[For a complete archive of day by day data, see my Excel ARCHIVE – R.S.]

Friday, September 4: 40 new cases today, 1 new death.  Since the outbreak started: 5,671 cases, 48 deaths.Compare previous report, Thursday, Sept 3:Summary

• Solano County reported 40 new cases today, total of 5,671 cases since the outbreak started.  Over the last 2 weeks, Solano reported 623 new cases, an average of 45 per day.
• Deaths – 1 new death today, total of 48 Solano deaths, someone in the 65+ age group.
• Active cases – Solano reported 32 fewer ACTIVE cases today, total of 313.  Note that only 30 of these 313 people 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 no reporting on contact tracing.
• Hospitalizations – the number of currently hospitalized persons included 2 fewer today, total of 30.  The total number hospitalized since the outbreak started remained steady, total of 282.  For several weeks now, the County offers no information about availability of ICU beds and ventilators.
• Testing – The County reports today that 612 more residents were tested today, new total of 77,114.  Solano has a long way to go: only 17.2% of Solano County’s 447,643 residents (2019) have been tested.

Positive Test Rate

Solano County reported today that our 7-day average test rate fell today, from 6.5% to 5.3%.  Solano’s high test rate contrasts sharply with the state of California’s rate of 4.3% today.  Earlier this week Solano saw rates above 7% for the first time since we peaked at 9.3% on July 22.  The County reported a 7-day test rate low of 4.1% on August 11, and the County’s rate peaked at 9.3% on July 22.  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 test rate fell today from 4.5% to 4.3%.  (Note that Solano County displays past weeks and months in a 7-day test positivity curve chart 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 – 7 new cases today, total of 625 cases.  No new hospitalizations among this age group, a total of 5 hospitalizations since the outbreak began.  Thankfully, no deaths.  It seems too many youth are ignoring public health orders.  Cases among Solano youth have risen steadily over the summer, from 5.6% of total cases on June 8 to 10.9% most recently, and to 11% this week.  Youth are 22% of Solano’s general population, so this 11% may seem low.  The significance is: 1) that youth numbers are increasing steadily and at a faster rate than the other age groups, and 2) that youth are seriously NOT immune – in fact 5 youth have been hospitalized.
• Persons 18-49 years of age – 25 new cases today, total of 3,441 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents 60.7% of the 5,671 total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  The County reported no new hospitalizations in this age group today, total of 92 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths among this age group today, total of 4 deaths.  Some in this group 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 – 4 new cases today, total of 1,074 cases.  This age group represents 19% of the 5,671 total cases.  No new hospitalizations today, total of 76 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths  in this age group today, a total of 7 deaths.
• Persons 65 years or older – 4 new cases today, total of 529 cases, representing 9.3% of the 5,671 total cases.  No new hospitalizations today, total of 109 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  In this older age group, 20.6% of cases required hospitalization at one time.  This is a much higher percentage than in the lower age groups.  1 new death was reported in this age group today, total of 37 deaths.  This group accounts for 37 of the 48 deaths, or 78%.

City Data

• Benicia added 1 new case today, total of 136 cases since the outbreak began.
• Dixon added 3 new cases today, total of 386 cases.
• Fairfield added 18 new cases today, total of 1,839.
• Rio Vista remained steady today, total of 38 cases.
• Suisun City added 5 new cases today, total of 410 cases.
• Vacaville added 7 new cases today, total of 964 cases.
• Vallejo added 6 new cases today, total of 1,880 cases.
• Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 18 cases.

Cases, Hospitalizations & Deaths by Race / Ethnicity

The County report on race / ethnicity includes case numbers, hospitalizations, deaths and Solano population statistics.  Today I am again returning to the summary chart featuring all of these.  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 Latinex members of our communities.

• Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 10% of cases, 12% of hospitalizations, and 18% of deaths.
• Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 11% of cases, but 18% of hospitalizations, and 24% of deaths.
• Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 32% of cases, 33% of hospitalizations, and 27% of deaths.
• White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 20% of cases, 21% of hospitalizations and 20% of deaths.

Note that the above death percentages have not changed since yesterday even though the County reported a new death today.  One must assume that the new death was in the “multirace/other” group, for which I am missing yesterday’s number and so can’t confirm.

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.