Tag Archives: Solano County CA

#VOTE, 2020 elections, 2020 Presidential campaigns, Solano County Registrar of Voters, Vote by Mail

Solano is mailing your ballot to you on Sept 26 – Benicia, Vallejo, Fairfield, Vacaville, Suisun City, Rio Vista, Dixon

By Roger Straw, Friday, September 25, 2020

When and how to VOTE EARLY!

In an email yesterday evening, Assistant Solano County Registrar of Voters John Gardner confirmed that “ballots are being mailed on Saturday 9/26.”  Gardner added, “All ballots will be delivered to the post office at the same time for delivery.”

In years past, we might then assume that our ballots would arrive in our mailboxes on Monday, September 28.  Given recent national stories about post office slow deliveries, we will have to watch and see.

Three ways to return your ballot early! (…and then there’s November 3)

  • Cast your ballot RIGHT AWAY: Mail it back on the same day you get it, maybe Monday or Tuesday, September 28 or 29.  Return it ANYTIME via US Postal Service (postage paid).
  • If you wait a week, you can drop it off in person beginning Monday, October 5: There are 15 NO CONTACT DROP BOXES (inside office buildings).  Here’s the list on the Solano County website, including City Clerks’ offices in all 7 Solano cities.
  • I hope you don’t wait until October 29, but if you do… There are 10 NO CONTACT CURBSIDE DROP-OFF LOCATIONS.  For 5 days before election day, beginning on Thursday October 29, and continuing on Oct. 30, 31, Nov. 2 and Nov. 3, you can drop off ballots “Curbside.”  (Stay in your car, hand ballot to pollworkers.)  Here’s the list of at least one in each city, on the County website.
  • And there’s 4 options on ELECTION DAY, Tuesday, November 3:
    1. NOT RECOMMENDED: It’s still possible to mail your ballot.  If (and that’s a big IF) the post office postmarks it on Nov. 3, it will be valid and counted.  Please DON’T do this!  I wouldn’t mail my ballot at all, but if you must, I’d say do it at least 2 weeks prior to election day – by October 20.
    2. The office building drop-off locations will still be available.  List of locations.
    3. The curbside drop-off locations will still be available.  List of locations.
    4. And there’s the good old In-Person voting at your local polling place.  Your polling place location will be printed on your ballot.  Note that some polling places may have changed since the last election.  To plan ahead, here is the County’s list of 100 polling places.  Better yet, to look up your location using your home address, go to this page on the County website: solanocounty.com/depts/rov/sample_ballot_polling_place_lookup.asp

Roger Straw, The Benicia Independent

Oh, and on a personal note… I am clearly encouraging everyone to vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.  Donald Trump is unfit in so many ways, a disaster already, and a threat to our democracy if returned for another 4 years.  Dems, GOPs and Independents please unite and do the right thing – Trump and Trumpism have got to go in a landslide victory for Biden/Harris!

Coronavirus, Covid 19, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Officer Bela Matyas

Solano County COVID numbers going in wrong direction

Guest dine inside at Johnny Carino’s in the Gateway shopping area in Fairfield, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020. Restaurants in Solano County got the go-ahead for limited in-restaurant dining, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020. (Glen Faison/Daily Republic)

Solano case numbers climb; total deaths up to 63

Fairfield Daily Republic, By Todd R. Hansen, September 25, 2020

FAIRFIELD — Solano County is going in the wrong direction – and so are the immediate hopes of moving to an even less restrictive Covid-19 tier.

The county reported Thursday that cases increased by 46, taking the total to 6,278.

Solano County’s daily case average needs to be around 18 in order to graduate from the red tier to the orange tier.

The seven-day testing positivity rate, listed Thursday at 3.9%, remains within the range to advance to the next tier, which requires the rate to be below 4.9%.

Solano County’s public health officer Dr. Bela Matyas addresses the Board of Supervisors about the novel coronavirus pandemic, 3/24/20. (Robinson Kuntz/Daily Republic)

Dr. Bela Matyas, the county public health officer, said two of the three new deaths reported Thursday were past cases, but one is new – an elderly resident who died at home, and like many other Covid-related fatalities, the person had underlying health issues.

The death total is now at 63.

The number of current hospitalizations is at 21, down one from Wednesday, while active cases climbed from 244 to 276, the county reported.

Fairfield added 16 cases to bring its count to 2,051, while Vallejo, now at 2,071, added 11 cases. Vacaville added nine, bringing its total to 1,052.

Suisun City (458) added five cases; Dixon (413) added three; Benicia (165) and Rio Vista (48) each added one. There were no new cases reported in the unincorporated area of the county, which has 22 cases.

