Coronavirus, Covid 19, Solano County CA

Solano sees 98 new COVID cases, another death, rising positive test rate

Tuesday, July 21: 98 new cases today,
1 new death.  Since the outbreak started: 2,857 cases, 35 deaths.

Compare previous report, Monday July 20:Summary

  • Solano County reported 98 new cases today, total of 2,857 cases since the outbreak started.  Over the last 7 days, Solano reported 544 new cases, an average of 78 per day.
  • Deaths – 1 new death today, total of 35.  Today’s new death was someone in the 65+ age group.
  • Currently hospitalized, 7/21/20

    Hospitalizations – 5 fewer  currently hospitalized persons today, total of 48.  And no increase in the total number hospitalized since the outbreak started:130.  (The County no longer reports Total Hospitalized, but I have added the hospitalization numbers in the Age Group chart.)

  • Active cases – Solano reported 21 fewer ACTIVE cases today, total of 226.  Last week we hit a record high of 440 active cases.  Note that only 48 of today’s 226 active cases are hospitalized; a lot of infected people are out among us, hopefully quarantined.  One wonders… is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons?  (See SF Chronicle report on contact tracing in Bay Area – “Solano County did not respond”.)
  • ICU beds Available fell 1% to 38%.  Ventilators Available fell 2% to 88%.
  • Testing – 1,055 residents were tested since yesterday, total of 45,322.  But we still have a long way to go: only 10% of Solano County’s 447,643 residents (2019) have been tested.

Percent Positive Test Rate

Solano County reported today’s 7-day percent positive test rate at 8.2%.  Last week the number increased each day, from 5.3% on Monday to a high of 9.1% on Friday.  The recent dramatic daily increases will begin to show on the 7-day average line sometime soon.  CONTEXT: California’s 7-day and 14-day positivity rate is reported today at 7.5%.  Our rate in Solano County is above the State’s rate.  Increasingly, health officials and news reports are focusing on percent positive test rates.  This information is immediately important, as test positivity is one of the best metrics for measuring the spread of the virus.  Positive test rates in California and other southwestern states have been on the rise.

By Age Group

  • Youth 17 and under – 13 new cases today, total of 282 cases, and no new hospitalizations, total only 2 since the outbreak began.  A week ago, there were 220 cases among this age group – we’ve seen 62 new cases in just 7 days!  I continue to raise an alarm for Solano’s youth.  Cases among Solano youth have increased in recent weeks to 9.9% of the 2,857 total confirmed cases.
  • Persons 18-49 years of age – 69 new cases today, total of 1,741 cases.  This age group represents over 61% of the 2,857 total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  The County reported no new hospitalizations today, total of 33 hospitalized since the outbreak began, and no new deaths among this age group, total of 3 deaths.
  • Persons 50-64 years of age – 11 new cases today, total of 550 cases.  This age group represents over 19% of the 2,857 total cases.  The County reported no new hospitalizations today, total of 41 hospitalized since the outbreak began, and no new deaths among this age group, total of 4 deaths.
  • Persons 65 years or older – 5 new cases today, total of 283 cases.  This age group represents 10% of the 2,857 total cases. No new hospitalizations, total of 54 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  1 new death, total of 28 deaths.  In this older age group, over 19% of cases required hospitalization at one time, a substantially higher percentage than in the lower age groups.  This group accounts for 28 of the 35 deaths, or 80%.

City Data

  • Benicia added 5 new cases today, total of 62 cases.  Benicia was extremely stable with only 2 new cases for the entire month of June.  Now Benicia has seen 17 new cases in 7 days.
  • Dixon added 3 new cases today, total of 148 cases.
  • Fairfield added 33 new cases today, total of 977.  Fairfield has more positive cases than anywhere in Solano County.
  • Rio Vista remained steady today, total of 25 cases.
  • Suisun City added 7 new cases today, total of 212 cases.
  • Vacaville added 21 new cases today, total of 474 cases.
  • Vallejo added 29 new cases today, total of 950.
  • Unincorporated areas – Although the County still still shows Unincorporated at <10 (less than 10), a little math tells the story: Solano’s unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 9 cases (those unaccounted for in the other City totals).

Race / Ethnicity

The County report on race / ethnicity includes case numbers, hospitalizations, deaths and Solano population statistics.  There are also tabs showing a calculated rate per 100,000 by race/ethnicity for each of these boxes.  This information is discouragingly similar to national reports that indicate worse outcomes among black and brown Americans.  As of today:

  • White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 21% of cases, 24% of hospitalizations and 23% of deaths.
  • Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 13% of cases, but 26% of hospitalizations, and 32% of deaths.
  • Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 33% of cases, 27% of hospitalizations, and 26% of deaths.
  • Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 9% of cases and 14% of hospitalizations, but 16% of deaths.

Much 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.