Category Archives: Keeping Watch on Earth News

COVID report for Solano on October 9 – no new hospitalizations or deaths for 2 days in a row


No new hospitalizations or deaths for 2 days in a row…but still reporting 42 new positive cases today!

[Source: Solano County Coronavirus Dashboard.  For a complete archive of day by day data, see my Excel ARCHIVE.]

Friday, October 9: 42 new cases overnight, no new hospitalizations, no new deaths.  Since the outbreak began: 6,750 cases, 403 hospitalized, 74 deaths.Compare previous report, Thursday, Oct. 8:Summary

  • Solano County reported 42 new cases today, total of 6,750 cases since the outbreak started.  Over the last week, Solano reported 230 new cases, average of 33 per day.
  • Deaths – no new deaths today.  RECENT SPIKE: 19 deaths reported in the last 18 days, total of 74 Solano deaths since the pandemic began.
    Deaths reported Sept 22 – Oct 9:
    – 1 very young person 18-49 years;
    – 4 middle agers 50-64 years
    ;
    – 14 of our elders aged 65+
    ;
  • Active cases – Solano reported 13 additional ACTIVE cases today and another 61 new ACTIVE cases in the two days before, total of 284.  Note that only 22 of these 284 people are hospitalized, so there are a lot of infected folks out among us, hopefully quarantined.  Is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons?  Who knows?  To my knowledge, Solano County has offered no reports on contact tracing.
  • Hospitalizations – the number of currently hospitalized persons increased by 2 today, total of 22.  The total number hospitalized since the outbreak started remained unchanged, total of 403.  (See age group hospitalization stats below).
  • ICU Beds2 days ago, the County reported significantly fewer ICU beds available, down from 42% to only 30%.  This continued unchanged for 2 days, but returned to 43% today(After 8 weeks, still no information about availability of ventilators.)
  • Testing – The County reports today that 654 residents were tested overnight, new total of 93,506.  (Solano has AVERAGED just under 520 tested per day during the last 3 weeks.)  Solano has a long way to go; only 20.9% of Solano County’s 447,643 residents (2019) have been tested.

Positive Test Rate

Solano County reported today that our 7-day average test rate fell today from 5.6% to 5.0%.  Solano’s test rate crested the week of July 15-22, when it peaked at 9.3%.  The County has hit 7% (or more) three times since, on August 21, September 1 and September 2.  In the 5 weeks since then, our test rate was reported as high as 6.5% and as low as 2.7% (on Sept 11), averaging 4.23%.
Daily percent positive: On Oct. 7 the County’s line graph for positive test rate spiked to 12% on October 4.  The next day showed Oct. 4 at only 7%, and Oct. 5 at 11%.  Today, both are at 7%.  The only conceivable explanation is that past daily rates change as new reports come in to the County, so each newly reported day’s rate isn’t  meaningful information.  In future, I will only report on the 7-day average.  Average percent positive test rates are among the best metrics for measuring the spread of the virus.  The much more stable California 7-day test rate remained at 2.5% today(Note that Solano County displays past weeks and months in a 7-day test positivity line graph which also shows daily results.  However, the chart does not display an accurate number of cases for the most recent days, as there is a lag time in receiving test results.  The 7-day curve also lags behind current unknown results.) 

By Age Group

  • Youth 17 and under – 4 new cases today, total of 753 cases, representing 11.2% of the 6,750 total cases.  No new hospitalizations among this age group today, a total of 6 hospitalizations since the outbreak began.  Thankfully, no deaths have ever been reported in Solano County in this age groupBut cases among Solano youth rose steadily over the summer, from 5.6% of total cases on June 8 to 11% on August 31 and has plateaued just over 11% since September 30.  Youth are 22% of Solano’s general population, so this 11.x% may seem low.  The significance is this: 1) youth numbers increased steadily and at a faster rate than the other age groups, and 2) youth are SERIOUSLY NOT IMMUNE (!) – in fact 6 youth have now been hospitalized.
  • Persons 18-49 years of age – 27 new cases today, total of 4,033 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents just under 60% of the total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  The County reported no new hospitalizations in this age group today, total of 131 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths in this young age group today, total of 5 deaths.  Some in this group are surely ignoring public health orders, and many are providing essential services among us.  I expect this group is a major factor in the spread of the virus.
  • Persons 50-64 years of age – 8 new cases today, total of 1,291 cases.  This age group represents 19% of the 6,750 total cases. No new hospitalizations today, total of 109 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths in this age group today, a total of 15 deaths.
  • Persons 65 years or older – Today the County reported 3 new cases, total of 672.  No new hospitalizations, total of 157.  No new deaths, total of 54 of our elders who died of COVID.  This age group’s 672 cases represent 10% of the 6,750 total cases.  In this older age group, 23.4% of cases required hospitalization at one time.  This group accounts for 54 of the 74 deaths, or 73%.

