All posts by Roger Straw

Editor, owner, publisher of The Benicia Independent
#Masks4All, #wearamask, California Department of Public Health, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Delta variant, Face coverings, Solano County Health Department

Solano County Public Health issues new mask mandates

By Roger Straw, July 29, 2021

Masks now REQUIRED for many indoor settings, regardless of vaccination status

https://www.facebook.com/SolanoCountyPH/

Solano County Public Health updated its Facebook page today in accordance with new guidance on masking issued yesterday by the California Public Health Department.

Solano Public Health on Facebook

The County’s message on Facebook, along with the image you see above is:

In accordance with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), as of July 28th masks are required in the following indoor settings, regardless of vaccination status.

For more information on masking requirements, please visit: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/…/guidance-for-face-coverings.aspx“

Solano County website – details…

The County’s Coronavirus Updates and Resources page has also been updated – in great detail, but without the clarity and emphasis displayed on its Facebook page.

If you scroll halfway down the page, you will find the following updated and detailed information.  You will also notice that the messaging avoids taking responsibility at the County level for the new requirements, passing the mandate off on the State.

Face Covering

All Californians will continue to follow State masking guidelines:

Masks are required for all individuals in the following indoor settings, regardless of vaccination status:

    • On public transit[1] (examples: airplanes, ships, ferries, trains, subways, buses, taxis, and ride-shares) and in transportation hubs (examples: airport, bus terminal, marina, train station, seaport or other port, subway station, or any other area that provides transportation)
    • Indoors in K-12 schools[2], childcare[3]
    • Emergency shelters[4] and cooling centers[5]Masks are required for all individuals, in the following indoor settings, regardless of vaccination status (and surgical masks are recommended):
      • Healthcare settings[6]
      • State and local correctional facilities and detention centers[7]
      • Homeless shelters[8]
      • Long Term Care Settings[9] & Adult and Senior Care Facilities[10]
      • Additionally, masks are required* for unvaccinated individuals in indoor public settings and businesses (examples: retail, restaurants, theaters, family entertainment centers, meetings, state and local government offices serving the public).

4.      Exemptions:
The following specific settings are exempt from face covering requirements:

    • Persons in a car alone or solely with members of their own household,
    • Persons who are working alone in a closed office or room,
    • Persons who are obtaining a medical or cosmetic service involving the nose or face for which temporary removal of the face covering is necessary to perform the service,
    • Workers who wear respiratory protection, or
    • Persons who are specifically exempted from wearing face coverings by other CDPH guidance.

·     The following individuals are exempt from wearing face coverings at all times:

    • Persons younger than two years old. Very young children must not wear a face covering because of the risk of suffocation.
    • Persons with a medical condition, mental health condition, or disability that prevents wearing a face covering. This includes persons with a medical condition for whom wearing a face covering could obstruct breathing or who are unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove a face covering without assistance.*
    • Persons who are hearing impaired, or communicating with a person who is hearing impaired, where the ability to see the mouth is essential for communication.
    • Persons for whom wearing a face covering would create a risk to the person related to their work, as determined by local, state, or federal regulators or workplace safety guidelines.

*Note: Persons exempted from wearing a face covering due to a medical condition who are employed in a job involving regular contact with others must wear a non-restrictive alternative, such as a face shield with a drape on the bottom edge, as long as their condition permits it.

Related Materials: Face Coverings Fact sheet (PDF) | Face Mask Tips and Resources | Face Shields Q&A (PDF) | All Guidance | More Languages

Benicia CA, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Delta variant, Hospitalizations, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Department, Vaccine

Solano County reports shocking new numbers on Wednesday July 28

By Roger Straw, Wednesday, July 28, 2021

County reports 4 deaths and 710 new hospitalizations!  Test positivity nears 20%.

Solano County COVID dashboard SUMMARY:
[Sources: see below.  See also my ARCHIVE spreadsheet of daily Solano COVID updates.]
Deaths

Solano reported four new deaths today, two age 50-64 and two 65+.  June deaths were only 2, and prior to today only 1 death was reported in July, so this is a dramatic turn.  The County total is now 249 deaths since the pandemic began.

