Solano County COVID infection rate rising: 7-day test positivity rate reaches record high of 9.3%


Wednesday, July 22: 125 new cases today, no new deaths.  Since the outbreak started: 2,982 cases, 35 deaths.

Compare previous report, Tuesday July 21:Summary

  • Solano County reported 125 new cases today, total of 2,982 cases since the outbreak started.  Over the last 7 days, Solano reported 669 new cases, an average of 96 per day.
  • Deaths – no new deaths today, total of 35.
    Currently hospitalized, 7/22/20
  • Hospitalizations2 additional currently hospitalized persons today, total of 50.  No increase in the total number hospitalized since the outbreak started: 130.  (The County no longer reports Total Hospitalized, but I have added the hospitalization numbers in the Age Group chart.)
  • Active cases Solano reported 85 more ACTIVE cases today, total of 311.  Last week we hit a record high of 440 active cases.  Note that only 50 of today’s 311 active cases are hospitalized; a lot of infected people are out among us, hopefully quarantined.  One wonders… is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons?  (See SF Chronicle report on contact tracing in Bay Area – “Solano County did not respond”.)
  • ICU beds Available fell 2% to 36%.  Ventilators Available rose 3% to 91%.
  • Testing 1,093 residents were tested since yesterday, total of 46,415.  But we still have a long way to go: only 10% 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 at a record high of 9.3%, up from 8.2 yesterday.  Last week the number increased each day, from 5.3% on Monday to a 9.1% on FridayThe recent dramatic daily increases are beginning to show on the 7-day average line.  CONTEXT: California’s 7-day positivity rate is reported today at 7.6%.  Our rate in Solano County is above the State’s rate.  Increasingly, health officials and news reports are focusing on percent positive test rates.  This information is immediately important, as test positivity is one of the best metrics for measuring the spread of the virus.  Positive test rates in California and other southwestern states have been on the rise.

By Age Group

 

  • Youth 17 and under – 23 new cases today, total of 305 cases, and no new hospitalizations, total only 2 since the outbreak beganA week ago, there were 233 cases among this age group – we’ve seen 72 new cases in just 7 days!  I continue to raise an alarm for Solano’s youth.  Cases among Solano youth have increased in recent weeks to over 10% of the 2,982 total confirmed cases.
  • Persons 18-49 years of age – 72 new cases today, total of 1,813 cases.  This age group represents over 61% of the 2,982 total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  The County reported no new hospitalizations today, total of 33 hospitalized since the outbreak began, and no new deaths among this age group, total of 3 deaths.
  • Persons 50-64 years of age – 19 new cases today, total of 569 cases.  This age group represents over 19% of the 2,982 total cases.  The County reported no new hospitalizations today, total of 41 hospitalized since the outbreak began, and no new deaths among this age group, total of 4 deaths.
  • Persons 65 years or older – 11 new cases today, total of 294 cases.  This age group represents 10% of the 2,982 total cases. No new hospitalizations, total of 54 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths, total of 28.  In this older age group, over 18% of cases required hospitalization at one time, a substantially higher percentage than in the lower age groups This group accounts for 28 of the 35 deaths, or 80%.

City Data

  • Benicia added 3 new cases today, total of 65 cases.  Benicia was extremely stable with only 2 new cases for the entire month of June.  Now Benicia has seen 15 new cases in 7 days.
  • Dixon added 7 new cases today, total of 155 cases.
  • Fairfield added 43 new cases today, total of 1,020.  Fairfield has more positive cases than anywhere in Solano County.
  • Rio Vista remained steady today, total of 25 cases.
  • Suisun City added 9 new cases today, total of 221 cases.
  • Vacaville added 25 new cases today, total of 499 cases.
  • Vallejo added 38 new cases today, total of 988.
  • 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 today, total of 9 cases (those unaccounted for in the other City totals).

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 21% of cases, 24% of hospitalizations and 23% of deaths.
  • Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 13% of cases, but 26% of hospitalizations, and 32% of deaths.
  • Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 33% of cases, 27% of hospitalizations, and 26% of deaths.
  • Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 9% of cases and 14% 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.