Tag Archives: Solano County CA

Benicia CA, Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Coronavirus, Covid 19, Delta variant, Hospitalizations, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Department, Vaccine

Solano County reports nearly 500 new infections, over 1,000 active cases, fewer ICU beds available

By Roger Straw, Friday, August 27, 2021

Friday, August 27: Solano reports 471 (!) new infections today, 1,089 active cases, ICU beds becoming scarce.  Benicia indoors masking ordinance is ordered.

Solano County COVID dashboard SUMMARY:
[Sources: see below.]

DEATHS: No new deaths were reported today.  Total Solano deaths over the course of the pandemic remains at 266.

CASES: The County reported  a whopping 471 new COVID over the last 2 days, 236 per day, our highest since February 1. Case numbers show a startling increase in the PERCENTAGE OF YOUNG PERSONS age 0-17, increasing another tenth of a percent to a new high of 13.4% of total cases, the second such jump this week.  The percentage of youth cases increased very slowly over the course of the pandemic, starting below 6%, and very gradually reaching 12% in mid-April of 2021.  CASES-PER DAY TREND (All Age Groups): We are experiencing a dramatic “summer surge” now.  Cases-per-day were trending downward in the Spring, but rose rapidly in July and are skyrocketing here in August:

ACTIVE CASES: Solano’s 1,089 ACTIVE cases is up from Wednesday’s 904, and alarmingly up from 212 on July 2, and in the range we experienced during the horrific surge last winter.

POSITIVE TEST RATE:  Our 7-day average percent positivity rate was 16.0% today, down a bit from 17.4% Wednesday, but twice the purple tier margin, still almost 4 times today’s California rate of 4.2% and nearly 1.5 times today’s U.S. rate of 11.1%. [Source: Johns Hopkins]  WARNING: The Delta Variant is here in Solano County and spreading fast.  Time to mask up again – watch out and take care!  
Hospitalizations

CURRENT hospitalizations were down slightly today from 147 to 142 persons, but still higher than any time since the winter surge.

ICU Bed Availability was down to a shocking low today of only 11% of ICU beds available today, in the yellow danger zone and nearing red.  We’ve not seen rates this low since January 2021.

Ventilator Availability was down slightly today from 58% to 57%, and also continuing in the range we saw last winter.

TOTAL Hospitalized – The County’s Monday-Friday dashboard shows an intake/discharge total of CURRENTLY hospitalized cases (above), but never reports on the TOTAL hospitalized over the course of the pandemic.  That total must be independently discovered in the County’s occasional update of the Hospitalizations by Age Group chart.  The County updated its Hospitalizations charts today.  The Age Group chart shows 2 new hospitalizations, 1 age 50-64, and 1 over 65 – a total of 2,086 persons hospitalized since the beginning of the outbreak.

The Hospitalizations by Race / Ethnicity chart also shows  2 new hospitalizations today, 1 Asian, and 1 White – a total of 1,954 persons hospitalized since the beginning of the outbreak.  Interestingly, the total doesn’t square with the total by age groups.

Face Coverings… Good News in Benicia

GOOD NEWS!  Last week, Benicia City Council passed a citywide indoors mask mandate. The Council heard opposition from Dr. Bela Matyas, and support from Dr. Bonnie Hamilton.  The public spoke almost entirely in favor of a mandate and included a number of medical professionals.  Councilmembers debated on various finer points, and passed the resolution on a 5-0 vote. The mandate went into effect immediately. Everyone 4 years old and up must now wear a mask indoors in public places, even those of us who are vaccinated.  The mask resolution, a press release, and a flyer now appears on the City website.  For those interested in viewing last night’s procedings, the video is posted on the City website, at benicia.granicus.com/player/clip/3528?view_id=1…. The mask mandate discussion begins around minute 23.

Benicia is the first Solano city to take action despite the County’s lack of strong guidance on masks.  In the Bay Area, Solano County REMAINS the only holdout against even RECOMMENDING masks in public indoors spaces.  Hopefully, Dr. Matyas will learn from Benicia, and make the necessary difficult decisions, but all reports are that he intends not to do so. 