TREND: Cases-per-day dramatically up in July

Solano County is clearly experiencing a “summer surge” in cases.  The County reported  221 new COVID cases since Monday, 110 per day!  Cases-per-day were trending downward in recent months, but are now rising rapidly, especially over the last week:

Solano’s 831 ACTIVE cases is up dramatically from last Friday’s remarkable high of 647, higher than anything since February 11, 2021.  Active cases have risen alarmingly in July, up from 212 cases on July 2 to today’s 831.

Solano Positive Test Rate INCREDIBLY HIGH – much higher than US & CA!

Our 7-day average percent positivity rate was up alarmingly again today from a shocking 16.8% on Monday to an even more surprising 19.1% today, the County’s highest rate since January 25, 2021.  We would be decidedly back in the PURPLE TIER with rates this high.  COMPARE: The US 7-day % positive rate today is at 5.9%, and the California rate is 4.4%. [Source: Johns Hopkins]  This thing is on fire here – watch out and take care!

Hospitalizations – County provides MAJOR update of previously unreported hospitalizations

CURRENT hospitalizations jumped today from 45 to 51 persons.   ICU beds and ventilators remained about the same today, beds at 32% and ventilators at 68.

TOTAL hospitalized – The County’s Monday-Friday updates show an intake/discharge total of CURRENTLY hospitalized cases, but never report on the CUMULATIVE TOTAL of hospitalized COVID patients over the course of the pandemic.  That total must be independently discovered in the County’s occasional update of the Hospitalizations by Age Group chart.  The County performed a MAJOR UPDATE of the Hospitalizations by Age Group chart today, adding 710 previously unreported hospitalizations!  We now know of

    • 9 more children age 0-17 who were hospitalized with COVID since the County’s end-of-June update;
    • 253 additional young adults age 18-49;
    • another 200 aged 50-64;
    • and 248 more of our elders 65 and older.

No telling exactly WHEN these newly reported hospitalizations occurred – probably not all in July.  The Age Group chart now shows a total of 2,019 persons hospitalized since the beginning of the outbreak, in the following age groups:

Age Group Hospitalizations % of Total
0-17 36 2%
18-49 580 29%
50-64 542 27%
65+ 861 43%
TOTAL 2,019 100%

Hospitalizations are also recorded on the County’s demographic chart labeled “Hospitalizations by Race / Ethnicity.”  The chart was updated today, adding 138 Asians, 127 Blacks, 221 Hispanics, 208 Whites, and subtracting 3 from the Multirace group.  Here are the current numbers.  Interestingly, the total doesn’t square with totals by age groups.

Race / Ethnicity Hospitalizations % of Total
Asians 322 17% (up 2%)
Black / African American 327 17% (up 1%)
Hispanic / Latinx 548 29% (up 2%)
White 614 32%  (down 2%)
Multirace / Others 83 4% (down 3%)
TOTAL 1,894 100%
New State Guidelines…

COVID is clearly spreading again and surging in Solano County!  Today California also issued new Guidance for the Use of Face Coverings.  The new guidelines include a recommendation for universal masking indoors statewide, adding of Adult and Senior Care Facilities to settings where all individuals must wear masks indoors, and a reference to new requirements for unvaccinated workers.  Some California counties are returning to mandatory masks for all in crowded places.  In the Bay Area, Solano County is the only holdout against even RECOMMENDING masks in public indoors spaces.  Dr. Matyas needs to make some difficult decisions soon!

SUMMER SURGE – Masks, Social Distancing & Vaccination

My personal plan is to mask indoors in public even though I’m vaccinated, and I’d recommend it for you, too.  Everyone talk to anyone you know who isn’t vaccinated.  This thing ain’t over yet!

Cases by City on Wednesday, July 28:
  • Benicia added 10 new cases today, a total of 1,102 cases since the outbreak began, 4.0% of its population of 27,570.
  • Dixon added 10 new case today, total of 2,007 cases, 10.1% of its population of 19,794.
  • Fairfield added 67 new cases today, total of 9,627 cases, 8.2% of its population of 117,149.
  • Rio Vista added 3 new cases today, total of 424 cases, 4.5% of its population of 9,416.
  • Suisun City added 25 new cases today, total of 2,512 cases, 8.5% of its population of 29,447.
  • Vacaville added 48 new cases today, a total of 9,389 cases, 9.5% its of population of 98,807.
  • Vallejo added 57 new cases today, a total of 10,533 cases, 8.8% of its population of 119,544.
  • Unincorporated added 1 new case today, a total of 109 cases (population figures not available).

