A recent increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations has landed Solano County on the state of California’s list for “targeted engagement,” to slow further spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Monday.
While cases of the coronavirus and hospitalizations are on the rise throughout California, the state is zeroing in on counties experiencing the most acute spikes.
“Being on the county monitoring list brings with it additional attention and focus, additional assistance, some additional resources at the state level,” said Mark Ghaly, secretary of California’s Health and Human Services Agency.
Ghaly hopes the designation “really galvanizes the response at the county level in order to … make sure that spread does not increase so rapidly.”
Nineteen counties have been placed under increased monitoring by the state, covering nearly three quarters of California’s population. On Monday, Glenn, Merced and Orange counties were added along with Solano.
In Solano County, hospitals have seen a 23% increase in their three-day average of COVID-19 patients. The spike has been attributed in part to a jump in infections among dozens of North Bay farmworkers, many of whom work in Napa and Sonoma, but reside in Solano County.
State and county health officials have identified a list of steps to improve virus mitigation, including working with vineyard management companies to implement physical distancing measures and enlisting Spanish interpreters to educate workers on public health guidelines.
First below is an excerpt from the CA Dept. of Public Health’s Watch List, detailing recent increasing hospitalizations in Solano County and “key action steps” that Solano is taking in coordination with the State.
Below that is a detail from the State’s County Data Chart, showing Solano County among those counties with increasing hospitalization rate of >10%. On June 29, Solano shows a 23% increase in 3-day avg COVID+ hospitalized patients.
Solano County (has variance) is increasing hospitalization. Drivers include a large outbreak among farm workers in the vineyards in Sonoma and Napa who are residing in Solano, as well as an ongoing surge in cases related to family gatherings and other social gatherings on the weekends. The farm worker cases total many dozens over the past one to two weeks, and the close-contact cases appear to have begun with weekend activities in early May and are continuing to the present. The large number of such cases overall is resulting in an increase in hospitalized cases. These cases are not at present resulting in a strain on the hospitals or in ICU admissions but the county is monitoring this closely. County reports that hospitals in their jurisdiction have multiple levels of surge capacity for hospitalizations and for ICU admissions, if these become necessary. Key action steps include: working with the neighboring counties and with the vineyard management companies to implement social distancing measures; 2) educating the workers themselves (using Spanish interpreters) on social distancing measures; 3) providing appropriate cautionary messages through social media and the press about the risks of gatherings, not social distancing and not using personal protection measures.
Holiday blues: 19 counties now on watch list for more COVID-19 restrictions
CalMatters, by Lauren Hepler, June 29, 2020
Frederique Van Niekerk, from left, and her mother Bernadette Van Niekerk wear masks while waiting in line to enter the clothing store Forever 21 while shopping in Walnut Creek on June 18, 2020. Photo by Jose Carlos Fajardo, Bay Area News Group
With the July 4 holiday weekend only days away, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Monday that 19 counties home to 72% of the state’s population are now on a “watch list” for additional COVID-19 restrictions.
Four new counties — Solano, Merced, Glenn and Orange — were added Monday to the list of hard-hit locales where state health officials are monitoring infection data, providing technical assistance and weighing new measures to slow the spread of the virus.
Bars were already ordered to shut down in Los Angeles and six other counties on Sunday as businesses hit hard by the virus looked to the busy summer holiday to recoup some losses. Even after the closures, local health officials warned on Monday of “alarming” increases in the number of new COVID-19 cases in L.A., and County Supervisor Janice Hahn announced on Twitter that officials plan to close beaches for the holiday from July 3-6.
The question now is if and when the governor may ask other counties on the list to “toggle back” reopening plans, though exactly what that might entail remains unclear.
“We are considering a number of other things to advance,” Newsom said, “and we will be making those public as conditions change.”
In the most severe case in Imperial County, Newsom said the state is prepared to intervene should county supervisors refuse to revert to a strict stay-at-home order. As of late last week, the county had the state’s highest COVID-19 hospitalization rate.
