Both documents spell out circumstances and situations in which face coverings are required, as well as exceptions to the orders. Today might be a good time to review both, and be prepared when you go out.
Be aware – as of yesterday, we had 409 positive cases of the virus in Solano County, including 40 here in Benicia. It’s here among us, and it’s incredibly contagious.
I know… we’re all tired of the social distancing and the masks, but we need to maintain our focus to beat this thing. Let’s all keep our politics – and our aerosol emissions – to ourselves.
I sometimes have trouble keeping track of all the local, county and state websites with data on the coronavirus. And that’s not to mention the CDC and Johns Hopkins sites that drill down to the county level.
But today I found a great source for detailed archived records: California Department of Health’s Hospitals by County Covid-19 Data.
I downloaded the data and created a table showing the Solano County data, adding columns to display day-to-day increases and drops. It’s too big to fit on this page, but you can download a PDF version or the Excel version.
In this table (PDF or Excel) you will find daily records from March 29 to July 8 on the following:
White backlash to Black Lives Matter was swift. It was also expected
San Francisco Chronicle, by Otis R. Taylor Jr. July 9, 2020
Justin Gomez at the site of a Black Lives Matter mural that he and his wife, Angela helped organize and that had been defaced shortly after being completed in Martinez, Calif., on Tuesday, July 7, 2020. The couple that vandalized the Black Lives Matter mural (since restored) on Court Street on July 4th, has been charged with a hate crime each for their actions. Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle
The expected hostility toward the racial uprising energizing the country has begun.
It was expected by behaviorists and historians because history reveals that when some white people feel threatened by social justice movements, they lash out.
On July 4, the paint had barely dried on the 165-foot long Black Lives Matter mural on the street in front of the Wakefield Taylor Courthouse in Martinez when a man and a woman showed up. They dumped black paint on the yellow letters.
“This is not happening in my town,” the woman said as she spread the paint with a roller.
The hateful display of counterfeit patriotism was video-recorded by bystanders and went viral. On Tuesday, Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton charged Nicole Anderson and David Nelson with a hate crime for defacing the mural.
“It was a peaceful mural, and it was a powerful way, as we’ve seen all over the country, that has been used to think about the importance of Black lives,” Becton told me. “But this one in particular was to think about the importance of Black lives in Contra Costa County.”
The county is roughly 43% white, according to census data. Black people make up less than 10% of the county’s population, while Latinos account for about 26% of county residents.
A 2018 report by UC Berkeley’s Urban Displacement Project and the California Housing Partnership studied housing prices and demographic changes in the county from 2000 to 2015 to, among other things, understand trends producing “patterns of segregation and unequal access to high-resource neighborhoods that have defined the county’s racial and economic geography for decades.”
By 2015, the report concluded, “approximately half of low-income Black and Latinx households in the county lived in segregated, high-poverty tracts — approximately triple the rate of low-income Asian and White households, and a steep increase from 2000. Families in these types of neighborhoods typically face greater barriers to economic mobility [and] are more likely to suffer adverse health outcomes.”
Once again, systemic racism impacts the health, economic and educational outcomes of people of color.
The permitted Black Lives Matter mural in Martinez was repainted almost immediately, but get this: The very next day, a man was arrested for allegedly pulling a gun on people looking at the mural, according to the Police Department.
The retaliation is driven by hate, resentment and fear. Don’t be surprised if it lasts beyond next year’s presidential inauguration.
“These are old means of subordination that white people have used,” said UC Berkeley psychology Professor Dacher Keltner, referring to recent viral incidents, including in Indiana where a Black man was attacked in the woods by white men. “This racism is the fabric of this culture.”
And when protesters rallied earlier this week to support Vauhxx Booker, the Black man who called the Indiana incident an “attempted lynching,” someone drove their car through the crowd, NBC News reported.
Wait, there’s more. A white woman used the N-word while arguing with a Black woman in a Sacramento-area convenience store on June 25. A white diner called someone enjoying a family celebration at a Carmel Valley restaurant an “Asian piece of s—.”
