Tag Archives: Re-opening

Solano County COVID infections up by 49% since re-opening, 2nd highest jump in Bay Area

COVID cases up more than 20% in Bay Area, California since June 15 reopening

San Francisco Chronicle, by Catherine Ho, July 1, 2021
A worker walks along Stockton Street in San Francisco on June 15, the day California lifted most of its pandemic restrictions. Stephen Lam/The Chronicle

New coronavirus cases have jumped more than 20% in California and the Bay Area since the state’s June 15 reopening — a sign that even as residents embrace a return to normalcy, the virus can still spread among unvaccinated people and will likely linger for months to come.

Statewide, new cases crept up from about 900 on June 15 to nearly 1,100 on June 30, according to seven-day averages of new daily infections. In the Bay Area, cases ticked up from 187 to 225 during the same period, according to Chronicle data.

State and local health officials had predicted a rise in new cases after June 15, when California lifted nearly all pandemic restrictions on public life. Case rates are still considered low, at fewer than 3 new infections per 100,000 people statewide and in the Bay Area. In January, during the worst of the winter surge, there were nearly 100 new cases a day per 100,000 people statewide.

In the Bay Area, the biggest jump in new cases is in Alameda County, which has seen a 55% increase since June 15. New cases are up 22% in San Francisco, 27% in Contra Costa County and 35% in Marin County, according to Chronicle data.

In some counties, though, the number of new cases is relatively small. San Francisco went from averaging 11 cases a day to 13. Marin went from four cases a day to five.

COVID-19 hospitalizations are also increasing statewide and in the Bay Area, but at a slower rate than new cases. The number grew 11% statewide and 9% in the Bay Area from June 15 to 30, according to state data.

Deaths are largely flat statewide and dropping in the Bay Area. There is usually a lag time of several weeks between new cases and hospitalizations and deaths.

The rise in new cases can be attributed to three factors: the reopening, the fact that nearly a third of people eligible to be vaccinated have not received a shot and the spread of the more contagious delta variant, said local health officials and infectious disease experts.

Most of the new cases are among people who have not been vaccinated, including young adults and teenagers, and in areas that have lower vaccination rates, health officials said.

“It’s a good argument that the vaccine is helping to protect residents,” said Dr. Nicholas Moss, health officer for Alameda County. “And people who have not had the opportunity to get vaccinated yet, we strongly encourage to do that.”

In neighboring Contra Costa County, the city of Antioch — which has significantly lower vaccination rates than the county overall — accounted for 25% of new cases over the past two weeks, even though it has just 10% of Contra Costa’s population, said county Health Officer Dr. Chris Farnitano.

unvaccinated people in Contra Costa are 16 times more likely to get COVID than vaccinated people, according to county data. The COVID vaccines also do a better job of preventing serious symptoms in the handful of vaccinated people who do test positive.

“With the lifting of the business restrictions, more people getting out and doing things, a lot of people not wearing masks, it’s kind of a recipe for increased infections in people who are unvaccinated,” Farnitano said.

unvaccinated people mingling indoors is especially concerning, now that most venues go by the honor system when it comes to masking, said Dr. George Lemp, a former University of California epidemiologist.

“The problem is because they’ve changed the mask mandate, particularly indoors, there’s no way for proprietors of stores or any other facilities to know whether a person who’s maskless indoors is vaccinated or not,” Lemp said. “The large crowds of people who are unvaccinated who gather together indoors in places like Disneyland and other venues around the state are going to spread coronavirus to each other.”

The Bay Area as a whole has one of the highest vaccination rates in the country, led by San Mateo and and Marin counties, where more than 80% of eligible residents are fully vaccinated. More than 70% of residents are fully vaccinated in Santa Clara, San Francisco and Contra Costa counties. But even in those highly vaccinated counties, there are pockets where vaccination rates are less than 50%.

The spread of the delta variant prompted Los Angeles County health officials to urge even vaccinated people to resume wearing masks in indoor public spaces — one of the pandemic restrictions that the state lifted June 15. Local counties have not issued similar advice, but health officials say the growing number of delta infections could mean that the Bay Area’s already impressive vaccination numbers may have to get even better to check the disease’s spread.

