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

[NOTE: It is not clear if today’s report of 4 deaths actually represents NEW deaths.  Dr. Bela Matyas, Solano public health officer, said last week that some recent death reports were updating discrepancies in reporting from last summer.  But Matyas indicated last Friday that he believed the county records had been fully brought up to date.  >> Whether the recent newly reported deaths are newly deceased or from last summer, it is sad and newsworthy that Solano COVID deaths have increased by 14 in the last 7 days.  – R.S.]

Tuesday, September 29: 19 new cases overnight, 3 hospitalizations, 4 deaths.  Since the outbreak began: 6,419 cases, 392 hospitalized, 69 deaths.Compare previous report, Monday, Sept 28:Summary

• Solano County reported 19 new cases today, total of 6,419 cases since the outbreak started.  Over the last week, Solano reported 225 new cases, average of 32 per day.
• Deaths – RECENT SPIKE: 14 deaths reported in the last week including 4 new deaths reported today, total of 69 Solano deaths.  Deaths reported Sept 22 – 29:
  – 1 very young person 18-49 years;
  – 2 middle agers 50-64 years;
  – 11 of our elders aged 65+
• Active cases – Solano reported 23 fewer ACTIVE cases today, total of 220.  Note that only 16 of these 220 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 remained the same today, total of only 16.  The total number hospitalized since the outbreak started increased by 3 today, total of 392. (See age group hospitalization stats below).
• ICU Beds –The County reported 55% of ICU beds available, same as yesterday.  (After 8 weeks, still no information about availability of ventilators.)
• Testing – The County reports today that 522 residents were tested overnight, new total of 88,724.  Solano has a long way to go: only 19.8% 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 5.3% to 4.8%.
For the record, Solano’s test rate crested the week of July 15-22, when it peaked at 9.3%.  The County has hit 7% or more three times since, on August 21 and September 1 and 2.  In the 4 weeks since then, our test rate has run as high as 6.5% and as low as 2.7% (on Sept 11), averaging 4.1%.
The County’s line graph for positive test rate looks like a flat line and tells us little or nothing, not worth posting here.
Percent positive test rates are among the best metrics for measuring the spread of the virus.  The much more stable California
7-day test rate remained steady today, at 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 – 1 new case today, total of 715 cases, representing 11.1% of the 6,419 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 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 – 11 new cases today, total of 3,847 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 – 6 new cases today, total of 1,222 cases.  This age group represents 19% of the 6,419 total cases.
  1 new hospitalization today, total of 105 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 1 new case, total of 634.  2 new hospitalizations, total of 152.  4 new deaths, total of 51 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 634 cases represent 9.9% of the 6,419 total cases.  In this older age group, 24% of cases required hospitalization at one time.  This group accounts for 51 of the 69 deaths, or 74%.

City Data

• Benicia added 2 new cases today, total of 169 cases since the outbreak began.
• Dixon added 1 new case today, total of 418 cases.
• Fairfield added 3 new cases today, total of 2,082 cases.
• Rio Vista remained steady today, total of 52 cases.
• Suisun City remained steady today, total of 468 cases.
• Vacaville added 6 new cases today, total of 1,080 cases.
• Vallejo added 7 new cases today, total of 2,130 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 19% of deaths.
• Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 11% of cases, but 18% of hospitalizations, and 25% of deaths.
• Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 30% of cases, 29% of hospitalizations, and 19% of deaths.
• White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 21% of cases, 26% of hospitalizations and 28% 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.