“Trump’s gonna f— you,” he said, rising from the table.
He already has.
The president is a grifter who knows hate is currency in America. He stokes white fear and resentment by painting Black Lives Matter protesters as terrorists and thugs. On July 1, he called Black Lives Matter murals symbols of hate. If his lies were your main source of information about people of color, you’d think the white, Black, Latino, Asian and Indigenous people marching for social justice were a bigger threat to this country than the coronavirus.
“The narrative of police brutality, the narrative of oppression, the narrative of racism — it’s a lie,” said the man in the Martinez incident, identified as Nelson, who wore a red T-shirt with “four more years” on the front. “Why don’t you guys learn about history?”
Once again, ignorance is a hallmark of white supremacy.
Here’s a brief lesson in American history: Southern white people went to war and sacrificed a generation to preserve the right to buy, sell and trade Black bodies. Then this country built statues to honor human traffickers and to remind Black people that their place — no, our lives — were conditional. After slavery was abolished, the lynchings of Black people became appointment viewing. Black people’s homes, churches and offices were bombed during the civil rights movement.
I could go on, but you get the historical context. In this country, when some white people feel their way of life — their status — is threatened, they respond with violence.
Dana Frank, a research professor of history at UC Santa Cruz, told me that some white resentment turns into anger instead of reflection.
“There’s white people that are well-meaning or confused and clueless, and then there’s the people who are actively crossing over into hostility. The second category is much harder to reach,” she said. “I think it’s very hard for your average white person to see all those forms of institutionalized racism in which they come out ahead. How do you open the door to somebody seeing that without that person feeling threatened?”
By getting white people to talk to white people about systemic racism.
Justin Gomez, who obtained the permit for the street mural, organized the effort a week after flyers calling for white unity were distributed in Martinez. Gomez, who is Filipino and was raised in Walnut Creek, has two children. He’s a stay-at-home dad, and his wife is a health care worker.
He told me he was blown away at how quickly the mural was defaced. Then again, he lives in Contra Costa County.
“We see Confederate flags,” Gomez said. “We see a lot of racist rhetoric in our local social media circles, so we fully knew that that was going to happen and we were ready for it.”
Six gallons of yellow paint were delivered to him Monday.
Thursday, July 9: 63 new cases today, no new deaths. Since the outbreak started: 1,985 cases, 108 hospitalized, 27 deaths.
Compare previous report, Wednesday July 8:Summary
Solano County reported 63 new cases today, total of 1,985 cases since the outbreak started. Over the last 7 days, Solano reported 509 new cases, an average of 73 per day.
No new deaths today, total of 27.
Hospitalizations – Solano is reporting 1 fewer currently hospitalized person since yesterday, for a total of 39, and held steady at 108 persons in the total number hospitalized since the outbreak started.
Active cases(“The total number of laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Solano County residents who are still within 10 days of when their specimens were collected.”) – Solano reported39 more ACTIVE cases today, total of 409. This figure has been climbing steadily: a week ago Monday there were 70 active cases, increasing to a previous high of 369 on last week Thursday and today’s record high of 409. Only 40 of those active cases are hospitalized – a whole lot of infected people are out among us, hopefully quarantined. Seriously, is the County able to contact trace all of these?
ICU beds Available increased by 6% to 37%. Ventilators Available declined by 4% to 82%.
Testing – 556 residents were tested since yesterday, total of 35,680. We still have a long way to go: only 8% of Solano County’s 447,643 residents (2019) have been tested.
Details and Demographics tab
The County’s Public Health Dashboard includes a second tab (panel), “Details and Demographics” (shown here). Note that the Summary tab and this Details tab are both user interactive – hover over a chart (or tap) to get details. On this Details tab, most of the small charts have a small additional tab showing the rate per 100,000. Go there and explore the two tabs. (Expand a chart by clicking the small button in its upper right corner.)
