Tag Archives: Coronavirus COVID 19

Coronavirus, Covid 19, Solano County CA

Solano County passes COVID-19 Tenants’ Rights Resolution

Common Ground press release, April 28, 2020

Common Ground Spearheads Solano County COVID Tenants’ Rights Resolution

Solano County Board of Supervisors pass measure to protect housing stability and health

Some good news in these trying times: renters in Solano County who have lost income due to COVID-19 can stay in their homes, thanks to the County Supervisors, Common Ground, and other partners and residents who brought the issue forward.

Building on momentum from last summer’s action to assist tenants of Vallejo’s Strawberry Hill and Holiday Gardens apartments, Common Ground coordinated efforts to draft a county resolution to help tenants and landlords navigate the financial storm of the COVID-19 State of Emergency. The resolution provides guidance for paying back rents owed, once the State of Emergency ends, and gives tenants a full year to pay.

Common Ground members realized that a short-term eviction moratorium would only delay a massive wave of evictions that would lead to an economic and a public health disaster—a humanitarian crisis for thousands of people in Solano County.

Common Ground partnered with allies, including tenant attorneys, Fair Housing Napa Valley, Vallejo Housing Justice Coalition, the Napa-Solano Central Labor Council, and Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative, and researched other municipalities. Then, Common Ground presented recommendations to the county supervisors.

On Tuesday, the County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution which builds on statewide protections, allowing tenants to negotiate a payment schedule for unpaid rent for up to one year after the State of Emergency is lifted. The resolution also prohibits late fees during this period. Here is a link to the Board’s Agenda item:

https://solano.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4426460&GUID=07CDB42B-AB5E-4388-9980-42B715C03ED0

“Essentially, the rent debt due to the COVID-19 emergency should be treated like any other kind of consumer debt: credit cards, utilities, etc. We aren’t denying people access to water or electricity if they can’t pay– we give them a grace period to pay back what they owe because these things are basic necessities. The same should be true for rents” said David Lindsay of Benicia, chair of Common Ground’s housing team.

Common Ground members are grateful to members of the community who shared their stories, to their partner organizations, and for the willingness of various elected officials to engage in dialogue for the common good.

Bishop Bryan Harris of Vallejo’s Emmanuel Temple Apostolic Church stated “We are grateful for the work that Common Ground has done in the community, and it’s essential that groups like Common Ground stand up for people in need–especially in times like these, where we don’t want to see people being taken advantage of.”

Founded in 2013, Common Ground is made up of diverse religious and non-profits organizations in Solano and Napa Counties. It is a broad-based, non-partisan organization that addresses issues facing our communities by building relationships and supplying members with leadership and organizing skills.
California, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Nursing homes

COVID-91 – Complaint filed after So. Cal. nursing facility evacuated when staff failed to show up

Complaint filed with state over evacuated nursing facility yesterday

Magnolia Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, Riverside CA

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP News) — Riverside County officials have filed a complaint over conditions at a skilled nursing facility that was evacuated after staff failed to show up for work during the coronavirus outbreak.

Dr. Cameron Kaiser, the county’s public health officer, has asked state health officials for an assessment of Magnolia Rehabilitation and Nursing Center before the facility reopens. He also asked in his April 20 letter for the state to determine whether workers acted ethically and professionally when they failed to show up for their shifts.

“We believe that substantial ongoing issues relate to their staffing and infection control plans, and during our inspection of the premises subsequent to my commandeer order identified structural issues,” Kaiser wrote.

The complaint comes after Kaiser ordered the evacuation of more than 80 patients from the facility on April 8 when insufficient staff showed up to care for them.

No one answered the phones at the facility on Tuesday. Messages sent to administrator Larry Mays weren’t immediately returned. On its website, the facility posted a message saying the evacuation was the right decision and it was following up with residents and their families to ensure a smooth transition.

