Solano County Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Updates and Resources, March 30, 2020
Solano County reported NINE NEW POSITIVE CASES today – total is now 43.
The chart at bottom right, “Cumulative number of cases…” gives a clear picture of the infection’s trajectory in Solano County, including numbers from Saturday (0) and Sunday (3), previously unreported. By subtraction then, we know that 6 new cases were reported today, Monday, March 30.
Check out basic information in the screenshot above. Note the County’s new interactive page has more. On the County website, you can click on “Number of cases” and then hover over the charts for detailed information.
Our coronavirus data curve is on a steeper upward trajectory. Everyone stay home and be safe!
Note:
Solano staff refuses to divulge WHERE in the County the positive cases reside.
Public health nurse first to test Solano residents from Travis
By Todd R. Hansen, Daily Republic, March 29, 2020
Public Health Nurse Rodney Butterfield shows how to put on protective gear when testing patients for Covid-19 during a Solano Public Health Practical Skills Training-Outbreaks and Infection Control session at the Solano County Events Center in Fairfield, Tuesday, March 24, 2020. (Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic)
FAIRFIELD — Rodney Butterfield was not new to infectious diseases.
“As nurses, you frequently enter a space where a patient has an infectious disease,” said Butterfield, a 14-year veteran in the nursing profession, the past two as a registered nurse in the Solano County Public Health division. “But this was a little different.”
He volunteered to help test and track the health progress of four Solano County residents at their homes: three who had been released into Public Health care from Travis Air Force Base and one who is believed to have contracted the Covid-19 disease through a community contact.
Public Health Nurse Rodney Butterfield demonstrates proper technique for adorning protective gloves before testing patients for Covid-19 during a Solano Public Health Practical Skills Training-Outbreaks and Infection Control session at the Solano County Events Center in Fairfield, Tuesday, March 24, 2020. (Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic)
Butterfield said the coronavirus was new to everyone – medical professionals and members of the public alike. There was very little information about it, and not all the information was correct, or it was changing so rapidly that even the medical profession struggled to keep up.
He said even today physicians are calling the Public Health office to make sense of the sometimes conflicting information, and there are frequent updates on how the virus can be transmitted.
The primary way, however, remains person-to-person, so health officials continue to emphasize the need to wash hands, keep a healthy distance from other people and to keep your environments clean and sanitized.
Even worse at the beginning, Butterfield noted, everyone who seemed to be getting Covid-19 were dying, if the scattered media reports were to be believed.
“So, yeah, it was a little scary because everything I’ve dealt with in the past was known,” Butterfield said. “It put you on a red alert to be cautious with all you did.”
But as cautious as the situation made Butterfield, he said his clients were truly scared.
“They were frightened. . . . At the time, they didn’t know anything about (the novel coronavirus). We didn’t know anything about it,” Butterfield said.
To make matters worse, and the isolation even more severe, neighbors were also uncertain and did not necessarily react with a sense of understanding or kindness.
“I don’t know what the neighbors said, but my clients felt ostracized,” Butterfield said.
“The question that was most penetrating for us was, ‘What is going to happen to us?’ ” Butterfield said of his clients’ concerns.
It was a question that had far-reaching effects, from the immediacy of their health to their families to what the future would be like for them.
Butterfield, who was a construction contractor in Utah in his first life and started his second career as a licensed vocational nurse in correctional facilities, said his four clients have recovered, and he has talked to two of them since.
“They were just thrilled that they were past this thing,” Butterfield said. “I think what they were thankful for the most was I was giving them the most updated information available.”
Butterfield has now returned to his normal duties, though he still fields calls about the new coronavirus. Many are from individuals who are concerned for their health because the companies they work for have not shut down or made any attempt to adhere to social guidelines.
Butterfield said the experience has made him wonder if he should have gone into research, because it will be researchers who find the ultimate cure.
“I just hope next year we will all be getting vaccinated for this,” Butterfield said.
Most people who have the new coronavirus experience only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. Some people, especially older adults and those with underlying health problems, experience more severe illness such as pneumonia, or death.
The vast majority of people recover. The World Health Organization reports people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.
