Galen Kusic , Editor

At least 95,000 people with COVID-19 have died in the United States with over 1.6 million reported cases as of May 22. While the epicenter of the pandemic is in New York with over 362,000 cases and over 28,000 deaths, Calif. numbers have grown at a slower rate thus far, with over 88,000 positive cases and over 3,600 deaths.

Gov. Gavin Newsom issued shelter-at-home orders earlier than most states, and health experts indicate this may be the reason for the slow of the spread. But last week, Newsom eased restrictions on some Calif. businesses, providing retail, florists, art galleries and bookstores to reopen with strict social distancing guidelines. The state has granted Solano County permission to advance more quickly into Stage 2 of reopening, including shopping malls, swap-meets, dine-in restaurants and schools.

“The state’s revised application for variance attestation was lengthy,” said Bela T. Matyas, M.D., M.P.H, Solano County Public Health Officer. “As we move to advance more quickly through Stage 2 we will continue to monitor the situation, and our top priority will always remain the health and safety of Solano County residents.”

Small business owners are thrilled to see progress toward reopening safely, and Calif. residents overwhelmingly support Newsom’s handling of the pandemic with nearly 80 percent approval, according to a recent Washington Post-Ipsos poll.

However, health officials are still preparing for Calif. cases to surge sometime soon, which makes social distancing, hand washing and wearing a face cloth in public vital to “flattening the curve.”

In Solano County as more testing has become available, numbers tripled over a two week period to 112 on April 12, but have risen even steeper since, with 455 total confirmed cases as of May 22. The most startling number may be that over the last month (since April 17), there have been 18 deaths, increasing the total to 20 – with 12 occurring over the last two weeks.

“As we move toward recovery and the opportunity to reopen businesses safely, in phases based on our county’s risk management best practices, it is crucial for community members to adhere to the public health guidelines and social distancing and to shelter at home if you are an at-risk individual,” said Matyas.

The county reports 47 active cases with 73 total hospitalizations since the outbreak started. Testing has more than quadrupled over the last month, with 9,340 residents tested. That number more than doubled from 4,009 tested on May 1, three weeks ago.

Vallejo has the most cases with 267, with over 100 cases from Windsor Vallejo Care Center with at least three deaths confirmed at the assisted living facility. The rest of the county breaks down like this: Fairfield 83, Vacaville 45, Suisun City 22 and Benicia with 21. All other Solano cities have cases, but the number is listed at “under 10” to protect patients’ anonymity.

Just over 70 percent of Solano COVID-19 cases are individuals 19-64 years of age with four deaths and nearly 22 percent are age 65 and older with 16 deaths. Good news is that only six new cases were reported on Fri., May 22 with 367 new tests administered. Two community testing centers have been established in Vallejo and Vacaville where any resident can get tested, along with a mobile testing unit for essential workers at the Solano County Fairgrounds.

“Ramping up our testing capacity is critical as we begin modifying our stay at home order,” said Gov. Newsom. “In addition to standing up more than 80 new testing sites across the state in under-served communities, soon Californians will be able to get tested when they pick up their prescriptions at some pharmacies across the state.”

This week Newsom announced that more than 1 million diagnostic tests for the virus had been conducted statewide. Just over a month ago, the state set a goal to increase testing to 25,000 tests a day by the end of April – and daily testing has averaged more than 35,000 in the past few days, with over 45,000 new tests reported on May 22.

Starting May 8, low-risk businesses in Solano County were allowed to reopen providing they implement and maintain social distancing best practices for reducing the spread of COVID-19. Certain businesses, organizations and activities, including retail establishments, manufacturing, pet grooming, florists, offices, and City/County local parks (except playgrounds, campgrounds and beaches), which pose a low-risk of COVID-19 transmission, were modified to allow for social distancing.

All businesses, including those that are currently operating as essential businesses, are required to develop and post the Social Distancing Protocol describing how they will function to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

“We urge residents to respect the rules established by businesses and facilities so that they can provide services safely and be mindful of their community members’ health by practicing social distancing as much as possible and wearing facial coverings where six-feet distance cannot be maintained,” said Matyas. “We have worked for the past few weeks with our business, healthcare and public safety partners as well as with elected officials to develop a plan to allow low-risk activities and businesses in the County to resume and reopen.”