City Data

  • Benicia added 1 new case today, total of 180 cases since the outbreak began.
  • Dixon added 3 new cases today, total of 436 cases.
  • Fairfield added 15 new cases today, total of 2,179 cases.
  • Rio Vista remained steady today, total of 54 cases.
  • Suisun City remained steady today, total of 493 cases.
  • Vacaville added 5 new cases today, total of 1,146 cases.
  • Vallejo added 18 new cases today, total of 2,240 cases.
  • Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 22 cases.

Race / Ethnicity

The County report on race / ethnicity includes case numbers, hospitalizations, deaths and Solano population statistics.  This information is discouragingly similar to national reports that indicate significantly worse outcomes among black and brown Americans.  Note that all of this data surely undercounts Latinx Americans, as there is a large group of “Multirace / Others” which likely is composed mostly of Latinx members of our communities.

  • Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 9% of cases, 11% of hospitalizations, and 18% of deaths.
  • Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 11% of cases, but 18% of hospitalizations, and 24% of deaths.
  • Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 30% of cases, 29% of hospitalizations, and 20% of deaths.
  • White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 21% of cases, 27% of hospitalizations and 30% of deaths.  NOTE: On September 24, the percentage of deaths of White Americans in Solano County began to rise sharply. After hovering at 20-21% for months, White American deaths rose to 31% in a matter of days.

More…

The County’s new and improved Coronavirus Dashboard is full of much more information, too extensive to cover here on a daily basis.  The Benicia Independent will continue to summarize daily and highlight a report or two.  Check out the Dashboard at https://doitgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=055f81e9fe154da5860257e3f2489d67.

VIDEO: Benicia candidate forum on Air Quality and Refinery Issues

Many thanks to Benicia’s Good Neighbor Steering Committee for hosting this important event!

Video by Constance Beutel for the Good Neighbor Steering Committee

The Benicia Good Neighbor Steering Committee wants to thank all the participating Mayoral and City Council candidates and those who attended the Educational Forum on Air Quality and Refinery issues on October 5, 2020.

The Zoom webinar was recorded, and is now available on Youtube (and viewable below). There are several viewing options, including the full video from start to finish, as well as individual candidate videos highlighting each candidate and their responses to the Good Neighbor Steering Committee questions.

While watching, you may want to view or download a copy of the 9 questions asked each candidate, including excellent background material.

Below are the videos and Youtube links.

[BenIndy editor: Note that each video begins after a 20-second “title screen” followed by an 8 minute introduction by Marilyn Bardet.  After watching those sections once, you may want to jump ahead to the first question at 8:00 or the candidate response, beginning around 8:45. – R.S.]

Full video, start to finish:   Good Neighbor Steering Committee City Council and Mayoral 2020 Candidates Forum: October 5, 2020  
Christina Strawbridge, Mayoral Candidate: https://youtu.be/zy6CH3sgU-w
Steve Young, Mayoral Candidate:  https://youtu.be/DW0pl3MgLP4
Tom Campbell, City Council Candidate:  https://youtu.be/26cNpMEqqb0
Trevor Macenski, City Council Candidate: https://youtu.be/j7gtD4XqV1Q
Terry Scott, City Council Candidate:  https://youtu.be/pHaONqUlL6I

Please stay safe – 50 newly confirmed COVID cases in Solano County overnight as of Oct. 8


[Source: Solano County Coronavirus Dashboard.  For a complete archive of day by day data, see my Excel ARCHIVE.]

