Tag Archives: Vallejo CA

Solano daily COVID-19 update: Benicia, Vallejo, Fairfield, Suisun City, Rio Vista, Vacaville, Dixon


[For a complete archive of day by day data, see my Excel ARCHIVE – R.S.]

Wednesday, September 9: 16 new cases today, no new deaths.  Since the outbreak started: 5,778 cases, 48 deaths.Compare previous report, Tuesday, Sept 8:Summary

  • Solano County reported 16 new cases overnight, total of 5,778 cases since the outbreak started.  Over the last 2 weeks, Solano reported 498 new cases, an average of 36 per day.
  • Deaths – no new deaths today, total of 48 Solano deaths.
  • Active cases – Solano reported 5 fewer ACTIVE cases today, total of 220.  Note that only 27 of these 220 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 no reporting on contact tracing.
  • Hospitalizations – the number of currently hospitalized persons included 6 fewer individuals today, total of 27.  The total number hospitalized since the outbreak started increased by 1 today, total of 287.
  • ICU BedsThe County reported 45.1% of ICU beds available, down 4% from yesterday.  (Still after 6 weeks, no information about availability of ventilators.)
  • Testing – The County reports today that 1,092 more residents were tested today, new total of 79,112.  Solano has a long way to go: only 17.7% 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 fell today, from 5.6% yesterday to 5.2% today.  Solano’s high test rate contrasts sharply with the state of California’s rate of 3.6% today.  Last week we saw Solano rates above 7% for the first time since we peaked at 9.3% on July 22.  The County reported a 7-day test rate low of 4.1% on August 11, and the County’s rate peaked at 9.3% on July 22.  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 California 7-day test rate fell today from 3.8% to 3.6%(Note that Solano County displays past weeks and months in a 7-day test positivity curve chart 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 – only 1 new case today (!), total of 637 cases, representing 11% of the 5,778 total cases.  No new hospitalizations among this age group, a total of 5 hospitalizations since the outbreak began.  Thankfully, no deathsIn 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% since last week.  Youth are 22% of Solano’s general population, so this 11% may seem low.  The significance is: 1) that youth numbers are increasing steadily and at a faster rate than the other age groups, and 2) that youth are seriously NOT immune – in fact 5 youth have been hospitalized.
  • Persons 18-49 years of age – 9 new cases today, total of 3,495 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents 60.5% of the 5,778 total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  The County reported no new hospitalizations in this age group today, total of 93 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths among this age group today, total of 4 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 – 5 new cases today, total of 1,101 cases.  This age group represents 19% of the 5,778 total cases.
    No new hospitalizations today, total of 77 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths  in this age group today, a total of 7 deaths.
  • Persons 65 years or older – 1 new case today, total of 543 cases, representing 9.4% of the 5,778 total cases1 new hospitalization today, total of 112 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  In this older age group, 20.6% of cases required hospitalization at one time.  This is a much higher percentage than in the lower age groups.  No new deaths in this age group today, total of 37 deaths.  This group accounts for 37 of the 48 deaths, or 78%.

City Data

  • Benicia remained steady today, total of 138 cases since the outbreak began.
  • Dixon added 1 new case today, total of 393 cases.
  • Fairfield added 6 new cases today, total of 1,882.
  • Rio Vista remained steady today, total of 38 cases.
  • Suisun City added 1 new case today, total of 416 cases.
  • Vacaville added 3 new cases today, total of 975 cases.
  • Vallejo added 5 new cases today, total of 1,918 cases.
  • Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 18 cases.

Cases, Hospitalizations & Deaths by Race / Ethnicity

The County report on race / ethnicity includes case numbers, hospitalizations, deaths and Solano population statistics.  Today I am again returning to the summary chart featuring all of these.  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, 12% of hospitalizations, and 20% 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 32% of cases, 33% of hospitalizations, and 26% of deaths.
  • White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 20% of cases, 21% of hospitalizations and 20% of deaths.

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.

Solano County reports 91 new COVID cases over Labor Day weekend


[For a complete archive of day by day data, see my Excel ARCHIVE – R.S.]

Tuesday, September 8: 91 new cases over the holiday weekend, no new deaths.  Since the outbreak started: 5,762 cases, 48 deaths.Compare previous report, Friday, Sept 4:Summary

