By Roger Straw, Monday, August 2, 2021

Monday, August 2 in Solano County: 245 new COVID infections over the weekend, % of ICU beds in yellow danger zone, fewer ventilators available, rising number of hospitalizations in Solano County

Solano County COVID dashboard SUMMARY:

[Sources: see below.  See also my ARCHIVE spreadsheet of daily Solano COVID updates.]

No new deaths reported today.  The County total remains 249 COVID deaths since the pandemic began.  The County reported  245 new COVID cases over the weekend, 82 per day!

TREND: Cases-per-day were dramatically up in July

Solano County is clearly experiencing a dramatic “summer surge” in cases.  Cases-per-day were trending downward in the Spring, but rose rapidly in July:

Solano’s 797 ACTIVE cases is down from last Friday’s remarkable high of 972, which was higher than anything since February 5, 2021.  Active cases rose alarmingly in July, up from 212 cases on July 2.

Solano Positive Test Rate INCREDIBLY HIGH – much higher than US & CA!

Our 7-day average percent positivity rate was down a bit today from a shocking 19.3% on Friday to 17.6% today, over 3.5 times California’s rate and more than twice the U.S. rate.  COMPARE: The California  rate today is at 4.8% and today’s U.S. rate is 7.9%.  [Source: Johns Hopkins]  The Delta Variant is among us and spreading fast.  Time to mask up again – watch out and take care!

Hospitalizations rising sharply in Solano County!

CURRENT hospitalizations today jumped from 51 to 85 persons, higher than anytime since February 9, 2021.

ICU Beds took a dramatic turn on Friday, falling to 26%, and remains at 26% today, in the County’s yellow danger zone for the first time since March 5, 2021.

Ventilators available today fell from 73 to only 60.  Solano has not had this few ventilators on hand since February 26, 2021.

TOTAL Hospitalized – The County’s Monday-Friday updates show an intake/discharge total of CURRENTLY hospitalized cases, but never report on the TOTAL hospitalized over the course of the pandemic.  That total must be independently discovered in the County’s occasional update of the Hospitalizations by Age Group chart.  The County reported 4 new hospitalizations today, 1 age 18-49, 1 age 50-64, and 2 age 65+.  Percentages remain the same.  The Age Group chart now shows a total of 2,022 persons hospitalized since the beginning of the outbreak, in the following age groups:

Age Group	Hospitalizations	% of Total
0-17	36	2%
18-49	581	29%
50-64	543	27%
65+	862	43%
TOTAL	2,022	100%

Hospitalizations are also recorded on the County’s demographic chart labeled “Hospitalizations by Race / Ethnicity.”  The chart was updated today, adding 3 Black persons and 1 Multi-race person.  Here are the current numbers.  Percentages remain the same.  Interestingly, the total doesn’t square with totals by age groups.

Race / Ethnicity	Hospitalizations	% of Total
Asians	321	17%
Black / African American	330	17%
Hispanic / Latinx	548	29%
White	614	32%
Multirace / Others	84	4%
TOTAL	1,897	100%

New State Guidelines…

COVID is clearly spreading again and surging in Solano County!  See California’s new Guidance for the Use of Face Coverings.  The new guidelines include a recommendation for universal masking indoors statewide, adding of Adult and Senior Care Facilities to settings where all individuals must wear masks indoors, and a reference to new requirements for unvaccinated workers.  Some California counties are returning to mandatory masks for all in crowded places.  In the Bay Area, Solano County is the only holdout against even RECOMMENDING masks in public indoors spaces.  Dr. Matyas needs to make some difficult decisions soon!

STUDY SHOWS HIGHER RATE OF “BREAKTHROUGH” CASES AMONG THE VACCINATED  – About wearing masks again, Social Distancing & Vaccination…

We heard seriously shocking news last Thursday about the large number of FULLY VACCINATED persons who are catching the virus and actively transmitting it.  As the Washington Post reports, “A sobering scientific analysis published Friday found that three-quarters of the people infected during an explosive coronavirus outbreak fueled by the delta variant were fully vaccinated. The report on the Massachusetts cases, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, offers key evidence bolstering the hypothesis that vaccinated people can spread the more transmissible variant and may be a factor in the summer surge of infections.” 

This is HUGE!  We were just beginning to associate more freely with fully vaccinated friends and family, and now we are to understand that some among us may be asymptomatic and unknowingly transmitting the virus, and inevitably helping spread the disease to someone who knows someone, who knows someone else, who knows yet another someone who is not vaccinated, or who is too young or too health-compromised to be vaccinated – and who may end up seriously ill or even dead!