Skilled nursing facilities have been hit hard by the coronavirus, and residents are considered especially vulnerable due to their age and other health conditions and close proximity to each other. The Southern California county has reported more than 650 virus cases among residents and staff of nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe life-threatening illness, including pneumonia.

In his complaint, Kaiser wrote that Riverside County officials tested residents at Magnolia after learning of virus cases. Two days later, officials received a request for staff to cover three eight-hour shifts as the facility’s routinely scheduled workers weren’t showing up.

The county provided staffing for the next day and warned Mays that an emergency plan was required, he said. When the facility continued to have staffing problems, Kaiser ordered the evacuation.

The county took over the facility and evaluated whether it could be used to house virus patients, but found cleanliness issues and possible structural concerns with the flooring would have made doing so too expensive.

The California Department of Public Health declined to comment on the complaint, pending an investigation.

Coronavirus, Covid 19, Nursing homes, Solano County Health Department, Vallejo CA

At least 18 infected at nursing facility in Vallejo

Health care workers are potentially in danger as well

Vallejo Times-Herald, By John Glidden, April 29, 2020
A healthcare worker takes a moment to get some fresh air at the Windsor Vallejo Care Center where at least 18residents have tested positive for COVID-19. CHRIS RILEY — TIMES-HERALD

Eighteen residents at the Windsor Vallejo Nursing and Rehabilitation Center have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the California Department of Health.

The skilled nursing facility also reported that health care workers at the facility have been infected as well.

Vallejo spokeswoman Christina Lee said on Tuesday that the Solano County Public Health Department and the county’s epidemiology team are overseeing operations at the facility after being notified of the infections last Friday.

“At that time, the confirmed number of cases was 12 residents with positive tests and four staff members with positive tests,” Lee wrote. “It’s not known how the virus reached this facility.”

That number increased to 18 residents infected on Monday in what officials are calling a cluster outbreak.

Solano County Public Health Administrator Jayleen Richards said Tuesday that the county is taking the cluster outbreak very seriously.

“We’ve been testing the staff and residents there,” she said. “We will be checking in with the facility each day.”

Richards said this is the county’s first cluster outbreak of COVID- 19.

Josh Sable, general counsel for Windsor Healthcare, told the Times-Herald Tuesday that there have been no deaths associated with the cluster outbreak at the care facility.

Sable didn’t respond to requests from this newspaper to provide the number of total infected residents and health care workers at the Vallejo facility.

“Windsor Vallejo Care Center has experienced a slight increase in the number of residents diagnosed with COVID-19, but a decrease in the number of infected employees,” he wrote in a prepared statement to this newspaper. “Rest assured, since the onset of this pandemic, Windsor’s clinical team has been collaborating closely with local, state and federal authorities, as well as the facility’s medical director. Nothing is more important to us than providing a safe environment for our residents and team members.”

Lee said the facility has created an isolation wing for residents who have been confirmed positive.

“They are placed in a specific wing of the facility to receive care from nurses/staff that do not provide care to patients in the other wings of the facility to help slow the spread,” she explained.

Sable said employees are screened at the start of each shift for symptoms of COVID-19, “including daily temperature checks and completion of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-compliant screening questionnaire. Employees who show signs of illness are asked to leave immediately and isolate at home.”

He also stated that visits to the facility have been restricted, while staff have increased sanitation “of frequently-touched surfaces.”

“We have ample supplies of personal protective equipment,” Sable said.

According to the state, eight other Solano County care facilities have reported no COVID-19 infections of residents or staff members.

Contact reporter John Glidden at 707-553-6832.
California, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Economy, Stay-at-home

Gov. Newsom: 4 Stage Plan to Reopen California’s Economy

From Gov.ca.gov – Update on California’s Pandemic Roadmap, 4/28/20

Below is the powerpoint Governor Newsom used at his noon press conference today to outline the process for California’s road to modifying stay-at-home orders and re-opening the businesses and workplaces.  A good summary can be found at CBS8 San Diego.  (A print version is likely to appear soon on the Governor’s coronavirus page.)