Solano County at epicenter of coronavirus outbreak
VACAVILLE, Calif. - If any town in the country is waiting and watching, it's gotta be Vacaville; a town that is taking this threat in stride.
La Borgata Deli, meaning the township deli, in the center of Vacaville was busy at lunchtime as folks enjoyed the sunshine and warm temperatures.
There was no sign of virus panic or anything like it; just the usual flu season cautions.
"I think that people are carrying on as normal. I see people washing their hands a little more; a little more sanitizer being used, yeah. Yeah, business has been normal," said La Borgata Italian Deli's Marianna Schiavone.
"I'm not concerned at all. I want to the gym this morning. I went to Starbucks. I went and got a haircut. There's no changes around here," said customer and Vacaville resident Scott Lander.
"It really hasn't impacted us; I mean, not at this point. I don't see people walking around wearing masks or walking around with gloves or doing anything like that" said resident Jody Hymowitz.
That appeared to be true throughout the small downtown area; verified by the director of the Vacaville Downtown Business Improvement District.
"So, as of now, it's business as usual. But, my merchants are coming to me and asking what a potential backup plan is and potential work arounds for a potential spread," said Downtown Business Improvement District Director Brooke Fox.
In fact, he District's biggest merchant event, the 12th Annual Lady's Night is coming up on March twelfth.
"Typically, over 500 people attend and so it's one of our most popular events all year round. Our merchants wait all year for it and as of now we are still selling tickets and things are still proceeding," said Fox.
"I think things get, these days, get blown out of proportion and I honestly think that's one of the cases here," said Mr. Lander.
Everyone is hoping for an explanation and understanding of the Vacaville case where the patient has had no travel nor known contact with an infected person.
"I don't think that anybody really knows what's going on yet; I mean, we haven't found any remedies for it yet," said Ms. Schiavone of the La Borgata Italian Deli.
"I think the Federal Government, the CDC, I understand they do a pretty good job. I'm confident in this administration's abilities to handle that," said Mr. Lander.
From what we saw in Vacaville, it's pretty clear that no one is unaware of the potential danger this one unknown case of coronavirus brings.
But, until they're sure that there's a danger, they intend to live their lives.