My personal plan is to mask indoors in public now, and we’re even wondering if we should mask indoors with vaccinated family and friends!  Sheeesh, I thought we were done with that!  Everyone PLEASE talk to anyone you know who isn’t vaccinated.  This thing ain’t over yet!

Cases by City on Monday, August 2:

• Benicia added 5 new cases today, a total of 1,115 cases since the outbreak began, 4.0% of its population of 27,570.
• Dixon added 13 new cases today, total of 2,032 cases, 10.3% of its population of 19,794.
• Fairfield added 77 new cases today, total of 9,806 cases, 8.4% of its population of 117,149.
• Rio Vista added 4 new cases today, total of 433 cases, 4.6% of its population of 9,416.
• Suisun City added 16 new cases today, total of 2,548 cases, 8.7% of its population of 29,447.
• Vacaville added 68 new cases today, a total of 9,520 cases, 9.6% its of population of 98,807.
• Vallejo added 62 new cases today, a total of 10,685 cases, 8.9% of its population of 119,544.
• Unincorporated remained steady today, a total of 110 cases (population figures not available).

COMPARE: From the most recent report on Solano County’s COVID Dashboard, Friday, July 30:

---

The data on this page is from today’s and the previous Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard.  The Dashboard is full of much more information and updated weekdays 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

• Solano County Coronavirus Dashboard (posted on the County website today).
• See also my ARCHIVE of daily Solano COVID updates (an excel spreadsheet).

By Roger Straw, Friday, July 30, 2021

Friday, July 30 in Solano County: 301 new COVID infections in last 2 days, % of ICU beds available drops into yellow danger zone, test positivity edges closer to 20%.  [Also… important breaking news on high transmission rates among the vaccinated.]

Solano County COVID dashboard SUMMARY:

[Sources: see below.  See also my ARCHIVE spreadsheet of daily Solano COVID updates.]

Deaths

No new deaths reported today.  The Fairfield Daily Republic reports that 3 of the 4 new deaths Solano disclosed yesterday “date back to 2020, and the other from February.”   The four deaths “were discovered as part of a systematic review of known Covid cases to determine outcomes and death certificates, and a follow-up review of medical records.  Two of the deaths were men between 50 and 65; the others were a man and a woman, each older than 65.”  The County total remains 249 COVID deaths since the pandemic began.

TREND: Cases-per-day dramatically up in July

Solano County is clearly experiencing a dramatic “summer surge” in cases.  The County reported  301 new COVID cases since Wednesday, 150 per day!  Cases-per-day were trending downward in recent months, but are now rising rapidly, especially over the last week:

Solano’s 972 ACTIVE cases is up again from Wednesday’s remarkable high of 831, higher than anything since February 5, 2021.  Active cases have risen alarmingly in July, up from 212 cases on July 2 to today’s 972.

Solano Positive Test Rate INCREDIBLY HIGH – much higher than US & CA!

Our 7-day average percent positivity rate was up again today from a shocking 16.8% on Monday to an even more surprising 19.3% today, the County’s highest rate since January 25, 2021.  We would be decidedly back in the PURPLE TIER with rates this high.  COMPARE: The US 7-day % positive rate today is at 7.3%, and the California rate is 4.7%. [Source: Johns Hopkins]  This thing is on fire here – watch out and take care!

Hospitalizations – County provides MAJOR update of previously unreported hospitalizations

CURRENT hospitalizations today remained at 51 persons. 

ICU Beds took a dramatic turn today, falling from 32% to 26%, now in the County’s yellow danger zone, the first time since March 5, 2021.  Ventilators available today rose from 68 to 73, about the only good news for the day.

TOTAL Hospitalized – The County’s Monday-Friday updates show an intake/discharge total of CURRENTLY hospitalized cases, but never report on the TOTAL hospitalized over the course of the pandemic.  That total must be independently discovered in the County’s occasional update of the Hospitalizations by Age Group chart.  The County performed a MAJOR UPDATE of the Hospitalizations by Age Group chart yesterday, adding 710 previously unreported hospitalizations!  We assume this was a long overdue review of earlier hospitalizations, but we have no independent confirmation.  Yesterday’s additions:

• • 9 more children age 0-17 who were hospitalized with COVID since the County’s end-of-June update;
  • 253 additional young adults age 18-49;
  • another 200 aged 50-64;
  • and 248 more of our elders 65 and older.

