COVID-19 in Solano County on January 13: only 3 ICU beds available, 335 new cases overnight, 2 deaths

January 13, 2021 Roger Straw

UPDATE: See today’s latest information

By Roger Straw, January 13, 2021, from Solano County Public Health (and others, see below.)

Wednesday, January 13: 335 new Solano cases overnight, 2 new deaths, ICU beds down to 1%. Since Feb: 23,889 cases, over 780 hospitalized, 105 deaths.Compare previous report, Tuesday, Jan. 12:Summary

- Solano County reported 335 new cases overnight. In just the last 14 days, Solano has seen an increase of 4,881 new cases. We’re averaging 349 (!) new cases every day! Total of 23,889 cases since the outbreak started.
- Deaths – 2 new deaths reported today, both over 65 years of age, a total of 105 Solano deaths since the pandemic began.
- Active cases – Solano reported 196 more active cases today for a total of 2,635 active cases. Compare: Solano’s average number of Active Cases during October was 284, average in November was 650 – and TODAY we are at 2,635! Is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons? Or do we just sit back and wait for a voluntary 10 day quarantine to expire. Who knows? To my knowledge, Solano has offered no reports on contact tracing.
- Hospitalizations – Today, Solano reported 11 fewer currently hospitalized cases, but no new hospitalizations among the age groups. We will have to wait for the County’s “occasional” large group of updated numbers on hospitalizations among the age groups. Even then, note…
  >>In a December 31 Fairfield Daily Republic article, reporter Todd Hanson wrote, “Since the start of the pandemic, and as of Wednesday [Dec. 30], 9,486 residents have been hospitalized.” This startling number is far and away above the number of residents hospitalized as indicated in the count of age group hospitalizations, and not available anywhere on the County’s COVID-19 dashboard. Asked about his source, Hanson replied that Solano Public Health “had to do a little research on my behalf.” It would be good if the County could add Total Hospitalized to its daily Dashboard update. [For the numbers used in my manual calculation of total hospitalizations, see age group stats below. For COVID19-CA.GOV numbers, see BenIndy page, COVID-19 Hospitalizations Daily Update for Solano County.]
- ICU Beds – Solano County reported its all-time low (!) in ICU beds available today, down from 5% to only 1%, in the RED DANGER ZONE. COVID19-CA.GOV reported today that Solano County had only
  3 (!) available ICU beds as of yesterday, January 12. (For COVID19-CA.GOV info see BenIndy page, COVID-19 Hospitalizations Daily Update for Solano County, and for REGIONAL data see COVID-19 ICU Bed Availability by REGION.)

Positive Test Rate – ALARMINGLY HIGH SOLANO TEST RATE OF 25.1% – VIRUS SPREADING LIKE WILDFIRE, STAY HOME!

Solano County reported our 7-day average positive test at an alarming rate of 25.1%, down slightly from yesterday’s 26.4%, but still over 3 times the State’s purple tier threshold of 8%. Average percent positive test rates are among the best metrics for measuring community spread of the virus. The much lower and more stable California 7-day average test rate was down from yesterday’s 13.5% to 13.0% 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 therefore also lags behind due to unknown recent test results.)