  • Solano County reported 91 new cases over the Labor Day weekend, total of 5,762 cases since the outbreak started.  Over the last 2 weeks, Solano reported 531 new cases, an average of 38 per day.
  • Deaths – no new deaths today, total of 48 Solano deaths.
  • Active cases – Solano reported 88 fewer ACTIVE cases since Friday, total of 225.  Note that only 33 of these 225 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 no reporting on contact tracing.
  • Hospitalizations – the number of currently hospitalized persons included 3 more individuals today, total of 33.  The total number hospitalized since the outbreak started increased by 4 today, total of 286.  For the first time today since July 27, the County reported on ICU beds available, 49%.  Still after 6 weeks, no information about availability ventilators.
  • Testing – The County reports today that 906 more residents were tested over the long weekend, new total of 78,020.  Solano has a long way to go: only 17.4% 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 today, from 5.3% last Friday to 5.6% today.  Solano’s high test rate contrasts sharply with the state of California’s rate of 3.8% today.  Last week we saw Solano rates above 7% for the first time since we peaked at 9.3% on July 22.  The County reported a 7-day test rate low of 4.1% on August 11, and the County’s rate peaked at 9.3% on July 22.  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 California 7-day test rate fell over the weekend from 4.3% to 3.8%(Note that Solano County displays past weeks and months in a 7-day test positivity curve chart 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 – 11 new cases today, total of 636 cases.  No new hospitalizations among this age group, a total of 5 hospitalizations since the outbreak began.  Thankfully, no deathsIt seems too many youth are ignoring public health orders.  Cases among Solano youth have risen steadily over the summer, from 5.6% of total cases on June 8 to 11% last week and today.  Youth are 22% of Solano’s general population, so this 11% may seem low.  The significance is: 1) that youth numbers are increasing steadily and at a faster rate than the other age groups, and 2) that youth are seriously NOT immune – in fact 5 youth have been hospitalized.
  • Persons 18-49 years of age – 45 new cases today, total of 3,486 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents 60.5% of the 5,762 total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  The County reported 1 new hospitalization in this age group today, total of 93 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths among this age group today, total of 4 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 – 22 new cases today, total of 1,096 cases.  This age group represents 19% of the 5,762 total cases.
    1 new hospitalization today, total of 77 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths  in this age group today, a total of 7 deaths.
  • Persons 65 years or older – 13 new cases today, total of 542 cases, representing 9.4% of the 5,762 total cases2 new hospitalizations today, total of 111 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  In this older age group, 20.6% of cases required hospitalization at one time.  This is a much higher percentage than in the lower age groups.  No new deaths in this age group today, total of 37 deaths.  This group accounts for 37 of the 48 deaths, or 78%.

City Data

  • Benicia added 2 new case today, total of 138 cases since the outbreak began.
  • Dixon added 6 new cases today, total of 392 cases.
  • Fairfield added 37 new cases today, total of 1,876.
  • Rio Vista remained steady today, total of 38 cases.
  • Suisun City added 5 new cases today, total of 415 cases.
  • Vacaville added 8 new cases today, total of 972 cases.
  • Vallejo added 33 new cases today, total of 1,913 cases.
  • Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 18 cases.

Cases, Hospitalizations & Deaths by Race / Ethnicity

The County report on race / ethnicity includes case numbers, hospitalizations, deaths and Solano population statistics.  Today I am again returning to the summary chart featuring all of these.  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, 12% of hospitalizations, and 20% 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 32% of cases, 33% of hospitalizations, and 26% of deaths.
  • White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 20% of cases, 21% of hospitalizations and 20% of deaths.

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.

Vallejo settlement in 2018 police shooting of Ronell Foster: $5.7 million

Family of man killed by Vallejo police to receive $5.7 million

San Francisco Chronicle, by Nora Mishanec, September 5, 2020
Ronell Foster (right), shown with his two chldren, was shot to death by a Vallejo police officer in February 2018.
Ronell Foster (right), shown with his two chldren, was shot to death by a Vallejo police officer in February 2018. Photo: SFChronicle, courtesy Foster family

Vallejo officials have agreed to pay $5.7 million to the family of Ronell Foster, who was shot and killed by a Vallejo police officer in February 2018.

The officer, Ryan McMahon, was cleared of wrongdoing in January by the Solano County District Attorney’s Office, which declared McMahon’s deadly use of force justified after an investigation that included body camera footage.

But Foster’s family brought a federal civil rights lawsuit against McMahon and the city.

Vallejo officials announced the settlement Friday. The city itself will pay the Foster family only $500,000. The rest will be paid by the California Association of Joint Powers Authorities, a municipal insurance provider.

The Foster family is “happy the truth has finally come out,” Adanté Pointer, a lawyer for the family, said Friday.

“Ronell did not deserve to die,” Pointer said. “True justice would be to see Officer McMahon walking into court as a criminal defendant.

“What the family found most disturbing are the lies the city put out to justify his death when they knew the whole time Ronell’s death was not justified and the officer’s conduct flat-out wrong.”

Vallejo Police Chief Shawny Williams indicated his intent to fire McMahon in March, based in part on his conduct during another fatal shooting, that of 21-year old Willie McCoy. The termination is pending, a spokeswoman for the city said.

In a March letter to McMahon that was made public, Williams said McMahon endangered the lives of other police officers, neglected basic firearm safety and demonstrated “unsatisfactory work performance including, but not limited to, failure, incompetence,” in connection with the McCoy incident.

McMahon was temporarily placed on paid administrative leave following the fatal shooting of Foster, but was later cleared to return to duty. One year later, he was one of six officers who shot and killed McCoy, who was asleep in a car in a Taco Bell drive-through lane.

