Tag Archives: Intensive Care Units

COVID in Solano County – only worse over the weekend, 1 more death, another record number of new cases

December 21, 2020 Roger Straw

UPDATE: See today’s latest information

By Roger Straw, December 21, 2020

[Source: Solano County Coronavirus Dashboard (posted on the County website late today, around 8pm). For a complete archive of County updates, see my Excel ARCHIVE. ALSO see important daily updates from the state of California at COVID19.CA.GOV, embedded here on the BenIndy at Cases and Deaths AND Hospitalizations AND ICU Beds by REGION.] Here are today’s numbers…

Monday, December 21: 1,216 new cases over the weekend, 1 new death. Since Feb: 16,224 cases, more than 725 hospitalized, 94 deaths.Compare previous report, Friday, Dec. 18:Summary

- Solano County reported 1,216 (!!) new cases, by far and away a new weekend record. As of today, Solano has seen an average increase of 299 (!) new cases per day over the last 14 days! (source: covid19.ca.gov) Total of 16,224 cases since the outbreak started.
- Deaths – 1 new death reported today, a person over 65 years, and a total of 94 Solano deaths since the pandemic began.
- Active cases – Solano reported 23 more active cases today for a total of 2,187 active cases. COMPARE: average number of Active Cases during October was 284, average in November was 650 – and TODAY we are at 2,187! Is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons? Who knows? To my knowledge, Solano has offered no reports on contact tracing.
- Hospitalizations – CAUTION ON SOLANO HEALTH DEPARTMENT REPORTING: According to Solano Health Officer Dr. Bela Matyas, the County “occasionally” updates Age Group hospitalizations retroactively, adding substantial numbers. Thus, many hospitalizations are never reported as CURRENTLY hospitalized. Today, Solano reported that the number of CURRENTLY hospitalized increased by 11, total of 119. But the County added only 5 previously unreported hospitalizations today among the age groups, for a total of 727 persons hospitalized since the outbreak began. [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 – Solano County reported only 15% available today, up from 9% Friday, and out of the RED DANGER ZONE. COVID19-CA.GOV reported today that Solano hospitals had 12 available ICU beds as of yesterday, December 20. (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.)
- Testing – The County reports today that 3,901 residents were tested over the weekend, a total of 156,496 unduplicated residents have now been tested for COVID-19 since the outbreak began. 35.0% of Solano County’s 447,643 residents (2019) have been tested.

Positive Test Rate – HIGH THREAT LEVEL, 19.6%

Solano County reported our 2nd HIGHEST EVER 7-day average positive test rate today at 19.6%, down slightly from Friday’s record 20.1%, and still far and away over the State’s purple tier threshold of 8%. Average percent positive test rates are among the best metrics for measuring community spread of the virus. The much lower and more stable California 7-day average test rate has also been on an alarming rise lately, up from Friday’s 12.8% to 13.3% today. (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 – Surge in case numbers and hospitalizations!

Youth 17 and under – 124 (!!) new cases today, total of 1,808 cases, representing 11.2% of the 16,224 total cases. No new hospitalizations reported today among this age group, total of 17 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 plateaued at over 11% since September 30. Youth are 22% of Solano’s general population, so this 11.x% may seem low. The significance is this: youth are SERIOUSLY NOT IMMUNE (!) – in fact at least 14 of our youth have been hospitalized since the outbreak began.
Persons 18-49 years of age – 694 (!!) new cases today, total of 9,403 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents nearly 60% of the total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups. The County reported 1 new hospitalization among persons in this age group today. A total of 232 are reported to have been hospitalized since the outbreak began. No new deaths in this young group today, total of 6 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 – 261 (!!) new cases today, total of 3,256 cases. This age group represents just over 20% of the 16,224 total cases. The County reported 2 new hospitalizations among persons in this age group today. A total of 196 are reported to have been hospitalized since the outbreak began. No new deaths in this age group today, a total of 16 deaths.
Persons 65 years or older – 136 (!!) new cases today, total of 1,748, representing 10.8% of Solano’s 16,224 total cases. The County reported 2 new hospitalizations among persons in this age group today. A total of 282 have been hospitalized since the outbreak began. 1 new death was reported in this age group today. A total of 72 of our elders have died of COVID, accounting for 77% of Solano’s 94 total deaths.

City Data

Benicia added 29 (!) new cases today, total of 443 cases since the outbreak began.
Dixon added 60 (!!) new cases today, total of 1099 cases.
Fairfield added 335 (!!) new cases today, total of 4,696 cases.
Rio Vista added 11 (!) new cases today, total of 133 cases.
Suisun City added 80 (!!) new cases today, total of 1,141 cases.
Vacaville added 422 (!!) new cases today, total of 3,732 cases.
Vallejo added 273 (!!) new cases today, total of 4,919 cases.
Unincorporated areas added 6 (!) new cases today, total of 61 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 10% of cases, 12% of hospitalizations, and 18% of deaths.
Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 11% of cases, but 16% of hospitalizations, and 21% of deaths.
Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 19% of cases, 25% of hospitalizations, and 17% of deaths.
White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 28% of cases, 29% of hospitalizations and 33% of deaths.