The “Number of cases” button previously read “Updated daily at 4pm.” Sometime after 4pm on Saturday, March 28, the text below the button was changed to “Updated Monday to Friday at 4pm.”
The County updated the number of cases on Saturday March 21, but starting yesterday, the Solano public will no longer get weekend updates.
The Johns Hopkins interactive map shows no change for Solano County from Friday’s total of 34 cases. Presumably, that map is dependent on reports from County officials – OR, there was no change on Saturday.
Solano County looks to spend $36M on facility projects in 2020-21, but Covid-19 lurks
The grandstands at the Solano County Fairgrounds are demolished, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. The site was formerly a racehorse track. (Robinson Kuntz/Daily Republic file)
By Todd R. Hansen, Daily Republic, March 27, 2020
FAIRFIELD — Solano County has substantially completed nearly $12.2 million in facility projects this fiscal year, expects another $8.98 million to be done by June 30 and will carry over $19.9 million in identified projects during fiscal year 2020-21.
Another $15.99 million in new 2020-21 projects are proposed, the Board of Supervisors were told this week. The board conducted a public hearing, without comment, and adopted the updated five-year Capital Facilities Improvement Plan.
The full five-year plan – from this current fiscal year to 2023-24 – identifies $72.42 million in projects. Of that total, $19.9 million is funded, another $15.99 million in projects are identified with proposed funding and there are $36.53 million worth of unfunded projects.
“The adoption of the CFIP does not commit the board to specific funding,” the report states.
Casting a large shadow over the plan – especially with regard to projects relying on local funding – is the impact of Covid-19 on revenues coming into the county.
Supervisor Monica Brown specifically mentioned the $6.3 million for the first half of a 32-bed mental health residential treatment facility. She was assured that funding is a state grant specifically earmarked for the project.
But that may not be the case with all projects.
Auditor-Controller Phyllis Taynton could not be reached for comment about her projections for sales tax and other revenue sources that will likely be negatively affected by the Covid-19 health emergency.
Chuck Lomeli, the treasurer-tax collector-county clerk, is also keeping a close watch on the situation.
“We are expecting a hit. . . . From my perspective, we (the county) are going to get hurt in a lot of ways,” he said.
One of his primary concerns will be to see if residents are able to pay their property taxes, the deadline for which is April 10. The county has announced it will work with residents on waiving penalties if they are late paying because of Covid-19.
Lomeli said he is equally concerned with county residents and their personal incomes. He said based on national statistics he has seen, most households survive paycheck to paycheck, and may be OK after missing one, but if they start missing two or more paychecks, then it could be difficult for them.
Lomeli said he is waiting to see the full $2 trillion stimulus package out of Washington, D.C., and then watch to see how fast the dollars get to where they are intended. Some of the package is supposed to go to cities and counties, some to businesses and there are some funds to go directly to eligible residents.
The county has 54 buildings and sports facilities with more than 2 million square feet of facilities and 133 acres of grounds that are maintained by General Services.
“This does not include regional parks, Solano County fairgrounds, the Nut Tree Airport and corporation yards, which are maintained by other departments or entities,” the report states.
The largest of the 2019-20 projects completed was the nearly $3.87 million fairgrounds demolition project plus $1.2 million for site remediation. Another $1.6 million was spent on mechanical equipment replacement at the Fairfield Civic Center Library; $1.44 million on improvements and renovations at the Vacaville Veterans Hall; and $1.37 million on the Registrar of Voters relocation project.
Projects expected to be completed by the end of this fiscal year include $3.34 million for heating and air improvements at the Animal Care facility, $2.1 million toward the boiler replacement project at the jail complex and $1.39 million toward the generator replacement and underground fuel tank removal at the downtown jail facility.
There are five proposed projects of more than $1 million for 2020-21 fiscal year, including the $6.3 million mental health facility.
Of the full $15.99 million for 21 projects, $6.39 million would come from the county’s Capital Renewal Reserve Fund; $578,000 from the Criminal Justice Temporary Construction Fund; $2.59 million from the Accumulated Capital Outlay Fund; and $6.44 million from other sources such as the state grant for the mental health facility.
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