[Note that Solano County publishes a DAILY update, and displays past weeks and months in epidemic curve charts.  However, the curve charts do not display an accurate number of cases for the most recent days, as there is a lag time in receiving test results.  This methodology is accurate in a way, but it misleads the public by consistently displaying a recent downward curve which is often corrected upward on a later date. For a complete archive of day by day data, see my Excel ARCHIVE – R.S.]

Wednesday, August 12: 76 new cases today, no new deaths.  Since the outbreak started: 4,414 cases, 41 deaths.
Compare previous report, Tuesday August 11:

Summary

• Solano County reported 76 new cases today, total of 4,414 cases since the outbreak started.  Over the last 7 days, Solano reported 530 new cases, an average of 76 per day.
• Deaths – no new deaths today, total of 41 deaths.
• Active cases – Solano reported 10 more ACTIVE cases today, total of 231.  Note that only 37 of these 231 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, total of 37.  However, the total number hospitalized since the outbreak started gained 1, total of 176.  (The County no longer reports Total Hospitalized, but I can add the new hospitalization numbers in the Age Group report – see below.)  Again now for a third week, the County offers no information about availability of ICU beds and ventilators.
• Testing – The County reports today that 804 more residents were tested, new total of 60,258.  We still have a long way to go: only 13.5% 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 from 4.1% yesterday to 4.4 today.  Solano had never registered below 5% since the County began publicly reporting test rates on July 13. (Note that the positive test rate graphic chart may be misleading – see NOTE at top of this page.)  The County posted a high of 9.3% on July 22.  CONTEXT: 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 has been falling, but is reported up today from 6.2% to  6.9%.

By Age Group

• Youth 17 and under – 8 new cases today, total of 441 cases. No new hospitalizations, only 2 hospitalizations since the outbreak began, and no deaths.  It is clear that youth are catching the disease, and it seems too many youth are ignoring public health orders.  Cases among Solano youth have increased to 10% of the 4,414 total confirmed cases.
• Persons 18-49 years of age – 46 new cases today, total of 2,703 cases.  This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents over 61% of the 4,414 total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  The County reported no new hospitalizations in this age group today, total of 48 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths among this age group, total of 3 deaths.  This young to middle 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 – 14 new cases today, total of 843 cases.  This age group represents 19% of the 4,414 total cases.  The County reported no new hospitalizations in this age group today, total of 55 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths among this age group, total of 4 deaths.
• Persons 65 years or older – 8 new cases today, total of 426 cases.  This age group represents 9.7% of the 4,414 total cases.  1 new hospitalization today, total of 71 hospitalized since the outbreak began.   No new deaths in this age group today, total of 34.  In this older age group, almost 17% of cases required hospitalization at one time, a substantially higher percentage than in the lower age groups.  This group accounts for 34 of the 41 deaths, or 83%.

City Data

• Benicia added 5 new cases today, totaling over 100 for the first time, 104 cases since the outbreak began.
• Dixon added 11 new cases today, total of 279 cases.
• Fairfield added 16 new cases today, total of 1,410.
• Rio Vista remained steady today, total of 32 cases.
• Suisun City added 4 new cases today, total of 325 cases.
• Vacaville added 10 new cases today, total of 752 cases.
• Vallejo added 29 new cases today, total of 1,496 cases.
• Unincorporated areas – Unincorporated areas added 1 new cases today, total of 16 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, 23% of hospitalizations and 24% of deaths.
• Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 13% of cases, but 21% of hospitalizations, and 27% of deaths.
• Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 27% of cases, 32% of hospitalizations, and 24% of deaths.
• Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 9% of cases and 12% of hospitalizations, but 16% 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.