By Age Group – The holiday surge continues…

Youth 17 and under – 49 new cases today, total of 2,723 cases, representing 11.4% of the 23,889 total cases. No new hospitalizations reported today among this age group, total of 17 since the outbreak began. Thankfully, no deaths have ever been reported in Solano County in this age group. But 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 over 11% since September 30. Youth are 22% of Solano’s general population, so this 11% may seem low. The significance is this: youth are SERIOUSLY NOT IMMUNE (!) – in fact at least 17 of our youth have been hospitalized since the outbreak began.
Persons 18-49 years of age – 166 new cases today, total of 13,329 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents 55.8% of the total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups. The County reported no new hospitalizations among persons in this age group today. A total of 237 are reported to have been hospitalized since the outbreak began. Solano recorded no new deaths in this young group today, total of 7 deaths. Some in this group are surely at high risk, as many are providing essential services among us, and some may be ignoring public health orders. I expect this group is a major factor in the spread of the virus.
Persons 50-64 years of age – 65 new cases today, total of 4,985 cases. This age group represents 20.9% of the 23,889 total cases. The County reported no new hospitalizations among persons in this age group today. A total of 212 are reported to have been hospitalized since the outbreak began. No new deaths were reported in this age group today, a total of 18 deaths.
Persons 65 years or older – 55 new cases today, total of 2,842, representing 11.9% of Solano’s 23,889 total cases. The County reported no new hospitalizations among persons in this age group today. A total of 317 have been hospitalized since the outbreak began. 2 new deaths were reported in this age group today. A total of 80 of our elders have died of COVID, accounting for 76% of Solano’s 105 total deaths.

City Data

Benicia added 8 new cases today, total of 660 cases since the outbreak began.
Dixon added 17 new cases today, total of 1,472 cases.
Fairfield added 99 new cases today, total of 6,681 cases.
Rio Vista added 4 new case today, total of 228 cases.
Suisun City added 27 new cases today, total of 1,654 cases.
Vacaville added 62 new cases today, total of 6,171 cases.
Vallejo added 116 new cases today, total of 6,948 cases.
Unincorporated areas added 2 new cases today, total of 75 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 11% of cases, 12% of hospitalizations, and 17% of deaths.
Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 11% of cases, but 17% of hospitalizations, and 22% of deaths.
Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 13% of cases, 23% of hospitalizations, and 17% of deaths.
White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 30% of cases, 30% of hospitalizations and 33% of deaths.

More…

The County’s 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 significant portions. For more, check out the Dashboard at https://doitgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=055f81e9fe154da5860257e3f2489d67.

Source

Source: Solano County Coronavirus Dashboard (posted on the County website late today). For a complete archive of County updates, see my Excel ARCHIVE. ALSO see important daily updates from the state of California at COVID19.CA.GOV, embedded here on the BenIndy at Cases and Deaths AND Hospitalizations AND ICU Beds by REGION.

Anti-racism, Benicia Black Lives Matter, Elizabeth Patterson, Systemic racism

Making ‘good trouble’ in Benicia

January 13, 2021 Roger Straw

Shakoor-Grantham starts city’s version of Black Lives Matter

Nimat Shakoor-Grantham founded the Benicia Chapter of the Black Lives Matter movement. (Chris Riley—Times-Herald)

Vallejo Times-Herald, by Katy St. Clair, January 13, 2021

BENICIA — “What are you doing here, shouldn’t you be in Vallejo?”

This was a question Benicia resident Nimat Shakoor-Grantham says her Black son was asked as he walked down a street in town. He had also been pulled over before and asked, again, what he was doing in Benicia, she said.

A Black woman sitting in a Benicia restaurant told Shakoor-Grantham that she was pelted with ice cubes by white males at a nearby table. The message she got was, “You don’t belong here in our space.”

As for Shakoor-Grantham, an African-American woman who has lived in Benicia since 2002, the disrespect she has seen has ranged from a man at Safeway calling her “gal” and telling her to go fetch him a cart, to threatening letters left on her doorstep — again asking, “What are you trying to do here?”

She thinks that last threat was because she founded the Benicia group of Black Lives Matter. She has had anonymous people taunting her with, “You are poking the bear, and when the bear gets poked, the bear gets mad,” or “Why are you creating trouble in Benicia?”

The “trouble” she and her BBLM colleagues are getting into is what the late Senator John Lewis would call “good trouble,” or raising awareness of inequality, bias, and prejudice among citizens in town.

“We specifically address issues with the government, city, and county,” she said. “We address issues of education and Black arts and culture. We also promote the awareness of systemic racism and bias.”