COMPARE: From the most recent report on Solano County’s COVID Dashboard, Monday, July 26:

The data on this page is from today’s and the previous Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard.  The Dashboard is full of much more information and updated weekdays around 4 or 5pm.  On the County’s dashboard, you can hover a mouse or click on an item for more information.  Note the tabs at top for “Summary, Demographics” and “Vaccines.”  Click here to go to today’s Solano County Dashboard.[sta_anchor id=”sources” /]

Sources
#Masks4All, #wearamask, Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Coronavirus, Covid 19, Face coverings, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Department, Solano County Health Officer Bela Matyas

Dr. Bela Matyas thinks he knows better than the CDC, will not recommend masks despite Solano surge

Solano County Health Officer Won’t Follow CDC’s Indoor Mask Recommendation

Most residents said they will follow CDC’s guidelines despite the county not echoing the recommendation

NBC Bay Area, by Jodi Hernandez, July 27, 2021

The Centers for Disease Control is reversing course and is now recommending that both vaccinated and unvaccinated people wear masks indoors, specially in parts of the country where COVID-19 cases are on the rise.

In the Bay Area, Solano County has been seeing 100 COVID-19 cases a day, which is more than double from last week. However, the county health officer does not think masking up indoors.

Dr. Bela Matyas, Solano County’s health officer, said the CDC’s recommendation is misguided.

“The transmission that’s occurring in people’s homes, backyards, camping,” he said, “it’s not an environment where masking recommendations are going to apply.”

“Nothing has changed with respect to the science to warrant the CDC’s change in its recommendation,” he said.

Most people in Solano County said they will follow the CDC’s guidance despite the county not echoing the recommendation.

“I am fine wearing a mask,” Benicia resident Linda Martino said. “I want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.”

The owner of Art Centric in Benicia even put up her “masks required” sign up again.

“Now that we’re seeing cases rise, I want to protect myself as well as my customers,” said Aline Karpoyan.

“I’d like to be through with this,” said resident Laura Harper.

“Everybody get vaccinated, get past the masks and past the COVID thing all together.”

#Masks4All, #wearamask, Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Coronavirus, Covid 19, Face coverings, Masks, San Francisco Bay Area, Solano County CA

BREAKING: CDC recommends indoor masking for all in Bay Area

CDC recommends entire Bay Area issue indoor mask mandate

SFGate, by Eric Ting, July 27, 2021
The CDC’s map of California counties by COVID-19 transmission rates. Masks are recommended in red and orange counties. (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) – Click here (or on the image) to go to interactive CDC map.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revised its masking guidance Tuesday to advise that all individuals — including vaccinated ones — wear masks indoors in areas with “high” and “substantial” COVID-19 transmission.

According to the CDC’s map, four Bay Area counties — San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa and Solano — are classified as areas of “high” transmission and the other five — Santa Clara, San Mateo, Marin, Sonoma, Napa — are classified as areas of “substantial” transmission. Masking is currently recommended but not required in every Bay Area county except Solano.

Given how Bay Area counties have previously handled the pandemic, it seems highly likely the region will turn their recommendations into mandates following the updated CDC guidance. A mask mandate is currently in effect in Los Angeles County.

Across California, most counties fall into the “high” or “substantial” categories.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday the state would issue updated statewide guidance sometime after the CDC guidance was released.

The CDC said the change in guidance is based on new evidence showing that while fully vaccinated individuals are protected against severe disease from the delta variant, they can transmit it to unvaccinated individuals more easily than other strains of the virus.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said that when earlier strains of the virus were dominant, infected vaccinated people were found to have low levels of virus in their nose and throats and were deemed unlikely to spread the virus. That has changed with the delta variant, where Walensky said the level of virus in infected vaccinated people is “indistinguishable” from the level of virus in infected unvaccinated people.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.