“The state of California will assert itself and make sure that happens,” Newsom said. “We believe they need to move back into that stay-at-home posture.”
The growing watch list and the governor’s repeated emphasis on the importance of a “dimmer switch” to scale back reopening plans if necessary highlights ongoing tension over state and local control that has already boiled over in some parts of the state. In Orange County, health officer Nichole Quick was one of at least five such officials in California to retire or resign this spring, in her case amid threats and personal information leaks.
Besides Los Angeles, the other counties already ordered to shut down bars were Fresno, Imperial, Kern, Kings, San Joaquin and Tulare. Those on the watch list that have not yet been ordered to take additional precautions are Contra Costa, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Stanislaus and Ventura.
On Monday, Newsom and California Health & Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly stressed that the state is basing decisions about where to intervene on specific health data. Of particular concern are local “positivity rates,” or the percentage of COVID-19 tests coming back positive. That number climbed to 5.9% statewide in the last week, Newsom said, compared to 4.4% in early June when the state began to allow gradual reopenings.
Statewide testing capacity has increased in the meantime, he said, to a record of nearly 106,000 tests on Sunday. But in areas like Imperial County, where the positivity rate hit 23%, the increased caseload can lead to frantic conditions on the ground.
“We had to move 500 patients out of their hospital system into surrounding county systems,” Newsom said of “extraordinary rates” in the 190,000-person county along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The scramble in Imperial County highlights the uneven fallout from the virus. Hospitalization rates are climbing fastest in rural Imperial, Kings and Stanislaus counties. Some more affluent and urbanized regions, including San Francisco and Marin counties where infection and hospitalization rates have so far remained lower, have delayed components of reopening plans.
When it comes to the economic toll of the virus, California has already shed twice as many jobs during the first two months of the COVID-19 crisis — about 2.6 million — as it did during 31 months of the Great Recession a decade ago, according to an analysis released last week by the California Budget & Policy Center. Job losses are most concentrated in low-paying service fields, and Black women, Latina women and Asian men saw the sharpest employment declines from February to May this year, by 23%, 22% and 18%, respectively, the report found.
This week’s bar closures are likely to add pressure to existing questions about whether state or federal lawmakers will extend enhanced unemployment benefits, small business loans or other safety-net programs strained by the pandemic. It’s a dynamic that has already upended the state’s annual budget cycle, with legislators so far favoring cuts likely to most impact a dwindling number of middle-class families to address a sudden $54 billion deficit.
“The question for state policymakers as the COVID-19 recession drags on is, how will they find the money needed to avoid cuts to programs and services that Californians will continue to need in the months and years to come?” Alissa Anderson, senior policy analyst with the California Budget & Policy Center, wrote in the recent report.
Monday, June 29: 8 new cases today, 1 new death. Since the outbreak started: 1,126 cases, 103 hospitalized, 24 deaths.
Compare with previous report, Friday June 26:Summary
Solano County reported 8 new cases today, total of 1,126 cases since the outbreak started. Last week, Solano reported 258 new cases, an average of 37 per day.
1 new death today, total of 24, 13 more hospitalized, total of 38.
Solano reported 80 fewer ACTIVE cases today, total 70. How can this be?? 8 new cases and 13 new hospitalizations, yet active cases are down by 80? Maybe County officials phoned around and asked how infected people are feeling, and a bunch of them reported feeling better? Sorry, I can’t explain this….
Testing – Solano county reported 2,504 residents were tested over the weekend and today. Good progress!
Solano’s new Public Health Dashboard design has 2 tabs
The County’s new Public Health Dashboard design includes a second tab (panel), the “Details / Demographics” tab (shown here). Note that both tabs are user interactive – hover over a chart (or tap) to get details. On this Details/Demographics tab, most of the small charts have a small additional tab showing the rate per 100,000. Go there and explore the two tabs. (Expand a chart by clicking the small button in its upper right corner.)
