Tag Archives: Coronavirus COVID 19

#wearamask, Benicia CA, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Face coverings, Hospitalizations, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Department, Vaccine

Solano County’s 7-day COVID transmission rate drops from HIGH to SUBSTANTIAL, holds relatively steady for a week

NOTE: The information below is not the latest.  CLICK HERE for today’s latest information.
By Roger Straw, Friday, October 15, 2021

Friday, October 15: Solano County reports 75 new infections, remains in the CDC’s SUBSTANTIAL transmission rate.  Benicia still in HIGH transmission rate.

Solano County COVID dashboard SUMMARY:
[Sources: see below.]

DEATHS: Solano reported no new COVID-related deaths today.  The County has reported 42 COVID deaths just since Sept 1.  A total of 312 Solano residents have died of COVID or COVID-related causes over the course of the pandemic.

CASES: The County reported 75 new COVID cases over the last two days, 37 per day.  AGES: 11 of these 75 cases (15%) were youth and children under 18.  64% were age 18-49, 11% were age 50-64, and only 9% were 65+.

COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION RATE: Over the last 7 days, Solano has seen SUBSTANTIAL community transmission, with 406 new cases, down from 413 on Wednesday.  450 cases in 7 days would move Solano up into the CDC’s population-based definition of a HIGH transmission rate, and we would need to drop below 225 cases in 7 days to rate as having only MODERATE community transmission.

(CDC FORMULA: Based on Solano County population of 449,432, the CDC would rate us in “SUBSTANTIAL” transmission with 225 cases over the last 7 days.  Double that, or 450 cases in the last 7 days would rank us in “HIGH” transmission.  Reference: CDC’s “Level of SARS-CoV-2 Community Transmission”.]

ACTIVE CASES: Solano’s 397 ACTIVE cases is up slightly from Wednesday’s 396, and still far above our summer rates.

CASES BY CITY on Friday, October 15:

    • Benicia added 5 new cases today, a total of 1,496 cases since the outbreak began.  TRANSMISSION RATE: Benicia has seen 29 new cases over the last 7 days, continuing in the CDC’s definition of HIGH community transmission (defined as 28 or more cases, based on Benicia population – SEE CHART BELOW).  [Note that Solano County is currently experiencing SUBSTANTIAL transmission.

    • Dixon added 8 new cases today, total of 2,518 cases.
    • Fairfield added 21 new cases today, total of 12,093 cases.
    • Rio Vista added 1 new case today, total of 592 cases.
    • Suisun City added 4 new cases today, total of 3,194 cases.
    • Vacaville added 15 new cases today, a total of 11,849 cases.
    • Vallejo added 21 new cases today, a total of 13,229 cases.
    • Unincorporated added 0 new cases today, a total of 139 cases (population figures not available).

POSITIVE TEST RATE:  Solano’s 7-day average percent positivity rate was 5.7% today, down substantially from Wednesday’s 7.2%.  COMPARE: today’s California rate is 1.6% and today’s U.S. rate is 5.8%.  [Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Tracking Center]

HOSPITALIZATIONS:

CURRENT hospitalizations were up today from 37 to 40 persons, and still far above the range we saw during last summer.

ICU Bed Availability is down alarmingly today, from 27% on Wednesday to only 13% today, still yellow, but nearing the red warning zone.  We remain in the worrisome range we saw during last winter’s surge.

Ventilator Availability is up today from 46% to 52%, but still in the range of last winter’s surge.

TOTAL hospitalizations: Solano County’s TOTAL hospitalized over the course of the pandemic must be independently discovered in the County’s occasional update of hospitalizations by Age Group and by Race/Ethnicity.  The County updated its Hospitalizations charts today.  See below.  The differing race/ethnicity numbers indicate a number of persons whose race/ethnicity was not given or recorded.

FACE MASKS… Required for all in Benicia and Vallejo

Benicia City Council passed a citywide indoors mask mandate that went into effect on August 24 and includes everyone 4 years old and up when indoors in public places, even those of us who are vaccinated.  Benicia was joined by Vallejo on August 31.  In the Bay Area, Solano County REMAINS the only holdout against a mask mandate for public indoors spaces.

SOLANO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS failed to consider an agendized proposal for a countywide MASK MANDATE on Tuesday, September 14.  Last week’s Bay Area news put Solano in a sad light: all other county health officers issued a joint statement offering details on when they would be able to lift mask mandates (not likely soon).  TV news anchors had to point out that Solano would not be considering such a move since our health officer had not been able to “justify” a mask mandate in the first place.  The Solano Board of Supervisors has joined with Dr. Bela Matyas in officially showing poor leadership on the COVID-19 pandemic.

