COVID is still spreading and dangerous in Solano County – stay safe!
Thursday, February 18: 47 new Solano cases overnight, no new deaths. Since February 2020: 29,690 cases, over 875 hospitalized, 156 deaths.Compare previous report, Wednesday, February 17:Summary
CASES – Solano County reported 47 new cases overnight, a total of 29,690 cases since the outbreak started. In January, Solano added 8,495 new cases, for an average of 274 new cases per day. To date in February, the County reported 1,499 new cases, an average of 83 per day.
Solano County Deaths as of yesterday, Feb. 17 [Source: COVID19.CA.GOV]DEATHS – the County reported no new deaths today. A total of 156 Solano residents have died with COVID since the pandemic began. 34 COVID deaths were reported here in Solano County since February 1. COMPARE: In the entire month of January, Solano recorded a total of 24 coronavirus deaths. 37% of Solano’s 156 COVID deaths happened in the first 6 weeks of this year! While many other COVID stats are improving, the recent surge in deaths is no doubt the final sad result of our holiday surge. And we may see another surge in cases and deaths following the Super Bowl.
ACTIVE cases – Solano reported 31 fewer active cases overnight, a total of 534 active cases. Compare: Solano’s average number of Active Cases during October was 284, average in November was 650, in December 1,658, in January 2,185 – and TODAY we are at 534. Much better, but still, is the County equipped to contact trace all these infected persons? My guess is we just sit back and wait for a voluntary 10 day quarantine to expire. Who knows? To my knowledge, Solano has offered no reports on contact tracing.
HOSPITALIZATIONS –(See expanding ICU capacity and ventilator availability below.) Today, Solano reported 3 fewer currently hospitalized cases, total of 69. However, the County also reported 6 new hospitalizations among the 65+ age group, a total of 875 hospitalized in all age groups since the pandemic began. Accuracy of the County’s hospitalization numbers cannot be certain. [For the numbers used in my manual calculation of total hospitalizations, see age group stats below. For COVID19-CA.GOV numbers, see BenIndy page, COVID-19 Hospitalizations Daily Update for Solano County.]
ICU BEDS – In late January, Solano hospitals expanded their ICU capacity [see BenIndy, Jan. 25] Even with the expanded ICU capacity, Solano County fell back into the YELLOW DANGER ZONE, but has since returned into the green zone, reporting 40% available today, down a bit from yesterday’s 41%. The State’s COVID19-CA.GOV reports that Solano County had 19 AVAILABLE ICU BEDS as of yesterday, February 17. (For COVID19-CA.GOV info see BenIndy page, COVID-19 Hospitalizations Daily Update for Solano County, and for REGIONAL data see COVID-19 ICU Bed Availability by REGION.)
VENTILATORS available – Today Solano hospitals have 60% of ventilators available, down from yesterday’s 64%, and down substantially from last summer’s reports of 82-94% available.
Positive Test Rate – SOLANO TEST RATE of 12.4% – VIRUS STILL SPREADING, STAY SAFE!
Solano County reported our 7-day average positive test at 12.4%, up significantly from yesterday’s one-day dip to 8.2%, no longer near the State’s purple/red tier threshold of 8%. DON’T EXPECT A QUICK MOVE DOWN TO THE RED TIER: the State requires a county to meet criteria for the next less restrictive tier (in test rate measures AND case rate measures) for the prior two consecutive weeks in order to progress to the next tier. Average percent positive test rates are among the best metrics for measuring community spread of the virus. COMPARE: The much lower and more stable California 7-day average test rate was 3.2% today, down slightly from yesterday’s 3.3%. (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 therefore also lags behind due to unknown recent test results.)
By Age Group
Youth 17 and under – 10 new cases overnight, total of 3,467 cases, representing 11.7% of the 29,690 total cases. No new hospitalizations were reported today among this age group, total of 18 since the outbreak began. 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 remained at over 11% since September 30. Youth are 22% of Solano’s general population, so this 11% may seem low. The significance is this: youth are SERIOUSLY NOT IMMUNE (!) – in fact at least 18 of our youth have been hospitalized since the outbreak began.
Persons 18-49 years of age – 24 new cases overnight, total of 16,385 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents 55.2% of the total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups. The County reported no new hospitalizations among persons in this age group today. A total of 245 are reported to have been hospitalized since the outbreak began. Solano recorded no new deaths in this young group today, total of 10 deaths. Some in this group are surely at high risk, as many are providing essential services among us, and some may be ignoring public health orders. I expect this group is a major factor in the spread of the virus.
Persons 50-64 years of age – 8 new cases overnight, total of 6,201 cases. This age group represents 20.9% of the 29,690 total cases. The County reported no new hospitalizations among persons in this age group today, a total of 233 reported to have been hospitalized since the outbreak began. No new deaths reported in this age group today, a total of 25 deaths.
Persons 65 years or older – 5 new cases overnight, total of 3,626, representing 12.2% of Solano’s 29,690 total cases. The County reported 6 new hospitalizations among persons in this age group today, a total of 379 hospitalized since the outbreak began. No new deaths were reported in this age group today. A total of 121 of our elders have died of COVID, accounting for 78%of Solano’s 156 total deaths.
City Data
Benicia added 1 new case overnight, total of 842 cases since the outbreak began.
Dixon added 6 new cases overnight, total of 1,740 cases.
Fairfield added 9 new cases overnight, total of 8,075 cases.
Rio Vista added 1 new case overnight, total of 316 cases.
Suisun City added 1 new case overnight, total of 2,003 cases.
Vacaville added 8 new cases overnight, total of 7,827 cases.
Vallejoadded 21 new cases overnight, total of 8,800 cases.
Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 87 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 12% of cases, 12% of hospitalizations, and 18% of deaths.
Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 11% of cases, but 17% of hospitalizations, and 19% of deaths.
Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 14% of cases, 21% of hospitalizations, and 12% of deaths.
Multi-race / Others are 7% of Solano’s population, but account for 34% of cases, 19% of hospitalizations, and 14% of deaths.
White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 29% of cases, 31% of hospitalizations and 36% of deaths.
Compare previous report, Wednesday, February 17:
Summary
ICU BEDS – In late January, Solano hospitals expanded their ICU capacity [see BenIndy, Jan. 25] Even with the expanded ICU capacity, Solano County fell back into the YELLOW DANGER ZONE, but has since returned into the green zone, reporting 40% available today, down a bit from yesterday’s 41%. The State’s COVID19-CA.GOV reports that Solano County had 19 AVAILABLE ICU BEDS as of yesterday, February 17. (For COVID19-CA.GOV info see BenIndy page, COVID-19 Hospitalizations Daily Update for Solano County, and for REGIONAL data see COVID-19 ICU Bed Availability by REGION.)
VENTILATORS available – Today Solano hospitals have 60% of ventilators available, down from yesterday’s 64%, and down substantially from last summer’s reports of 82-94% available.
Solano County reported our 7-day average positive test at 12.4%, up significantly from yesterday’s one-day dip to 8.2%, no longer near the State’s purple/red tier threshold of 8%. DON’T EXPECT A QUICK MOVE DOWN TO THE RED TIER: the State requires a county to meet criteria for the next less restrictive tier (in test rate measures AND case rate measures) for the prior two consecutive weeks in order to progress to the next tier. Average percent positive test rates are among the best metrics for measuring community spread of the virus. COMPARE: The much lower and more stable California 7-day average test rate was 3.2% today, down slightly from yesterday’s 3.3%. (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 therefore also lags behind due to unknown recent test results.) 
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.
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