All posts by Roger Straw

Editor, owner, publisher of The Benicia Independent
Coronavirus, Covid 19, Solano County CA

Solano COVID-19 update Sept. 4: Another death, someone of 65 years or more, total of 48 deaths

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

Friday, September 4: 40 new cases today, 1 new death.  Since the outbreak started: 5,671 cases, 48 deaths.Compare previous report, Thursday, Sept 3:Summary

  • Solano County reported 40 new cases today, total of 5,671 cases since the outbreak started.  Over the last 2 weeks, Solano reported 623 new cases, an average of 45 per day.
  • Deaths – 1 new death today, total of 48 Solano deaths, someone in the 65+ age group.
  • Active cases – Solano reported 32 fewer ACTIVE cases today, total of 313.  Note that only 30 of these 313 people are hospitalized, so there are a lot of infected folks out among us, hopefully quarantined.  Is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons?  Who knows?  To my knowledge, Solano County has no reporting on contact tracing.
  • Hospitalizations – the number of currently hospitalized persons included 2 fewer today, total of 30.  The total number hospitalized since the outbreak started remained steady, total of 282.  For several weeks now, the County offers no information about availability of ICU beds and ventilators.
  • Testing – The County reports today that 612 more residents were tested today, new total of 77,114.  Solano has a long way to go: only 17.2% of Solano County’s 447,643 residents (2019) have been tested.

Positive Test Rate

Solano County reported today that our 7-day average test rate fell today, from 6.5% to 5.3%.  Solano’s high test rate contrasts sharply with the state of California’s rate of 4.3% today.  Earlier this week Solano saw rates above 7% for the first time since we peaked at 9.3% on July 22.  The County reported a 7-day test rate low of 4.1% on August 11, and the County’s rate peaked at 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 test rate fell today from 4.5% to 4.3%.  (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.) 

By Age Group

  • Youth 17 and under – 7 new cases today, total of 625 cases.  No new hospitalizations among this age group, a total of 5 hospitalizations since the outbreak began.  Thankfully, no deaths.  It seems too many youth are ignoring public health orders.  Cases among Solano youth have risen steadily over the summer, from 5.6% of total cases on June 8 to 10.9% most recently, and to 11% this week.  Youth are 22% of Solano’s general population, so this 11% may seem low.  The significance is: 1) that youth numbers are increasing steadily and at a faster rate than the other age groups, and 2) that youth are seriously NOT immune – in fact 5 youth have been hospitalized.
  • Persons 18-49 years of age – 25 new cases today, total of 3,441 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents 60.7% of the 5,671 total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  The County reported no new hospitalizations in this age group today, total of 92 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths among this age group today, total of 4 deaths.  Some in this group 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 – 4 new cases today, total of 1,074 cases.  This age group represents 19% of the 5,671 total cases.  No new hospitalizations today, total of 76 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths  in this age group today, a total of 7 deaths.
  • Persons 65 years or older – 4 new cases today, total of 529 cases, representing 9.3% of the 5,671 total cases.  No new hospitalizations today, total of 109 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  In this older age group, 20.6% of cases required hospitalization at one time.  This is a much higher percentage than in the lower age groups.  1 new death was reported in this age group today, total of 37 deaths.  This group accounts for 37 of the 48 deaths, or 78%.

City Data

  • Benicia added 1 new case today, total of 136 cases since the outbreak began.
  • Dixon added 3 new cases today, total of 386 cases.
  • Fairfield added 18 new cases today, total of 1,839.
  • Rio Vista remained steady today, total of 38 cases.
  • Suisun City added 5 new cases today, total of 410 cases.
  • Vacaville added 7 new cases today, total of 964 cases.
  • Vallejo added 6 new cases today, total of 1,880 cases.
  • Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 18 cases.

Cases, Hospitalizations & Deaths by Race / Ethnicity

The County report on race / ethnicity includes case numbers, hospitalizations, deaths and Solano population statistics.  Today I am again returning to the summary chart featuring all of these.  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 Latinex members of our communities.

  • Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 10% of cases, 12% of hospitalizations, and 18% of deaths.
  • Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 11% of cases, but 18% of hospitalizations, and 24% of deaths.
  • Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 32% of cases, 33% of hospitalizations, and 27% of deaths.
  • White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 20% of cases, 21% of hospitalizations and 20% of deaths.

Note that the above death percentages have not changed since yesterday even though the County reported a new death today.  One must assume that the new death was in the “multirace/other” group, for which I am missing yesterday’s number and so can’t confirm.

