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

Monday, September 28: 91 new cases over the weekend, no new hospitalizations, 2 deaths.  Since the outbreak began: 6,400 cases, 389 hospitalized, 65 deaths.Compare previous report, Friday, Sept 25:Summary

• Solano County reported 91 new cases today, total of 6,400 cases since the outbreak started.  Over the last 2 weeks, Solano reported 463 new cases, average of 33 per day.
• Deaths – RECENT SPIKE: 8 new deaths reported last week and 2 new deaths today, total of 65 Solano deaths.  Both new deaths were persons 65 years or older.
• Active cases – Solano reported 26 fewer ACTIVE cases today, total of 243.  Note that only 16 of these 243 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 offered no reports on contact tracing.
• Hospitalizations – the number of currently hospitalized persons dropped by 5 today, total of only 16.  The total number hospitalized since the outbreak started remained steady today, total of 389. (See age group hospitalization stats below).
• ICU Beds –The County reported 55% of ICU beds available, up 5% today.  (After 8 weeks, still no information about availability of ventilators.)
• Testing – The County reports today that 1,413 residents were tested over the weekend, new total of 88,202.  Solano has a long way to go: only 19.7% 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 rose dramatically today from 3.9% to 5.3%.  Our supposedly smooth 7-day moving average has jumped all over the place recently (see note about delayed adjustments below).  For the record, just three weeks ago we saw Solano rates above 7% for the first time since we peaked at 9.3% on July 22.  Then two weeks ago we bottomed out at 2.7%.  The County’s line graph for positive test rate looks like a flat line and tells us absolutely nothing, not worth posting here.  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 much lower and more stable California
7-day test rate rose slightly today, from 2.8% to 2.9%.  (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 – 13 new cases over the weekend, total of 714 cases, representing 11.2% of the 6,400 total cases.  No new hospitalizations among this age group today, a total of 6 hospitalizations since the outbreak began.  Thankfully, no deaths.  In recent weeks it seems too many youth are ignoring public health orders.  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 remained around 11% since then.  Youth are 22% of Solano’s general population, so this 11% may seem low.  The significance is this: 1) youth numbers have increased steadily and at a faster rate than the other age groups, and 2) youth are SERIOUSLY NOT IMMUNE (!) – in fact 6 youth have now been hospitalized.
• Persons 18-49 years of age – 53 new cases over the weekend, total of 3,836 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents 60% of the total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  The County reported no new hospitalizations in this age group today, total of 129 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths in this young age group today, total of 5 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 – 19 new cases over the weekend, total of 1,216 cases.  This age group represents 19% of the 6,400 total cases.  No new hospitalizations today, total of 104 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths in this age group today, a total of 13 deaths.
• Persons 65 years or older – Today the County reported 6 new cases, total of 633.  No new hospitalizations, total of 150.  2 new deaths, total of 47 of our elders who died of COVID.  Much of the recent spike in this age group may be related to an outbreak at the Parkrose Gardens Alzheimer’s and Dementia care facility in Fairfield, where 31 patients and 8 staff were reported on September 15 to have tested positive.  This age group’s 633 cases represent 9.9% of the 6,400 total cases.  In this older age group, 23.7% of cases required hospitalization at one time.  This group accounts for 47 of the 65 deaths, or 72%.

City Data

• Benicia added 2 new cases today, total of 167 cases since the outbreak began.
• Dixon added 4 new cases today, total of 417 cases.
• Fairfield added 23 new cases today, total of 2,079 cases.
• Rio Vista added 4 new cases today, total of 52 cases.
• Suisun City added 7 new cases today, total of 468 cases.
• Vacaville added 18 new cases today, total of 1,074 cases.
• Vallejo added 33 new cases today, total of 2,123 cases.
• Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 20 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 Latinex members of our communities.

• Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 9% of cases, 11% of hospitalizations, and 20% of deaths.
• Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 11% of cases, but 18% of hospitalizations, and 23% of deaths.
• Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 30% of cases, 30% of hospitalizations, and 20% of deaths.
• White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 21% of cases, 26% of hospitalizations and 26% 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.