The number of completed tests was reported by the county at 86,198, and increase of 513 over Wednesday’s update.

Solano County graduated Tuesday from the most-restrictive purple tier in the state’s color-coded Covid-19 monitoring system to the red tier, which allows limited business reopenings and opens the door for local school districts to soon begin some level of in-person classroom instruction.

A group of friends play cards in the Solano Town Center food court, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020. Food courts like the one in the Solano Town Center could open to 25% capacity, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020. (Robinson Kuntz/Daily Republic)

The purple tier represents widespread transmission of the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19. The red tier represents substantial transmission of the virus, while the orange tier represents moderate spread of the virus and the yellow tier indicates minimal transmission.  [continued]

Coronavirus, Covid 19, Solano County CA

3 more COVID deaths in Solano County, 8 reported in last 3 days

[For a complete archive of day by day data, see my Excel ARCHIVE – R.S.] [Note today that some of the numbers of new deaths and hospitalizations this week may not actually be new.  The Fairfield Daily Reporter, quoting Dr. Matyas, is reporting that some of the deaths reported yesterday are updating discrepancies in reporting from last summer.  Dr. Matyas confirmed in an email to me earlier today that some of the spike in hospitalizations are also adjustments rather than new hospitalizations.  No information as yet as to how many are new and how many are old.  Regardless, these illnesses and deaths are still serious, sad and disturbing…  – R.S.]

Thursday, September 24: 46 new cases overnight, 3 more deaths.  Since the outbreak started: 6,278 cases, 63 deaths.Compare previous report, Wednesday, Sept 23:Summary

  • Solano County reported 46 new cases today, total of 6,278 cases since the outbreak started.  Over the last 2 weeks, Solano reported 473 new cases, average of 34 per day.
  • Deaths – SPIKE: 3 new deaths reported yesterday, 2 the day before, and another 3 deaths today, total of 63 Solano deaths.
  • Active cases – Solano reported 32 additional ACTIVE cases today, total of 276.  Note that only 21 of these 276 people are hospitalized, so there are a lot of infected folks out among us, hopefully quarantined.  Is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons?  Who knows?  To my knowledge, Solano County has offered no reports on contact tracing.
  • Hospitalizations – the number of currently hospitalized persons fell by 2 today, total of 21.  However, the total number hospitalized since the outbreak started increased by 1 today, total of 383, an increase of 68 in just the last week. (see age group hospitalization stats below).
  • ICU Beds –The County reported 50% of ICU beds available, down 2% from yesterday and down from 56% a  week ago Monday.  (After 7 weeks, still no information about availability of ventilators.)
  • Testing – The County reports today that 513 residents were tested today, new total of 86,198.  Solano has a long way to go: only 19.3% of Solano County’s 447,643 residents (2019) have been tested.

Positive Test Rate

Solano County reported today that our 7-day average test rate rose from 3.3% yesterday to 3.9% today.  Our supposedly smooth 7-day moving average has jumped all over the place recently (see note about delayed adjustments below).  For the record, just two weeks ago we saw Solano rates above 7% for the first time since we peaked at 9.3% on July 22.  Week before last we bottomed out at 2.7%.  The County’s line graph for positive test rate looks like a flat line and tells us absolutely nothing, not worth posting here.  Health officials and news reports focus on percent positive test rates as one of the best metrics for measuring the spread of the virus.  The much more stable California’s relatively stable 7-day test rate remained at it’s lowest point, 2.8% for the 4th consecutive day 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 also lags behind current unknown results.) 

