended social distancing, the following meetings or events have been canceled through March 31
    • Benicia Public Library:
      • After School Zone, all storytimes, all book clubs, art gallery
        receptions, board games evenings, ESL classes, GED
        classes, Great Decisions discussions, Language Lab,
        Resume & Career Counseling, Technology Help, Teen
        Advisory Board, Writers’ Salon, Writer’s Workshop
      • March 12: Arts and Culture Commission meeting
      • March 14: Friends of the Library Book Sale
      • March 15: Three Poets Welcome Spring event
      • March 16: Art Gallery Committee meeting
      • March 17: Objective Planning Standards Stakeholder
        meeting
      • March 19: Public Art Subcommittee meeting
      • March 22: Ramana Vieira and Ensemble
      • March 29: Poet Jane Hirschfield
    • City Hall Commission Room:
      • March 16: Community Sustainability Commission meeting
      • March 25: Economic Development Board meeting

City Hall, Benicia Public Library and Benicia Community Center remain open and operational with appropriate measures in place to protect the health of staff and the community.

Benicia Unified School District, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Solano County Schools

Benicia and Solano County Schools closed for 2 weeks due to coronavirus threat

BREAKING NEWS – This school closure letter just arrived:

March 13, 2020, 1:40 PM

Dear Benicia Unified Families,

In light of the ever-changing situation with COVID-19, Solano County schools will be closed ­­­­­­­­­for 2 weeks beginning Monday, March 16, 2020 through Friday, March 27, 2020.  We will make a determination at that time about any further closures.

We did not take this decision lightly and recognize that this may cause a hardship for some families.  Each school district and charter school will continue to communicate directly with families and staff with updates about re-opening, learning alternatives, and the availability of school meals.

School administrators across Solano County appreciate the proactive illness prevention steps that our families and staff have committed to. Illness prevention steps make a significant difference in safeguarding the health of our communities, and we encourage continued attention in this effort.

We will be sending follow-up communication regarding specifics for BUSD school closures.

Sincerely,
Dr. Charles Young
Superintendent
Benicia Unified School District Superintendent

Benicia CA, Benicia Unified School District, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Solano County CA

Coronavirus updates from Solano County, City of Benicia and Benicia Unified School District

By Roger Straw

UPDATE: See today’s latest information

UPDATE ON FRIDAY, MARCH 15

Solano County

As of today [March 15], Solano County has 7 confirmed positive cases of the Coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID 19).   This number is updated daily at 2 pm on the website of the Solano County Department of Public Health.

Of particular interest: Solano County Fact sheet – Guidance for Vulnerable Populations at High Risk

Also: Solano County Press Releases

The City of Benicia

The City of Benicia has also published an online Coronavirus page.  Of interest: a March 11 press release from Fire Chief Josh Chadwick.  Of interest (excerpt):

…City Hall, Benicia Public Library, Benicia Community Center and Benicia Senior Center remain open and operational with appropriate measures in place to protect the health of staff and the community. In an abundance of caution, the following events are City of Benicia programs which will be postponed or canceled until further notice due to the difficulty in maintaining social distancing:

      • Wednesday, March 11: Family Reading Night for students at Robert Semple and Joe Henderson Elementary Schools
      • Wednesday, March 17: Objective Planning Standards Stakeholder meeting
      • Sunday, March 22: Ramana Vieira and Ensemble at the Library
      • Fridays: Board Game Evenings at the Library
      • Next two weeks: All Storytimes and After School Zone, due to limited space at the Library

The Benicia Unified School District

The BUSD sent the following announcement to parents this afternoon:

March 12, 2020

Dear Families,

Benicia Unified School District (BUSD) continues to monitor the COVID-19 with on-going, regular guidance and communication from Solano County Health Department (SCHD) who works directly with the Center of Disease Control (CDC), the State Department of Health (SDH) and the California Department of Education (CDE).  The health and safety of our students and staff continues to be our number one priority. At this time, BUSD has not been notified of any confirmed cases. As schools are deemed an essential service, schools will remain open unless ordered to close by The Solano County Department of Public Health. If the situation changes, BUSD will follow the COVID-19 school protocols established by the SDH in partnership with the agencies listed above regarding any further measures.

The Health Department continues to recommend and we continue to promote the following:

  • Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available
  • Cough into a tissue or your elbow
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth
  • Stay home when you are sick
  • BUSD staff are taking extra measures to deep clean buildings and classrooms each night

In addition, we are implementing social distancing protocols effective through the end of Spring break April 12, 2020, as outlined in new guidelines from SCHD. Therefore we will be:

  • Postponing all events at our facilities outside of the school day, including outside user groups
  • Postponing or canceling all field trips, fundraisers, music events, performances, enrichment activities, school assemblies, and club meetings
  • Having no classroom volunteers on campuses
  • Having no guest speakers or outside group performances
  • Having only Diablo Athletic Leagues (DAL) sanctioned supporting events and practices
  • Having no spectators, including, parents and guardians at sporting events; only those adults needed to manage the event will be allowed at the event

We are working on plans to provide a continuity of learning should the situation change or school(s) need to be closed in the future. As part of our ongoing partnership, we are asking our parents to look ahead and make contingent plans in case things change and we are forced to close schools. If your child has extenuating health circumstances, please contact your health care provider to get additional recommendations.

Please continue to refer to Solano County Public health and the CDC websites for updated information pertaining to the virus.  We will continue to provide updates as information is made available to us. Thank you for your patience and your partnership.

Sincerely,

Dr. Charles Young
Superintendent