Tag Archives: Coronavirus COVID 19

Benicia School Board, Benicia Unified School District, BUSD Superintendent Charles Young, Coronavirus, Covid 19, In-person learning, Vaccine

Benicia School Superintendent: Goal to begin in-person learning on March 22

Update from Superintendent Dr. Young 2/11/2021

Feb 11, 2021 | BUSD Latest News

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

Dear Community and Staff,

As we head into the four-day weekend, Monday being President’s Day and an opportunity to pause and reflect on the long lineage of presidents in our great country, I wanted to provide a quick update on matters related to in-person learning.

In-person Learning Review:  During the January 14 Board meeting, the Trustees voted to remain in distance learning through March 19, 2021, with the desire to return to in-person instruction, implementing the approved hybrid learning plan, on March 22, 2021, which is the first day of the 4th quarter, State rules permitting.

The good news is recent COVID-19 case rate data is showing positive signs of trending in the right direction in the three primary categories:  New COVID-19 positivity rates per day per 100k, positivity rate (7 day average) and ICU availability.

Please use the following link for detailed COVID-19 data.  Hover your cursor over Solano County for our data. https://covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy/)

As a follow-up to the February 4th Board meeting, the Trustees asked that we explore options related to small group, in-person instruction before the implementation date of the larger hybrid plan mentioned above.  We will be discussing this item at the upcoming Board meeting on Thursday, February 18th.

Safety Plans:  Since the January 14th Board meeting, the State established a new requirement called the COVID-19 Safety Plan, which consists of a COVID-19 Prevention Program and COVID-19 Guidance Checklist.  Districts are required to submit this plan to the County Health Director for approval before heading back to K-6 grades in-person hybrid learning.  Fortunately, we worked very closely with our two unions earlier in the year and passed two Memorandums of Understanding (MOU’s), which outline, in considerable detail, the required safety elements for in-person instruction.

Most, if not all, of the safety requirements are included in the MOU’s and we were able to transfer them to the COVID-19 Prevention Program which is nearing completion for submission.  Please find the COVID-19 Prevention Program linked here.  If you have any feedback or comments, please email them to Dr. Gill, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources:  kgill@beniciaunified.org.

Vaccine:  Although the COVID-19 vaccination is not required for in-person learning, the enhanced protection and sense of safety it provides, is obvious.  The main challenge, as per Dr. Matyas, the Solano County Health Director, and who presented at the last Board meeting of February 4th (recording), centers on the demand for the vaccine being greater than the supply.  We are continuing to work closely with Dr. Matyas regarding a specific date and plan for the availability and distribution of the vaccine in BUSD.

The following link will take you to the Solano County Health Department’s COVID-19 Vaccination plan.  This is a VERY useful website and provides all related information related to the vaccine and its distribution, including the following COVID-19 interest form sent to all staff last week.  https://www.solanocounty.com/depts/ph/coronavirus_links/covid_19_vaccines.asp

Governor’s Safe Schools for All Plan:  In my last newsletter, I referenced the Governor’s plan and that it was still being negotiated in the legislature.  As of today, we do not have any clear updates regarding this plan and whether or not it will be passed.  I will provide more information as it is made available to us.

LCAP/Strategic Plan Survey:  We are beginning the process of collecting information on key goals and initiatives for our LCAP/Strategic plan.  This document plays a central role in providing clear direction for key initiatives and goals for our district.  Your input is vital to this process.  Please watch for an additional email with a link to the survey.

Thank you!
Charles Young

Coronavirus, Covid 19, Solano County CA

Two mass vaccination events coming up on Feb. 12 & 13 at Vallejo Fairgrounds

From an email sent by Solano County Supervisor Monica Brown.  Thanks, Monica!
COVID-19 Info & Resources
February 10, 2021

TWO ADDITIONAL MASS VACCINATION EVENTS

Solano County Public Health is again partnering with Kaiser Permanente, NorthBay Healthcare, Partnership HealthPlan of California, Medic Ambulance and Touro University California to host two large scale vaccination clinics, including 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, February 12 and Saturday, February 13 in the Exposition Hall at the Solano County Fairgrounds campus in Vallejo.

4,000 VACCINATIONS AVAILABLE BY APPOINTMENT

Vaccinations are available by appointment only for 4,000 Solano County residents who meet the eligibility requirements. This currently includes health care workers, first responders, and Solano County residents over the age of 75.  Vaccination appointments are open to all those who are in an eligible tier, regardless of where they receive medical care.

SIGNING UP TO RECEIVE A VACCINE / SHAREABLE LINKS

Those who fall into an eligible tier may make an appointment using the links below. The person signing up for their first dose would automatically be signed up for their second dose exactly four weeks from the date of first dose.  Those without access to the internet may call 707-784-8655 for registration assistance.

ADDITIONAL TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS

Solano Transportation Authority/Solano Mobility also has multiple options for transportation if need be: https://www.solanomobility.org/. Folks needing transportation assistance can call the Solano Mobility Call Center 800-535-6883 (Mon-Fri 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.).