This last aspect of their work — promoting awareness of systemic racism — was highlighted by former Mayor Elizabeth Patterson on her blog “El Pat’s Forum” at the end of December.

Patterson described a council meeting where BBLM members addressed the body about a need for an equity and diversity manager, something that many cities have. The job of the manager will be to become a liaison between citizens, government and businesses to promote awareness and movement toward a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable place to live for people of color in Benicia. The hire will reach out to the school district as well as art and cultural organizations and spaces as well.

“When the recommendation was presented to council by staff and BBLM members, many council members were quick to offer ideas about what they thought BBLM needed,” wrote Patterson. “One could almost feel the insult that a white city council was telling the panel of four BBLM members what they needed.”

Shakoor-Grantham was at the meeting and agreed with this assessment, but told the Times-Herald that what struck her more was that they seemed more interested in how much it was going to cost to hire a person to do this rather than discussing the importance of having one.

“I said, these are my experiences here, what can be done about it? And I got crickets,” Shakoor-Grantham said.

Patterson agreed that discussion became money, writing “there was a lot of haggling over the cost.” She then pointed out what she described as “structural racism.”

The cost of hiring a part-time equity expert (30 hours a week) was put at $133,000, which council members said the city could not afford. However, Patterson points out, some of the same council members had recently estimated the value to the city that fees from developers bring in and they came up with $230,000.

One councilmember, she wrote, described this amount as “nothing” to the general fund, meaning in the town’s large budget they could “almost forgo” even collecting the fees.

The mayor then juxtaposed this with the proposed equity hire.

“The structural racism is clear. A council will say the city cannot afford programs that might have been beneficial to Black and Brown people, but can afford to subsidize market rate housing and businesses.”

For Shakoor-Grantham and BBLM, the mayor’s message was exactly what they have hoped to hear from government.

“I am very happy that Elizabeth had the insight, awareness, and courage to write this,” Shakoor-Grantham said. “She saw the apparent disparity and refused to remain silent as many people who shouldn’t remain silent choose to do,” she wrote in an op-ed in this paper.”

BBLM has about 30 members, she says, and everyone is committed to moving Benicia “in the right direction.” She estimates that 80 percent of the group is made up of white allies. She is quick to point out the many stereotypes that some people might have about Black Lives Matter.

“We want to work together with people, to learn and evolve together,” she said. “We aren’t trying to guilt trip white people.”

Shakoor-Grantham acknowledges that everyone, even herself, holds biases that they need to be aware of. However she says if your bias impacts the peace of another member of this community or makes them feel like they don’t belong here, it is important to address it. She feels she also has a big ally in Police Chief Erik Upson, who she says has been incredibly responsive.

“I have faith in him,” she said.

Overall, she is pleased at progress that has been made and she is looking forward to the city hiring the equity manager.

“There’s some good stuff happening, I’m really happy,” she says. “The good stuff out-shadows any of the negative.”

Coronavirus, Covid 19, Keeping Watch on Earth News, Solano County CA

COVID-19 in Solano County on January 12: ICU beds down to 5%, 240 new cases, another death of a senior

January 12, 2021 Roger Straw

UPDATE: See today’s latest information

By Roger Straw, January 12, 2021, from Solano County Public Health (and others, see below.)

Tuesday, January 12: 240 new Solano cases overnight, 1 new death, ICU beds down to 5%. Since Feb: 23,554 cases, over 780 hospitalized, 103 deaths.Compare previous report, Monday, Jan. 11:Summary