By Age Group
Youth 17 and under – 3 new cases today, total of 192 cases, and no new hospitalizations, total only 2. Two weeks ago, there were only 87 cases among this age group – we’ve seen over 100 new cases in 14 days!I continue to be alarmed for Solano’s youth. Cases among Solano youth have increased in recent weeks to nearly 10% of the 1,985 total confirmed cases.
Persons 18-49 years of age – 46 new cases today, total of 1,188 cases. This age group represents 60% of the 1,985 total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups. The County reported no new hospitalizations among this age group today, total of 28 hospitalized at one time, and 2 deaths.
Persons 50-64 years of age – 10 new cases today, total of 381 cases. This age group represents 19% of the 1,985 total cases. No new hospitalizations today, total of 36 hospitalized at one time. No new deaths, total of 3 deaths.
Persons 65 years or older – 4 new cases today, total of 223 cases. This age group represents 11% of the 1,985 total cases.
No new hospitalizations, total of 42 hospitalized since the outbreak began. No new deaths, total of 22 deaths. In this older age group, 19% of positive cases required hospitalization at one time, a substantially higher percentage than in the lower age groups. And this group accounts for 22 of the 27 deaths, or 81%.
Incidence Rate: Cases, Hospitalizations, Deaths
On the Race/Ethnicity chart (and also on the Age Group chart) there are “Rate” tabs. Today’s report shows Solano County with:
Solano County has 442 positive cases per population of 100,000, up from 428 yesterday (Compare this number with the City incidence rates, below.)
24 Solano hospitalizations per population of 100,000, same as yesterday.
6 Solano deaths per population of 100,000, same as yesterday.
Percent Positive Test Rates
Increasingly, national, state and county news reports are focusing on percent positive test rates. Five Bay Area counties report daily on their seven-day average percent positive test rate, but Solano County does not. This information is immediately important, as positive test rates in California and other southwestern states are increasing. I wrote and asked Dr. Matyas on June 24 to supply information as to Solano County’s “percent positive test rate.” He replied next day with thanks and wrote, “We are actively working to include these values on our County dashboard. I hope we can begin to report on them sometime next week.” That was nearly 2 weeks ago… (and I wrote to him again today, will keep you posted).
City Data
Vallejoadded 19 new cases today, total of 677.
Fairfield added 26 new cases today, total of 685. Fairfield has seen over 200 new cases over the last week, and now has more positive cases than anywhere in Solano County.
Vacaville added 8 new cases today, total of 308 cases.
Suisun City added 3 new cases today, total of 130 cases.
Benicia added 1 new case today, total of 40 cases. Benicia was extremely stable with only 2 new cases for the entire month of June. Now Benicia has seen 14 new cases in 10 days. The numbers are small in comparison to other Solano cities, but something’s definitely going on in Benicia!
Dixonadded 5 new case today, total of 116 cases. Dixon has also moved from stable to increasing over this last week.
Rio Vistaadded 1 new case, total of 21 cases.
Unincorporated areas – Although the County still still shows Unincorporated at <10 (less than 10), a little math tells the story: Solano’s unincorporated areas remained steady at 8 cases, those unaccounted for in the other City totals.
A “Rate” column shows the rate of positive COVID-19 cases (per 100,000 population) for each city. Benicia has the lowest rate, 145.1 cases per 100,000. Compare Solano cities’ incidence rates in the chart, and note that the CDC reports today’s rate in California at 732 per 100,000 (up from 702 yesterday).
Race / Ethnicity
The County report on race / ethnicity data 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 reportsthat 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 23% of cases, 22% of hospitalizations and 19% of deaths.
Black Americans are 13% of Solano’s population, and account for 12% of cases, but 29% of hospitalizations, and 35% of deaths.
Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 37% of cases. They account for 25% of hospitalizations, and 23% of deaths.
Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 10% of cases and 14% of hospitalizations, but 19% of deaths.
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