Tag Archives: Solano County CA

Coronavirus, Covid 19, Solano County CA

Solano COVID daily report: questionable data on percent positive test rate

July 23, 2020 Roger Straw

UPDATE: See today’s latest information

Thursday, July 23: 88 new cases today, no new deaths. Since the outbreak started: 3,070 cases, 35 deaths.

Compare previous report, Wednesday July 22:Summary

Solano County reported 88 new cases today, total of 3,070 cases since the outbreak started. Over the last 7 days, Solano reported 587 new cases, an average of 84 per day.
Deaths – no new deaths today, total of 35.
Currently hospitalized, 7/22/23
Hospitalizations – 2 additional currently hospitalized persons today, total of 52. No increase in the total number hospitalized since the outbreak started: 130. (The County no longer reports Total Hospitalized, but I have added the hospitalization numbers in the Age Group chart.)
Active cases – Solano reported 51 more ACTIVE cases today, total of 362. Last week we hit a record high of 440 active cases. Note that only 52 of today’s 362 active cases are hospitalized; a lot of infected people are out among us, hopefully quarantined. One wonders… is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons? (See SF Chronicle report on contact tracing in Bay Area – “Solano County did not respond”.)
ICU beds Available remained at 36%. Ventilators Available remained at 91%.
Testing – 1,229 residents were tested since yesterday, total of 47,644. But we still have a long way to go: only 10.6% of Solano County’s 447,643 residents (2019) have been tested.

Percent Positive Test Rate – questionable data…

Percent positive tests – Solano County – Thursday, 7/23/20

Percent positive tests – Solano County – Wednesday, 7/22/20

Solano County reported today’s 7-day percent positive test rate at 6.8%. This represents an incredibly unlikely drop of 2.5% in just one day, in data that is supposed to be a smooth 7-day average. The County is evidently using a different measure today, or made a huge mistake here today or yesterday when it posted a record high of 9.3%. Last week the number increased each day, from 5.3% on Monday to a 9.1% on Friday. Large daily increases will eventually show on the 7-day average line. CONTEXT: California’s 7-day positivity rate is reported today at 8.0%. Increasingly, health officials and news reports are focusing on percent positive test rates. This information is immediately important, as test positivity is one of the best metrics for measuring the spread of the virus. Positive test rates in California and other southwestern states have been on the rise.

By Age Group

Youth 17 and under – 10 new cases today, total of 315 cases, and no new hospitalizations, total only 2 since the outbreak began. A week ago, there were 237 cases among this age group – we’ve seen 78 new cases in just 7 days! I continue to raise an alarm for Solano’s youth. Cases among Solano youth have increased in recent weeks to over 10% of the 3,070 total confirmed cases.
Persons 18-49 years of age – 50 new cases today, total of 1,863 cases. This age group represents over 60% of the 3,070 total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups. The County reported no new hospitalizations in this age group today, total of 33 hospitalized since the outbreak began, and no new deaths among this age group, total of 3 deaths.
Persons 50-64 years of age – 18 new cases today, total of 587 cases. This age group represents over 19% of the 3,070 total cases. The County reported no new hospitalizations in this age group today, total of 41 hospitalized since the outbreak began, and no new deaths among this age group, total of 4 deaths.
Persons 65 years or older – 10 new cases today, total of 304 cases. This age group represents 10% of the 3,070 total cases. No new hospitalizations, total of 54 hospitalized since the outbreak began. No new deaths, total of 28. In this older age group, nearly 18% of cases required hospitalization at one time, a substantially higher percentage than in the lower age groups. This group accounts for 28 of the 35 deaths, or 80%.

City Data

Benicia added 3 new cases today, total of 68 cases. Benicia was extremely stable with only 2 new cases for the entire month of June. Now Benicia has seen 16 new cases in 7 days.
Dixon added 2 new cases today, total of 157 cases.
Fairfield added 26 new cases today, total of 1,046. Fairfield has more positive cases than anywhere in Solano County.
Rio Vista remained steady today, total of 25 cases.
Suisun City added 7 new cases today, total of 228 cases.
Vacaville added 25 new cases today, total of 524 cases.
Vallejo added 24 new cases today, total of 1,012.
Unincorporated areas – Although the County still still shows Unincorporated at <10 (less than 10), a little math tells a different story: Solano’s unincorporated areas added 1 new case today, total of 10 cases (those unaccounted for in the other City totals).

