Tag Archives: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Entire Bay Area is back in CDC’s orange and red tiers for COVID spread, Solano & Sonoma only counties in red

Entire Bay Area is back in CDC’s orange and red tiers for COVID spread

San Francisco Chronicle, by Kellie Hwang, Nov. 2, 2021
Piper Lind wears a mask and decorated costume while welcoming masked customers to Cliff’s Variety on Castro Street in San Francisco on Wednesday, Oct. 6. Jessica Christian/The Chronicle

The entire Bay Area has returned to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s orange “substantial” and red “high” categories of coronavirus transmission — a step backward for some counties, like Marin and San Francisco, where transmission was previously classified as yellow, or “moderate.”

This comes after Marin County lifted its indoor mask mandate on Monday after reaching key COVID-19 benchmarks agreed upon by eight Bay Area counties. However, the mandate is unlikely to be immediately reinstated; the county’s health officer Matt Willis said last week that an increase in cases alone will not determine whether masks come back; rather he will watch hospitalization numbers, which as of Friday were at a four-month low.

San Francisco had reached the “moderate” level last week, but reverted to “substantial” on Tuesday.

The entire Bay Area has returned to the CDC's orange 'substantial' and red 'high' categories of transmission.
The entire Bay Area has returned to the CDC’s orange ‘substantial’ and red ‘high’ categories of transmission. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Under a framework agreed to by eight Bay Area counties, a county may lift its indoor mask mandate for fully vaccinated people when: 1) its vaccination rate reaches at least 80% or enough time has passed that children 5-11 years old can be fully vaccinated; 2) the county has been in the CDC’s yellow “moderate” level of community transmission for at least three weeks — with tiers defined by case rates and positive test rates; and 3) hospitalization rates remain low.

Four counties — Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco and Sonoma — have already eased some rules, allowing fully vaccinated people to go without masks in certain indoor settings including gyms, offices and college classrooms. But masks remain mandatory in shops, restaurants and bars in those counties.

Masks remain optional for vaccinated people in Solano County, the only part of the Bay Area not to reinstate a mask mandate.

In recent weeks, the rate of new coronavirus cases per day has been under 10 per 100,000 people in most Bay Area counties — a rate not seen since mid- to late July, after the delta variant became the dominant strain in California and drove a new surge in cases.

Santa Clara and Marin counties were the first to consistently drop below 10 cases per 100,000, on Sept. 24, and Solano County was the latest, on Oct. 16. Only Sonoma’s case rate is over 10, having trended upward since the beginning of last week. The overall Bay Area case rate is 8.2 cases per 100,000, compared to the statewide case rate that is nearly double that, at 14.34.

At the same time, case rates have largely plateaued in the Bay Area’s counties, much as they have across California, which raises questions about what might happen as we approach the busy holiday season that will increase travel and send people indoors.

Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert with UCSF, said he doesn’t suspect Halloween will result in a significant uptick in cases because it is “generally a local event, and with high vaccination rates not just in adults, but in adolescents in the Bay Area,” which creates a wall of immunity around younger children.

He said there could be a small uptick in cases during the holidays due to travel to areas with higher transmission rates; waning vaccine immunity; and a more substantial flu season that could increase people’s susceptibility to COVID-19.

“I don’t think this plateau will lead to a surge remotely close to what we saw last winter,” Chin-Hong wrote in an email. “With the approval of vaccines in children 5-11, this will further boost community immunity to keep cases down.”

Here is where each Bay Area county stands on COVID metrics and the mask mandate criteria as of Nov. 2.

Note: The 7-day average case rates are from Nov. 1 and come from state data. The weekly new cases per 100,000 over the past seven days and positive test rates are from the CDC.

COVID case numbers back up in Solano County, 380 new infections, largely among the younger age groups


By Roger Straw, Wednesday, September 15, 2021

Wednesday, September 15: Solano reports 380 new infections since Monday, over 75% under 50 years of age

Solano County COVID dashboard SUMMARY:
[Sources: see below.]

DEATHS: No new deaths todayTotal Solano deaths over the course of the pandemic now at 280.

CASES: The County reported  380 new COVID cases over the last two days, quickly back up to 190 per day after Monday’s drop to 50 per day, and well back in the range of last winter’s surge.

CASES BY AGE GROUP:  Solano cases are trending upward among younger residents. The percentage of Solano’s cases among our youth 0-17 years of age has increased very slowly over the course of the pandemic, starting below 6%, and only gradually reaching 12% in mid-April of 2021.  With today’s new cases alone, the two younger age groups each increased a tenth of a percentage point of total cases.  Those age 0-17 now represent 14% of total cases, and those age 18-49 represent 55.4% of total cases.  Also note that those age 0-17 accounted for 19% of today’s new cases, nearly equal to their percentage of Solano’s population – this among youth who were much less likely to be infected.  Note that Solano youth 0-17 continue to show very few hospitalizations (63 admissions, or 2% of total) and no deaths.

COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION RATE: Over the last 7 days, Solano has seen 750 new cases, NEARLY TWICE the CDC’s population-based definition of a HIGH rate of transmission!  Based on Solano County population of 449,432, the CDC would rate us in “SUBSTANTIAL” transmission with 225 cases over the last 7 days.  Double that, or 450 cases in the last 7 days would rank us in “HIGH” transmission.  And we are at 750 cases as of today!  [Reference: CDC’s level for “High Community Transmission”.]

ACTIVE CASES: Solano’s 773 ACTIVE cases is up significantly from Monday’s 588, and up alarmingly up from 212 on July 2.

POSITIVE TEST RATE:  Our 7-day average percent positivity rate was 10.7% today, down from 9.1% on Monday.  COMPARE: today’s California rate is 3.3%.  Today’s U.S. rate shot up from 9.7% to 15.0%[Source: Johns Hopkins]  WARNING: The Delta Variant is here in Solano County and spreading fast.  Time to mask up again – watch out and take care!

HOSPITALIZATIONS:

CURRENT hospitalizations were down slightly today from 93 to 92 persons, but still in the range we saw during the winter surge.

ICU Bed Availability went up today from 17% to 23%, but still in the yellow danger zone.  Again, we are still in the range we saw during the winter surge.

Ventilator Availability fell today from 59% to only 49%, in the range of last February’s winter surge.

TOTAL hospitalizations  Solano County’s TOTAL hospitalized over the course of the pandemic must be independently discovered in the County’s occasional update of hospitalizations by Age Group and by Race/Ethnicity.  The County did not update its Hospitalizations charts today. See below.  Interestingly, the TOTAL race/ethnicity numbers don’t square with the age group numbers.

FACE MASKS… Good News in Benicia and Vallejo

GOOD NEWS! Benicia City Council passed a citywide indoors mask mandate that went into effect on August 24 and includes everyone 4 years old and up when indoors in public places, even those of us who are vaccinated.  Benicia was joined by Vallejo on August 31.  In the Bay Area, Solano County REMAINS the only holdout against even RECOMMENDING masks in public indoors spaces.

SOLANO COUNTY dropped the ball on consideration of a MASK MANDATE.  The Solano County Board of Supervisors failed to even consider the proposed MASK MANDATE on Tuesday, September 14.  The agenda called for discussion of an indoors mask mandate for all and a vaccination mandate for county workers.  Although it was not on the agenda, the Board voted 4-1 to require county-run facilities in Vallejo and Benicia to abide by local mandates.  The Board voted down the vaccination mandate 3-2, and failed to even consider the county-wide mask mandate.  The Solano Board of Supervisors now joins with Dr. Bela Matyas in officially showing poor leadership on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cases by City on Wednesday, September 15:
  • Benicia added 9 new cases today, a total of 1,378 cases since the outbreak began.  Benicia has seen 24 new cases over the last 7 days, remaining just below the CDC’s definition of HIGH community transmission (based on Benicia population).  Benicia is still at the high end of the CDC’s range of SUBSTANTIAL transmission.  [Note that Solano County is also rated far above high transmission, and Solano’s 6 other cities are likely also individually experiencing high or substantial transmission.]
  • Dixon added 17 new cases today, total of 2,403 cases.
  • Fairfield added 65 new cases today, total of 11,624 cases.
  • Rio Vista added 5 new cases today, total of 547 cases.
  • Suisun City added 34 new cases today, total of 3,045 cases.
  • Vacaville added 136 new cases today, a total of 11,399 cases.
  • Vallejo added 114 new cases today, a total of 12,664 cases.
  • Unincorporated added 0 new cases today, a total of 134 cases (population figures not available).

Continue reading COVID case numbers back up in Solano County, 380 new infections, largely among the younger age groups

Some COVID measures looking better in Solano County, but community transmission still HIGH


By Roger Straw, Monday, September 13, 2021

Monday, September 13: Solano reports 149 new infections over the weekend and 2 new hospitalizations

Solano County COVID dashboard SUMMARY:
[Sources: see below.]

DEATHS: No new deaths todayTotal Solano deaths over the course of the pandemic now at 280.

CASES: The County reported  149 new COVID cases over the weekend.  It’s encouraging that we are down to 50 per day, lower than any time since July 19.

COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION RATE: Over the last 7 days, Solano has seen 776 new cases, NEARLY TWICE the CDC’s population-based definition of a HIGH rate of transmission!  Based on Solano County population of 449,432, the CDC would rate us in “SUBSTANTIAL” transmission with 225 cases over the last 7 days.  Double that, or 450 cases in the last 7 days would rank us in “HIGH” transmission.  And we are at 776 cases as of today!  [Reference: CDC’s level for “High Community Transmission”.]

YOUTH CASES: The percentage of Solano’s cases among our youth has increased very slowly over the course of the pandemic, starting below 6%, and only gradually reaching 12% in mid-April of 2021.  The percentage of youth cases has jumped a full 0.9% since mid-August.

ACTIVE CASES: Solano’s 588 ACTIVE cases is down from last Friday’s 838, but up alarmingly up from 212 on July 2.

POSITIVE TEST RATE:  Our 7-day average percent positivity rate was 9.1% today, down from 9.7% on Wednesday.  COMPARE: today’s California rate is 2.9% and today’s U.S. rate is 9.7%[Source: Johns Hopkins]  WARNING: The Delta Variant is here in Solano County and spreading fast.  Time to mask up again – watch out and take care!

HOSPITALIZATIONS:

CURRENT hospitalizations were down today from 106 to 93 persons, but still in the range we saw during the winter surge.

ICU Bed Availability remained at 17% today, in the yellow danger zone.  Again, we are still in the range we saw during the winter surge.

Ventilator Availability remained at 59%, and still in the range of last February’s winter surge.

TOTAL hospitalizations  Solano County’s TOTAL hospitalized over the course of the pandemic must be independently discovered in the County’s occasional update of hospitalizations by Age Group and by Race/Ethnicity.  The County SUBSTANTIALLY updated its Hospitalizations charts Friday, adding over 500 previously unreported hospitalizations (by age, or nearly 450 by race/ethnicity).  The County added 2 more new hospitalizations today, both over 65, one Black person and one White person.  See below.  Interestingly, the TOTAL race/ethnicity numbers don’t square with the age group numbers.

FACE MASKS… Good News in Benicia and Vallejo

GOOD NEWS!  Benicia City Council passed a citywide indoors mask mandate. The mandate went into effect immediately and includes everyone 4 years old and up when indoors in public places, even those of us who are vaccinated.  The mask resolution, press release, and a flyer now appear on the City website.

Benicia was the first Solano city to take action despite the County’s lack of strong guidance on masks.  Benicia was joined by Vallejo on August 31In the Bay Area, Solano County REMAINS the only holdout against even RECOMMENDING masks in public indoors spaces. 

COUNTY-WIDE MASK MANDATE?  The Solano County Board of Supervisors has agendized a consideration of a MASK MANDATE TOMORROW, on Tuesday, September 14.  The description of the agenda item uses mandate language as follows: “Consider and provide direction regarding a Board Member request for the establishment of mandatory indoor face mask order for Solano County.”  BUT… County staff has offered a DRAFT resolution that merely “encourages” and “recommends” and doesn’t even use the words “mask” or “face covering” in the body of the resolution.  Your comments might be important before or during the Board’s Tuesday September 14 meeting.  For instructions on how to participate, see the Sept 14 Agenda.

Cases by City on Monday, September 13:
  • Benicia added 7 new cases today, a total of 1,369 cases since the outbreak began.  Benicia has seen 24 new cases over the last 7 days, dropping Benicia or the first time since August 9 below the CDC’s definition of HIGH community transmission (based on Benicia population).  Benicia is still at the high end of the CDC’s range of SUBSTANTIAL transmission.  [Note that Solano County is also rated far above high transmission, and Solano’s 6 other cities are likely also individually experiencing high or substantial transmission.]
  • Dixon added 8 new cases today, total of 2,386 cases.
  • Fairfield added 30 new cases today, total of 11,559 cases.
  • Rio Vista added 3 new cases today, total of 542 cases.
  • Suisun City added 7 new cases today, total of 3,011 cases.
  • Vacaville added 52 new cases today, a total of 11,263 cases.
  • Vallejo added 42 new cases today, a total of 12,550 cases.
  • Unincorporated added 0 new cases today, a total of 134 cases (population figures not available).

Continue reading Some COVID measures looking better in Solano County, but community transmission still HIGH

Solano County Health Department discloses over 500 previously unreported COVID hospitalizations

By Roger Straw, Friday, September 10, 2021 (With apologies for a mathematical error in hospitalizations, updated here on September 12)

Friday, September 10: Solano reports 4 dead and a massive increase in hospitalizations

Solano County COVID dashboard SUMMARY:
[Sources: see below.]

