[Source: Solano County Coronavirus Dashboard.  For a complete archive of day by day data, see my Excel ARCHIVE.]

Thursday, November 5: 56 new cases overnight, no new deaths, 1 new hospitalization.  Since the outbreak began: 7,996 cases, 533 hospitalized, 76 deaths.Compare previous report, Wednesday, Nov. 4:Summary

• Solano County reported 56 new cases overnight, much higher than average of late.  Total of 7,996 cases since the outbreak started.
• Deaths – no new deaths reported today.  Total of 76 Solano deaths since the pandemic began.
• Active cases – Solano reported an increase of 36 additional ACTIVE cases today, and 71 additional ACTIVE cases yesterday, total of 500, highest ever in Solano County.  Note that only 21 of these 500 individuals are hospitalized, so there are a lot of infected folks out among us, hopefully quarantined.  Is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons?  Who knows?  To my knowledge, Solano County has offered no reports on contact tracing.
• Hospitalizations – Solano County reported the number of currently hospitalized persons increased by 3 overnight, total of 21.  TOTAL hospitalized since the outbreak began increased dramatically last week, adding 106 previously unreported hospitalizations!  Today the numbers increased by 1, total of 533 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  For manual calculation of total, see age group stats below.
• ICU Beds – The County reported more ICU beds available today, up from 41% to 57%.  (Still no information about availability of ventilators.)

Positive Test Rate

Solano County reported today that our 7-day average test rate fell today from 7.7% to a rather alarming 7.2%.  Average percent positive test rates are among the best metrics for measuring the spread of the virus.  The much lower and more stable California 7-day average test rate has been on the rise lately, rising slightly today, from 3.3% to 3.4%.  (Note that Solano County displays past weeks and months in a 7-day test positivity line graph which also shows daily results.  However, the chart does not display an accurate number of cases for the most recent days, as there is a lag time in receiving test results.  The 7-day curve also lags behind current unknown results.) 

By Age Group

• Youth 17 and under – 10 new cases overnight, total of 913 cases, representing 11.4% of the 7,996 total cases.  No new hospitalizations reported today.  Thankfully, no deaths have ever been reported in Solano County in this age group.  But cases among Solano youth rose steadily over the summer, from 5.6% of total cases on June 8 to 11% on August 31 and has plateaued just over 11% since September 30.  Youth are 22% of Solano’s general population, so this 11.x% may seem low.  The significance is this: 1) youth numbers increased steadily and at a faster rate than the other age groups, and 2) youth are SERIOUSLY NOT IMMUNE (!) – in fact 14 youth have now been hospitalized.
• Persons 18-49 years of age – 30 new cases overnight, total of 4,701 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents just under 60% of the total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  No new hospitalizations reported today, total of 178.  No new deaths in this young group today, total of 6 deaths.  Some in this group are surely ignoring public health orders, and many are providing essential services among us.  I expect this group is a major factor in the spread of the virus.
• Persons 50-64 years of age – 7 new cases overnight, total of 1,548 cases.  This age group represents over 19% of the 7,996 total cases.  1 new hospitalization reported today, total of 151.  No new deaths in this age group today, a total of 15 deaths.
• Persons 65 years or older – 9 new cases today, total of 830, representing 10.4% of Solano’s 7,996 total cases.  No new hospitalizations reported today, total of 190 since the outbreak began.  No new deaths in this age group today, total of 55 of our elders who died of COVID.  This group accounts for 55 of the 76 total deaths, or 72%.

City Data

• Benicia added 4 new cases today, total of 207 cases since the outbreak began.
• Dixon added 4 new cases today, total of 531 cases.
• Fairfield added 17 new cases today, total of 2,535 cases.
• Rio Vista remained steady today, total of 63 cases.
• Suisun City added 4 new cases today, total of 579 cases.
• Vacaville added 14 new cases today, total of 1,486 cases.
• Vallejo added 14 new cases today, total of 2,569 cases.
• Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 27 cases.

Race / Ethnicity

The County report on race / ethnicity includes case numbers, hospitalizations, deaths and Solano population statistics.  This information is discouragingly similar to national reports that indicate significantly worse outcomes among black and brown Americans.  Note that all of this data surely undercounts Latinx Americans, as there is a large group of “Multirace / Others” which likely is composed mostly of Latinx members of our communities.

• Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 10% of cases, 11% of hospitalizations, and 20% of deaths.
• Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 12% of cases, but 18% of hospitalizations, and 24% of deaths.
• Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 27% of cases, 29% of hospitalizations, and 17% of deaths.
• White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 23% of cases, 25% of hospitalizations and 29% of deaths.

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.