All posts by Roger Straw

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

Coronavirus in Benicia, CA: Solano County COVID-19 report (April 15)

Wednesday, April 15: only one new case! No new deaths, total now 141 cases, 2 deaths:

Solano County Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Updates and Resources.  Check out basic information in this screenshot.  IMPORTANT: The County’s interactive page has more.  On the County website, you can click on “Number of cases” and then hover over the charts for detailed information.

Last report (Tuesday, April 14):

Summary:

Solano County reported ONLY 1 NEW POSITIVE CASE today – total is now 141.  No new deaths in Solano County – still 2.

As of today:

    • No additional positive cases of young persons under 19 years of age, total of 2.
    • Today’s new case was a person 19-64 years of age, total of 112 cases, 79%, of the 141 total (no new deaths, total of 1).
    • No additional cases were persons 65 or older, total of 27 cases, 19% of the 140 total (including 1 death)

ACTIVE CASES:  Only 24 of the 141 are active cases. This is 5 less than previously reported yesterday – good news!

HOSPITALIZATIONS: The County’s “Hospital Impact” graph (below) is significant. While 39 of the 141 cases resulted in hospitalizations, only 16 are currently hospitalized – but this is 2 more than yesterday.  Good news: the County continues to estimate that our supply of ICU beds and ventilators is GOOD.  (No information is given on our supply of PPE and staff.)

CITY DATA: Vallejo remains at 53 cases; Fairfield added 1 new case, total of 35; and Vacaville remains at 24 cases.  One of our smaller cities graduated from the vague <10 category: Suisun City is now showing 10 confirmed cases.  Benicia, Dixon, Rio Vista and “Unincorporated” are still not assigned numerical data: all show <10 (less than 10).  Residents and city officials have been pressuring County officials for city case counts for many weeks.  Today’s data is welcome, but incomplete.

The Number of residents tested panel reports that 2,015 residents have been tested as of today.  This is an increase of only 93 over yesterday’s total of 1,922.  Approximately 4 tenths of 1% of Solano County’s 447,643 residents (2019) have been tested.

The blue bars in the chart, “Daily number of cases on the date that specimens were collected” shows why the County is interpreting a flattening of the curve.  Note that the daily date in that chart refers to the date a sample was drawn and so reflects the lag time in testing.

Solano’s slowing upward curve in cumulative cases – as of April 15

The chart above gives a clear picture of the infection’s trajectory in Solano County.  Our COVID-19 curve continues may be slowing!

But it remains incredibly important that everyone – please! – stay home and be safe!

Gasoline prices, Oil Industry, Oil prices

Bay Area gas prices: great for consumers, a threat to independent frackers

Haven’t filled up lately? Here’s how cheap Bay Area gas is

Vallejo Times-Herald, April 13, 2020

The price of gasoline continues to tumble because of the lack of demand worldwide, bringing Bay Area prices below $2.30 a gallon.

The average price nationwide is now $1.87 a gallon, according to AAA. That’s down from $2.30 a month ago and almost a dollar below the year-ago level of $2.82.

A handful of stations in Oklahoma and Wisconsin were charging below 80 cents a gallon last week.

In the Bay Area, the cheapest prices are in the East Bay: $2.29 at some Costcos and independent stations in Concord, Oakland and Union City, according to GasBuddy. The South Bay’s lows are around $2.35, and the Peninsula’s about 5 cents more.

Farther afield, $2.19 has been seen in Sacramento and Modesto, and prices below $2 were noted near Oroville and Folsom. Across the line in Reno, you can find $1.85.

In Hawaii, which has the nation’s most expensive gas, $2.35 is available in Honolulu but Kauai stations are still charging $3.60.

Of course, few drivers can take advantage of cheap gas because of the shelter-in-place orders. Cheap crude will continue to pose a serious threat to U.S. oil companies, especially independent frackers that piled on too much debt. Rystad Energy recently estimated that 140 US oil producers could file for bankruptcy this year if oil stays at $20 a barrel, followed by another 400 in 2021.

Coronavirus, Covid 19, Solano County CA

COVID-19 in Solano County – 5 new cases on April 14, no new deaths

Tuesday, April 14: five new cases, no new deaths, total now 140 cases, 2 deaths:

Solano County Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Updates and Resources.  Check out basic information in this screenshot.  IMPORTANT: The County’s interactive page has more.  On the County website, you can click on “Number of cases” and then hover over the charts for detailed information.

Last report (Monday, April 13):

Summary:

Solano County reported 5 NEW POSITIVE CASES today – total is now 140.  No new deaths in Solano County – still stands at 2.

As of today:

    • No additional positive cases of young persons under 19 years of age, total of 2.
    • All 5 of today’s new cases were persons 19-64 years of age, total of 111 cases, 79%, of the 140 total (no new deaths, total of 1).
    • No additional cases were persons 65 or older, total of 27 cases, 19% of the 140 total (including 1 death)

ACTIVE CASES:  Only 29 of the 140 are active cases. But this is 4 more than previously reported yesterday.

HOSPITALIZATIONS: In today’s report, the County shows an excellent new “Hospital Impact” graph (below). While 36 of the 140 cases resulted in hospitalizations, only 14 are currently hospitalized.  More good news: the County estimates that our supply of ICU beds and ventilators is GOOD.  (No information is given on our supply of PPE and staff.)

CITY DATA: Vallejo added 3 new cases, total of 53; Fairfield added no new cases, total of 34; and Vacaville added no new cases, total of 24.  Smaller cities are still not assigned numerical data: all show <10 (less than 10).  NOTE that the county’s 3 major cities account for only 3 of today’s 5 new cases, so 2 of today’s new cases must have come from our four smaller cities or unincorporated areas.  Residents and city officials have been pressuring County officials for city case counts for many weeks.  Today’s data is welcome, but incomplete.

The Number of residents tested panel reports that 1,922 residents have been tested as of today.  This is an increase of only 67 over yesterday’s total of 1,855.  As of today, approximately 4 tenths of 1% of Solano County’s 447,643 residents (2019) have been tested.

The blue bars in the chart, “Daily number of cases on the date that specimens were collected” shows why the County is interpreting a flattening of the curve.  Note that the daily date in that chart refers to the date a sample was drawn and so reflects the lag time in testing.

Solano’s upward curve in cumulative cases – as of April 14

The chart above gives a clear picture of the infection’s trajectory in Solano County.  Our COVID-19 curve continues on its uphill climb!

Everyone stay home and be safe!