OUTREACH TO ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS / COMMUNICATION PLAN

Starting this afternoon Public Health will be sending out mass communications (emails, automated phone calls, text messages) to eligible individuals who have registered using the Vaccine Interest Form, along with IHSS Care Providers, and eligible IHSS recipients (75+). We will allow those folks to have priority signing up, and at the end of today, we will start pushing the event on social media, following up with a press release and website posting tomorrow.

Coronavirus, Covid 19, Keeping Watch on Earth News, Solano County CA

Solano County COVID-19 Update: 132 new cases overnight, 81 currently hospitalized

By Roger Straw, Wednesday, February 10, 2021

COVID is still spreading and dangerous in Solano County – stay safe!

Wednesday, February 10: 132 new Solano cases overnight, no new deaths.  Since February 2020: 29,172 cases, over 850 hospitalized, 140 deaths.Compare previous report, Tuesday, February 9:Summary

[From Solano County Public Health and others, see sources below.  For a running archive of daily County updates, see my Excel ARCHIVE. 
    • CASES – Solano County reported 132 new cases overnight, a total of 29,172 cases since the outbreak started.  In the month of January, Solano added 8,495 new cases, for an average of 274 new cases per day.
    • DEATHS – the County reported no new deaths overnight, a total of 140 Solano deaths since the pandemic began.  18 Solano County COVID deaths have been reported in the first 10 days of February, and in the month of January, Solano recorded 24 coronavirus deaths.  While many other COVID stats are improving, the recent surge in deaths is no doubt the final sad result of our holiday surge.
    • ACTIVE cases – Solano reported 59 more active cases today, a total of 824 active cases.  Compare: Solano’s average number of Active Cases during October was 284, average in November was 650, in December 1,658, in January 2,185 – and TODAY we are at 824.  Better, but still, is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons?  My guess is we just sit back and wait for a voluntary 10 day quarantine to expire.  Who knows?  To my knowledge, Solano has offered no reports on contact tracing.
    • HOSPITALIZATIONS – (See expanding ICU capacity and ventilator availability below.)  Today, Solano reported 5 fewer currently hospitalized cases, total of 81.  The County also reported no new hospitalizations among age groups, a total of 855 hospitalized in all age groups since the pandemic began. Accuracy cannot be certain – note>>  In a Dec. 31 Fairfield Daily Republic article, reporter Todd Hanson wrote, “Since the start of the pandemic, and as of Wednesday, 9,486 residents have been hospitalized.”  This startling number is far and away above the number of residents hospitalized as indicated in the County’s count of age group hospitalizations, and not available anywhere on the County’s COVID-19 dashboard.  Asked about his source, Hanson replied that Solano Public Health “had to do a little research on my behalf.”  It would be good if the County could add Total Hospitalized to its daily Dashboard update.  [For the numbers used in my manual calculation of total hospitalizations, see age group stats below.  For COVID19-CA.GOV numbers, see BenIndy page, COVID-19 Hospitalizations Daily Update for Solano County.]
    • ICU BEDS – In late January, Solano hospitals expanded their ICU capacity [see BenIndy, Jan. 25]  Even with the expanded ICU capacity, Solano County remains in the YELLOW DANGER ZONE, reporting 28% available today, down from 30% yesterday.  The State’s COVID19-CA.GOV reports that Solano County had 14 AVAILABLE ICU BEDS as of yesterday, February 9.  (For COVID19-CA.GOV info see BenIndy page, COVID-19 Hospitalizations Daily Update for Solano County, and for REGIONAL data see COVID-19 ICU Bed Availability by REGION.)
    • VENTILATORS available – Today Solano hospitals have 62% of ventilators available, up from yesterday’s 58% but down substantially from last summer’s reports of 82-94% available.
Positive Test Rate – SOLANO TEST RATE of 10.3% – STILL HIGH, VIRUS STILL SPREADING, STAY SAFE!

Solano County reported our 7-day average positive test rate of 10.3%, up from yesterday’s 10.2%, and still above the State’s purple tier threshold of 8%.  Average percent positive test rates are among the best metrics for measuring community spread of the virus.  COMPARE: The much lower and more stable California 7-day average test rate was 4.8% today, same as yesterday.  (Note that Solano County displays past weeks and months in a 7-day test positivity line graph which also shows daily results.  However, the chart does not display an accurate number of cases for the most recent days, as there is a lag time in receiving test results.  The 7-day curve therefore also lags behind due to unknown recent test results.) 