HOW DOES TODAY’S REPORT COMPARE?  See recent reports and others going back to April 20, 2020 on my ARCHIVE of daily Solano COVID updates (an excel spreadsheet).

>>The data on this page is from the Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard.  The Dashboard is full of much more information and updated Monday, Wednesday and Friday around 4 or 5pm.  On the County’s dashboard, you can hover a mouse or click on an item for more information.  Note the tabs at top for “Summary, Demographics” and “Vaccines.”  Click here to go to today’s Solano County Dashboard.

Sources
Coronavirus, Covid 19, Solano County Health Department, Solano County Health Officer Bela Matyas

Dr. Matyas shares details on Solano’s 7 new COVID deaths: all recent, 3 vaxxed, 4 unvaxxed, 5 seniors

[BenIndy Editor: the number of deaths listed by age in this article adds up to 6 rather than 7 deaths.  In my report last night, using the County’s “Deaths by Age Groups” chart, I identified 2 age 50-64 and 5 age 65+]

Solano passes 45,000 cases, adds 7 Covid-related deaths

Nathan Walker receives his Covid-19 vaccination booster shot at a mass vaccination clinic at the Solano County Fairgrounds in Vallejo, Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021. (Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic)

Fairfield Daily Republic, By Todd R. Hansen, October 14, 2010

FAIRFIELD — Seven more Solano County residents have died due in part to Covid-19, taking the pandemic total to 312, while the case numbers climbed past 45,000, the county Public Health Division reported Wednesday.

All seven deaths are the result of this latest surge that started shortly after July 4, taking that total to 55, of which 42 individuals were unvaccinated, the county reported.

Three of the latest seven victims were vaccinated, including a man over 65 who lived in a long-term care facility. The other six all lived at home. There were three women and one man older than 65, and one man and one woman who were between 50 and 65.  [Error here – see correction above…]

The county added 207 cases to the pandemic total… (continued at Fairfield Daily Republic)

#wearamask, Benicia CA, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Delta variant, Face coverings, Hospitalizations, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Department, Vaccine

Seven new COVID deaths reported in Solano County, Benicia’s 7-day transmission rate is HIGH

NOTE: This information is archived.  Click HERE for today’s latest information
By Roger Straw, Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Wednesday, October 13: Solano County reports 7 new deaths and 207 new infections, remains in the CDC’s SUBSTANTIAL transmission rate.  Benicia sees 24 new cases, still in HIGH transmission rate.

Solano County COVID dashboard SUMMARY:
[Sources: see below.]

DEATHS: Solano reported 7 new COVID-related deaths today, 2 age 50-64 and 5 age 65+; including 1 each Black and White, and 2 each Hispanic and Multi-race.  The County has reported 42 COVID deaths just since Sept 1.  A total of 312 Solano residents have died of COVID or COVID-related causes over the course of the pandemic.

CASES: The County reported 207 new COVID cases over the holiday weekend, 41 per day.  AGES: 40 of these 207 cases (19%) were youth and children under 18.  48% were age 18-49, 21% were age 50-64, and only 11% were 65+.

COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION RATE: Over the last 7 days, Solano has seen 413 new cases, up from 375  on last Friday.  This increase isn’t enough to move Solano up into the CDC’s population-based definition of a HIGH transmission rate, but it’s not far off.  Solano remains in SUBSTANTIAL transmission rate.

(CDC FORMULA: Based on Solano County population of 449,432, the CDC would rate us in “SUBSTANTIAL” transmission with 225 cases over the last 7 days.  Double that, or 450 cases in the last 7 days would rank us in “HIGH” transmission.  Reference: CDC’s “Level of SARS-CoV-2 Community Transmission”.]

ACTIVE CASES: Solano’s 396 ACTIVE cases is down from last Friday’s 486, but still far above our summer rates.

CASES BY CITY on Wednesday, October 13:

    • Benicia added 24 new cases today, a total of 1,491 cases since the outbreak began.  Although Benicia’s population is only 6.2% of Solano’s total, today’s 24 new Benicia cases are nearly double that (11.6%) as a percentage of today’s 207 new cases.  Benicia has seen 31 new cases over the last 7 days, continuing in the CDC’s definition of HIGH community transmission (defined as 28 or more cases, based on Benicia population – SEE CHART BELOW).  [Note that Solano County is at a level of SUBSTANTIAL transmission, and Solano’s 6 other cities (below) are likely also individually experiencing high or substantial transmission.]

    • Dixon added 11 new cases today, total of 2,510 cases.
    • Fairfield added 49 new cases today, total of 12,072 cases.
    • Rio Vista added 9 new cases today, total of 591 cases.
    • Suisun City added 14 new cases today, total of 3,190 cases.
    • Vacaville added 49 new cases today, a total of 11,834 cases.
    • Vallejo added 51 new cases today, a total of 13,208 cases.
    • Unincorporated added 0 new cases today, a total of 139 cases (population figures not available).

