Young cancer survivor finds way to pay it forward A3
Rodriguez’s Booker signs to play baseball for Air Force B1
friday | November 13, 2020 | $1.00
dailyrepublic.com | Well said. Well read.
Fairfield-Suisun school board hears plans for reopening Susan Hiland
shiland@dailyrepublic.net
Robinson Kuntz/Daily Republic
An advertisement for face masks is on display inside the Fairfield Home Depot, Thursday.
Solano’s Covid-19 surge continues with 2-day, 83-case average
Todd R. Hansen
thansen@dailyrepublic.net
FAIRFIELD — Solano County residents got a Veterans Day reprieve from the purple-tainted daily Covid-19 reports, but the news was not any better coming back. The Solano County Public Health Division reported Thursday 166 new cases since Tuesday’s update. That is an 83-case average for the two days, and when added to what is a full week of reports starting with last Friday, the matyas daily case average is 84.71. Dr. Bela Matyas, the county public health officer, said the numbers are closing in on the highest averages the county has experienced during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“There is no doubt that we are experiencing a second wave with significant numbers,” said Matyas, who said he is concerned about the upcoming holiday season. Unlike the current surge, which has largely been younger residents so there have been fewer hospitalizations and deaths as compared to the first wave, Thanksgiving is a multigenerational holiday. “I am worried about Thanksgiving,” Matyas said. He said he believes the county is going to have to battle through the pandemic for another four to six months depending on when a vaccine could bring some relief. Matyas said that battle includes convincing the state that numbers alone do not tell the story, and that businesses should not be punished
for a surge to which they are not contributors. state begins its The counts on Tuesdays. And while the county is safe from being sent back to the purple tier for now, health officials said the regression looks more and more likely by the first week of December. The county, which benefits from its high testing, needs to be bellow 30.7 cases per day to stay in the “red.” Health officials do not think the state adjustment will save the county this time. California’s color-coded monitoring system designates the purple tier for counties where transmission of the novel coronavirus is considered to be widespread. Shutdown orders for counties in the purple tier are the most severe. The red tier is for counties with See Surge, Page A8
Trump, still out of sight, focuses on his own future as pandemic worsens Tribune Content Agency WASHINGTON — More than a week after his stinging electoral defeat, President Donald Trump spent another day secluded in the White House on Thursday feverishly tweeting, watching television and telephoning allies – focused more on his own future than governing the nation as it struggles with a worsening pandemic. Eager to exact retribution on those in government and media he deemed insufficiently loyal, and determined
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images/TNS
A view of the White House as President Donald Trump continues to challenge the results of the 2020 Presidential Election, Thursday, in Washington, D.C. to maintain his grip on the Republican Party as he considers running
again in four years, Trump tweeted more than 40 times – but not
coming this weekend SUNDAY Parade coming this weekend. Look for the insert in the Daily Republic.
once about the more than 144,000 new U.S. coronavirus cases, a grim daily record. From the pandemic’s onset in February, Trump has sought to manage the contagion as a political problem that threatened his reelection bid, not as a mass casualty health crisis that already has taken the lives of more than 242,000 Americans. Now that his own political fate has been decided, “he could care less, or even less than before,” said one administration See Trump, Page A8
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FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield-Suisun School District visited the topic of returning to school in person at the Thursday board meeting – but no decisions were made. A recap of the past few months noted that Gov. Gavin Newsom implemented a warning/ monitoring system July 17 that resulted in all schools being placed in distance learning as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The next week, July 20, the board took action to approve its 5-Phase Continuum Plan, affirm that the district would open in distance learning per the governor’s orders and set Oct. 8 as the board meeting date to re-evaluate the re-opening of school facilities for inperson instruction. By August, the state transitioned from the monitoring system to a tiered blueprint and districts were no longer required to open under a 5-Phase Continuum and instead, school boards could elect to open in a hybrid model. By the Oct. 8 governing board meeting, trustees took action to remain in distance learning and to review the re-opening status during the Jan. 14 meeting. Angie Avlonitis, director of student services for the district, discussed the situation as it stands
today with the board. For in-person learning, the schools are required to follow the color-coded tier system set out by Newsom. Being in Tier Purple and Tier Red 2 means schools are not permitted to reopen unless they previously opened in Red or opened with a waiver, which applied to transitional kindergarten through sixth grade only. Surveillance testing is required with waiver. Teachers may elect to pilot in-person instruction where relevant guidance applies and with a maximum of 14 students. Tier Red 2, after 14 days without a rise in Covid-19 numbers in the county, allows the school board to reopen after 14 consecutive days without infections. The stipulations for this opening include allowing schools to stay open in Purple and/ or when closed in Red; neither waiver or surveillance testing required and the maximum number of 14 students no longer applies. Under each one of the tiers, the schools must plan for how to respond to people who are symptomatic. In-person activities that could resume under Tier Red or Purple conditions would be individual or small student group instruction during asynchronous time, See School, Page A8
Alder, Hudson in dead heat for single Suisun council seat Glen Faison
gfaison@dailyrepublic.net
SUISUN CITY — Former police chief Thomas D. Alder and former councilman Mike Hudson are once again tied for the second of two City Council seats based on updated vote counts released Thursday. Alma Hernandez remains in the overall lead in the four-candidate field with 33.2% of the updated tally, the Solano County Elections Office reports. Alder and Hudson each have 22.52% – 4,139 votes each. Appointed councilman Anthony Adams is fourth with 21.4% and 205 votes behind Hudson. The two were also tied for a time based on early results posted on Election Day and have since gone back and forth as additional votes have been counted. Vote totals in all contests are unofficial as the ballot counts continue at the Solano County Elections Office in downtown Fairfield.
Fairfield City Council Updated counts in Fairfield show that two newcomers and one veteran councilman remain on track to earn seats on the Fairfield City Council in its first-ever district-based election. Scott Tonnesen maintains his lead over Raymond Courtemanche for the new District 2 seat on the council. Tonnesen’s leads with 50.56% of the vote as of the end of the day Thursday, the elections office reports. Courtemanche has 48.86% – 76 votes back with the 4,480 ballots thus far counted. Current City Council member Rick Vaccaro remains on track to be the first representative in Fairfield’s new District See Suisun, Page A8