Thursday, October 8: 50 new cases overnight, no new hospitalizations, no new deaths.  Since the outbreak began: 6,708 cases, 403 hospitalized, 74 deaths.Compare previous report, Wednesday, Oct. 7:Summary

  • Solano County reported 50 new cases today, total of 6,708 cases since the outbreak started.  Over the last week, Solano reported 233 new cases, average of over 33 per day.
  • Deaths – no new deaths today.  RECENT SPIKE: 19 deaths reported in the last 17 days, total of 74 Solano deaths since the pandemic began.
    Deaths reported Sept 22 – Oct 8:
    – 1 very young person 18-49 years;
    – 4 middle agers 50-64 years
    ;
    – 14 of our elders aged 65+
    ;
  • Active cases – Solano reported 21 additional ACTIVE cases yesterday and another 40 new ACTIVE cases today, total of 271.  Note that only 20 of these 271 people are hospitalized, so there are a lot of infected folks out among us, hopefully quarantined.  Is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons?  Who knows?  To my knowledge, Solano County has offered no reports on contact tracing.
  • Hospitalizations – the number of currently hospitalized persons remained unchanged today, total of 20.  And the total number hospitalized since the outbreak started also remained unchanged, total of 403.  (See age group hospitalization stats below).
  • ICU Beds2 days ago, the County reported significantly fewer ICU beds available, down from 42% to only 30%.  This continued unchanged yesterday and today, 30%(After 8 weeks, still no information about availability of ventilators.)
  • Testing – The County reports today that an even 500 residents were tested overnight, new total of 92,852.  (Solano has AVERAGED over 500 tested per day during the last 3 weeks.)  Solano has a long way to go; only 20.7% of Solano County’s 447,643 residents (2019) have been tested.

Positive Test Rate

Solano County reported today that our 7-day average test rate rose today from 5.0% to 5.6%, same as it was exactly one month ago on the Tuesday after Labor Day, Sept 8Solano’s test rate crested the week of July 15-22, when it peaked at 9.3%.  The County has hit 7% (or more) three times since, on August 21, September 1 and September 2.  In the 5 weeks since then, our test rate was reported as high as 6.5% and as low as 2.7% (on Sept 11), averaging 4.24%.
Daily percent positive: On Oct. 7 the County’s line graph for positive test rate spiked to 12% on October 4.  The next day (today) showed Oct. 4 at only 7%, and Oct. 5 at 11%.  The only conceivable explanation is that past daily rates change as new reports come in to the County, so it isn’t  meaningful information.  In future, I will only report on the 7-day average.  Average percent positive test rates are among the best metrics for measuring the spread of the virus.  The much more stable California 7-day test rate rose slightly from 2.4% to 2.5% today(Note that Solano County displays past weeks and months in a 7-day test positivity line graph which also shows daily results.  However, the chart does not display an accurate number of cases for the most recent days, as there is a lag time in receiving test results.  The 7-day curve also lags behind current unknown results.) 

By Age Group

  • Youth 17 and under – 7 new cases today, total of 749 cases, representing 11.2% of the 6,708 total cases.  No new hospitalizations among this age group today, a total of 6 hospitalizations since the outbreak began.  Thankfully, no deaths have ever been reported in Solano County in this age groupBut cases among Solano youth rose steadily over the summer, from 5.6% of total cases on June 8 to 11% on August 31 and has plateaued just over 11% since September 30.  Youth are 22% of Solano’s general population, so this 11.x% may seem low.  The significance is this: 1) youth numbers increased steadily and at a faster rate than the other age groups, and 2) youth are SERIOUSLY NOT IMMUNE (!) – in fact 6 youth have now been hospitalized.
  • Persons 18-49 years of age – 25 new cases today, total of 4,006 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents just under 60% of the total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  The County reported no new hospitalizations in this age group today, total of 131 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths in this young age group today, total of 5 deaths.  Some in this group are surely ignoring public health orders, and many are providing essential services among us.  I expect this group is a major factor in the spread of the virus.
  • Persons 50-64 years of age – 14 new cases today, total of 1,283 cases.  This age group represents 19% of the 6,708 total cases. No new hospitalizations today, total of 109 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths in this age group today, a total of 15 deaths.
  • Persons 65 years or older – Today the County reported 4 new cases, total of 669.  No new hospitalizations, total of 157.  No new deaths, total of 54 of our elders who died of COVID.  This age group’s 669 cases represent 10% of the 6,708 total cases.  In this older age group, 23.6% of cases required hospitalization at one time.  This group accounts for 54 of the 74 deaths, or 73%.