Please mask indoors in public now, and maybe even indoors with vaccinated family and friends!  And PLEASE talk to anyone you know who isn’t vaccinated.  This thing ain’t over yet!

Cases by City on Friday, August 27:
  • Benicia added 16 new cases today, a total of 1,240 cases since the outbreak began, 4.5% of its population of 27,570.  Benicia remains in the CDC’s HIGH transmission level with 35 new cases in the last 7 days.
  • Dixon added 29 new cases today, total of 2,223 cases, 11.2% of its population of 19,794.
  • Fairfield added 107 new cases today, total of 10,790 cases, 9.2% of its population of 117,149.
  • Rio Vista added 8 new cases today, total of 496 cases, 5.3% of its population of 9,416.
  • Suisun City added 39 new cases today, total of 2,815 cases, 9.5% of its population of 29,447.
  • Vacaville added 136 new cases today, a total of 10,385 cases, 10.5% its of population of 98,807.
  • Vallejo added 135 new cases today, a total of 11,728 cases, 9.8% of its population of 119,544.
  • Unincorporated added 1 new case today, a total of 123 cases (population figures not available).

Continue reading Solano County reports nearly 500 new infections, over 1,000 active cases, fewer ICU beds available →

Benicia CA, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Delta variant, Hospitalizations, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Department, Vaccine

Solano reports 327 new infections today, 2 new deaths, 904 ACTIVE cases.  Benicia passes masking ordinance!

By Roger Straw, Wednesday, August 25, 2021

Wednesday, August 25: Solano reports 327 new infections today, 2 new deaths, 904 ACTIVE cases.  Benicia passes masking ordinance!

Solano County COVID dashboard SUMMARY:
[Sources: see below.  See also my ARCHIVE spreadsheet of daily Solano COVID updates.]

DEATHS: The County reported 2 new deaths today, both age 50-64.  One was White and one was Multi-race.  Total deaths now number 266.

Percentage of cases by age groups. Click to enlarge.

CASES: The County reported  a whopping 327 new COVID over the last 2 days, 164 per day, even higher than last week’s 157 per day. Case numbers show a startling increase in the PERCENTAGE OF YOUNG PERSONS age 0-17, increasing another tenth of a percent to a new high of 13.3% of total cases.  The percentage of youth cases has increased very slowly over the course of the pandemic, starting below 6%, and very gradually reaching 12% in mid-April of 2021.  CASES-PER DAY TREND (All Age Groups): We are experiencing a dramatic “summer surge” now.  Cases-per-day were trending downward in the Spring, but rose rapidly in July and are skyrocketing here in August:ACTIVE CASES: Solano’s 904 ACTIVE cases is up from Monday’s 833, and alarmingly up from 212 on July 2, and in the range we experienced during the winter surge.

POSITIVE TEST RATE:  Our 7-day average percent positivity rate was 17.4% today, up from 15.7% Monday, over twice the purple tier margin, and about 4 times today’s California rate of 4.4% and over 1.5 times today’s U.S. rate of 11.1%. [Source: Johns Hopkins]  WARNING: The Delta Variant is here in Solano County and spreading fast.  Time to mask up again – watch out and take care!  
Hospitalizations

CURRENT hospitalizations were up slightly today from 143 to 147 persons, still higher than any time since the winter surge.

ICU Bed Availability was up from yesterday’s shockingly low 18%, showing 30% of beds available today.  Still in the yellow danger zone.

Ventilator Availability was up slightly today from 51% to 58%, and continuing in the range we saw last winter.

TOTAL Hospitalized – The County’s Monday-Friday dashboard shows an intake/discharge total of CURRENTLY hospitalized cases (above), but never reports on the TOTAL hospitalized over the course of the pandemic.  That total must be independently discovered in the County’s occasional update of the Hospitalizations by Age Group chart.  The County updated its Hospitalizations charts today.  The Age Group chart shows 28 new hospitalizations, 5 age 18-49, 15 age 50-64, and 3 over 65 – a total of 2,084 persons hospitalized since the beginning of the outbreak, in the following age groups:

Age Group Hospitalizations % of Total
0-17 36 2%
18-49 590 28%
50-64 564 27%
65+ 894 43%
TOTAL 2,084 100%

The Hospitalizations by Race / Ethnicity chart shows  23 new hospitalizations today, 2 Asians, 1 Black, 7 Latinx, 10 White, and 3 Multirace – a total of 1,952 persons hospitalized since the beginning of the outbreak.  Here are the current numbers and percentages.  Interestingly, the total doesn’t square with the total by age groups.