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.

#BlackLivesMatter, 2020 Presidential campaigns, Black Lives Matter, Donald Trump, Kenosha WI, Racism

Documenting Trump’s insane comments and racist behavior in Kenosha

Trump flies to Kenosha but lands on Planet Zog

President Trump listens to officials during a roundtable discussion on community safety at Bradford High School in Kenosha, Wis., on Tuesday. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)
Washington Post, by Dana Milbank, September 1, 2020

President Trump took off on Air Force One on Tuesday morning on his way to Kenosha, Wis. He landed on Planet Zog.

In real life, protests (some peaceful, some violent) erupted after police shot Jacob Blake, a Black man, seven times in the back. A Trump-supporting militia member allegedly gunned down three of the protesters, killing two of them.

But in the imaginary Kenosha that Trump created Tuesday afternoon at an invitation-only “roundtable” — in a high school cafeteria serving as a government “command center” — things were quite different.

There was no pandemic in this Kenosha; at his suggestion, everybody in the roundtable took off their face masks. There was no right-wing violence. (I heard no mention of the killings by the Trump-backing extremist.) There was no such thing as police brutality (Trump quickly swept aside any such notion). And there were hardly any Black people (only two of the 23 in the room).

It quickly became clear that the pair, a pastor and his wife, were to be seen rather than heard. James Ward, who said he is the pastor to Blake’s mother, was asked by Trump to offer a prayer, then offered to discuss “the real pain that hurts Black Americans.” Trump wasn’t interested.

When Trump opened the roundtable to questions, a reporter asked the pastor whether he believed that there is systemic racism in law enforcement.

Before Ward could answer, Trump broke in to say there were only “some bad apples” among police, of which “I have the endorsement of so many, maybe everybody.”

The reporter tried again. “Could the pastor answer my question, please?”

Trump called on another questioner.

Then, shutting down the session, Trump turned to the muted pastor he had just used as a prop. “Fantastic job,” he said.

As the election gets closer and closer, Trump appears to be getting further and further from reality. Tuesday’s stagecraft in Kenosha was Trump’s most audacious attempt to rearrange reality since … well, since the night before. On Monday, he informed Fox News’s Laura Ingraham that Joe Biden is the victim of mind control by “people that you’ve never heard of, people that are in the dark shadows.” They are, he said, the same “people that are controlling the streets.” Trump further reported the existence of a plane, “almost completely loaded with thugs wearing these dark uniforms, black uniforms.” He said they “were on the plane to do big damage.”

Pressed for details, Trump said he could divulge no more. “I’ll tell you sometime, but it’s under investigation.” As NBC reported, Trump’s fantastical tale closely matched a two-month-old conspiracy theory making the rounds on Facebook.

By the time he arrived at Joint Base Andrews for his trip to Wisconsin, Trump had already developed more details about his new conspiracy theory. This time, “the entire plane filled up with the looters, the anarchists, the rioters.” And Trump said he has a firsthand account from a person on the plane. “Maybe they’ll speak to you and maybe they won’t,” he said. (They didn’t.)

Arriving in Kenosha, Trump toured a camera shop that had been damaged. There, he chose to speak about Portland, Ore. — about 2,000 miles away. Portland “has been terrible for a long time, for many decades, actually.” Portland is frequently ranked among the “most livable cities” in America.

Trump didn’t meet with the Blake family, instead moving on to the high school cafeteria, draped with blue curtains and decorated with flags.

“I feel so safe,” Trump remarked, after a tour in which he was protected by armored personnel carriers, military trucks and police in camouflage carrying automatic rifles.

He received thanks from a participant for “sending the National Guard.” (That was actually the work of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who, like Kenosha’s mayor, urged Trump not to visit.)

Trump reported that “there was love on the street, I can tell you, of Wisconsin when we were coming in … so many African Americans.” According to the “pool” reporters traveling in the president’s motorcade, he had been greeted by friends and foes alike, including one “large group protesting the president, their middle fingers pointed at motorcade.”

The two African Americans in the roundtable did their best to bring Trump around to reality. James Ward prayed for a restoration of “empathy and compassion.” Sharon Ward noted that “it’s important to have Black people at the table” and called it “a good opportunity for us really to solve the problem.”

But Trump would not be moved. Asked about nonviolent protests and structural racism, he answered with “anarchists,” “looters,” “rioters” and “agitators.” He said Democrats like riots and want to close prisons and end immigration enforcement. “The wall will be finished very shortly,” he added.

Maybe that’s true — on Planet Zog.

