[For a complete archive of day by day data, see my Excel ARCHIVE – R.S.]

Monday, August 17: 171 new cases over the weekend, no new deaths.  Since the outbreak started: 4,767 cases, 41 deaths.
Compare previous report, Friday August 14:Summary

• Solano County reported 171 new cases today, total of 4,767 cases since the outbreak started.  Over the last 2 weeks, Solano reported 1,046 new cases, an average of 75 per day.
• Deaths – no new deaths today, total of 41 deaths.
• Active cases – Solano reported 9 fewer ACTIVE cases today, total of 305.  Note that only 38 of these 305 people are hospitalized, so there are a lot of infected folks out among us, hopefully quarantined.  I’ve been wondering for several weeks now… is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons?  Who will research this?  (See SF Chronicle report on contact tracing in Bay Area – “Solano County did not respond”.)
• Hospitalizations – the number of currently hospitalized persons fell by 5 today, total of 38.  However, the total number hospitalized since the outbreak started increased startlingly by 78, total of 274.  (I suspect this was at least partially due to delayed testing reports from the state, finally making their way into the County’s report.)  (Note that the County no longer reports Total Hospitalized, but I can add the new hospitalization numbers in the Age Group report – see below.)  For a fourth week now, the County offers no information about availability of ICU beds and ventilators.
• Testing – The County reports today that 2,693 more residents were tested over the weekend, new total of 65,440.  We still have a long way to go: only 14.6% 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 continued its steady rise, increasing on each of the last 6 days, from 4.1% last Tuesday to 6.9% today.  (Note that Solano County displays past weeks and months in a 7-day test positivity curve chart 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.  For a complete archive of day by day data, see my Excel ARCHIVE. – R.S.]  The County posted a 7-day test rate high of 9.3% on July 22.  Health officials and news reports focus on percent positive test rates as one of the best metrics for measuring the spread of the virus.  The California 7-day rate was reported today at 7.1%.

By Age Group

• Youth 17 and under – 29 (!) new cases over the weekend, total of 492 cases.  1 new hospitalization among this age group, a total of 5 hospitalizations since the outbreak began, and 3 in this past week.  Thankfully, no deaths.  It is clear that our young people are catching the disease, with a recent increase in hospitalizations.  It seems too many youth are ignoring public health orders.  Cases among Solano youth are 10.3% of the 4,767 total confirmed cases.
• Persons 18-49 years of age – 95 (!) new cases today, total of 2,905 cases, including 285 new cases in the last week.  This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents over 61% of the 4,767 total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  The County reported 30 new hospitalizations in this age group today, total of 87 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths among this age group, total of 3 deaths.  This young to middle age group is very active.  Some are surely ignoring public health orders, and many are providing essential services among us.  I expect his group is a major factor in the spread of the virus.
• Persons 50-64 years of age – 33 new cases today, total of 911 cases.  This age group represents 19% of the 4,767 total cases.  The County reported 18 new hospitalizations in this age group today, total of 76 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths among this age group, total of 4 deaths.
• Persons 65 years or older – 14 new cases today, total of 458 cases.  This age group represents 9.6% of the 4,767 total cases.  29 (!) new hospitalizations today, total of 106 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  In this older age group, over 23% of cases required hospitalization at one time, up from 17% on Friday.  This is a big jump, and a much higher percentage than in the lower age groups.  No new deaths in this age group today, total of 34.  This group accounts for 34 of the 41 deaths, or 83%.

City Data

• Benicia added 6 new cases today, total of 115 cases since the outbreak began.
• Dixon added 19 new cases today, total of 320 cases.
• Fairfield added 53 new cases today, total of 1,506.
• Rio Vista added 1 new case today, total of 36 cases.
• Suisun City added 10 new cases today, total of 347 cases.
• Vacaville added 22 new cases today, total of 809 cases.
• Vallejo added 60 new cases today, total of 1,618 cases.
• Unincorporated areas – Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 16 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 22% of cases, 22% of hospitalizations and 24% of deaths.
• Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 12% of cases, but 19% of hospitalizations, and 27% of deaths.
• Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 26% of cases, 32% of hospitalizations, and 24% of deaths.
• Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 9% of cases and 11% of hospitalizations, but 16% 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.