[Note that Solano County publishes a DAILY update, and displays past weeks and months in epidemic curve charts.  However, the curve charts do not display an accurate number of cases for the most recent days, as there is a lag time in receiving test results.  This methodology is accurate in a way, but it misleads the public by consistently displaying a recent downward curve which is often corrected upward on a later date. For a complete archive of day by day data, see my Excel ARCHIVE – R.S.]

Tuesday, August 4: 85 new cases in 1 day,
1 new death.  Since the outbreak started: 3,721 cases, 38 deaths.

Compare previous report, Monday, August 3:Summary

• Solano County reported 85 new cases overnight, total of 3,806 cases since the outbreak started.  Over the last 2 weeks, Solano reported 949 new cases, an average of 67 per day.
• Deaths – 1 new death today, a person 65 years or older, total of 38 deaths.
• Active cases – Solano reported 17 fewer ACTIVE cases today, total of 166.  On July 16, Solano hit a record high of 440 active cases.  Note that only 43 of these 166 people are hospitalized, so there are a lot of infected folks out among us, hopefully quarantined.  One wonders… is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons?  (See SF Chronicle report on contact tracing in Bay Area – “Solano County did not respond”.)
• Hospitalizations – 1 fewer currently hospitalized persons today, total of 43.  No more in the total number hospitalized since the outbreak started, 164.  (The County no longer reports Total Hospitalized, but I have added the hospitalization numbers in the Age Group chart.)  Again this week, the County offers no information about availability of ICU beds and ventilators.
• Testing – only 167 residents were tested  today, total of 53,651.  We still have a long way to go: only 12% of Solano County’s 447,643 residents (2019) have been tested.

Percent Positive Test Rate

Solano County reported today’s
7-day percent positive test rate is up from 5.3% on Monday to 5.9% today.  (The chart may be misleading – see NOTE at top of this page.)  The County posted a high of 9.3% on July 22.  CONTEXT: California’s 7-day positivity rate is reported to have dropped to 6.0%.  Increasingly, health officials and news reports are focusing on percent positive test rates.  This information is immediately important, as test positivity is one of the best metrics for measuring the spread of the virus.  Positive test rates in California and other southwestern states have been on the rise.

By Age Group

• Youth 17 and under – 8 new cases today, total of 378 cases. No new hospitalizations, only 2 hospitalizations since the outbreak began.  2 weeks ago, there were 282 cases among this age group – we’ve seen nearly 100 new cases in just 14 days.  I continue to raise an alarm for Solano’s youth.  Cases among Solano youth have increased to 10% of the 3,806 total confirmed cases.
• Persons 18-49 years of age – 45 new cases today, total of 2,334 cases.  This age group is 41% of the County population, but represents over 61% of the 3,806 total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  Good news is that the County reported no new hospitalizations in this age group today, total of 45 hospitalized since the outbreak began, and no new deaths among this age group, total of 3 deaths.  This young age group is no doubt active, out among us, and spreading the virus!
• Persons 50-64 years of age – 19 new cases today, total of 719 cases.  This age group represents just under 19% of the 3,806 total cases.  The County reported no new hospitalizations in this age group today, total of 51 hospitalized since the outbreak began, no new deaths among this age group, total of 4 deaths.
• Persons 65 years or older – 13 new cases today, total of 374 cases.  This age group represents nearly 10% of the 3,806 total cases. No new hospitalizatons today, total of 66 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  We lost 1 of our elders in this age group today, total of 31.  In this older age group, over 17% of cases required hospitalization at one time, a substantially higher percentage than in the lower age groups.  This group accounts for 31 of the 38 deaths, or 82%.

City Data

• Benicia added 4 new cases today, total of 87 cases.
• Dixon added 2 new cases today, total of 199 cases.
• Fairfield added 14 new cases today, total of 1,239.
• Rio Vista added 1 new case today, total of 28 cases.
• Suisun City added 7 new cases today, total of 291 cases.
• Vacaville added 13 new cases today, total of 645 cases.
• Vallejo added 44 new cases today, total of 1,305 cases.  Vallejo has added 163 cases in the last 7 days – a major outbreak?  Vallejo replaced Fairfield last week with more positive cases than anywhere in Solano County.  Vallejo added 199 new cases in June, 686 new cases in July.
• Unincorporated areas – Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 12 cases.

Race / Ethnicity

The County report on race / ethnicity includes case numbers, hospitalizations, deaths and Solano population statistics.  There are also tabs showing a calculated rate per 100,000 by race/ethnicity for each of these boxes.  This information is discouragingly similar to national reports that indicate worse outcomes among black and brown Americans.  As of today:

• White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 21% of cases, 25% of hospitalizations and 26% of deaths.
• Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 13% of cases, but 22% of hospitalizations, and 29% of deaths.
• Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 29% of cases, 32% of hospitalizations, and 24% of deaths.
• Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 9% of cases and 12% of hospitalizations, but 15% of deaths.

Much 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.