PRESS RELEASE

City of Woodland

300 First Street

July 2 - Yolo County to Pre-Emptively Close Select Activities Ahead of 4th of July Weekend; County Soon to Exceed ‘Elevated Disease Transmission’ Criteria on State’s County Data Monitoring 

(Woodland, CA) – Due to rising increases in confirmed Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases over the past two weeks, Yolo County is likely to exceed the elevated disease transmission criteria on the State of California’s County Data Monitoring. To help slow the spread of COVID-19 and align with surrounding counties, Yolo County will pre-emptively close the same sectors that the State has required counties on the County Monitoring List (List) to close effective July 3, 2020 at 12:01 a.m. for a minimum of three weeks: 

•           All bars and breweries (indoor and outdoor)

•           Indoor dine-in restaurants

•           Indoor wineries and tasting rooms

•           Indoor family entertainment centers

•           Indoor movie theaters

•           Indoor zoos and museums

•           Indoor cardrooms (except for those on tribal land)

On June 5, the State began using a series of metrics called County Data Monitoring to identify any emerging areas of concern related to COVID-19, which includes the criteria of increasing hospitalizations, limited hospital capacity, and elevated disease transmission. Counties that meet at least one of these criteria are placed on the State’s List. Counties are flagged for elevated disease transmission criteria if they meet one of the following two metrics:

1)         Case rate of more than 100 cases per 100,000 residents over a 14-day period

OR

2)         Case rate of more than 25 cases per 100,000 residents over a 14-day period AND a testing positivity rate of greater than 8% of test results over a 7-day period.

As of July 1, Yolo County has a case rate of 87 per 100,000 residents over a 14-day period and a test positivity rate of 7.1%.

Settings with Higher Risk of Transmission

The State mentioned in its press release on July 1 that “these sectors are all high risk of transmission due to a number of features of the businesses and the behaviors that occur within them. These sectors, foundationally, are settings where groups convene and may mix with others for prolonged periods of time often without a face covering. Additionally, physical movement within the establishment, duration of time spent in the establishment, and the degree of social mixing among individuals and groups outside one’s household are all significant in these sectors, which substantially elevates the risk of transmission even where face coverings can be worn. Furthermore, in some of these sectors centered on eating and drinking, compliance with face coverings is not possible for the full duration of time someone spends in these establishments.”

A number of the recent, local cases have been attributed to social gatherings and a lack of social distancing. This increase in confirmed cases due to social gatherings and the lack of social distancing is happening throughout the region and in surrounding counties as well. Communities and residents are being asked to continue to social distance and wear a face covering, including around family members and friends from other households.

Face coverings are mandatory in the State of California and Yolo County and should be worn as directed in public situations and as detailed in various guidance for reopened activities. The Center for Disease Control, the World Health Organization and the California Department of Public Health have all stated that face coverings are an additional protective measure to help slow the spread of the virus, especially when social distancing is not possible.

“I encourage residents to continue to wear a facial mask in public as health officials continue to emphasize the importance of wearing a mask, washing your hands, practicing social distancing and staying home if you are sick to decrease the spread of the coronavirus.” said Rich Lansburgh, Mayor of the City of Woodland. “I hope everyone makes good choices and avoids putting yourself and others at risk.”

For additional information about counties on the State’s County Data Monitoring List, visit: https://covid19.ca.gov/roadmap-counties/. For additional information about Yolo County’s Roadmap to Recovery, visit: www.yolocounty.org/coronavirus-roadmap. Residents can also call Yolo 2-1-1 for resource information.

Temporary Outdoor Expansion Permit for Restaurants and Other Businesses

On June 2, the Woodland City Council passed an Urgency Ordinance authorizing Temporary Use Permits to allow restaurants and other businesses to use available public and private outdoor space for outdoor dining or retail display.  

The goal of the Temporary Outdoor Use Permit is to support and assist businesses in meeting the operational guidelines outlined by the State including significant reductions or prohibition of indoor seating capacity to meet social distancing requirements.  The Temporary Permit allows local restaurants and some retailers the ability to expand their square footage by expanding seating and displays outdoors, either on public sidewalks or in private parking lots where parking spaces or walkways can be temporarily converted to create an outdoor patio space.

The permit application is available in English and Spanish on the City’s Economic Development COVID-19 Response webpage.  Approved applications are effective through the State and local termination of the COVID-19 emergency. 

Next City Council Meeting

The next City Council meeting will be on July 7. The meeting will be held via teleconference and Council members and the public will participate via teleconference. Those locations are not listed on the agenda and are not accessible to the public.

The public is encouraged to listen to the City Council meeting live on Woodland TV Channel 20 and also by viewing the Upcoming Meetings on the City webpage (when the meeting is Live, you will see a Live icon to the left of the meeting).

If you wish to make a comment during general public comment or on a specific agenda item, there are three (3) ways to do that: 1) Join the Zoom City Council meeting by clicking on the link below for instructions; 2) Leave a voice mail message at (530) 661-5900. All voice mail messages received by 6:00 p.m. will be played during the City Council meeting and read into the record at the appropriate time; and 3) If you are watching the live stream and wish to make a comment on an item as it is being heard you may submit an email to the City Clerk at CouncilMeetings@cityofwoodland.org prior to Public Comment on that item. Email comments submitted to be read into the record shall be no more than three (3) minutes when read aloud. Please include the agenda item in the subject line.

Click the following link for: Meeting participation and Zoom Instructions

Coronavirus in Woodland and Yolo County

The City of Woodland continues to closely monitor the impacts of COVID-19 and provide information to assist residents and businesses to respond to the emergency as it evolves.

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Woodland is 250 (as of 5 pm on July 1, 2020). Stay up to date by visiting the Yolo County Novel Coronavirus website.

Additional information can also be found at www.cityofwoodland.org. To receive email alerts from the City of Woodland visit www.cityofwoodland.org/notifyme. To receive email alerts from the County visit www.yolocounty.org.

City of Woodland Contact:  Jen Robinson (530) 661-5800