Tag Archives: Vaccine

Benicia City Manager Erik Upson, Benicia city staff, City of Benicia, Mandatory face coverings, Vaccine, Vaccine mandate

City of Benicia now requires vaccination (or weekly tests & masking) of all City staff

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: City of Benicia This Week

Message from the City Manager, Erik Upson
October 11, 2021

Hello Everyone,

City of Benicia Personnel Policy #44 will take effect today. This policy requires vaccination of City staff. Those not vaccinated will be required to be tested weekly and wear a mask while indoors at City facilities as well as following all applicable State, County and Local guidelines regarding the wearing of masks.

We did not step into this lightly, but felt it was needed to help protect the safety of our staff and our community. I know some will feel this policy does not go far enough. And some will feel it is a governmental overreach. As always, we are trying to do our very best to balance very real public health concerns with the very real concerns about personal freedoms. Bottom line is we want to do what is best for our community and our staff in this difficult and ever-changing pandemic response.

I want to take a moment to thank our labor groups and their representatives as well as Kim Imboden, our Human Resources Manager, and Fire Chief Josh Chadwick for their work on this. From the very beginning our labor representatives took a positive, thoughtful, and collaborative approach to this very delicate issue.

We continue to look for ways to advance the health of our community. We are currently working with the County in hopes that we will be at the forefront of providing booster shots as those become necessary and more widely available. Additionally, it is our hope when the Pfizer vaccine becomes available for children ages 5-11, we will be able to partner with the County and the School District to help provide those shots at a local clinic. Finally, the Fire Chief is working with the County in hopes of providing drive-through flu clinics here in Benicia later this year.

On a very positive note, I would like to point out that the Benicia Dog Festival will be happening on Sunday, October 17 at the First Street Green. The opening ceremony is scheduled for 11 a.m. This festival has been a long time in the works, and I want to give thanks to the event’s founder Gaul Culley for her patience, thoughtfulness, and, yes, stubbornness, as she worked to make this event happen. Benicia is a very dog-friendly community, and this event will be a fantastic opportunity to get out and connect. Please see their website for more information (https://beniciadogfestival.com/).

Thank you for your interest in the City of Benicia This Week!

Erik Upson
City Manager
CityofBeniciaThisWeek@ci.benicia.ca.us

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

Solano falls today into CDC’s “Substantial” COVID transmission range, Benicia remains in “High” range

By Roger Straw, Friday, October 8, 2021

Friday, October 8: Solano County reports 124 new infections, drops from HIGH to SUBSTANTIAL transmission rate.  Benicia remains just barely in HIGH transmission rate.

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

DEATHS: Solano reported no new COVID-related deaths today.  But the County reported 39 COVID deaths over the last 39 days (from August 30).  A total of 305 Solano residents have died of COVID or COVID-related causes over the course of the pandemic.

CASES: The County reported 124 new COVID cases over the last two days, 62 per day.  AGES: 18 of these 124 cases (15%) were youth and children under 18.  52% were age 18-49, 16% were age 50-64, and 18% were 65+.

COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION RATE: Over the last 7 days, Solano has seen 375 new cases, down from 451  on Wednesday and 639 on Monday.  This good news drops Solano into the CDC’s population-based definition of a SUBSTANTIAL transmission rate for only the 2nd time since July 21.

(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 486 ACTIVE cases is up from Wednesday’s 467, and still far above our summer rates.

POSITIVE TEST RATE:  Solano’s 7-day average percent positivity rate was only 5.8% today, down from Wednesday’s 6.2%.  COMPARE: today’s California rate is 2.1% and today’s U.S. rate is 6.3%.  [Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Tracking Center]

HOSPITALIZATIONS:

CURRENT hospitalizations were up today from 50 to 52 persons, and still in the range we saw during the winter surge.

ICU Bed Availability is down sharply today, from 29% to an alarming 12%, barely above the red warning zone.  We saw rates this low once in September and twice in August – and before that, not since January.  Again, we are in the worrisome range we saw during the winter surge.

Ventilator Availability is up slightly today from 49% to 51%, but still in the range of last winter’s 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.  See below.  The differing race/ethnicity numbers indicate a number of persons whose race/ethnicity was not given or recorded.