SEVEN DAY MOVING AVERAGE – MISLEADING!
The County has added a Seven day moving average chart of laboratory-confirmed cases. Maybe I’m just getting curmudgeonly, but I don’t see how this chart reflects reality. Unless you really study the detailed description of the chart, it would seem to show that Solano is in great shape! Far from it! Cases are up here. Masks and social distancing are still required and important! The chart is “The average of the number of laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Solano County residents over the past 7 calendar days, by the date that their specimens were collected,” whatever that means. Today’s chart shows a 7-day moving average of only5 new cases per day, down from 28 yesterday. That just seems nuts to me.
BY AGE GROUP
Youth 17 and under – good news: no new cases today, total of 88 cases, only one ever hospitalized. But notice: 14 days ago, there were only 40 cases among this age group – we’ve seen 48 new cases in two weeks!I continue to be alarmed for Solano’s youth. Cases among Solano youth have increased in recent weeks to nearly 8% of the 1,126 total confirmed cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts the figure of coronavirus-infected kids younger than 18 at around 4% of those with the disease. Our youth are testing positive at almost double the national rate!
Persons 18-49 years of age – 4 new cases today, total of 638 cases. This age group represents 57% of the 1,126 total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups. The County reported no new hospitalizations among this age group today, and no new deaths. Total of 27 hospitalized at one time and 2 deaths.
Persons 50-64 years of age – 2 new cases today, total of 233 cases. This age group represents 21% of the 1,126 total cases. 1 new hospitalization today, total of 35 hospitalized at one time. No new deaths, total of 3 deaths.
Persons 65 years or older – 2 new cases today, total of 166 cases. This age group represents 15% of the 1,126 total cases. 1 new hospitalization and 1 new death today. Total of 40 hospitalized at one time and 19 deaths. In this older age group, 24% were hospitalized at one time, a substantially higher percentage than in the lower age groups. And this group counts for 19 of the 24 deaths, or 79%.
CITY DATA
Vallejoadded 2 new cases today, total of 462.
Fairfield added 3 new cases today, total of 363.
Vacaville added 2 new cases today, total of 152 cases.
Suisun City remained at 70 cases.
Benicia remained at 25 cases.
Dixonadded 1 new case today, total of 39 cases.
Rio Vista and “Unincorporated” are still not assigned numerical data: today both remain at <10 (less than 10). The total for “other” shows 15 cases somewhere among the 2 locations in this category (same as last reported). Residents and city officials have pressured County officials for city case counts. Today’s data is welcome, but remains incomplete for folks in Rio Vista and unincorporated areas of the County.
A “Rate” column shows the rate of positive COVID-19 cases (per 100,000 population) for each city. Benicia is leading the way here, with a rate of only 90.7 cases per 100,000. Compare with other Solano cities in the chart, and note that the CDC reports today’s rate in California at 534 per 100,000 (up from 494 Friday). Johns Hopkins lists the overall Solano County rate at 250 (up from 245 Friday).
RACE / ETHNICITY
Cases, hospitalizations and deaths by race/ethnicity – Solano County, June 29Incidence rate, hospitalization rate, and death rate (per 100,000) by race/ethnicity – Solano County, June 29
The County report on race / ethnicity data includes case numbers, hospitalizations, deaths and Solano population statistics. There are tabs showing a calculated rate per 100,000 by race/ethnicity for each of these boxes (second image above). 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 24% of cases, 22% of hospitalizations and 22% of deaths. (Note these numbers are all down from 25%, 23% and 23%.)
Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 13% of cases, but 28% of hospitalizations and 35% of deaths.
Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 38% of cases. They account for 26% of hospitalizations and 17% of deaths. (Note these numbers are all UP from 36%, 24% and 14%, indicating an uptick in Solano’s Latinx community.)
Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 12% of cases and 15% of hospitalizations, but 22% of deaths.
A recent increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations has landed Solano County on the state of California’s list for “targeted engagement,” to slow further spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Monday.
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