More…

The County’s 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 significant portions. For more, check out the Dashboard at https://doitgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=055f81e9fe154da5860257e3f2489d67.

Coronavirus, Covid 19, Solano County CA

Solano RED ALERT: hospital ICU beds nearly full, COVID-19 hitting new record numbers

December 18, 2020 Roger Straw

UPDATE: See today’s latest information

By Roger Straw, December 18, 2020

Only 9% of our hospital ICU beds are available!

Nearly 300 new positive cases in Solano County in just one day; ACTIVE cases at 2,164; ICU beds at a Solano record low level of only 9% available; and our positivity test rate is just over 1 in every 5 tested, 20.7%. The virus is spreading like wildfire here among all age groups. Solano is under the Regional stay-at-home order…

Friday, December 18: 295 new cases overnight, no new deaths. Since Feb: 15,008 cases, more than 720 hospitalized, 93 deaths.Compare previous report, Thursday, Dec. 17:Summary

- Solano County reported 295 (!) new cases overnight. As of today, Solano has seen an average increase of 250 (!) new cases per day over the last 14 days! (source: covid19.ca.gov) Total of 15,008 cases since the outbreak started.
- Deaths – no new deaths reported today, a total of 93 Solano deaths since the pandemic began.
- Active cases – Solano reported 59 fewer active cases today (after adding 444 yesterday), for a total of 2,164 active cases. COMPARE: average number of Active Cases during October was 284, average in November was 650 – and TODAY we are at 2,164! Is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons? Who knows? To my knowledge, Solano has offered no reports on contact tracing.
- Hospitalizations – CAUTION ON SOLANO HEALTH DEPARTMENT REPORTING: According to Solano Health Officer Dr. Bela Matyas, the County “occasionally” updates Age Group hospitalizations retroactively, adding substantial numbers. Thus, many hospitalizations are never reported as CURRENTLY hospitalized. Good example today: Today, Solano reported that the number of CURRENTLY hospitalized increased by 1, total of 108. But it would seem that Solano County performed another of its “occasional” updates today of those previously hospitalized among age groups. The County added 80 previously unreported hospitalizations yesterday and 35 more today, for a new total of 722 persons hospitalized since the outbreak began. [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 – Solano County reported our lowest ever percent of ICU Beds Available, at only 9% available today, showing for the first time in the RED DANGER ZONE. COVID19-CA.GOV reported today that Solano hospitals had 14 available ICU beds as of yesterday, December 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.)
- Testing – The County reports today that 1,029 residents were tested overnight, a total of 152,595 unduplicated residents have now been tested for COVID-19 since the outbreak began. 34.1% of Solano County’s 447,643 residents (2019) have been tested.

Positive Test Rate – HIGH THREAT LEVEL, 20.7%

Solano County reported our HIGHEST EVER 7-day average positive test rate today at 20.7%, up from yesterday’s record 20.1%, far and away over the State’s purple tier threshold of 8%. Average percent positive test rates are among the best metrics for measuring community spread of the virus. The much lower and more stable California 7-day average test rate has also been on an alarming rise lately, remaining steady today at 12.8%. (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 – Surge in case numbers and hospitalizations!

Youth 17 and under – 28 new cases today (adding a total of 234 this week!), total of 1,684 cases, representing 11.2% of the 15,008 total cases. No new hospitalizations reported today among this age group, total of 17 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 plateaued at over 11% since September 30. Youth are 22% of Solano’s general population, so this 11.x% may seem low. The significance is this: youth are SERIOUSLY NOT IMMUNE (!) – in fact at least 14 of our youth have been hospitalized since the outbreak began.
Persons 18-49 years of age – 148 new cases today (adding a total of 1,248 this week!), total of 8,709 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents around 60% of the total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups. The County reported 11 new hospitalizations among persons in this age group today. A total of 231 are reported to have been hospitalized since the outbreak began. No new deaths in this young group today, total of 6 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 – 56 new cases today (adding a total of 504 this week!), total of 2,995 cases. This age group represents 20% of the 15,008 total cases. The County reported 1 new hospitalization among persons in this age group today. A total of 194 are reported to have been hospitalized since the outbreak began. No new deaths in this age group today, a total of 16 deaths.
Persons 65 years or older – 63 new cases today (adding a total of 289 this week!), total of 1,612, representing 10.7% of Solano’s 15,008 total cases. The County reported no new hospitalizations among persons in this age group today. A total of 280 have been hospitalized since the outbreak began. No new deaths were reported in this age group today. A total of 71 of our elders have died of COVID, accounting for 76% of Solano’s 93 total deaths.