Coronavirus In Benicia: 41 Cases

BENICIA, CA — As the cumulative number of coronavirus cases in Sonoma County continued to climb, reaching 2,219 by Monday, just 41 of the county's cases — 2 percent — have been in the city of Benicia since March

The county, which on Monday had 47 patients hospitalized for the virus, Solano County remains on the California Department of Public Health's county monitoring list.

Under new orders that came down Monday from the state, Solano as well as the other counties on the monitoring list — including Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa and Sonoma in the Bay Area — must close gyms, places of worship, offices in non-critical sectors, hair and nail salons and indoor malls, in addition to what on Monday became the statewide closure of all bars and all indoor activities at restaurants, wineries, movie theaters, zoos, museums and card rooms.

"At his press briefing today, Governor Newsom ordered the immediate shutdown of all fitness centers, places of worship, indoor protests, offices for non-essential sectors, personal care services, including nail salons, body waxing and tattoo parlors, hair salons, barbershops and malls in 30 California Counties on the County Monitoring List – including Solano County – unless they can be modified to operate outside or by pick-up service only," Solano County Spokesman Matthew Davis said. "Businesses in Solano County impacted by the Governor’s new orders must cease all indoor operations by the end of their business day today."

The California Department of Public Health is reporting the Governor’s shutdown is due to a rise in the number of new COVID-19 cases reported, hospitalization rates and deaths in the state over the past two weeks. According to the Solano County Department of Health and Social Services, Public Health division, the number of new COVID-19 cases in Solano County is also on the rise, Davis said.

"We continue to see a surge in the number of new cases across the County, including a rise in positivity rates, hospitalizations and fatalities," said Dr. Bela T. Matyas, Solano County Public Health Officer. "While it may be difficult, especially during the summer, we strongly urge all Solano County residents to limit or avoid in-person gatherings, as we know the recent rise in COVID-19 cases is due to families and friends getting together with people outside their households and infecting each other, which can be especially dangerous when transmitted to high-risk individuals."

On July 2, Newsom ordered California Counties on the County Monitoring List, including Solano County, to immediately close all indoor operations at dine-in restaurants, wineries and tasting rooms, family entertainment centers, indoor movie theatres, indoor zoos, museums and cardrooms. Effective Monday, the Governor updated his July 2 orders to include all California counties to shut down indoor operations at these establishments until further notice. Bars, breweries, brewpubs and pubs remain closed for all indoor and outdoor operations.

Solano County Public Health encourages all residents to continue to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, California Department of Public Health and Solano County Public Health social distancing best practices, including wearing a cloth face mask outside one's home whenever physical distancing cannot be maintained, maintaining a physical distance of 6-feet from others, practicing coughing and sneezing etiquette, using a hand sanitizer or washing hands for at least 20 seconds and stay at home if not feeling well.

Coronavirus Cases By City

As of Monday, there were 301 active cases of coronavirus in Solano County, and 31 Solano County residents have died from the virus.

From Solano County Public Health, here is the breakdown of cumulative cases by city since March:

• Benicia: 41 cases / 2 percent
• Dixon: 122 cases / 6 percent
• Fairfield: 765 cases / 35 percent
• Rio Vista: 22 case / 1 percent
• Suisun City: 170 / 7 percent
• Vacaville: 354 / 16 percent
• Vallejo: 747 / 34 percent

According to the state's monitoring list:

"Solano County is experiencing increased hospitalization. Drivers include a large outbreak among farm workers in the vineyards in Sonoma and Napa who are residing in Solano, as well as an ongoing surge in cases related to family gatherings and other social gatherings on the weekends. The farmworker cases total many dozens over the past one to two weeks, and the close-contact cases appear to have begun with weekend activities in early May and are continuing to the present.

"The large number of such cases overall is resulting in an increase in hospitalized cases. These cases are not at present resulting in a strain on the hospitals or in ICU admissions but the county is monitoring this closely. County reports that hospitals in their jurisdiction have multiple levels of surge capacity for hospitalizations and for ICU admissions, if these become necessary.

"Key action steps include: working with the neighboring counties and with the vineyard management companies to implement social distancing measures; 2) educating the workers themselves (using Spanish interpreters) on social distancing measures; 3) providing appropriate cautionary messages through social media and the press about the risks of gatherings, not social distancing and not using personal protection measures."

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.