Coronavirus, Covid 19, Solano County CA

Solano COVID update: total of 5,631 cases, 345 currently active

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

Thursday, September 3: 43 new cases today, no new deaths.  Since the outbreak started: 5,631 cases, 47 deaths.Compare previous report, Wednesday, Sept 2:Summary

  • Solano County reported 43 new cases today, total of 5,631 cases since the outbreak started.  Over the last 2 weeks, Solano reported 625 new cases, an average of 45 per day.
  • Deaths – no new deaths today, total of 47 Solano deaths.
  • Active cases – Solano reported 22 more ACTIVE cases today, total of 345.  Note that only 32 of these 345 people are hospitalized, so there are a lot of infected folks out among us, hopefully quarantined.  Is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons?  Who knows?  To my knowledge, Solano County has no reporting on contact tracing.
  • Hospitalizations – the number of currently hospitalized persons included 2 more today, total of 32.  The total number hospitalized since the outbreak started remained steady, total of 282.  For several weeks now, the County offers no information about availability of ICU beds and ventilators.
  • Testing – The County reports today that 544 more residents were tested today, new total of 76,502.  Solano has a long way to go: only 17.1% of Solano County’s 447,643 residents (2019) have been tested.

Positive Test Rate

Solano County reported today that our 7-day average test rate fell today, from 7.1% to 6.5%.  Solano’s high test rate contrasts sharply with the state of California’s rate of 4.5% today.  This week Solano saw rates above 7% for the first time since we peaked at 9.3% on July 22.  The County reported a 7-day test rate low of 4.1% on August 11, and the County’s rate peaked at 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 test rate rose today from 4.1% to 4.5%.  (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.) 

By Age Group

  • Youth 17 and under – only 2 new cases today, total of 618 cases.  No new hospitalizations among this age group, a total of 5 hospitalizations since the outbreak began.  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 have risen steadily over the summer, from 5.6% of total cases on June 8 to 10.9% most recently, and to 11% this week.  Youth are 22% of Solano’s general population, so this 11% may seem low.  The significance is: 1) that youth numbers are increasing steadily and at a faster rate than the other age groups, and 2) that youth are seriously NOT immune – in fact 5 youth have been hospitalized.
  • Persons 18-49 years of age – 25 new cases today, total of 3,416 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents 60.7% of the 5,631 total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  The County reported no new hospitalizations in this age group today, total of 92 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths among this age group today, total of 4 deaths.  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 – 5 new cases today, total of 1,070 cases.  This age group represents 19% of the 5,631 total cases.  No new hospitalizations today, total of 76 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths  in this age group today, a total of 7 deaths.
  • Persons 65 years or older – 10 new cases today, total of 525 cases, representing 9.3% of the 5,631 total cases.  No new hospitalizations today, total of 109 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  In this older age group, 20.8% of cases required hospitalization at one time.  This is a much higher percentage than in the lower age groups.  No new deaths were reported in this age group today, total of 36 deaths.  This group accounts for 36 of the 47 deaths, or 77%.

City Data

  • Benicia added 1 new case today, total of 135 cases since the outbreak began.
  • Dixon remained steady today, total of 383 cases.
  • Fairfield added 19 new cases today, total of 1,821.
  • Rio Vista remained steady today, total of 38 cases.
  • Suisun City added 5 new cases today, total of 405 cases.
  • Vacaville added 9 new cases today, total of 957 cases.
  • Vallejo added 9 new cases today, total of 1,874 cases.
  • Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 18 cases.

Hospitalization rate by Race / Ethnicity

The County report on race / ethnicity includes case numbers, hospitalizations, deaths and Solano population statistics.  Today I am again featuring the tab that shows a calculated HOSPITALIZATION rate per 100,000 population by race/ethnicity.  As with our case numbers and death rates, this information is discouragingly similar to national reports that indicate significantly worse outcomes among black and brown Americans.  Note that the Hospitalization Rate comparison here surely undercounts Latinx Americans, as there is a large group of “Multirace / Others” with a hospitalization rate much higher than every other group (130.8/100K, down from 134.2 yesterday).