Race / Ethnicity Hospitalizations % of Total
Asians 325 17%
Black / African American 337 17%
Hispanic / Latinx 562 29%
White 641 33%
Multirace / Others 87 4%
TOTAL 1,952 100%
Face Coverings… Good News in Benicia

GOOD NEWS!  Yesterday, Benicia Council passed a citywide indoors mask mandate. The Council heard from Dr. Bela Matyas, Dr. Bonnie Hamilton and the public, which was almost entirely in favor of a mandate and included a number of medical professionals.  Councilmembers debated on various finer points, and passed the resolution on a 5-0 vote around 10:15pm. The mandate went into effect immediately. Everyone 4 years old and up must now wear a mask indoors in public places, even those of us who are vaccinated. A press release, the order and a flyer now appears on the City website.  For those interested in viewing last night’s procedings, the video is posted on the City website, at benicia.granicus.com/player/clip/3528?view_id=1…. The mask mandate discussion begins around minute 23.

Benicia is the first Solano city to take action despite the County’s lack of strong guidance on masks.  In the Bay Area, Solano County REMAINS the only holdout against even RECOMMENDING masks in public indoors spaces.  Hopefully, Dr. Matyas will learn from Benicia, and make the necessary difficult decisions. 

Please mask indoors in public now, and maybe even indoors with vaccinated family and friends!  And PLEASE talk to anyone you know who isn’t vaccinated.  This thing ain’t over yet!

Cases by City on Wednesday, August 25:
  • Benicia added 8 new cases today, a total of 1,224 cases since the outbreak began, 4.4% of its population of 27,570.
  • Dixon added 25 new cases today, total of 2,194 cases, 11.1% of its population of 19,794.
  • Fairfield added 87 new cases today, total of 10,683 cases, 9.1% of its population of 117,149.
  • Rio Vista added 13 new cases today, total of 488 cases, 5.2% of its population of 9,416.
  • Suisun City added 23 new cases today, total of 2,776 cases, 9.4% of its population of 29,447.
  • Vacaville added 74 new cases today, a total of 10,249 cases, 10.4% its of population of 98,807.
  • Vallejo added 97 new cases today, a total of 11,593 cases, 9.7% of its population of 119,544.
  • Unincorporated remained steady today, a total of 122 cases (population figures not available).

Continue reading Solano reports 327 new infections today, 2 new deaths, 904 ACTIVE cases.  Benicia passes masking ordinance! →

Benicia CA, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Delta variant, Hospitalizations, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Department, Vaccine

Summer surge continues in Benicia and Solano County: 2 more deaths and 238 new infections countywide

By Roger Straw, Monday, August 23, 2021

Monday, August 23: Summer surge in Solano, report of 238 new infections today, 833 ACTIVE cases.  Fewer ICU beds available.

Solano County COVID dashboard SUMMARY:
[Sources: see below.  See also my ARCHIVE spreadsheet of daily Solano COVID updates.]

DEATHS: The County reported 2 new deaths today, 1 person age 50-64 and 1 age 65+.  One was Hispanic/Latinx and one was White.  Total deaths now number 264.

Percentage of cases by age groups. Click to enlarge.

CASES: The County reported  238 new COVID cases over the weekend, 79 per day, down dramatically from last week’s 157 per day. Case numbers show a startling increase in the PERCENTAGE OF YOUNG PERSONS age 0-17, increasing 0.3% last week to a new high of 13.2% of total cases.  The percentage of youth cases has increased very slowly over the course of the pandemic, starting below 6%, and very gradually reaching 12% in mid-April of 2021.  CASES-PER DAY TREND (All Age Groups): We are experiencing a dramatic “summer surge” now.  Cases-per-day were trending downward in the Spring, but rose rapidly in July and are skyrocketing here in August:ACTIVE CASES: Solano’s 833 ACTIVE cases was down from Friday’s astonishing high or 1,087, but still up alarmingly from 212 on July 2, and in the range we experienced during the winter surge.