FACE MASKS… Required for all in Benicia and Vallejo

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.

SOLANO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS failed to consider an agendized proposal for a countywide MASK MANDATE on Tuesday, September 14.  Today’s Bay Area news put Solano in a sad light: all other counties’ health officers issued a statement offering details on when they would be able to lift mask mandates (not likely soon).  TV news anchors had to point out that Solano would not be considering such a move since our health officer had not been able to “justify” a mask mandate in the first place.  The Solano Board of Supervisors has joined with Dr. Bela Matyas in officially showing poor leadership on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cases by City on Friday, October 8:
    • Benicia added 7 new cases today, a total of 1,467 cases since the outbreak began.  Benicia has seen 28 new cases over the last 7 days, continuing (just barely) in the CDC’s definition of HIGH community transmission (defined as 28 or more cases, based on Benicia population – SEE CHART BELOW).  [Note that Solano County is at a level of HIGH transmission, and Solano’s 6 other cities are likely also individually experiencing high or substantial transmission.]

    • Dixon added 6 new cases today, total of 2,499 cases.
    • Fairfield added 29 new cases today, total of 12,023 cases.
    • Rio Vista added 6 new cases today, total of 582 cases.
    • Suisun City added 6 new cases today, total of 3,176 cases.
    • Vacaville added 36 new cases today, a total of 11,785 cases.
    • Vallejo added 34 new cases today, a total of 13,157 cases.
    • Unincorporated added 0 new cases today, a total of 139 cases (population figures not available).

HOW DOES TODAY’S REPORT COMPARE?  See recent reports and others going back to April 20, 2020 on my ARCHIVE of daily Solano COVID updates (an excel spreadsheet).

>>The data on this page is from the Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard.  The Dashboard is full of much more information and updated Monday, Wednesday and Friday around 4 or 5pm.  On the County’s dashboard, you can hover a mouse or click on an item for more information.  Note the tabs at top for “Summary, Demographics” and “Vaccines.”  Click here to go to today’s Solano County Dashboard.

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

Solano County reports only 82 new COVID infections (but transmission remains HIGH)

By Roger Straw, Wednesday, October 6, 2021

Wednesday, October 6: Solano County reports 82 new infections, 13 in Benicia

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

DEATHS: Solano reported no new COVID-related deaths today.  Solano deaths over the course of the pandemic now total 305.  The County reported 32 COVID deaths over the last 32 days.

CASES: The County reported 82 new COVID cases over the last two days, 41 per day.  AGES: 13 of these 82 cases (16%) were youth and children under 18.  59% were age 18-49, 21% were age 50-64, and only 6% were 65+.

COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION RATE: Over the last 7 days, Solano has seen 451 new cases, down from 639 on Monday but still just barely in the CDC’s population-based definition of a HIGH transmission rate.

(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 467 ACTIVE cases is down from Monday’s 514, but still far above our summer rates.

POSITIVE TEST RATE:  Solano’s 7-day average percent positivity rate was only 6.2% today, down from Monday’s 6.7%.  COMPARE: today’s California rate is 1.9% and today’s U.S. rate is 6.3%.  [Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Tracking Center]

HOSPITALIZATIONS:

CURRENT hospitalizations were down today from 53 to 50 persons, and still in the range we saw during the winter surge.

ICU Bed Availability is up today, from 23% to 29%, but still in the yellow danger zone.  Again, we are in the worrisome range we saw during the winter surge.

Ventilator Availability is down today from 53% to 49%, 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 did not update its Hospitalizations charts today.  See below.  The differing race/ethnicity numbers indicate a number of persons whose race/ethnicity was not given or recorded.

FACE MASKS… Required for all in Benicia and Vallejo

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.