The Age Group chart now shows a total of 2,018 persons hospitalized since the beginning of the outbreak, in the following age groups:

Age Group	Hospitalizations	% of Total
0-17	36	2%
18-49	580	29%
50-64	542	27%
65+	860	43%
TOTAL	2,018	100%

Hospitalizations are also recorded on the County’s demographic chart labeled “Hospitalizations by Race / Ethnicity.”  The chart was updated today, adding 138 Asians, 127 Blacks, 221 Hispanics, 208 Whites, and subtracting 3 from the Multirace group.  Here are the current numbers.  Interestingly, the total doesn’t square with totals by age groups.

Race / Ethnicity	Hospitalizations	% of Total
Asians	321	17% (up 2%)
Black / African American	327	17% (up 1%)
Hispanic / Latinx	548	29% (up 2%)
White	614	32%  (down 2%)
Multirace / Others	83	4% (down 3%)
TOTAL	1,893	100%

New State Guidelines…

COVID is clearly spreading again and surging in Solano County!  Today California also issued new Guidance for the Use of Face Coverings.  The new guidelines include a recommendation for universal masking indoors statewide, adding of Adult and Senior Care Facilities to settings where all individuals must wear masks indoors, and a reference to new requirements for unvaccinated workers.  Some California counties are returning to mandatory masks for all in crowded places.  In the Bay Area, Solano County is the only holdout against even RECOMMENDING masks in public indoors spaces.  Dr. Matyas needs to make some difficult decisions soon!

BREAKING NEWS FROM PROVINCETOWN MASSACHUSSETTS  – And about wearing masks again, Social Distancing & Vaccination…

We heard seriously shocking news today about the large number of FULLY VACCINATED persons who are catching the virus and actively transmitting it.  As the Washington Post reports, “A sobering scientific analysis published Friday found that three-quarters of the people infected during an explosive coronavirus outbreak fueled by the delta variant were fully vaccinated. The report on the Massachusetts cases, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, offers key evidence bolstering the hypothesis that vaccinated people can spread the more transmissible variant and may be a factor in the summer surge of infections.” 

This is HUGE news to me!  We were just beginning to associate more freely with fully vaccinated friends and family, and now I am to understand that some among us may be asymptomatic and unknowingly transmitting the virus amongst us, and inevitably helping spread the disease to someone who knows someone, who knows someone else, who knows yet another someone who is not vaccinated, or who is too young or too health-compromised to be vaccinated – and who may end up seriously ill or even dead!

My personal plan is to mask indoors in public now, and we’re even wondering if we should mask indoors with vaccinated family and friends!  Sheeesh, I thought we were done with that!  Everyone PLEASE talk to anyone you know who isn’t vaccinated.  This thing ain’t over yet!

Cases by City on Friday, July 30:

• Benicia added 8 new cases today, a total of 1,110 cases since the outbreak began, 4.0% of its population of 27,570.
• Dixon added 12 new case today, total of 2,019 cases, 10.2% of its population of 19,794.
• Fairfield added 102 new cases today, total of 9,729 cases, 8.3% of its population of 117,149.
• Rio Vista added 5 new cases today, total of 429 cases, 4.6% of its population of 9,416.
• Suisun City added 20 new cases today, total of 2,532 cases, 8.6% of its population of 29,447.
• Vacaville added 63 new cases today, a total of 9,452 cases, 9.6% its of population of 98,807.
• Vallejo added 90 new cases today, a total of 10,623 cases, 8.9% of its population of 119,544.
• Unincorporated added 1 new case today, a total of 110 cases (population figures not available).

COMPARE: From the most recent report on Solano County’s COVID Dashboard, Wednesday, July 28:

---

The data on this page is from today’s and the previous Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard.  The Dashboard is full of much more information and updated weekdays 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

• Solano County Coronavirus Dashboard (posted on the County website today).
• See also my ARCHIVE of daily Solano COVID updates (an excel spreadsheet).

By Roger Straw, Wednesday, July 28, 2021

County reports 4 deaths and 710 new hospitalizations!  Test positivity nears 20%.

Solano County COVID dashboard SUMMARY:

[Sources: see below.  See also my ARCHIVE spreadsheet of daily Solano COVID updates.]

Deaths

Solano reported four new deaths today, two age 50-64 and two 65+.  June deaths were only 2, and prior to today only 1 death was reported in July, so this is a dramatic turn.  The County total is now 249 deaths since the pandemic began.