POSITIVE TEST RATE:  Down some today, thank goodness, but much higher than US & California!  Our 7-day average percent positivity rate was 15.7% today, down from 20.1% Friday, but still twice the purple tier margin, and over 3 times today’s California rate of 4.5% and nearly 1.5 times today’s U.S. rate of 11.5%. [Source: Johns Hopkins]  WARNING: The Delta Variant is here in Solano County and spreading fast.  Time to mask up again – watch out and take care!  
Hospitalizations

CURRENT hospitalizations were up slightly today from 138 to 143 persons, still higher than any time since the winter surge.

ICU Bed Availability was down shockingly today from 24% to only 18%, in the yellow danger zone and lower than anytime since January 29.

Ventilator Availability was also down today from 54% to 51%, lower than anytime since Feb. 4.

TOTAL Hospitalized – The County’s Monday-Friday dashboard shows an intake/discharge total of CURRENTLY hospitalized cases (above), but never reports on the TOTAL hospitalized over the course of the pandemic.  That total must be independently discovered in the County’s occasional update of the Hospitalizations by Age Group chart.  The County did not update its Hospitalizations by Age Group chart today.  The Age Group chart shows a total of 2,056 persons hospitalized since the beginning of the outbreak, in the following age groups:

Age Group Hospitalizations % of Total
0-17 36 2%
18-49 585 28%
50-64 549 27%
65+ 886 43%
TOTAL 2,056 100%

Hospitalizations are also recorded on the County’s demographic chart labeled “Hospitalizations by Race / Ethnicity.”  The chart was not updated today.  Here are the current numbers and percentages.  Interestingly, the total doesn’t square with the total by age groups.

Race / Ethnicity Hospitalizations % of Total
Asians 323 17%
Black / African American 336 17%
Hispanic / Latinx 555 29%
White 631 33%
Multirace / Others 84 4%
TOTAL 1,919 100%
Face Coverings… Good News in Benicia

Benicia City Council voted last week to move forward tomorrow, Tues. Aug. 24, in consideration of a Citywide indoors mask mandate for all public places.  Agenda here.  If the City moves forward with the mandate tomorrow, it will be the first Solano city to take action despite the County’s lack of strong guidance on masks.  In the Bay Area, Solano County REMAINS the only holdout against even RECOMMENDING masks in public indoors spaces.  Hopefully, Dr. Matyas will learn from Benicia, and make the necessary difficult decisions. 

Wearing masks again, social distancing & vaccination…

“Breakthrough” numbers are small in comparison to the huge surge in cases and hospitalizations among the unvaccinated, but it’s still a significant new factor.  We were just beginning to associate more freely with fully vaccinated friends and family, and now we understand that a small percentage of the vaccinated among us may be asymptomatic and unknowingly transmitting the virus, and inevitably helping spread the disease to someone who knows someone, who knows someone else, who knows yet another someone who is not vaccinated, or who is too young or too health-compromised to be vaccinated – and who may end up seriously ill or even dead!  Please mask indoors in public now, and maybe even indoors with vaccinated family and friends!  And PLEASE talk to anyone you know who isn’t vaccinated.  This thing ain’t over yet!

Cases by City on Monday, August 23:
  • Benicia added 11 new cases today, a total of 1,216 cases since the outbreak began, 4.4% of its population of 27,570.
  • Dixon added 9 new cases today, total of 2,169 cases, 11.0% of its population of 19,794.
  • Fairfield added 69 new cases today, total of 10,596 cases, 9.0% of its population of 117,149.
  • Rio Vista added 3 new cases today, total of 475 cases, 5.0% of its population of 9,416.
  • Suisun City added 15 new cases today, total of 2,753 cases, 9.3% of its population of 29,447.
  • Vacaville added 50 new cases today, a total of 10,175 cases, 10.3% its of population of 98,807.
  • Vallejo added 80 new cases today, a total of 11,496 cases, 9.6% of its population of 119,544.
  • Unincorporated added 1 new case today, a total of 122 cases (population figures not available).