By Age Group

  • Youth 17 and under – 10 new cases today, total of 696 cases, representing 11.1% of the 6,278 total cases.  Note that today’s 10 new youth cases are nearly a quarter of today’s overall 46 new cases.  No new hospitalizations among this age group today, a total of 6 hospitalizations since the outbreak began.  Thankfully, no deaths.  In recent weeks it seems too many youth are ignoring public health orders.  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 remained around 11% since then.  Youth are 22% of Solano’s general population, so this 11% may seem low.  The significance is this: 1) youth numbers have increased steadily and at a faster rate than the other age groups, and 2) youth are SERIOUSLY NOT IMMUNE (!) – in fact 6 youth have now been hospitalized.
  • Persons 18-49 years of age – 25 new cases today, total of 3,763 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents 60% of the total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  The County reported no new hospitalizations in this age group today, total of 127 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths in this young age group today, total of 5 deaths.  Some in this group are surely ignoring public health orders, and many are providing essential services among us.  I expect his group is a major factor in the spread of the virus.
  • Persons 50-64 years of age – 4 new cases today, total of 1,194 cases.  This age group represents 19% of the 6,278 total cases.
    No new hospitalizations today, total of 104 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  2 new deaths in this age group today, a total of 13 deaths.
  • Persons 65 years or older – Last week Monday, I reported Solano’s LARGEST SINGLE WEEKEND INCREASES in this age group since I began keeping records on April 20: 31 new cases, 3 new hospitalizations and 2 deaths.  Today the County reported 7 new cases, total of 624, 1 new hospitalizations, total of 147, and 1 new death, total of 45 of our elders who died of COVID.  Much of the recent spike in this age group may be related to an outbreak at the Parkrose Gardens Alzheimer’s and Dementia care facility in Fairfield, where 31 patients and 8 staff were reported on September 15 to have tested positive.  This age group’s 624 cases represent 9.9% of the 6,278 total cases.  In this older age group, 23.6% of cases required hospitalization at one time.  This group accounts for 45 of the 63 deaths, or 71%.

City Data

  • Benicia added 1 new case today, total of 165 cases since the outbreak began.
  • Dixon added 3 new cases today, total of 413 cases.
  • Fairfield added 16 new cases today, total of 2,051 cases.
  • Rio Vista added 1 new case today, total of 48 cases.
  • Suisun City added 5 new cases today, total of 458 cases.
  • Vacaville added 9 new cases today, total of 1,052 cases.
  • Vallejo added 11 new cases today, total of 2,071 cases.  (Note that the County’s chart formatted 2071 as the date 9/1/1905…)
  • Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 20 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 Latinex members of our communities.

  • Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 9% of cases, 11% of hospitalizations, and 19% of deaths.
  • Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 11% of cases, but 18% of hospitalizations, and 24% of deaths.
  • Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 31% of cases, 30% of hospitalizations, and 21% of deaths.
  • White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 21% of cases, 26% of hospitalizations and 25% of deaths.

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.

Coronavirus, Covid 19, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Officer Bela Matyas

Solano’s 3 new COVID deaths not new – County is updating records

Solano reports 3 more Covid-related deaths, but from past months

Fairfield Daily Reporter, By Todd R. Hansen, September 24, 2020

FAIRFIELD — Solano County’s Covid-19 death total rose Wednesday to 60, but the three deaths actually occurred in May, June and July.

Dr. Bela Matyas, Solano County Public Health Officer

Dr. Bela Matyas, the county public health officer, said the Public Health Division is conducting an audit of its records in comparison to death certificates and that is when the discrepancy was found.

“We knew they were Covid-positive, but we didn’t know they died (because) they died at home and there was no autopsy,” Matyas said.

He noted, again, that all Covid-related deaths are recorded in those terms because the virus is present even if it is not the primary cause of the death, or in some cases, not even a contributing cause.

“So what we are trying to do is reconcile the number of deaths with the death certificates,” he said.

Matyas said he expects more to be uncovered as the survey continues.

More troubling to the county moving forward was the 38 new confirmed cases reported Wednesday.

The county needs to be closer to 18 new daily cases in order to move into the orange tier from the red tier, a step that will ease more restrictions on businesses that are open and allow even more businesses and community activities to restart.

Solano County was in the most-restrictive purple tier in the state’s color-coded monitoring system until Tuesday, meaning there was widespread transmission of the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19. The red tier represents substantial transmission of the virus, while the orange tier represents moderate spread of the virus and the yellow tier indicates minimal transmission.

The state puts the county’s daily case average at 28 because it uses a slightly different reporting structure than the county’s approach of using the day of testing.

Still, Matyas said it will be a challenge for the county to knock the average down by 10 cases per day, especially if there are any more care facility outbreaks.

The other critical piece is the seven-day positivity testing rate, which as of Wednesday was 3.3%, comfortably below the high end of the orange tier allowance of 4.9%.

The total number of cases in Solano County rose to 6,232.

The deaths are up to 60, with hospitalizations climbing from 20 Tuesday to 22 Wednesday and active cases increasing from 220 to 244, the county reported.

Fairfield, after a day with no new cases reported, added 13 to its total, now at 2,035. Vallejo added 10 to reach 2,060, while nine new cases in Vacaville took that city’s count to 1,043.

There were two cases added to Rio Vista’s tally, which is reported at 47, and one in Benicia, with a new total of 164 cases. There were no new cases reported in Dixon (453) or in the unincorporated area of the county, which has 22 cases.

The number of completed tests was reported at 85,685, up 335 over Tuesday’s update.  [continued]