Maria Esther Sanchez, Alvaro Gomez, Pam Stello, Marian Shostrom; Lucia Roan, Rosa Flores; Bianca Retano; Cristina Lorenzana; Erika Pantoja; Ina Mason; Jacqueline Chavez; Maria Ines Davalos; Edith Pastrano; Eulalia Galvin; Jane Courant; Dajenya Shoshanna Kafele; Sharon Greenblum; Dave Severy; Sky Ferraris; Bernardina Juarez; Juana Rangel; Maria Tapia; Rosa Vargas; James Brandt; Shawn Garcia; Sarah Morse; Dick Offerman; Lehidy Frias; Joni Podschun; Missty Martinez; Dan Safran; Kathy Greene; Deborah Polk; Maggie Tysor; Joan Liston Medhurst; Eric Sanchez; Glenda; Melody Howe Weintraub; Jacquelyne M. Vera; Bakari Kafele; Victor Rameriz; Nancy Ybarra; Darlene Gee Mayor; Megan Zapanta; Brendon O’Laskey; Mary Olowin; Judy Stillman; Jan Warren; Rocheall Pierre; Denise Woods; Jeffrey Levin; Alexina Rojas; Erika; Chipo Washington; Veronica; Leydi Maldonado; Christine Clark; Azucena Torres; Mark MacMahon; Enicia Montalvo; Jima Monson; Amelia Hernandez; Rhea Elina Laughlin; Ali Uscilka; Debra Ballinger; Karen Yapp; Josh Anijar; Kristen Rigsby; Carlos de Leon; Esperanza Rojas Bolanos; Shagufta Khan; Kristen Rigsby; Danny Espinoza; Douglas A. Leich; Lauren Babb; Rhovy Lyn Antonio; Jeannette Kortz; Ana Gonzalez; Marta Flores.

Written Correspondence was received from (attached): Darlene Gee, Mayor of Orinda; Jeffrey Levin, Policy Director of East Bay Housing Organizations (EBHO); Daryn Nabeta; Rhea Elina Lauglin; First Five Contra Costa; Esperanza Rojas; Margaret Tysor; Sandra Velasquez.

 
The Board discussed the matter and directed the County Counsel’s office to prepare an urgency ordinance for the Board’s consideration next week.  The Board provided the following direction for the content of the ordinance: 
the Santa Clara County ordinance should be used as a basic template;  the proposed ordinance should apply county-wide, but include a provision that if a city has a stricter ordinance, that ordinance applies in the city; the ordinance should apply to commercial and residential property; a tenant unable to pay rent should communicate this in writing to the landlord, and staff should provide a form for this purpose and FAQs (available on County website); rent increases should be prohibited for the duration of the ordinance; a grace period of 120 days from the expiration of the ordinance would be applied to back rent; no late fees could be assessed for 120 days after expiration of the ordinance; a civil remedy for violation, including attorneys’ fees, should mirror Santa Clara’s ordinance; tenants could not be evicted for exceeding the occupancy number if immediate family members moved in due to COVID-19;  no-fault evictions would be prohibited except in cases of health & safety purposes (non-covid related) or the if the owner or the owner’s immediate family will move into the residential rental unit; the ordinance would apply retroactive to March 16^th, 2020;
 
 
The Board of Supervisors will meet on April 21, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. to consider adoption of the ordinance.

 

Written commentary was provided by (attached): Victor Rameriz; Alvaro Gomez; Bernardino Juarez; Bianca Retano; Cristina Lorenzana; Dajenya Shoshanna Kafele; Edith Pastrano; Eric Sanchez; Erika Pantoja; Eulalia Galvan; Glenda; Ina Mason; Jacqueline Chavez; Juana Rangel; Kathy Greene; Lucia Roan; Maria Esther Sanchez; Maria Ines Davalos; Maria Tapia; Pam Stello; Rosa Flores; Rosa Vargas; Sharon Greenblum; Bakari Kafele; Douglas A. Leich; Andres Soto; Mariana Moore; Jane Courant; Allison Becwar; Susanna Marshland; Pete Bennett; David Sharples; Jessica Jollett; Dan Geiger; Nancy Ybarra; Ana Gozalez.