City Data

  • Benicia added 2 new cases today, total of 179 cases since the outbreak began.
  • Dixon added 3 new cases today, total of 433 cases.
  • Fairfield added 14 new cases today, total of 2,164 cases.
  • Rio Vista remained steady today, total of 54 cases.
  • Suisun City added 3 new cases today, total of 493 cases.
  • Vacaville added 8 new cases today, total of 1,141 cases.
  • Vallejo added 20 new cases today, total of 2,222 cases.
  • Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 22 cases.

Race / Ethnicity

The County report on race / ethnicity includes case numbers, hospitalizations, deaths and Solano population statistics.  This information is discouragingly similar to national reports that indicate significantly worse outcomes among black and brown Americans.  Note that all of this data surely undercounts Latinx Americans, as there is a large group of “Multirace / Others” which likely is composed mostly of Latinx members of our communities.

  • Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 9% of cases, 11% of hospitalizations, and 18% of deaths.
  • Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 11% of cases, but 18% of hospitalizations, and 24% of deaths.
  • Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 30% of cases, 29% of hospitalizations, and 20% of deaths.
  • White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 22% of cases, 27% of hospitalizations and 30% of deaths.  NOTE: A week ago, the percentage of deaths of White Americans began to rise sharply. After hovering at 20-21% for months, White American deaths rose to 31% in a matter of days.

More…

The County’s new and improved Coronavirus Dashboard is full of much more information, too extensive to cover here on a daily basis.  The Benicia Independent will continue to summarize daily and highlight a report or two.  Check out the Dashboard at https://doitgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=055f81e9fe154da5860257e3f2489d67.

Solano COVID-19 report: 23 new cases, significant drop in availability of ICU beds


[Source: Solano County Coronavirus Dashboard.  For a complete archive of day by day data, see my Excel ARCHIVE.]

Tuesday, October 6: 23 new cases overnight, no new hospitalizations, no new deaths.  Since the outbreak began: 6,624 cases, 402 hospitalized, 72 deaths.Compare previous report, Monday, October 5:Summary

  • Solano County reported 23 new cases today, total of 6,624 cases since the outbreak started.  Over the last 2 weeks, Solano reported 430 new cases, average of over 31 per day.
  • Deaths – no new deaths today.  RECENT SPIKE: 17 deaths reported in the last 14 days, total of 72 Solano deaths since the pandemic began.
    Deaths reported Sept 22 – Oct 6:
    – 1 very young person 18-49 years;
    – 3 middle agers 50-64 years
    ;
    – 13 of our elders aged 65+
  • Active cases – Solano reported 6 fewer ACTIVE cases today, total of 210.  Note that only 19 of these 210 people are hospitalized, so there are a lot of infected folks out among us, hopefully quarantined.  Is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons?  Who knows?  To my knowledge, Solano County has offered no reports on contact tracing.
  • Hospitalizations – the number of currently hospitalized persons remained unchanged today, total of 19.  And the total number hospitalized since the outbreak started also remained unchanged, total of 402.  (See age group hospitalization stats below).
  • ICU BedsFor some reason, although hospitalization numbers remained the same, the County reported significantly fewer ICU beds available today, down from 42% yesterday to only 30% today(After 8 weeks, still no information about availability of ventilators.)
  • Testing – The County reports today that 348 residents were tested overnight, new total of 92,131.  (Solano has AVERAGED over 500 tested per day during the last 3 weeks.)  Solano has a long way to go; only 20.6% of Solano County’s 447,643 residents (2019) have been tested.

