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

Wednesday, August 19: 72 new cases today,
1 new death.  Since the outbreak started: 4,943 cases, 44 deaths.
Compare previous report, Tuesday August 18:Summary

• Solano County reported 72 new cases today, total of 4,943 cases since the outbreak started.  Over the last 2 weeks, Solano reported 1,059 new cases, an average of 76 per day.  In all likelihood, Solano will report its 5,000th COVID infection tomorrow.
• Deaths – 1 new death today, total of 44 Solano deaths.  The deceased person was in the age range 18-49, the first death among this young-to-middle-age group in a month, and totaling only 5 in this age group since the outbreak began.
• Active cases – Solano reported 12 additional ACTIVE cases today, total of 347.  Note that only 39 of these 347 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 remained steady today at 39.  The total number hospitalized since the outbreak started increased by 2, total of 277.  (Note that the County no longer reports Total Hospitalized, but we 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 742 more residents were tested, new total of 67,171.  We still have a long way to go: only 15% 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 rose slightly today, from 6.3% to 6.4%, up from 4.1% last week.  (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.)  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 6.3%, down from 6.8% yesterday.

By Age Group

• Youth 17 and under – 9 new cases today, total of 515 cases.  No new hospitalizations among this age group, a total of 5 hospitalizations since the outbreak began, but notably, 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 10.4% of the 4,943 total confirmed cases.
• Persons 18-49 years of age – 42 new cases today, total of 3,014 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents over 61% of the 4,943 total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  The County reported no new hospitalizations in this age group today, total of 87 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  Notably, the County reported 1 new death among this age group today, total of 4 deaths.  This is the first death among this young-to-middle-age group in a month. This 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 – 17 new cases today, total of 947 cases.  This age group represents just over 19% of the 4,943 total cases.  The County reported 1 new hospitalization in this age group today, total of 78 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths among this age group, total of 5 deaths.
• Persons 65 years or older – only 4 new cases today, total of 466 cases.  This age group represents 9.4% of the 4,943 total cases.
  1 new hospitalization today, total of 107 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  In this older age group, 23% of cases required hospitalization at one time, up from 17% last Friday.  This is a much higher percentage than in the lower age groups.  No new deaths in this age group today, total of 35.  This group accounts for 35 of the 43 deaths, or 81%.

City Data

• Benicia added 3 new cases today, total of 118 cases since the outbreak began.
• Dixon added 7 new cases today, total of 340 cases.
• Fairfield added 25 new cases today, total of 1,561.
• Rio Vista remained steady today,, total of 36 cases.
• Suisun City added 2 new cases today, total of 358 cases.
• Vacaville added 18 new cases today, total of 845 cases.
• Vallejo added 16 new cases today, total of 1,668 cases.
• Unincorporated areas – Unincorporated areas added 1 new case today, total of 17 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, 21% of hospitalizations and 23% of deaths.
• Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 13% of cases, but 19% of hospitalizations, and 25% of deaths.
• Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 25% of cases, 32% of hospitalizations, and 28% of deaths.
• Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 9% of cases and 11% of hospitalizations, but 18% 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.