Sheriff's Report

The majority of the County’s 750 sworn officers and support staff are working and ready to deploy wherever needed. In the jails all employees and inmates are screened upon entry to the facility. Temperatures are being taken and inquiries made about medical history. All new arrestees are placed in a 14 day quarantine. There are presently 38 inmates in the quarantine module. The staff are following the directives of the Health Officer and CDC. PPE has been issued to all staff, all inmates have received masks. Most inmates have chosen to wear the masks when out of cell. Soap and water is provided and all staff wear PPE when interacting with inmates. A deep cleaning of the facilities has been completed. 

One deputy has tested positive from the virus. He has recovered and doing well. Twenty-two  inmates have been tested and none are positive. Visits have been suspended except for attorneys on an urgency basis; time for inmate access to phones to call loved ones and friends has been increased and the rate charged has been lowered; chaplains have been issued special phones that inmates can call directly; postage cost has been waived for outgoing mail.

The jail has the capacity for approximately 2000 inmates. There are currently 722 in custody systemwide (36% of capacity). 466 are out of the facilities, on a custody alternative system, such as ankle monitoring or home monitoring. In 30 days the population has been reduced from 1117 inmates down to 722.

Bookings have been limited now to serious or violent felonies as police chiefs and other organizations are aggressively seeking alternatives to incarceration. Field citations are being issued to restrict the population coming into the central Martinez Detention Facility. The state prison system has stopped accepting transfers of those convicted of serious or violent felony. Those 24 individuals will remain in Contra Costa custody. 89% of offenders are now in single cells to help with protection against the virus and that number is expected to increase.

A cautious approach is being used in the matter of early releases. Only after the benefit of a full criminal history study of each person is presented for review are releases implemented. To date 39 persons have been released, those with a very low likelihood of re-offending. Because of the severity of their offenses, some offenders will simply not be eligible for consideration.

In regard to the statewide zero bail order, the Sheriff’s Department strenuously objects to requiring zero bail for offenses including vehicular manslaughter, unlawful sex with a minor, numerous weapons charges and arson. The department is working on engaging with the state and Chief Justice’s office to see about modifications to the order.

The Sheriff reported that most crime categories have seen a reduction in both the unincorporated area and the cities, with a very slight uptick in domestic violence cases.
 

Health Services Report

As of April 13^th, there are 552 confirmed cases of Covid-19:  36 hospitalized, 16 of those in intensive care, and 12 deaths. There are 40 suspected cases awaiting test results, of which seven are in the ICU. Ms. Roth expressed great appreciation for the region’s health care providers and safety net providers thoughtful and coordinated approach, functioning as one system to address the needs of the community, a key part of preparing for the surge.

Congregate living and care facilities are being closely monitored. Ms. Roth reminded that this is a novel virus with no vaccine and no known treatment. The primary strategy at this time is to disrupt transmission of the illness through social distancing and sanitation which appears to be effective. Staff is actively searching all avenues to acquire more PPE.

Dr. Farnitano said they have been responding to outbreaks, investigating potential outbreaks, and preventing outbreaks. The public health teams have been working in close partnership with many of the private hospital systems, especially John Muir and Kaiser Permanente to address outbreaks in nursing homes and elder care facilities. Training and PPE are  being provided to those facilities as well as working individually with facilities on infection control plans. All staff and visitors are required to wear a mask and undergo temperature checks.  Public Health is also working closely with the detention facilities to prevent any outbreaks there. 

To date Health Services has successfully moved two of the three largest adult homeless shelter populations into hotel rooms, to have the third largest (Richmond rescue mission) moved tomorrow, and continue to address the other shelters and homeless encampments. Hand washing stations and portable toilets have been deployed to encampments in Antioch and Richmond. Healthcare for the homeless teams are regularly monitoring and visiting sites, seeking to arrange testing for any sick persons. A priority testing location is being run 7 days a week for high risk populations and related staff. The results are available within 24 hours or less allowing for aggressive and early action to prevent spread.

Work continues to prepare for a surge, including acquiring more ventilators, setting up Covid-19 dedicated patient wards and additional staff capacity. Facilities are in operation at the Craneway Center and the Antioch Fairgrounds. The Concord shelter has a medical unit on site and may become a Covid facility if needed.

The  Emergency Operations Center has acquired more PPE that was not available from the normal vendors and is being distributed to the hospitals, first responders and care facilities in need.

The Coronavirus hot line in open seven days a week at 1-844-729-8410 and information is available at 211 and 211.org.