Positive Test Rate

Solano County reported today that our 7-day average test rate remained at 4.8%.  For the record, Solano’s test rate crested the week of July 15-22, when it peaked at 9.3%.  The County has hit 7% (or more) three times since, on August 21, September 1 and September 2.  In the nearly 5 weeks since then, our test rate has run as high as 6.5% and as low as 2.7% (on Sept 11), averaging 4.25%.
The County’s line graph for positive test rate looks like a flat line and tells us little or nothing, not worth posting here.
Percent positive test rates are among the best metrics for measuring the spread of the virus.  The much more stable California
7-day test rate remained at a low of 2.6% today
(Note that Solano County displays past weeks and months in a 7-day test positivity line graph which also shows daily results.  However, the chart does not display an accurate number of cases for the most recent days, as there is a lag time in receiving test results.  The 7-day curve also lags behind current unknown results.) 

By Age Group

  • Youth 17 and under – 1 new case today, total of 740 cases, representing 11.2% of the 6,624 total cases.  No new hospitalizations among this age group today, a total of 6 hospitalizations since the outbreak began.  Thankfully, no deaths have ever been reported in Solano County in this age groupBut cases among Solano youth rose steadily over the summer, from 5.6% of total cases on June 8 to 11% on August 31 and has plateaued at 11.2% since September 30.  Youth are 22% of Solano’s general population, so this 11.x% may seem low.  The significance is this: 1) youth numbers increased steadily and at a faster rate than the other age groups, and 2) youth are SERIOUSLY NOT IMMUNE (!) – in fact 6 youth have now been hospitalized.
  • Persons 18-49 years of age – 17 new cases today, total of 3,957 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents 60% of the total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  The County reported no new hospitalizations in this age group today, total of 131 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths in this young age group today, total of 5 deaths.  Some in this group are surely ignoring public health orders, and many are providing essential services among us.  I expect this group is a major factor in the spread of the virus.
  • Persons 50-64 years of age – 3 new cases today, total of 1,264 cases.  This age group represents 19% of the 6,624  total cases.   No new hospitalizations today, total of 108 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths in this age group today, a total of 14 deaths.
  • Persons 65 years or older – Today the County reported 2 new cases, total of 662.  No new hospitalizations, total of 157.  No new deaths, total of 53 of our elders who died of COVID.  Much of the recent spike in this age group is related to outbreaks at Fairfield and Vallejo care facilities.  This age group’s 662 cases represent 10% of the 6,624  total cases.  In this older age group, 23.7% of cases required hospitalization at one time.  This group accounts for 53 of the 72 deaths, or 74%.

City Data

  • Benicia remained steady today, total of 176 cases since the outbreak began.
  • Dixon added 1 new cases today, total of 427 cases.
  • Fairfield added 8 new case today, total of 2,144 cases.
  • Rio Vista remained steady today, total of 54 cases.
  • Suisun City added 3 new cases today, total of 489 cases.
  • Vacaville added 8 new cases today, total of 1,121 cases.
  • Vallejo added 3 new cases today, total of 2,191 cases.
  • Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 22 cases.

Race / Ethnicity

The County report on race / ethnicity includes case numbers, hospitalizations, deaths and Solano population statistics.  This information is discouragingly similar to national reports that indicate significantly worse outcomes among black and brown Americans.  Note that all of this data surely undercounts Latinx Americans, as there is a large group of “Multirace / Others” which likely is composed mostly of Latinx members of our communities.

  • Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 9% of cases, 11% of hospitalizations, and 18% of deaths.
  • Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 11% of cases, but 18% of hospitalizations, and 25% of deaths.
  • Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 30% of cases, 29% of hospitalizations, and 18% of deaths.
  • White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 22% of cases, 27% of hospitalizations and 31% of deaths.  NOTE: A week ago, the percentage of deaths of White Americans began to rise sharply. After hovering at 20-21% for months, White American deaths rose to 31% in recent days.  It seems likely this increase corresponds to the recent spike of cases and deaths in Solano care facilities.

More…

The County’s new and improved Coronavirus Dashboard is full of much more information, too extensive to cover here on a daily basis.  The Benicia Independent will continue to summarize daily and highlight a report or two.  Check out the Dashboard at https://doitgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=055f81e9fe154da5860257e3f2489d67.