- Solano County reported 240 new cases overnight. In just the last 14 days, Solano has seen an increase of 4,828 new cases. We’re averaging 345 (!) new cases every day! Total of 23,554 cases since the outbreak started.
- Deaths – 1 new death reported today, someone over 65 years of age, a total of 103 Solano deaths since the pandemic began.
- Active cases – Solano reported 71 more active cases today for a total of 2,439 active cases. Compare: Solano’s average number of Active Cases during October was 284, average in November was 650 – and TODAY we are at 2,439! Is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons? Or do we just sit back and wait for a voluntary 10 day quarantine to expire. Who knows? To my knowledge, Solano has offered no reports on contact tracing.
- Hospitalizations – Today, Solano reported 4 new hospitalizations, all among those over 65. We will have to wait for the County’s “occasional” large group of updated numbers on hospitalizations among the age groups. Even then, note…
  >>In a December 31 Fairfield Daily Republic article, reporter Todd Hanson wrote, “Since the start of the pandemic, and as of Wednesday [Dec. 30], 9,486 residents have been hospitalized.” This startling number is far and away above the number of residents hospitalized as indicated in the count of age group hospitalizations, and not available anywhere on the County’s COVID-19 dashboard. Asked about his source, Hanson replied that Solano Public Health “had to do a little research on my behalf.” It would be good if the County could add Total Hospitalized to its daily Dashboard update. [For the numbers used in my manual calculation of total hospitalizations, see age group stats below. For COVID19-CA.GOV numbers, see BenIndy page, COVID-19 Hospitalizations Daily Update for Solano County.]
- ICU Beds – Solano County reported fewer ICU beds available today, down from 20% to only 5%, now back in the RED DANGER ZONE. COVID19-CA.GOV reported today that Solano County had 10 available ICU beds as of yesterday, January 11. (For COVID19-CA.GOV info see BenIndy page, COVID-19 Hospitalizations Daily Update for Solano County, and for REGIONAL data see COVID-19 ICU Bed Availability by REGION.)

Positive Test Rate – ALARMINGLY HIGH SOLANO TEST RATE OF 26.4% – VIRUS SPREADING LIKE WILDFIRE, STAY HOME!

Solano County reported our 7-day average positive test at an alarming rate of 26.4%, down slightly from yesterday’s 26.5%, but still over 3 times the State’s purple tier threshold of 8%. Average percent positive test rates are among the best metrics for measuring community spread of the virus. The much lower and more stable California 7-day average test rate was down from yesterday’s 14.2% to 13.5% 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 therefore also lags behind due to unknown recent test results.)

By Age Group – Holiday surge upon holiday surge – especially among the young

Youth 17 and under – 31 new cases today, total of 2,674 cases, representing 11.4% of the 23,554 total cases (up .1%). No new hospitalizations reported today among this age group, total of 17 since the outbreak began. Thankfully, no deaths have ever been reported in Solano County in this age group. But 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 over 11% since September 30. Youth are 22% of Solano’s general population, so this 11% may seem low. The significance is this: youth are SERIOUSLY NOT IMMUNE (!) – in fact at least 17 of our youth have been hospitalized since the outbreak began.
Persons 18-49 years of age – 141 new cases today, total of 13,163 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents 55.9% of the total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups. The County reported no new hospitalizations among persons in this age group today. A total of 237 are reported to have been hospitalized since the outbreak began. Solano recorded no new deaths in this young group today, total of 7 deaths. Some in this group are surely at high risk, as many are providing essential services among us, and some may be ignoring public health orders. I expect this group is a major factor in the spread of the virus.
Persons 50-64 years of age – 47 new cases today, total of 4,920 cases. This age group represents 20.9% of the 23,554 total cases. The County reported no new hospitalizations among persons in this age group today. A total of 212 are reported to have been hospitalized since the outbreak began. No new deaths were reported in this age group today, a total of 18 deaths.
Persons 65 years or older – 21 new cases today, total of 2,787, representing 11.8% of Solano’s 23,554 total cases (down .1%). The County reported 4 new hospitalizations among persons in this age group today. A total of 317 have been hospitalized since the outbreak began. 1 new death was reported in this age group today. A total of 78 of our elders have died of COVID, accounting for 76% of Solano’s 103 total deaths.