Race / Ethnicity

The County report on race / ethnicity includes case numbers, hospitalizations, deaths and Solano population statistics. There are also tabs showing a calculated rate per 100,000 by race/ethnicity for each of these boxes. This information is discouragingly similar to national reports that indicate worse outcomes among black and brown Americans. As of today:

White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 21% of cases, 24% of hospitalizations and 23% of deaths.
Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 13% of cases, but 26% of hospitalizations, and 32% of deaths.
Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 31% of cases, 27% of hospitalizations, and 26% of deaths.
Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 9% of cases and 14% of hospitalizations, but 16% of deaths.

Much 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.

Benicia, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Marin County CA, Napa County CA, Solano County CA

Should Benicia and Solano impose fines on COVID violators like Napa and Marin?

July 23, 2020 Roger Straw

Coronavirus: Marin County votes to impose fines on violators of public health orders

Individuals can be fined up to $500 and businesses up to $10,000 — but the goal is to be educational, not punitive

A man leaves a restaurant with a take-out order in between outdoor eating tables at City Plaza on Fourth Street in San Rafael, Calif. on Wednesday, May 27, 2020. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)

Mercury News, by Evan Webeck, July 22, 2020

Another North Bay county has the newfangled authority to fine anyone not wearing a mask or complying with social distancing protocols.

The Marin County Board of Supervisors approved a temporary measure to make violations of public health orders punishable by administrative fines, following in the footsteps of officials in Napa County, who put a similar measure in place last week.

The move authorizes city and county employees, as well as police officers, to cite businesses and individuals not complying with the orders, though the priority is first to intervene and educate. Depending on the severity and frequency of the violations, individuals can face fines between $25 and $500, while businesses can be fined between $250 and $10,000.

The policy suggests a “grace period” of up to 72 hours before an enforcement officer would issue a fine, but it doesn’t prevent a citation from being issued on the spot. It also does not eliminate the misdemeanor penalty that such violations were originally categorized as, but supervisors said that enforcement mechanism had rarely been used.

Officials’ goal is to move public health citations out of the lengthy legal system and allow to enforce the orders without levying a misdemeanor the heftier financial penalty that accompanies it.

“It was a pretty steep fine that police officers were reluctant to give,” County Administrator Matthew Hymel said during the virtual board meeting. “A lower-level fine, they’re more comfortable giving that out.”

In a staff report sent to the board recommending the measure, officials also emphasized Gov. Gavin Newsom’s threat to withhold federal stimulus funds — up to $26.5 million from Marin County — from counties that don’t follow the state guidelines.

The county also recently launched a new email address that residents can send complaints about businesses violating the public health orders. Supervisors said they had received about 60 responses since the tool launched last week.

The public can submit complaints to SIPViolation@MarinCounty.gov.

Coronavirus, Covid 19, Solano County CA, Test positivity rates

Solano County COVID infection rate rising: 7-day test positivity rate reaches record high of 9.3%

July 22, 2020 Roger Straw

UPDATE: See today’s latest information

Wednesday, July 22: 125 new cases today, no new deaths. Since the outbreak started: 2,982 cases, 35 deaths.

Compare previous report, Tuesday July 21:Summary

Solano County reported 125 new cases today, total of 2,982 cases since the outbreak started. Over the last 7 days, Solano reported 669 new cases, an average of 96 per day.
Deaths – no new deaths today, total of 35.
Currently hospitalized, 7/22/20
Hospitalizations – 2 additional currently hospitalized persons today, total of 50. No increase in the total number hospitalized since the outbreak started: 130. (The County no longer reports Total Hospitalized, but I have added the hospitalization numbers in the Age Group chart.)
Active cases – Solano reported 85 more ACTIVE cases today, total of 311. Last week we hit a record high of 440 active cases. Note that only 50 of today’s 311 active cases are hospitalized; a lot of infected people are out among us, hopefully quarantined. One wonders… is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons? (See SF Chronicle report on contact tracing in Bay Area – “Solano County did not respond”.)
ICU beds Available fell 2% to 36%. Ventilators Available rose 3% to 91%.
Testing – 1,093 residents were tested since yesterday, total of 46,415. But we still have a long way to go: only 10% of Solano County’s 447,643 residents (2019) have been tested.

Percent Positive Test Rate

Solano County reported today’s 7-day percent positive test rate at a record high of 9.3%, up from 8.2 yesterday. Last week the number increased each day, from 5.3% on Monday to a 9.1% on Friday. The recent dramatic daily increases are beginning to show on the 7-day average line. CONTEXT: California’s 7-day positivity rate is reported today at 7.6%. Our rate in Solano County is above the State’s rate. Increasingly, health officials and news reports are focusing on percent positive test rates. This information is immediately important, as test positivity is one of the best metrics for measuring the spread of the virus. Positive test rates in California and other southwestern states have been on the rise.