Continue reading Summer surge continues in Benicia and Solano County: 2 more deaths and 238 new infections countywide →

Benicia CA, Benicia City Council, Benicia Mayor Steve Young, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Delta variant, Rio Vista CA, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Officer Bela Matyas

Benicia council to determine mask mandate policy

Possible Sept. 14 vote in Vallejo

Vallejo Times-Herald, by Richard Freedman, August 21, 2021
Women wear masks as they talk on a bench outside of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in downtown Benicia on Friday. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald)
Women wear masks as they talk on a bench outside of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in downtown Benicia on Friday. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald)

The Benicia City Council is expected to re-instate mask mandates — vaccinated or not — for entering businesses in a vote of its five members at Tuesday night’s meeting.

Despite an increase in COVID cases traced to the Delta variant, Solano County has not joined other Bay Area counties in requiring masks for all. Current protocols dictate those who have been vaccinated don’t need to mask up while those who aren’t vaccinated are asked to mask.

“The fact the county is not going to have one (mask mandate for all) puts the pressure on cities like Benicia to act on our own,” said Mayor Steve Young by phone Friday.

Young said Dr. Bela Matyas, Solano County Public Health Director, is expected to “testify” either in person or by phone during the upcoming Benicia council meeting.

Bay Area ‘smoke ceiling’ should begin clearing Saturday, but haze will linger, forecasters say

Benicia Mayor Steve Young

“We have eight different (county) public health directors determining a mask mandate is necessary and he’s taken the opposite direction,” Young said.

In Vallejo, it’s status quo, said Vice Mayor Rozzana Verder-Aliga, vacationing this week in Hawaii.

“The city council is not considering mask mandates at this time although I have received an email request from a council member to put it on the agenda,” Verder-Aliga said. “My opinion is to follow Solano County COVID-19 safety guidelines for now. I personally wear masks at indoor events and at my office per Solano County protocols. I am fully vaccinated as well as my entire family and plan to take booster shots when available.”

Verder-Aliga’s advice to Vallejo residents “is to get vaccinated and follow CDC COVID-19 guidelines.”

Though Vallejo Mayor Robert McConnell was unavailable for comment, Interim Vallejo City Manager Anne Cardwell said she is “going to broach the topic of mask requirements in public spaces and COVID” at the Vallejo City Council’s Tuesday meeting, according to Christina Lee, Vallejo’s Communications and Public Information Officer.

“If it is to be agendized, we are potentially looking at the Sept. 14th meeting for that item,” Lee said, adding that “with the rise of the Delta variant, the city is requiring masks in all city buildings regardless of vaccination status at this time.”

Young said Benicia’s vaccination rate is second in the county to Rio Vista, “which isn’t surprising because of their retirement community.”

The Benicia mayor contends that with the county’s less restrictive protocols compared to Contra Costa County, “there are people refusing to shop in town. They’ll cross a bridge because they’re not comfortable going into Raley’s or Safeway without a mask mandate.”

A mask mandate “is a better option than leaving it up to the whims of an individual,” Young said. “And a mask mandate is also for the protection of employees. It’s about spreading the virus to each other. For example, employees at Raley’s are exposed to people all day long and if there are people unvaccinated and unmasked, it puts them (the employees) at greater risk.”

Young believes the Benicia City Council will pass a mask mandate, with tighter restrictions for city employees a possible topic for future meetings. Currently, city employees “simply have to fill out a form and send it to HR that attests to their (vaccination) status.”

In the near future, Young said city employees may have to show proof of vaccination with the CDC card.

“I’ve been trying to convince people to get vaccinated over a year now,” Young said. “Certainly, there’s a segment of the community that isn’t going to get vaccinated unless forced to and we’re not talking about a mandate forcing vaccinations.”

Young said his “first obligation as an elected official to protect the health and safety of our community. I see this as a necessary step in that direction.”

If the Benicia City Council passes the mask mandate, businesses will be required to post signs indicating masks must be worn indoors where people congregate like restaurants or in a real estate office lobby.

“If you’re by yourself in an office, you won’t have to wear a mask,” Young said.

People walk along 1st Street in downtown Benicia as they shop on Friday.(Chris Riley/Times-Herald)