Vallejo City Hall and Solano County courts close to public amid surge of COVID-19 cases

VALLEJO – Due to the rise in COVID-19 cases associated with the Omicron variant, both Vallejo City Hall and Solano County courts will close to the general public starting Monday.

City hall will be closed through the end of February while the courts will temporarily suspend all hearings and jury trials that are not mandated to occur within a statutory deadline until further notice.

City officials also said Friday that the Vallejo Police Department lobby will close to the general public through Feb. 28.

The decision to close comes as the Solano County Public Health Department reported 2,708 active COVID cases this week with a seven-day test positivity rate of 30%. Solano County reported an average of 426 new cases for the preceding week.

“On balance, this Court finds that the risk of COVID-19 infection to all who enter the courthouses outweighs the need to conduct non-essential court operations at this time, and under the present circumstances,” presiding judge Donna L. Stashyn wrote in an order released by the court on Friday.

City officials said Vallejo City Council and other board and commission meetings will continue. The council will be asked during its meeting Tuesday to vote on whether to continue meeting in person or move the city’s public meetings back to an online-only format. The council chambers will be opened to the public 30 minutes before the meeting and face coverings will be required.

“While speaking at the podium/microphone, masks must remain on, fully covering your nose and mouth,” the city said in a press release Friday.  

Part of the return to in-person meetings included a mask mandate which requires people ages 4 years and older to wear a face covering while inside any buildings open to the public in the city of Vallejo. State officials this week extended a statewide indoor mask mandate through Feb. 15.

The city council began holding in-person meetings last November after more than 18 months away from council chambers. The council, which has been meeting via teleconference since then, voted in October to resume in-person meetings after the city’s vaccination rate increased to over 85%.

Meanwhile, city hall departments will continue to be available via phone, internet, or virtual appointments during regular business hours, Monday through Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“Drop boxes for Housing, Planning, Building, Public Works, Water billing/Finance, process servers who are serving legal papers (subpoenas, etc.) and for anyone submitting a claim are still available in front of City Hall and the Housing Division,” officials added. “Citizens who need to pay their water bill may do so online or drop off their payment at the dropbox located to the left of the front door at City Hall.”

County courthouses will be restricted to judicial officials, jurors, news media, attorneys, and witnesses, among others. Those still allowed inside court buildings will be required to social distance at least six feet apart.