GREAT NEWS… MANDATORY MASK ORDER PASSED UNANIMOUSLY IN BENICIA ! (UPDATE – FINAL DRAFT OF RESOLUTION)
By Pat Toth-Smith, Benicia resident, June 17, 2020
Benicia city council did the right thing last night after much discussion and overwhelming support came from many callers and letters.
Congratulations to all who worked hard on getting this passed! Benicia is now a safe place to shop and be !!!!!! ????????????????❤️❤️
Thank you council member Steve Young and Mayor Elizabeth Patterson for taking the lead, doing the right and hard thing for our citizens early. And thank you city staff and police chief Upson for your work on this. Thank you council member, Tom Campbell for coming around quickly during the meeting to vote for it, you got the ball rolling. And lastly, thank you to council members Largaespada and Strawbridge for also doing the right thing in the end for us citizens even if you maybe didn’t agree with all of it.
Tuesday, June 16: only 2 new positive cases, no new deaths. Total 687 cases, 23 deaths.
Solano County Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Updates and Resources. Check out basic information in this screenshot. IMPORTANT: The County’s interactive page has more. On the County website, you can hover your mouse over the charts at right for detailed information.
Solano County reported only 2 new positive cases today, and added no new cases on Sunday and Monday. Encouraging: only 2 cases in 3 days, total of 687.
No new deaths today, total of 23.
8 fewer active cases since yesterday, total 70.
Only132 residents tested since yesterday (down from over 400 per day over the weekend and Monday).
Youth – no new cases today among the 17 and under age group, total 40. There have been 35 new cases among those age 17 and under in the last 34 days, with only 6 new cases over the 5 weeks prior.
BY AGE GROUP
No new cases among those 17 and under, total of 40 cases, including one hospitalization. Our concern remains: cases among youth have increased in recent weeks to 5.8% of the 687 total confirmed cases. And there have been 35 new cases among those age 17 and under in the last 34 days, with only 6 new cases over the 5 weeks prior.
1 new case among persons 18-49 years of age, total of 339 cases. No new hospitalizations or deaths, total of 24 hospitalized at one time and 2 deaths. This age group represents 49.3% of the 687 total cases, the highest percentage of all age groups. 24 of the 339 cases in this age group have been hospitalized at one time, 7.1% of total cases in the age group.
No new cases among persons 50-64 years of age, total of 164 cases. No new hospitalizations or deaths, total of 30 hospitalized at one time and 3 deaths. This age group represents 23.9% of the 687 total cases. 30 of the 164 cases in this age group have been hospitalized at one time, 18.3% of total cases in the age group.
1 new caseamong persons 65 years or older total 144 cases, including no new hospitalizations and no new deaths, total of 38 hospitalized at one time and 18 deaths. This age group represents 21.0% of the 687 total cases. 38 of the 144 cases in this age group (26.4) were hospitalized at one time, a substantially higher percentage than in the lower age groups. And… this group counts for 18 of the 23 deaths, over 78%.
CITY DATA
Vallejoadded 1 new case today, total of 337.
Fairfield added 1 new case today, total of 173.
Vacaville remained at 82 cases.
Suisun City remained at 46 cases.
Benicia remained at 25 cases.
Dixon remained at 14 cases.
Rio Vista and “Unincorporated” are still not assigned numerical data: today both remain at <10 (less than 10). The total numbers for other cities add up to 677, leaving 10 cases somewhere among the 2 locations in this “<10” category (same as last reported). Residents and city officials have pressured County officials for city case counts. Today’s data is welcome, but still incomplete.
TOTAL HOSPITALIZATIONS: 93 of Solano’s 687 cases resulted in hospitalizations since the outbreak started, same as yesterday and steady at 93 since last Wednesday, June 10. Cumulative hospitalizations is a most important stat to watch. On May 1 there were 51 hospitalizations, and the daily increase was relatively steady, adding 2 or less each day. But on May 22, the County reported 4 new hospitalizations, 9 more on May 29, and 3 more on June 2. We are back to 1 or 2 a day lately or even remaining steady as today. We need to keep our eyes on these numbers.
ACTIVE CASES:70 of the 687 cases are currently active, 12 fewer than yesterday (and 18 fewer than last Friday). This is a something of a mystery, given that the County is reporting 30 NEW cases since Friday. Active cases had been trending lower until a steep increase last week. We were at 72 active cases on May 28; down to 42 on June 8, and bouncing back up to 88 on Friday June 12. Has the County changed its definition of “active”? Below you will see that only 14 of the active cases are currently hospitalized, which leaves 56 of these 70 active cases out in our communities somewhere, and hopefully quarantined.
