Weekly Roundup for August 12, 2022

Today’s digest provides helpful and important updates on the following:

1. Back-to-School COVID-19 Update
2. Water-saving tips and wildfire preparedness
3. Latest news from County of Sonoma

Back-to-School COVID-19 Update

The Sonoma County Department of Health Services and the Sonoma County Office of Education hosted a live-streamed webinar on Wednesday, Aug. 10 to review the latest trends in COVID-19, share current guidelines for students and school staff, and discuss initiatives in local schools designed to keep students, staff and their families healthy.

The briefing included a Q&A session with panelists Dr. Steve Herrington, Sonoma County Schools Superintendent, and Dr. Sundari Mase, Sonoma County Health Officer, to address community questions about COVID-19 as students head back to school.

Watch the briefing here: https://fb.watch/eQWtUBEr9r/

Spanish interpretation is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDkKhyPhZ9U

How can you keep you and your community safe from COVID-19?

✔️Vax up – The best protection from getting very sick with COVID-19 is vaccination. Ages 6 months and older can get a COVID-19 vaccine. Ages 5 and older are eligible for boosters.

✔️Mask up – To protect yourself and those most vulnerable in our communities, wear a good mask (such an N95 or KN95) that fits right in public indoor and even crowded outdoor places. Wear one at home around others if you have COVID-19 symptoms or have been exposed.

✔️ Get tested – If you have symptoms or have been exposed, use an at-home test or visit one of the many free, reliable testing sites in Sonoma County.

For more information, please visit https://socoemergency.org/emergency/novel-coronavirus/.

Water-Saving Tips & Wildfire Preparedness

Drought TIP: Do you mulch? Mulch reduces evaporation and increases moisture retention in soil, which will help keep your plants healthy and save water.

For more tips to create big water savings at your home, please visit: https://www.savingwaterpartnership.org/

Sonoma Water and the County of Sonoma continue to offer monthly town halls to provide the latest information on drought conditions, answer questions and explore key topics, including the impact of the drought on groundwater, recreation, water quality, agriculture, and wildlife.

Drought town halls occur the first Thursday of every month at 4 p.m. and run through November on the following dates: Sept. 1, Oct. 6, and Nov. 3.

Learn more and watch previous town halls here: https://socoemergency.org/emergency/drought/ 

The virtual town halls are streamed to the public in English on Zoom and on the County of Sonoma Facebook page, with Spanish interpretation available on the County of Sonoma YouTube channel.

Also, with fire season underway, make sure you subscribe to SoCoAlert and Nixle to receive alerts:
https://socoemergency.org/get-ready/sign-up/ 

Plus, make sure you know your official evacuation zone: 
https://socoemergency.org/get-ready/evacuation-map/

For information on how to prepare for wildfire, please visit: 
https://www.readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/

Latest News from County of Sonoma

Sonoma County approves Penngrove traffic study 
https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/sonoma-county-approves-penngrove-traffic-study  

County of Sonoma to take inventory of greenhouse gas emissions for all county operations 
https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/county-of-sonoma-to-take-inventory-of-greenhouse-gas-emissions-for-all-county-operations

Sonoma County Transit announced a revised bus schedule, effective Sunday, Aug. 14, to address school bell times and coordination between routes. For an updated schedule and to learn more, please visit: https://sctransit.com/

Want to read more about what we're up to at the County of Sonoma?

Read the latest issue of SoCo Correspondent monthly newsletter and sign up to receive it here:
https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/Newsroom/SoCo-Correspondent/