OLD NEWS BUT SIGNIFICANT – SOLANO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS failed to consider an agendized proposal for a countywide MASK MANDATE 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 agendized question of a county-wide mask mandate.  The Solano Board of Supervisors joined with Dr. Bela Matyas in officially showing poor leadership on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cases by City on Wednesday, October 6:
  • Benicia added 13 new cases today, a total of 1,460 cases since the outbreak began.  Benicia has seen 38 new cases over the last 7 days, continuing in the CDC’s definition of HIGH community transmission (defined as 28 or more cases, based on Benicia population).  [Note that Solano County is at a level of HIGH transmission, and Solano’s 6 other cities are likely also individually experiencing high or substantial transmission.]
  • Dixon added 6 new cases today, total of 2,493 cases.
  • Fairfield added 14 new cases today, total of 11,994 cases.
  • Rio Vista added 5 new case today, total of 576 cases.
  • Suisun City added 4 new cases today, total of 3,170 cases.
  • Vacaville added 13 new cases today, a total of 11,749 cases.
  • Vallejo added 27 new cases today, a total of 13,123 cases.
  • Unincorporated added 0 new cases today, a total of 139 cases (population figures not available).

HOW DOES TODAY’S REPORT COMPARE?  See recent reports and others going back to April 20, 2020 on my ARCHIVE of daily Solano COVID updates (an excel spreadsheet).

>>The data on this page is from the Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard.  The Dashboard is full of much more information and updated Monday, Wednesday and Friday around 4 or 5pm.  On the County’s dashboard, you can hover a mouse or click on an item for more information.  Note the tabs at top for “Summary, Demographics” and “Vaccines.”  Click here to go to today’s Solano County Dashboard.

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

Solano County Monday update: 8 COVID dead, 169 new infections

By Roger Straw, Monday, October 4, 2021

Monday, October 4: Solano County reports 8 COVID deaths and 169 new infections

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

DEATHS: Solano reported 8 new COVID-related deaths today, one age 50-64 and seven over 65.  The County accounted for race/ethnicity of six of the eight: 1 Hispanic, 4 White and 1 Multirace.  Solano deaths over the course of the pandemic now total 305.  The County reported 32 COVID deaths over the last 30 days.

CASES: The County reported  169 new COVID cases over the weekend, 54 per day.  AGES: 33 of these 169 cases (20%) were youth and children under 18.  49% were age 18-49, 19% were age 50-64, and only 12% were 65+.

COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION RATE: Over the last 7 days, Solano has seen 639 new cases, up from 518 on Friday and decidedly in the CDC’s population-based definition of a HIGH transmission rate.

(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 514 ACTIVE cases is down from Friday’s 545, but still far above our summer rates.

POSITIVE TEST RATE:  Solano’s 7-day average percent positivity rate was only 6.7% today, down from Friday’s 7.8%.  COMPARE: today’s California rate is 2.0% and today’s U.S. rate is 6.4%.  [Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Tracking Center]

HOSPITALIZATIONS:

CURRENT hospitalizations were up today from 46 to 53 persons, and still in the range we saw during the winter surge.

ICU Bed Availability is up today, from 18% to 23%, but still in the yellow danger zone.  Again, we are in the worrisome range we saw during the winter surge.

Ventilator Availability remained at 57% today, 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 did not update its Hospitalizations charts today.  See below.  The differing race/ethnicity numbers indicate a number of persons whose race/ethnicity was not given or recorded.

FACE MASKS… Required for all in Benicia and Vallejo

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.

OLD NEWS BUT SIGNIFICANT – SOLANO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS failed to consider an agendized proposal for a countywide MASK MANDATE 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 agendized question of a county-wide mask mandate.  The Solano Board of Supervisors joined with Dr. Bela Matyas in officially showing poor leadership on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cases by City on Monday, October 4:
  • Benicia added 8 new cases today, a total of 1,447 cases since the outbreak began.  Benicia has seen 34 new cases over the last 7 days, solidly back in the CDC’s definition of HIGH community transmission (defined as 28 or more cases, based on Benicia population).  [Note that Solano County is at a level of HIGH transmission, and Solano’s 6 other cities are likely also individually experiencing high or substantial transmission.]
  • Dixon added 14 new cases today, total of 2,487 cases.
  • Fairfield added 42 new cases today, total of 11,980 cases.
  • Rio Vista added 2 new case today, total of 571 cases.
  • Suisun City added 10 new cases today, total of 3,166 cases.
  • Vacaville added 47 new cases today, a total of 11,736 cases.
  • Vallejo added 46 new cases today, a total of 13,096 cases.
  • Unincorporated added 0 new cases today, a total of 139 cases (population figures not available).

Continue reading Solano County Monday update: 8 COVID dead, 169 new infections →