“Delta might be transmissible enough, infectious enough, that you just need to push your vaccination rates a little higher,” said Moss of Alameda County. “A more transmissible virus is more likely to get to those susceptible (unvaccinated) people. And even just a small increase in the ability of the virus to pass from one person to another, when you multiply that over millions of people, you can start to see these changes in the pandemic.”

Catherine Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.

Solano County will now issue public COVID report only on MWF – TODAY: 35 new cases in last 2 days


By Roger Straw, Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Solano County reported 35 new COVID infections since Monday, now updating COVID dashboard only 3 times per week, MWF.

People with mild COVID can have long-term health problems.  And: More than 70% of COVID-19 patients studied report having at least one “long haul” symptom that lasts for months.”  It’s not over yet!

Solano County COVID report on Wednesday, June 23.
[Source: see far below.  See also my ARCHIVE spreadsheet of daily Solano COVID updates.]
Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard – SUMMARY:

Solano County reported  35 new COVID cases over the previous 2 days, an average of 17.5 per dayMonthly: Solano County saw 1,288 new cases in April, an average of 43 per day.  In May, Solano reported 920 new cases, an average of 30 per day.  So far in June, 504 new cases in Solano, an average of 22 new infections each day.  COVID is still out there – TAKE CARE!

Solano County reported no new deaths today.  The County total is 244 deaths since the pandemic began.

Solano’s 146 active cases today is up from Monday’s 142.  Our percent positivity rate rose slightly today from 5.0% to 5.1%.

Cases by City on Wednesday, June 23:
  • Benicia added 4 new cases today, a total of 1,021 cases since the outbreak began, 3.7% of its population of 27,570.
  • Dixon remained steady today, total of 1,936 cases, 9.8% of its population of 19,794.
  • Fairfield added only 2 new cases today, total of 9,166 cases, 7.8% of its population of 117,149.
  • Rio Vista remained steady for the 12th day in a row today, total of 394 cases, 4.2% of its population of 9,416.
  • Suisun City added 5 new cases today, total of 2,316 cases, 7.9% of its population of 29,447 (up today from 7.8%).
  • Vacaville added 8 new cases today, a total of 8,884 cases, 9.0% its of population of 98,807.
  • Vallejo added 16 new cases today, total of 9,977 cases, 8.3% of its population of 119,544.
  • Unincorporated areas remained steady for the 47th day in a row today (no increase since May 8!), total of 103 cases (population figures not available).
RE-OPENING GUIDELINES IN SOLANO COUNTY
Solano Public Health

See latest info on California’s COVID web page.  See also the Solano County Public Health Coronavirus Resources and Updates page(Click on the image at right to go directly to the page, or click on various links below to access the 10 sections on the County’s page.)

Solano County Guidance (posted June 15, 2021)

COMPARE: From the most recent report on Solano County COVID Dashboard, Monday, June 21:


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 SummaryDemographics and Vaccines.  Click here to go to today’s Solano County Dashboard.


Sources

Solano County Public Health fails to post its daily COVID update

UPDATE: At 4:40pm on Wednesday June 23, Dr. Bela Matyas, Solano County Public Health Officer wrote, “Beginning this week, we will be updating the dashboard three times weekly, and we have added that information to the disclaimer line.” 

By Roger Straw, Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Solano County COVID report – no update today

As of midnight Tuesday, Solano County had not updated its Coronavirus dashboard.  [UPDATE: still no Tuesday update as of 9:30am Wednesday] The dashboard is always updated between 4pm and 6pm every weekday.  I will continue my watch, but probably won’t post today’s report here on the Benicia Independent until tomorrow.  – Roger Straw, The Benicia Independent


For the record, here is yesterday’s report:

Solano County adds 18 new COVID cases per day over the weekend, total of 55 of us newly infected

By Roger Straw, Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Solano County reported 55 new COVID infections over the weekend.
New: cases as a percentage of city population.

People with mild COVID can have long-term health problems.  And: More than 70% of COVID-19 patients studied report having at least one “long haul” symptom that lasts for months.”  It’s not over yet!

Solano County COVID report on Monday, June 21.
[Source: see far below.  See also my ARCHIVE spreadsheet of daily Solano COVID updates.]
Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard – SUMMARY:

Solano County reported  55 new COVID cases over the 3-day weekend, an average of just over 18 per dayMonthly: Solano County saw 1,288 new cases in April, an average of 43 per day.  In May, Solano reported 920 new cases, an average of 30 per day.  So far in June, 469 new cases in Solano, an average of 22 new infections each day.  COVID is still out there – TAKE CARE!