DEATHS: Four new deaths today, 2 age 50-64 and 2 age 65+Total Solano deaths over the course of the pandemic now at 280.

CASES: The County reported  221 new COVID cases in the last two days, 111 per day.

COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION RATE: Over the last 7 days, Solano has seen 1,144 new cases, OVER 2½ TIMES the CDC’s population-based definition of a HIGH rate of transmission!  Based on Solano County population of 449,432, the CDC would rate us in “SUBSTANTIAL” transmission with 225 cases over the last 7 days.  Double that, or 450 cases in the last 7 days would rank us in “HIGH” transmission.  And we are at an astonishing 2,616 cases as of today!  [Reference: CDC’s level for “High Community Transmission”.]

YOUTH CASES: The percentage of Solano’s cases among our youth has increased very slowly over the course of the pandemic, starting below 6%, and only gradually reaching 12% in mid-April of 2021.  The percentage of youth cases has jumped a full 0.9% since mid-August.

ACTIVE CASES: Solano’s 838 ACTIVE cases is up from last Wednesday’s 813, and up alarmingly up from 212 on July 2, and in the range we experienced during the deadly surge last winter.

POSITIVE TEST RATE:  Our 7-day average percent positivity rate was 9.7% today, down from 11.7% on Wednesday.  COMPARE: today’s California rate is 2.9% and today’s U.S. rate is 10.0%[Source: Johns Hopkins]  WARNING: The Delta Variant is here in Solano County and spreading fast.  Time to mask up again – watch out and take care!

HOSPITALIZATIONS:

CURRENT hospitalizations were down today from 112 to 106 persons, but still in the range we saw during the winter surge.

ICU Bed Availability rose from Wednesday’s alarmingly low of 9% of ICU beds available to 17% today, back into the yellow danger zone.  Again, we are still in the range we saw during the winter surge.

Ventilator Availability was up today from 51% to 59%, but still in the range of last February’s winter surge.

TOTAL hospitalizations  Solano County’s TOTAL hospitalized over the course of the pandemic must be independently discovered in the County’s occasional update of hospitalizations by Age Group and by Race/Ethnicity.  The County SUBSTANTIALLY updated its Hospitalizations charts today, adding over 500 previously unreported hospitalizations (by age, or nearly 450 by race/ethnicity).  See below.  (NOTE CORRECTION – THE NUMBER OF NEW HOSPITALIZATIONS WAS NOT OVER 1,000 AS PREVIOUSLY REPORTED HERE.)  Interestingly, the race/ethnicity numbers don’t square with the age group numbers.

FACE MASKS… Good News in Benicia and Vallejo

GOOD NEWS!  Benicia City Council passed a citywide indoors mask mandate. The mandate went into effect immediately and includes everyone 4 years old and up when indoors in public places, even those of us who are vaccinated.  The mask resolution, press release, and a flyer now appear on the City website.

Benicia was the first Solano city to take action despite the County’s lack of strong guidance on masks.  Benicia was joined by Vallejo on August 31In the Bay Area, Solano County REMAINS the only holdout against even RECOMMENDING masks in public indoors spaces. 

COUNTY-WIDE MASK MANDATE?  The Solano County Board of Supervisors has agendized a consideration of a MASK MANDATE on Tuesday, September 14.  Good news??  Maybe not!  The description of the agenda item uses mandate language as follows: “Consider and provide direction regarding a Board Member request for the establishment of mandatory indoor face mask order for Solano County.”  BUT… County staff has offered a DRAFT resolution that merely “encourages” and “recommends” and doesn’t even use the words “mask” or “face covering” in the body of the resolution.  Your comments might be important before or during the Board’s Tuesday September 14 meeting.  For instructions on how to participate, see the Sept 14 Agenda.

Cases by City on Friday, September 10:
  • Benicia added 8 new cases today, a total of 1,362 cases since the outbreak began.  Benicia has seen 43 new cases over the last 7 days, over 1½ times the CDC’s definition of HIGH community transmission level based on Benicia population.  [Note that Solano County is also rated far above high transmission, and Solano’s 6 other cities are likely also individually experiencing high transmission.]
  • Dixon added 16 new cases today, total of 2,378 cases.
  • Fairfield added 41 new cases today, total of 11,529 cases.
  • Rio Vista added 6 new cases today, total of 539 cases.
  • Suisun City added 15 new cases today, total of 3,004 cases.
  • Vacaville added 73 new cases today, a total of 11,211 cases.
  • Vallejo added 62 new cases today, a total of 12,508 cases.
  • Unincorporated added 0 new cases today, a total of 134 cases (population figures not available).

Continue reading Solano County Health Department discloses over 500 previously unreported COVID hospitalizations