Perhaps the best measure is to compare each group to the County’s overall hospitalization rate of 62.7/100K.  As of today:

  • Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 10% of cases, 12% of hospitalizations, and 18% of deaths (ALL INCREASING TODAY).  The hospitalization rate for Solano Asian Americans is 45.7 per 100K (up from 42.5).
  • Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 11% of cases, but 18% of hospitalizations, and 24% of deaths.  The hospitalization rate for Black Americans is 69.5 per 100K (unchanged).
  • Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 32% of cases, 33% of hospitalizations, and 27% of deaths.  The hospitalization rate for Latinx Americans is 69.1 per 100K (unchanged).
  • White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 20% of cases, 21% of hospitalizations and 20% of deaths.  The hospitalization rate for Solano Whites is 29.0 per 100K (unchanged).

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.

#BlackLivesMatter, Black Lives Matter, California legislature, California Regulation, Legislative Action, Police violence

‘Insulting’: California police reform bills die without vote

State takes small steps toward reform

Vallejo Times-Herald, By Nico Savidge, September 3, 2020
[See also: Associated Press, California bill to strip badges from ‘bad officers’ fails]

Three months ago, with protests against racism and police brutality gripping the state and nation, California lawmakers had plans for new legislation that would make sweeping changes to law enforcement.

But as their session came to a chaotic end at midnight Tuesday, state legislators had only approved a handful of relatively modest changes to police practices, while more controversial proposals — to strip problem officers of their badges, broaden public access to police misconduct records and limit the use of rubber bullets and tear gas at protests — died without the votes they needed to pass.

The defeat of those measures, coming in the Democrat- dominated Legislature of a state that positions itself as a beacon of progressive government, is a stinging disappointment for activists, civil liberties groups and lawmakers, who believed the time had come for major changes meant to bolster police accountability and transparency.

“To ignore the thousands of voices calling for meaningful police reform is insulting,” Sen. Steven Bradford, D-Gardena, said in a statement early Tuesday morning after his bill to “decertify” officers who commit crimes or serious misconduct failed to get a vote in the final hours Monday. “Today, Californians were once again let down by those who were meant to represent them.”

Policing wasn’t the only issue that left advocates and lawmakers unsatisfied — bills that passed for eviction protections and housing also fell short of what many hoped to see in the shortened legislative session that was upended by the coronavirus.

The law enforcement bills lawmakers did approve included a requirement that state authorities investigate certain deadly police shootings, as well as a ban on the carotid “sleeper” restraint a Minneapolis officer used in the deadly arrest of George Floyd on Memorial Day.

But Dennis Cuevas-Romero, a legislative advocate for the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, noted that many police departments have already prohibited officers from using the carotid restraint. Gov. Gavin Newsom also directed the state’s Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training after Floyd’s death to no longer offer training on the tactic.

And while Cuevas-Romero said having state authorities investigate police shootings “could be really significant,” he also noted that the bill only requires the state to investigate fatal police shootings of unarmed civilians, as opposed to all deaths at the hands of police.

“This was our concern from the very beginning, when all the police reform legislation was introduced,” Cuevas-Romero said. “The ones that were less impactful would be the ones that make it to the finish line,” allowing lawmakers to claim victory “without actually doing significant reform.”

The ACLU cosponsored Bradford’s decertification bill. California is one
of only five states that doesn’t have such a process, and an investigation by this news organization found dozens of police officers with criminal records were still working in departments across the state.

Bradford’s bill also would have rolled back some of the legal protection known as “qualified immunity,” which shields officers from liability in many excessive force lawsuits. Activists charge the legal doctrine is a significant barrier to holding police accountable, and the bill got a late lobbying push from a raft of celebrities, including Kim Kardashian West and Los Angeles Laker Kyle Kuzma.

Law enforcement groups say they are open to creating a decertification process, and have called for a special session of the Legislature to create one. But they vehemently opposed the bill’s limits to qualified immunity, which helped make it the most controversial of this year’s police reform proposals.

“We are pleased that the late-session rush to enact a flawed bill that would have had debilitating repercussions for police officers and public safety was not voted upon,” Craig Lally, the president of the union representing Los Angeles police officers, said in a statement after Bradford’s bill failed. “It is more important to get it right and not rushed, and we pledge our cooperation to work collaboratively with likeminded stakeholders and the legislature to get it right.”

Brian Marvel, president of the Peace Officers Research Association of California, said the shortened session made it difficult for his organization representing more than 75,000 police officers to negotiate with lawmakers. In the next session, Marvel said, “We will have a much better opportunity to collaboratively work with the authors on creating legislation.”

Bradford pledged to bring his proposal back next year.

Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, said she would do the same with her bill sharply limiting the use of rubber bullets and tear gas, prompted by what critics derided as a heavyhanded police response to racial justice demonstrations. That bill, which also faced opposition from police lobbying groups, similarly never came up for a vote Monday night.