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

Summer surge continues in Benicia and Solano County: 2 more deaths and 238 new infections countywide

By Roger Straw, Monday, August 23, 2021

Monday, August 23: Summer surge in Solano, report of 238 new infections today, 833 ACTIVE cases.  Fewer ICU beds available.

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

DEATHS: The County reported 2 new deaths today, 1 person age 50-64 and 1 age 65+.  One was Hispanic/Latinx and one was White.  Total deaths now number 264.

Percentage of cases by age groups. Click to enlarge.

CASES: The County reported  238 new COVID cases over the weekend, 79 per day, down dramatically from last week’s 157 per day. Case numbers show a startling increase in the PERCENTAGE OF YOUNG PERSONS age 0-17, increasing 0.3% last week to a new high of 13.2% of total cases.  The percentage of youth cases has increased very slowly over the course of the pandemic, starting below 6%, and very gradually reaching 12% in mid-April of 2021.  CASES-PER DAY TREND (All Age Groups): We are experiencing a dramatic “summer surge” now.  Cases-per-day were trending downward in the Spring, but rose rapidly in July and are skyrocketing here in August:ACTIVE CASES: Solano’s 833 ACTIVE cases was down from Friday’s astonishing high or 1,087, but still up alarmingly from 212 on July 2, and in the range we experienced during the winter surge.

POSITIVE TEST RATE:  Down some today, thank goodness, but much higher than US & California!  Our 7-day average percent positivity rate was 15.7% today, down from 20.1% Friday, but still twice the purple tier margin, and over 3 times today’s California rate of 4.5% and nearly 1.5 times today’s U.S. rate of 11.5%. [Source: Johns Hopkins]  WARNING: The Delta Variant is here in Solano County and spreading fast.  Time to mask up again – watch out and take care!  
Hospitalizations

CURRENT hospitalizations were up slightly today from 138 to 143 persons, still higher than any time since the winter surge.

ICU Bed Availability was down shockingly today from 24% to only 18%, in the yellow danger zone and lower than anytime since January 29.

Ventilator Availability was also down today from 54% to 51%, lower than anytime since Feb. 4.

TOTAL Hospitalized – The County’s Monday-Friday dashboard shows an intake/discharge total of CURRENTLY hospitalized cases (above), but never reports on the TOTAL hospitalized 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 did not update its Hospitalizations by Age Group chart today.  The Age Group chart shows a total of 2,056 persons hospitalized since the beginning of the outbreak, in the following age groups:

Age Group Hospitalizations % of Total
0-17 36 2%
18-49 585 28%
50-64 549 27%
65+ 886 43%
TOTAL 2,056 100%

Hospitalizations are also recorded on the County’s demographic chart labeled “Hospitalizations by Race / Ethnicity.”  The chart was not updated today.  Here are the current numbers and percentages.  Interestingly, the total doesn’t square with the total by age groups.

Race / Ethnicity Hospitalizations % of Total
Asians 323 17%
Black / African American 336 17%
Hispanic / Latinx 555 29%
White 631 33%
Multirace / Others 84 4%
TOTAL 1,919 100%
Face Coverings… Good News in Benicia

Benicia City Council voted last week to move forward tomorrow, Tues. Aug. 24, in consideration of a Citywide indoors mask mandate for all public places.  Agenda here.  If the City moves forward with the mandate tomorrow, it will be the first Solano city to take action despite the County’s lack of strong guidance on masks.  In the Bay Area, Solano County REMAINS the only holdout against even RECOMMENDING masks in public indoors spaces.  Hopefully, Dr. Matyas will learn from Benicia, and make the necessary difficult decisions. 

Wearing masks again, social distancing & vaccination…

“Breakthrough” numbers are small in comparison to the huge surge in cases and hospitalizations among the unvaccinated, but it’s still a significant new factor.  We were just beginning to associate more freely with fully vaccinated friends and family, and now we understand that a small percentage of the vaccinated among us may be asymptomatic and unknowingly transmitting the virus, and inevitably helping spread the disease to someone who knows someone, who knows someone else, who knows yet another someone who is not vaccinated, or who is too young or too health-compromised to be vaccinated – and who may end up seriously ill or even dead!  Please mask indoors in public now, and maybe even indoors with vaccinated family and friends!  And PLEASE talk to anyone you know who isn’t vaccinated.  This thing ain’t over yet!