POSITIVE TEST RATE:  Solano’s 7-day average percent positivity rate was 7.2% today, up substantially from last Friday’s 5.8%.  COMPARE: today’s California rate is 1.7% and today’s U.S. rate is 5.8%.  [Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Tracking Center]

HOSPITALIZATIONS:

CURRENT hospitalizations were down today from 52 to 37 persons, our lowest number since July 23.  Good news!

ICU Bed Availability is up sharply today, from an alarmingly low 12% last Friday to 27% today, but still in the yellow danger zone.  We remain in the worrisome range we saw during last winter’s surge.

Ventilator Availability is down slightly today from 51% to 46%, still in the range of last winter’s surge.

TOTAL hospitalizations: Solano County’s TOTAL hospitalized over the course of the pandemic must be independently discovered in the County’s occasional update of hospitalizations by Age Group and by Race/Ethnicity.  The County updated its Hospitalizations charts today.  See below.  The differing race/ethnicity numbers indicate a number of persons whose race/ethnicity was not given or recorded.

FACE MASKS… Required for all in Benicia and Vallejo

Benicia City Council passed a citywide indoors mask mandate that went into effect on August 24 and includes everyone 4 years old and up when indoors in public places, even those of us who are vaccinated.  Benicia was joined by Vallejo on August 31.  In the Bay Area, Solano County REMAINS the only holdout against a mask mandate for public indoors spaces.

SOLANO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS failed to consider an agendized proposal for a countywide MASK MANDATE on Tuesday, September 14.  Last week’s Bay Area news put Solano in a sad light: all other county health officers issued a joint statement offering details on when they would be able to lift mask mandates (not likely soon).  TV news anchors had to point out that Solano would not be considering such a move since our health officer had not been able to “justify” a mask mandate in the first place.  The Solano Board of Supervisors has joined with Dr. Bela Matyas in officially showing poor leadership on the COVID-19 pandemic.

HOW DOES TODAY’S REPORT COMPARE?  See recent reports and others going back to April 20, 2020 on my ARCHIVE of daily Solano COVID updates (an excel spreadsheet).

>>The data on this page is from the Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard.  The Dashboard is full of much more information and updated Monday, Wednesday and Friday around 4 or 5pm.  On the County’s dashboard, you can hover a mouse or click on an item for more information.  Note the tabs at top for “Summary, Demographics” and “Vaccines.”  Click here to go to today’s Solano County Dashboard.

Sources
Benicia City Manager Erik Upson, Benicia city staff, City of Benicia, Mandatory face coverings, Vaccine, Vaccine mandate

City of Benicia now requires vaccination (or weekly tests & masking) of all City staff

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: City of Benicia This Week

Message from the City Manager, Erik Upson
October 11, 2021

Hello Everyone,

City of Benicia Personnel Policy #44 will take effect today. This policy requires vaccination of City staff. Those not vaccinated will be required to be tested weekly and wear a mask while indoors at City facilities as well as following all applicable State, County and Local guidelines regarding the wearing of masks.

We did not step into this lightly, but felt it was needed to help protect the safety of our staff and our community. I know some will feel this policy does not go far enough. And some will feel it is a governmental overreach. As always, we are trying to do our very best to balance very real public health concerns with the very real concerns about personal freedoms. Bottom line is we want to do what is best for our community and our staff in this difficult and ever-changing pandemic response.

I want to take a moment to thank our labor groups and their representatives as well as Kim Imboden, our Human Resources Manager, and Fire Chief Josh Chadwick for their work on this. From the very beginning our labor representatives took a positive, thoughtful, and collaborative approach to this very delicate issue.

We continue to look for ways to advance the health of our community. We are currently working with the County in hopes that we will be at the forefront of providing booster shots as those become necessary and more widely available. Additionally, it is our hope when the Pfizer vaccine becomes available for children ages 5-11, we will be able to partner with the County and the School District to help provide those shots at a local clinic. Finally, the Fire Chief is working with the County in hopes of providing drive-through flu clinics here in Benicia later this year.

On a very positive note, I would like to point out that the Benicia Dog Festival will be happening on Sunday, October 17 at the First Street Green. The opening ceremony is scheduled for 11 a.m. This festival has been a long time in the works, and I want to give thanks to the event’s founder Gaul Culley for her patience, thoughtfulness, and, yes, stubbornness, as she worked to make this event happen. Benicia is a very dog-friendly community, and this event will be a fantastic opportunity to get out and connect. Please see their website for more information (https://beniciadogfestival.com/).

Thank you for your interest in the City of Benicia This Week!

Erik Upson
City Manager
CityofBeniciaThisWeek@ci.benicia.ca.us