By Age Group
  • Youth 17 and under – 23 new cases overnight, total of 3,390 cases, representing 11.6% of the 29,172 total cases.  No new hospitalizations were reported today among this age group, total of 18 since the outbreak began.  Thankfully, no deaths have ever been reported in Solano County in this age group.  But cases among Solano youth rose steadily over the summer, from 5.6% of total cases on June 8 to 11% on August 31 and has remained at over 11% since September 30.  Youth are 22% of Solano’s general population, so this 11% may seem low.  The significance is this: youth are SERIOUSLY NOT IMMUNE (!) – in fact at least 18 of our youth have been hospitalized since the outbreak began.
  • Persons 18-49 years of age – 76 new cases overnight, total of 16,116 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents 55.3% of the total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  The County reported no new hospitalizations among persons in this age group today.  A total of 243 are reported to have been hospitalized since the outbreak began.  Solano recorded no new deaths in this young group today, total of 9 deaths.  Some in this group are surely at high risk, as many are providing essential services among us, and some may be ignoring public health orders.  I expect this group is a major factor in the spread of the virus.
  • Persons 50-64 years of age – 22 new cases overnight, total of 6,100 cases.  This age group represents 20.9% of the 29,172 total cases.  The County reported no new hospitalizations among persons in this age group today, a total of 233 reported to have been hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths were reported in this age group today, a total of 23 deaths.
  • Persons 65 years or older – 11 new cases overnight, total of 3,555, representing 12.2% of Solano’s 29,172 total cases.  The County reported no new hospitalizations among persons in this age group today, a total of 361 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths were  reported in this age group today.  A total of 108 of our elders have died of COVID, accounting for 77% of Solano’s 140 total deaths.
City Data
  • Benicia added 1 new case overnight, total of 828 cases since the outbreak began.
  • Dixon added 3 new cases overnight, total of 1,704 cases.
  • Fairfield added 28 new cases overnight, total of 7,949 cases.
  • Rio Vista added 3 new cases overnight, total of 294 cases.
  • Suisun City added 17 new cases overnight, total of 1,982 cases.
  • Vacaville added 29 new cases overnight, total of 7,715 cases.
  • Vallejo added 51 new cases overnight, total of 8,614 cases.
  • Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 86 cases.
Race / Ethnicity

The County report on race / ethnicity includes case numbers, hospitalizations, deaths and Solano population statistics.  This information is discouragingly similar to national reports that indicate significantly worse outcomes among black and brown Americans.  Note that all of this data surely undercounts Latinx Americans, as there is a large group of “Multirace / Others” which likely is composed mostly of Latinx members of our communities.

  • Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 12% of cases, 12% of hospitalizations, and 17% of deaths.
  • Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 11% of cases, but 17% of hospitalizations, and 21% of deaths.
  • Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 13% of cases, 21% of hospitalizations, and 13% of deaths.
  • Multi-race / Others are 7% of Solano’s population, but account for 35% of cases, 18% of hospitalizations, and 12% of deaths.
  • White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 29% of cases, 31% of hospitalizations and 34% of deaths.
More…

The County’s Coronavirus Dashboard is full of much more information, too extensive to cover here on a daily basis.  The Benicia Independent will continue to summarize daily and highlight significant portions.  For more, check out the Dashboard at https://doitgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=055f81e9fe154da5860257e3f2489d67.

Source
Source: Solano County Coronavirus Dashboard (posted on the County website late today).  ALSO see important daily updates from the state of California at COVID19.CA.GOV, embedded here on the BenIndy at Cases and Deaths AND Hospitalizations AND ICU Beds by REGION.
Benicia Mayor Steve Young, Benicia Unified School District, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Schools, Vaccine

Benicia Mayor and Solano County Public Health Officer disagree whether teachers should get vaccine sooner

Benicia mayor asks Solano supervisors to move teachers to front of vaccination line

Fairfield Daily Republic, By Todd R. Hansen, February 10, 2021
Benicia Mayor Steve Young

Benicia Mayor Steve Young asked the Solano County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to move teachers to the front of the vaccination line so schools can open quickly and safely.

“And the key, as I see it, and absolutely to do that, is being able to vaccinate each teacher and member of the (schools’) staff,” Young said.

Educators are scheduled as part of the first tier of Phase 1B, the same as residents who are 65 to 74, agriculture workers, as well as child care and adult care workers.

The county is currently working through the groups in the final tier of Phase 1A.

Dr. Bela Matyas, the county public health officer, said the next group of seniors need to be the top priority since 80% of the county’s Covid-related deaths are residents who are 65 or older.

“So if we want to make a dent in our fatalities, we have to focus on (residents) 65 and older,” Matyas said in a phone interview after the board meeting. He was not part of the meeting agenda.

Matyas said he was aware of the pressure being applied to get teachers vaccinated more quickly, but does not agree that politicizing the issue is the best way to make health decisions.

Young’s comments came during the public comment period of the board meeting, during which Michele Guerra also called on the board to open the schools.

She said students, especially those who are deaf or hard of hearing, need to be back in the classrooms.

“Students are struggling with all this technology,” she said. “We need to get these schools open. Many of these students are falling behind.”

The board heard a similar message early in the pandemic from Superintendent of Schools Lisette Estrella-Henderson.

She told the board she was concerned with the potential effects of having schools closed on students with disabilities because of the reliance on distance learning and technology.

The schools closed to in-class instruction at the start of the pandemic in March. The vast majority remain closed, with children and teens receiving instruction online from their teachers….