TREND: Cases-per-day dramatically up in July

Solano County is clearly experiencing a “summer surge” in cases.  The County reported  221 new COVID cases since Monday, 110 per day!  Cases-per-day were trending downward in recent months, but are now rising rapidly, especially over the last week:

Solano’s 831 ACTIVE cases is up dramatically from last Friday’s remarkable high of 647, higher than anything since February 11, 2021.  Active cases have risen alarmingly in July, up from 212 cases on July 2 to today’s 831.

Solano Positive Test Rate INCREDIBLY HIGH – much higher than US & CA!

Our 7-day average percent positivity rate was up alarmingly again today from a shocking 16.8% on Monday to an even more surprising 19.1% today, the County’s highest rate since January 25, 2021.  We would be decidedly back in the PURPLE TIER with rates this high.  COMPARE: The US 7-day % positive rate today is at 5.9%, and the California rate is 4.4%. [Source: Johns Hopkins]  This thing is on fire here – watch out and take care!

Hospitalizations – County provides MAJOR update of previously unreported hospitalizations

CURRENT hospitalizations jumped today from 45 to 51 persons.   ICU beds and ventilators remained about the same today, beds at 32% and ventilators at 68.

TOTAL hospitalized – The County’s Monday-Friday updates show an intake/discharge total of CURRENTLY hospitalized cases, but never report on the CUMULATIVE TOTAL of hospitalized COVID patients over the course of the pandemic.  That total must be independently discovered in the County’s occasional update of the Hospitalizations by Age Group chart.  The County performed a MAJOR UPDATE of the Hospitalizations by Age Group chart today, adding 710 previously unreported hospitalizations!  We now know of

• • 9 more children age 0-17 who were hospitalized with COVID since the County’s end-of-June update;
  • 253 additional young adults age 18-49;
  • another 200 aged 50-64;
  • and 248 more of our elders 65 and older.

No telling exactly WHEN these newly reported hospitalizations occurred – probably not all in July.  The Age Group chart now shows a total of 2,019 persons hospitalized since the beginning of the outbreak, in the following age groups:

Age Group	Hospitalizations	% of Total
0-17	36	2%
18-49	580	29%
50-64	542	27%
65+	861	43%
TOTAL	2,019	100%

Hospitalizations are also recorded on the County’s demographic chart labeled “Hospitalizations by Race / Ethnicity.”  The chart was updated today, adding 138 Asians, 127 Blacks, 221 Hispanics, 208 Whites, and subtracting 3 from the Multirace group.  Here are the current numbers.  Interestingly, the total doesn’t square with totals by age groups.

Race / Ethnicity	Hospitalizations	% of Total
Asians	322	17% (up 2%)
Black / African American	327	17% (up 1%)
Hispanic / Latinx	548	29% (up 2%)
White	614	32%  (down 2%)
Multirace / Others	83	4% (down 3%)
TOTAL	1,894	100%

New State Guidelines…

COVID is clearly spreading again and surging in Solano County!  Today California also issued new Guidance for the Use of Face Coverings.  The new guidelines include a recommendation for universal masking indoors statewide, adding of Adult and Senior Care Facilities to settings where all individuals must wear masks indoors, and a reference to new requirements for unvaccinated workers.  Some California counties are returning to mandatory masks for all in crowded places.  In the Bay Area, Solano County is the only holdout against even RECOMMENDING masks in public indoors spaces.  Dr. Matyas needs to make some difficult decisions soon!

SUMMER SURGE – Masks, Social Distancing & Vaccination

My personal plan is to mask indoors in public even though I’m vaccinated, and I’d recommend it for you, too.  Everyone talk to anyone you know who isn’t vaccinated.  This thing ain’t over yet!

Cases by City on Wednesday, July 28:

• Benicia added 10 new cases today, a total of 1,102 cases since the outbreak began, 4.0% of its population of 27,570.
• Dixon added 10 new case today, total of 2,007 cases, 10.1% of its population of 19,794.
• Fairfield added 67 new cases today, total of 9,627 cases, 8.2% of its population of 117,149.
• Rio Vista added 3 new cases today, total of 424 cases, 4.5% of its population of 9,416.
• Suisun City added 25 new cases today, total of 2,512 cases, 8.5% of its population of 29,447.
• Vacaville added 48 new cases today, a total of 9,389 cases, 9.5% its of population of 98,807.
• Vallejo added 57 new cases today, a total of 10,533 cases, 8.8% of its population of 119,544.
• Unincorporated added 1 new case today, a total of 109 cases (population figures not available).

COMPARE: From the most recent report on Solano County’s COVID Dashboard, Monday, July 26:

---

The data on this page is from today’s and the previous Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard.  The Dashboard is full of much more information and updated weekdays 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

• Solano County Coronavirus Dashboard (posted on the County website today).
• See also my ARCHIVE of daily Solano COVID updates (an excel spreadsheet).