Vallejo police spokeswoman Brittany Jackson declined to provide details about McMahon’s leave, calling it a “pending personnel matter.” McMahon was paid $219,433 in salary and benefits in 2018, the year he shot Foster, according to public records.

Foster, 33, was riding a bike in downtown Vallejo without a headlamp the evening of Feb. 13, 2018, when he was spotted and pursued by McMahon, who later told investigators that he stopped Foster in order to “educate the public on the dangers that this person was creating for himself and the traffic on Sonoma Boulevard.”

After a brief pursuit, McMahon said, Foster grabbed his metal flashlight and tried to strike him during a physical altercation, prompting McMahon to open fire. Foster died at the scene after being shot in the back of the head.

Police later said Mc­Mahon had no choice but to use deadly force after Foster threatened him with the metal flashlight. Dark, grainy body camera footage released by the Vallejo Police Department at the time did not clearly show whether Foster presented the flashlight in the “threatening manner” that police described in statements following the shooting.

Foster’s family disputed the Police Department’s account of the encounter.

Solano COVID-19 update Sept. 4: Another death, someone of 65 years or more, total of 48 deaths


[For a complete archive of day by day data, see my Excel ARCHIVE – R.S.]

Friday, September 4: 40 new cases today, 1 new death.  Since the outbreak started: 5,671 cases, 48 deaths.Compare previous report, Thursday, Sept 3:Summary

  • Solano County reported 40 new cases today, total of 5,671 cases since the outbreak started.  Over the last 2 weeks, Solano reported 623 new cases, an average of 45 per day.
  • Deaths – 1 new death today, total of 48 Solano deaths, someone in the 65+ age group.
  • Active cases – Solano reported 32 fewer ACTIVE cases today, total of 313.  Note that only 30 of these 313 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 no reporting on contact tracing.
  • Hospitalizations – the number of currently hospitalized persons included 2 fewer today, total of 30.  The total number hospitalized since the outbreak started remained steady, total of 282.  For several weeks now, the County offers no information about availability of ICU beds and ventilators.
  • Testing – The County reports today that 612 more residents were tested today, new total of 77,114.  Solano has a long way to go: only 17.2% 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 fell today, from 6.5% to 5.3%.  Solano’s high test rate contrasts sharply with the state of California’s rate of 4.3% today.  Earlier this week Solano saw rates above 7% for the first time since we peaked at 9.3% on July 22.  The County reported a 7-day test rate low of 4.1% on August 11, and the County’s rate peaked at 9.3% on July 22.  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 California 7-day test rate fell today from 4.5% to 4.3%(Note that Solano County displays past weeks and months in a 7-day test positivity curve chart 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 – 7 new cases today, total of 625 cases.  No new hospitalizations among this age group, a total of 5 hospitalizations since the outbreak began.  Thankfully, no deathsIt seems too many youth are ignoring public health orders.  Cases among Solano youth have risen steadily over the summer, from 5.6% of total cases on June 8 to 10.9% most recently, and to 11% this week.  Youth are 22% of Solano’s general population, so this 11% may seem low.  The significance is: 1) that youth numbers are increasing steadily and at a faster rate than the other age groups, and 2) that youth are seriously NOT immune – in fact 5 youth have been hospitalized.
  • Persons 18-49 years of age – 25 new cases today, total of 3,441 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents 60.7% of the 5,671 total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  The County reported no new hospitalizations in this age group today, total of 92 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths among this age group today, total of 4 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 1,074 cases.  This age group represents 19% of the 5,671 total cases.  No new hospitalizations today, total of 76 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths  in this age group today, a total of 7 deaths.
  • Persons 65 years or older – 4 new cases today, total of 529 cases, representing 9.3% of the 5,671 total cases.  No new hospitalizations today, total of 109 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  In this older age group, 20.6% of cases required hospitalization at one time.  This is a much higher percentage than in the lower age groups.  1 new death was reported in this age group today, total of 37 deaths.  This group accounts for 37 of the 48 deaths, or 78%.

City Data

  • Benicia added 1 new case today, total of 136 cases since the outbreak began.
  • Dixon added 3 new cases today, total of 386 cases.
  • Fairfield added 18 new cases today, total of 1,839.
  • Rio Vista remained steady today, total of 38 cases.
  • Suisun City added 5 new cases today, total of 410 cases.
  • Vacaville added 7 new cases today, total of 964 cases.
  • Vallejo added 6 new cases today, total of 1,880 cases.
  • Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 18 cases.

Cases, Hospitalizations & Deaths by Race / Ethnicity

The County report on race / ethnicity includes case numbers, hospitalizations, deaths and Solano population statistics.  Today I am again returning to the summary chart featuring all of these.  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 10% of cases, 12% of hospitalizations, and 18% 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 32% of cases, 33% of hospitalizations, and 27% of deaths.
  • White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 20% of cases, 21% of hospitalizations and 20% of deaths.

Note that the above death percentages have not changed since yesterday even though the County reported a new death today.  One must assume that the new death was in the “multirace/other” group, for which I am missing yesterday’s number and so can’t confirm.

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.