Cases by City on Monday, August 23:
  • Benicia added 11 new cases today, a total of 1,216 cases since the outbreak began, 4.4% of its population of 27,570.
  • Dixon added 9 new cases today, total of 2,169 cases, 11.0% of its population of 19,794.
  • Fairfield added 69 new cases today, total of 10,596 cases, 9.0% of its population of 117,149.
  • Rio Vista added 3 new cases today, total of 475 cases, 5.0% of its population of 9,416.
  • Suisun City added 15 new cases today, total of 2,753 cases, 9.3% of its population of 29,447.
  • Vacaville added 50 new cases today, a total of 10,175 cases, 10.3% its of population of 98,807.
  • Vallejo added 80 new cases today, a total of 11,496 cases, 9.6% of its population of 119,544.
  • Unincorporated added 1 new case today, a total of 122 cases (population figures not available).

Continue reading Summer surge continues in Benicia and Solano County: 2 more deaths and 238 new infections countywide →

#Masks4All, #wearamask, Benicia City Council, Benicia Mayor Steve Young, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Delta variant, Solano County Health Officer Bela Matyas

KRON4 Bay Area News: Benicia considers mask mandate

Benicia considers implementing mask mandate

KRON4 Bay Area News, by: Amanda Hari, Aug 22, 2021

BENICIA, Calif. (KRON) – One city is taking matters into its own hands when it comes to masking.

Solano County is the only county in the Bay Area without a mask mandate, but Benicia is considering implementing one.

On Tuesday, city council will be voting on a resolution to require face masks in indoor settings.

Mariana Moore has lived in the city for more than 40 years.

She says she loves it here but thinks they need to do more to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“If you follow the news at all and you follow the science you have to wear masks. I have kids in school and they’re wearing masks. The teachers are wearing masks.”

Mayor Steve Young tells KRON4 he’s been hearing similar calls for a mask mandate from other Benicia residents – and since the county isn’t going to implement one, he’s looking to do it on the city level.

“It’s frustrating to feel like on one hand we’re out of step with the rest of the county but perhaps another way to look at it is Solano County is out of step with the larger Bay Area community.”

Mayor Young says back at the beginning of the pandemic, the city had to institute a mask mandate on their own as well because health leaders wouldn’t do it on the county level.

“We are more likely to follow the lead of what we perceive to be the scientific consensus on masks.”

Moore says she hopes to see the county put this into effect this week.

“I just hope everyone thinks about how to not only take care of their own needs and their own desires but what we can do as a community. That’s what we have to do to beat this.”

The resolution to requiring masks was just introduced last week and it will be voted on this Tuesday at the city council meeting.

The mayor says they need three votes to pass the resolution.

He told KRON4 News he will be voting for it, the vice mayor will also be voting in favor, so they only need one more vote. He says based on conversations he’s had, he believes they’ll get it.

#Masks4All, #wearamask, Benicia City Council, Benicia Mayor Steve Young, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Delta variant, Solano County Health Officer Bela Matyas

ABC7 News: Benicia could go against Solano County and implement indoor mask mandate for all

East Bay city could go against Solano County and implement indoor mask mandate for all

ABC7 Bay Area News, By J.R. Stone, August 22, 2021


BENICIA, Calif. (KGO) — This week the City of Benicia, which is in Solano County, could go against county recommendations and implement an indoor mask mandate.

It’s something that all other Bay Area counties have already done but Solano County has not and the move would be a rare one, with the city going against their county recommendations.

“I think the feeling on the City Council is, despite Solano County’s unwillingness to move in this direction, that we have an obligation to try to further protect health and safety,” says Benicia Mayor Steve Young.

Young telling us that this week the city council will look at implementing an indoor mask mandate for everyone, including those vaccinated, due to rising COVID-19 numbers, something Solano County has not done.

“If wearing the mask inside is what we need to do to bring the rates back down and keep us all safe, I think it’s what we need to do,” says Virginia Barrazi who was walking through downtown Benicia Sunday.

Earlier this month we spoke with the Solano County Health Officer who explained why they chose not to implement indoor masking.

“The data don’t support the need for such a mandate. This disease in our county is very clearly spreading during/through social events, people who are going to parties, barbecues, picnics, campouts,” said Dr. Bela Matyas.

While many here are now supportive of an indoor mask mandate.

“I think it’s important to wear a mask inside, especially when people are not getting vaccinated, there’s young kids to think about,” said Ankita Saxena who was wearing her mask outside when we spoke with her.