By Roger Straw, Monday, July 26, 2021

Solano County on Monday, July 26: 289 new COVID infections over the weekend.  Hospitalizations up dramatically.  Test positivity nears 17%!

Solano County COVID dashboard SUMMARY:

[Sources: see below.  See also my ARCHIVE spreadsheet of daily Solano COVID updates.]

Solano County reported no new deaths today.  The County total is now 245 deaths since the pandemic began.  But the County reported  289 new COVID cases over the weekend, 96 per day!  Solano is clearly experiencing a “summer surge” in cases.

TREND: Cases-per-day dramatically up in July

Cases-per-day were trending downward in recent months, but are now rising sharply, especially over the last week:

Solano’s 451 ACTIVE cases is down from Friday’s remarkable high of 647, but still higher than anything since February 19, 2021.  Active cases have risen alarmingly in just two weeks, up from 289 cases on July 12.

Test Rate INCREDIBLY HIGH – compare with US & CA

Our 7-day average percent positivity rate was up alarmingly again today from a shocking 14.9% on Friday to an even more surprising 16.8% today, the County’s highest rate since January 29, 2021.  We would be decidedly back in the PURPLE TIER with rates this high.  COMPARE: The US 7-day % positive rate today is at 5.3%, and the California rate is 3.8%. [Source: Johns Hopkins]

Hospitalizations – fewer ICU Beds and Ventilators available

CURRENT hospitalizations jumped today from 33 to 45 persons CURRENTLY hospitalized with COVID.   ICU beds available fell dramatically today from 50% to only 32%. And the County reported fewer ventilators available today, down from 80 to 69.  These numbers confirm the spike in hospitalizations, see below…

The County updates the intake/discharge total of CURRENTLY hospitalized cases with every report, but never reports on the cumulative total of hospitalized COVID patients over the course of the pandemic.  That total must be independently discovered in the County’s occasional update of the Hospitalizations by Age Group chart which was not updated today, and now shows a total of 1,309 persons hospitalized since the beginning of the outbreak, in the following age groups:

Age Group	Hospitalizations	% of Total
0-17	27	2%
18-49	327	25%
50-64	342	26%
65+	613	47%
TOTAL	1,309	100%

Hospitalizations are also recorded on the County’s demographic chart labeled “Hospitalizations by Race / Ethnicity.”  The chart was not updated today.  Here are the current numbers.  Interestingly, the total doesn’t square with totals by age groups.

Race / Ethnicity	Hospitalizations	% of Total
Asians	184	15%
Black / African American	200	16%
Hispanic / Latinx	327	27%
White	406	34%
Multirace / Others	86	7%
TOTAL	1,203	99%

SUMMER SURGE – Masks, Social Distancing & Vaccination

COVID is clearly circulating again and surging in Solano County!  Some California counties are returning to mandatory masks for all in crowded places, and today the State of California issued a policy for state employees and health care workers, requiring them to either get vaccinated or be tested weekly for the virus.  In the Bay Area, Solano County is the only holdout against even RECOMMENDING masks in public indoors spaces.  My personal plan is to mask indoors in public even though I’m vaccinated, and I’d recommend it for you, too.  This thing ain’t over yet!

Cases by City on Monday, July 26:

• Benicia added 8 new cases today, a total of 1,092 cases since the outbreak began, 4.0% of its population of 27,570.
• Dixon added 7 new case today, total of 1,997 cases, 10.1% of its population of 19,794.
• Fairfield added 74 new cases today, total of 9,560 cases, 8.2% of its population of 117,149.
• Rio Vista added 4 new cases today, total of 421 cases, 4.5% of its population of 9,416.
• Suisun City added 38 new cases today, total of 2,487 cases, 8.4% of its population of 29,447.
• Vacaville added 82 new cases today, a total of 9,341 cases, 9.5% its of population of 98,807.
• Vallejo added 76 new cases today, a total of 10,476 cases, 8.8% of its population of 119,544.
• Unincorporated remained steady today, a total of 108 cases (population figures not available).

COMPARE: From the most recent report on Solano County’s COVID Dashboard, Friday, July 23:

---

The data on this page is from today’s and the previous Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard.  The Dashboard is full of much more information and updated weekdays 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

• Solano County Coronavirus Dashboard (posted on the County website today).
• See also my ARCHIVE of daily Solano COVID updates (an excel spreadsheet).