Solano County reported no new deaths today.  The County total is 244 deaths since the pandemic began.

Solano’s 142 active cases today are down from Friday’s 156.  Our percent positivity rate fell slightly today from 5.1% to 5.0%.

Cases by City on Monday, June 21:
  • Benicia added 2 new cases today, a total of 1,017 cases since the outbreak began, 3.7% of its population of 27,570.
  • Dixon added 4 new cases today, total of 1,936 cases, 9.8% of its population of 19,794.
  • Fairfield added 11 new cases today, total of 9,164 cases, 7.8% of its population of 117,149.
  • Rio Vista remained steady for the 10th day in a row today, total of 394 cases, 4.2% of its population of 9,416.
  • Suisun City added 7 new cases today, total of 2,311 cases, 7.8% of its population of 29,447.
  • Vacaville added 18 new cases today, a total of 8,876 cases, 9.0% its of population of 98,807.
  • Vallejo added 13 new cases today, total of 9,961 cases, 8.3% of its population of 119,544.
  • Unincorporated areas remained steady for the 45th day in a row today (no increase since May 8!), total of 103 cases (population figures not available).
RE-OPENING GUIDELINES IN SOLANO COUNTY
Solano Public Health

See latest info on California’s COVID web page.  See also the Solano County Public Health Coronavirus Resources and Updates page(Click on the image at right to go directly to the page, or click on various links below to access the 10 sections on the County’s page.)

Solano County Guidance (posted June 15, 2021)

 

COMPARE: Screenshots from Solano County COVID Dashboard on Friday, June 18:


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 SummaryDemographics and Vaccines.  Click here to go to today’s Solano County Dashboard.


Sources

Solano County adds 18 new COVID cases per day over the weekend, total of 55 of us newly infected


By Roger Straw, Monday, June 21, 2021

Solano County reported 55 new COVID infections over the weekend.
New: cases as a percentage of city population.

People with mild COVID can have long-term health problems.  And: More than 70% of COVID-19 patients studied report having at least one “long haul” symptom that lasts for months.”  It’s not over yet!

Solano County COVID report on Monday, June 21.
[Source: see far below.  See also my ARCHIVE spreadsheet of daily Solano COVID updates.]
Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard – SUMMARY:

Solano County reported  55 new COVID cases over the 3-day weekend, an average of just over 18 per dayMonthly: Solano County saw 1,288 new cases in April, an average of 43 per day.  In May, Solano reported 920 new cases, an average of 30 per day.  So far in June, 469 new cases in Solano, an average of 22 new infections each day.  COVID is still out there – TAKE CARE!

Solano County reported no new deaths today.  The County total is 244 deaths since the pandemic began.

Solano’s 142 active cases today are down from Friday’s 156.  Our percent positivity rate fell slightly today from 5.1% to 5.0%.

Cases by City on Monday, June 21:
  • Benicia added 2 new cases today, a total of 1,017 cases since the outbreak began, 3.7% of its population of 27,570.
  • Dixon added 4 new cases today, total of 1,936 cases, 9.8% of its population of 19,794.
  • Fairfield added 11 new cases today, total of 9,164 cases, 7.8% of its population of 117,149.
  • Rio Vista remained steady for the 10th day in a row today, total of 394 cases, 4.2% of its population of 9,416.
  • Suisun City added 7 new cases today, total of 2,311 cases, 7.8% of its population of 29,447.
  • Vacaville added 18 new cases today, a total of 8,876 cases, 9.0% its of population of 98,807.
  • Vallejo added 13 new cases today, total of 9,961 cases, 8.3% of its population of 119,544.
  • Unincorporated areas remained steady for the 45th day in a row today (no increase since May 8!), total of 103 cases (population figures not available).
RE-OPENING GUIDELINES IN SOLANO COUNTY
Solano Public Health

See latest info on California’s COVID web page.  See also the Solano County Public Health Coronavirus Resources and Updates page(Click on the image at right to go directly to the page, or click on various links below to access the 10 sections on the County’s page.)

Solano County Guidance (posted June 15, 2021)

 

COMPARE: Screenshots from Solano County COVID Dashboard on Friday, June 18:


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 SummaryDemographics and Vaccines.  Click here to go to today’s Solano County Dashboard.


Sources