HOSPITAL IMPACT: The County shows 14 of the 93 hospitalized cases are CURRENTLY hospitalized, steady since last Friday, good news! The County’s count ofICU beds available and ventilator supply remains at “GOOD” at 31-100%. (No information is given on our supply of test kits, PPE and staff.) TESTING: The County reports that 16,981 residents have been tested as of today, an increase of only 132 residents tested since yesterday (down from over 440 per day over the weekend and Monday). Testing will continue to be a very important way of limiting and tracking outbreaks – please go get a test if you can! Testing sites in Vallejo and Vacaville are open to anyone – see locations below. We have a long way to go: only 3.5% of Solano County’s 447,643 residents (2019) have been tested.
This chart shows that the infection’s steady upward trajectorymay be flattening a bit in Solano County. Too soon to tell. Our nursing homes, long-term care facilities and jails bear watching, and social distancing is still incredibly important: everyone stay home if you don’t need to go out, wear masks when you do go out (especially in enclosed spaces), wash hands, and be safe!
The following business item is on the Benicia City Council agenda for Tuesday, June 16, 2020. Below you will find instructions for sending your comment to staff and council members.
14.A – RESOLUTION REQUIRING THE WEARING OF FACE COVERINGS IN BENICIA (Assistant City Manager)
At the May 26, 2020 City Council study session, the City Council deliberated the merits of mandating the wearing of face coverings in Benicia. Council directed staff to collect data on COVID-19 infections and prepare a resolution requiring the public to wear face coverings indoors and in enclosed public spaces in Benicia. Staff has returned to Council with the requested data and resolution.
Recommendation:
Move to adopt a resolution (Attachment 1) requiring the wearing of face coverings in indoor and enclosed public spaces in Benicia.
ALL THE INFO YOU NEED TO PARTICIPATE IN OUR NEXT CITY COUNCIL MEETING, TUESDAY, JUNE 16th @ 7pm!
**They’ll be voting on the mask mandate, so send in your comments and explain why it is so important!!
-View live broadcast Ch 27, Tuesday, 6/16 at 7:00pm
-Watch Online at http://www.ci.benicia.ca.us/agenda
-Re-broadcasts on Ch 27: Thurs & Tues following the meeting, 8:30am
SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS BY EMAIL
(copy the below email group and paste into “To:” field of email)
You may choose to identify yourself, or remain anonymous. Briefly state which issue you will be speaking to. Limit submission to 750 words, or about 5 minutes reading length for clerk. ** Emails received PRIOR to 3pm on the meeting day will be distributed to council members, read privately, and recorded. Emails received AFTER 3pm & BEFORE 7pm on the meeting day will be collected by the clerk and read out loud during the council meeting broadcast.
SHARE COMMENTS VIA TELEPHONE DIAL-IN
Call in via Zoom: (669) 900-9128
Follow prompts, Meeting ID: 826 4906 6719 — Password: 440887
You will be placed in a virtual waiting room/queue. You will be prompted by the city clerk when it is your turn to share your comments. You will only have five minutes to speak (hard stop, no exceptions). Once complete, you will be muted to the council.
MAIL IN COMMENTS VIA USPS
Comments may be submitted by letter via the postal service. Standard postage will apply.
MAIL TO: City Clerk, Lisa Wolfe, 250 E L. Street, Benicia, CA 94510
Mailed comments must be received by end of business day on the day of the meeting and a copy will be distributed to each attendee.
For questions re: agenda, how to connect, submissions, contact:
City Clerk, Lisa Wolfe
250 E. L. Street, Benicia, CA 94510
LWolfe@ci.benicia.ca.us or (707) 746-4200
Business office hours 8am – 5pm.
[Other City Officials that may Attend}
Lisa Wolfe – City Clerk
Lori Tinfow – City Manager
Alan Shear – Asst City Manager
Ben Stock – City Attorney
mgiuliani@ci.benicia.ca.us – Economic Dev, Mario Giuliani
police@ci.benicia.ca.us – Police Chief Erik Upson
JChadwick@ci.benicia.ca.us – Fire Chief, Josh Chadwick
mdotson@ci.benicia.ca.us – Parks & Community, Mike Dotson
Solano County Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Updates and Resources. Check out basic information in this screenshot. IMPORTANT: The County’s interactive page has more. On the County website, you can hover your mouse over the charts at right for detailed information.