“We haven’t had a whole lot of issue with people not wanting to wear a mask inside the store,” said Lisa Bellini of the Angel Heart 4 You store in downtown Benicia.

Some though are totally against it.

“If the mandate goes into effect, will you wear a mask?” we asked one man in Benicia to which he replied, “Hell no, hell no, it’s complete garbage, the virus is up here one minute and down here the next minute,” said Rick Chase who is against mask wearing, vaccinations, and doesn’t believe that COVID-19 is what it’s made out to be.

Mayor Young says he knows that some are against an indoor mask mandate but believes it is the right thing to do at this time. Even saying that he believes the City of Vallejo may soon look at an indoor mask mandate too.

“For a lot of us the individual right stops when public health is impacted by that and I think that’s where we are,” says Mayor Young.

The Benicia City Council will take up the possibility of an indoor mask mandate for all in their meeting on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

#Masks4All, #wearamask, Benicia CA, Benicia City Council, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Delta variant, Mandatory face coverings

Benicia Author Stephen Golub: Open Letter to Benicia City Council on Indoor Mask Mandate

Eight good reasons to enact the strongest policy possible

Benicia resident, Stephen Golub

Dear Mayor Young, Vice Mayor Campbell, and Council Members Strawbridge, Largaespada and Macenski:

I am writing to urge that:

  1. consistent with the eight other Bay Area counties, the City Council adopt a very strong indoor mask mandate for Benicia when it considers a resolution regarding this matter at its August 24, 2021 meeting;
  2. it take into account the overwhelming evidence in favor of masks, as exemplified by a compilation of 49 (mostly) peer reviewed studies (a few of which in turn reviewed hundreds of other studies) documenting the effectiveness of masks against Covid-19;
  3. the Council consider the guidance from many authorities regarding this matter – not least that of the CDC, which “advise[s] that all individuals — including vaccinated ones — wear masks indoors in areas with ‘high’ and ‘substantial’ COVID-19 transmission,” since Solano and the other Bay Area counties fall into those two categories;
  4. conversely, the Council view with appropriate skepticism testimony from Solano County Health Officer Bela T. Matyas, should he weigh in against the mandate, given that
    1. for much of the pandemic, his office has apparently ignored or discounted the expertise of the eight other Bay Area counties’ health departments as well as the CDC and many other experts regarding Covid-19 policies and
    2. that Solano’s Covid case and hospitalization rates are substantially higher than those of the other eight counties;
  5. the Council similarly view skeptically Dr. Matyas’ claim that “the transmission that is occurring, that is causing this surge, is all in people’s homes, backyards, parties, camping, and is not in the environment where these masking recommendations are going to apply,” given
    1. the sweeping nature of that claim (all transmission occurs in private settings, including outdoor ones, rather than indoor public settings?),
    2. the rapidly evolving reality imposed by the highly infectious Delta variant, which greatly increases risks, uncertainty and cause for caution,
    3. the threat of “long Covid” (for which symptoms can persist for many months or perhaps permanently, even for individuals with mild or asymptomatic cases),
    4. Solano’s being consistently out of step with other Bay Area counties, the CDC and many experts, and
    5. Solano’s (perhaps resultantly) poor case and hospitalization track record relative to those other counties;
  6. it consider the strong possibility that the failure to adopt a mask mandate could undercut Benicia businesses, tourism and even property values, as many individuals and families who might consider shopping or moving here could look askance at a city that rejects a policy adopted throughout the Bay Area, in many other California and U.S. cities, and even in such parts of the country as Louisiana;
  7. the Council appreciate that an indoor mask mandate will make life easier and safer for the many Benicians staffing or considering returning to work in our stores and restaurants, including the young woman who thanked me for wearing a mask in her shop despite the sign outside saying that vaccinated persons (such as myself) need not do so; and
  8. the Council decides in favor of protecting all of us, particularly but not only the immunocompromised and children too young to be vaccinated.

I am not a health professional. But as a concerned Benician, it seems clear that the indoor mask mandate will help save Benicians’ health and conceivably even their lives.

So, please adopt the strongest policy possible. If you reject the mandate, your legacy could well be, “They voted for Covid.”

Sincerely,
Stephen Golub

Stephen Golub, Benicia – A Promised Land: Politics. Policy. America as a Developing Country.

Benicia resident Stephen Golub offers excellent perspective on his blog, A Promised Land:  Politics. Policy. America as a Developing Country.

To access his other posts or subscribe, please go to his blog site, A Promised Land.

For safe and healthy communities…