Solano County reported 28 new positive cases on Saturday, and held steady on Sunday and Monday, total of 685.
No new deaths today, total of 23.
6 fewer active cases since Friday, total 82. (How is this possible with 28 new cases??)
Good progress in testing – reporting 1,339 residents tested since Friday (over 400 per day).
Youth – 1 new case since Friday among the 17 and under age group, total 40. There have been 35 new cases among those age 17 and under in the last 33 days, with only 6 new cases over the 5 weeks prior.
BY AGE GROUP
1 new case among those 17 and under, total of 40 cases, including one hospitalization. Our concern remains: cases among youth have increased in recent weeks to 5.8% of the 685 total confirmed cases. And there have been 35 new cases among those age 17 and under in the last 33 days, with only 6 new cases over the 5 weeks prior.
25 new cases among persons 18-49 years of age, total of 338 cases. No new hospitalizations or deaths, total of 24 hospitalized at one time and 2 deaths. This age group represents 49.3% of the 685 total cases, the highest percentage of all age groups. 24 of the 338 cases in this age group have been hospitalized at one time, 7.1% of total cases in the age group.
1 new case among persons 50-64 years of age, total of 164 cases. No new hospitalizations or deaths, total of 30 hospitalized at one time and 3 deaths. This age group represents 23.9% of the 685 total cases. 30 of the 164 cases in this age group have been hospitalized at one time, 18.3% of total cases in the age group.
1 new caseamong persons 65 years or older total 143 cases, including no new hospitalizations and no new deaths, total of 38 hospitalized at one time and 18 deaths. This age group represents 20.9% of the 685 total cases. 38 of the 143 cases in this age group (26.6%) were hospitalized at one time, a substantially higher percentage than in the lower age groups. And this group counts for 18 of the 23 deaths, over 78%.
CITY DATA
Vallejoadded 3 new cases since Friday, total of 336.
Fairfield added 19 new cases since Friday, total of 172.
Vacaville added 3 new cases since Friday, total of 82 cases.
Suisun City added 1 new case since Friday, total of 46 cases.
Benicia added 1 new case since Friday, total of 25 cases.
Dixon added 1 new case since Friday, total of 14 cases.
Rio Vista and “Unincorporated” are still not assigned numerical data: today both remain at <10 (less than 10). The total numbers for other cities add up to 675, leaving 10 cases somewhere among the 2 locations in this “<10” category (same as last reported). Residents and city officials have pressured County officials for city case counts. Today’s data is welcome, but still incomplete.
TOTAL HOSPITALIZATIONS: 93 of Solano’s 685 cases resulted in hospitalizations since the outbreak started, same as Friday and steady at 93 since last Wednesday, June 10. Cumulative hospitalizations is a most important stat to watch. On May 1 there were 51 hospitalizations, and the daily increase was relatively steady, adding 2 or less each day. But on May 22, the County reported 4 new hospitalizations, 9 more on May 29, and 3 more on June 2. We are back to 1 or 2 a day lately or even remaining steady as today. We need to keep our eyes on these numbers.
ACTIVE CASES:82 of the 685 cases are currently active, 6 fewer than Friday. This is a something of a mystery, given that the County is reporting 28 NEW cases since Friday. Active cases had been trending lower until a steep increase last week. We were at 72 active cases on May 28; down to 42 on June 8, and bouncing back up to 88 on Friday June 12. Below you will see that only 14 of the active cases are currently hospitalized, which leaves 68 of these 82 active cases out in our communities somewhere, and hopefully quarantined.
HOSPITAL IMPACT: The County shows 14 of the 93 hospitalized cases are CURRENTLY hospitalized, same as last Friday, good news! The County’s count ofICU beds available and ventilator supply remains at “GOOD” at 31-100%. (No information is given on our supply of test kits, PPE and staff.) TESTING: The County reports that 16,849 residents have been tested as of today, an increase of 1,339 residents tested over the weekend and today (over 440 tested each day). Testing will continue to be a very important way of limiting and tracking outbreaks – please go get a test if you can! Testing sites in Vallejo and Vacaville are open to anyone – see locations below. We have a long way to go: only 3.5% of Solano County’s 447,643 residents (2019) have been tested.
This chart shows that the infection’s steady upward trajectoryis not flattening in Solano County. Our nursing homes, long-term care facilities and jails bear watching, and social distancing is still incredibly important: everyone stay home if you don’t need to go out, wear masks when you do go out (especially in enclosed spaces), wash hands, and be safe!
By Pat Toth-Smith, Benicia resident, June 17, 2020
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