Category Archives: California

California, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Intensive Care Units (ICUs), Solano County CA

Why the sudden improvement in our ICU bed numbers?

By Roger Straw, January 25, 2021

The surge hasn’t slowed in Solano and some other California locations, but more ICU beds don’t get us out of the “purple tier”

B.C. clears more acute hospital beds as COVID-19 case growth slows – Surrey Now-Leader

Something changed dramatically and suddenly in Solano County on Thursday, January 14, and the State seems to have followed suit lately.

Solano County reported the following percentage of ICU beds available during January.  Note the remarkable jump on January 14:

Date Total Confirmed Cases Daily or Weekend Δ ICU Beds Available
Monday, January 4, 2021 20,953 90 17.0%
Tuesday, January 5, 2021 21,223 270 20.0%
Wednesday, January 6, 2021 21,520 297 15.0%
Thursday, January 7, 2021 21,855 335 12.0%
Friday, January 8, 2021 22,232 377 4.0%
Monday, January 11, 2021 23,314 1,082 20.0%
Tuesday, January 12, 2021 23,554 240 5.0%
Wednesday, January 13, 2021 23,889 335 1.0%
Thursday, January 14, 2021 24,291 402 23.0%
Friday, January 15, 2021 24,654 363 23.0%
Tuesday, January 19, 2021 25,806 1,152 24.0%
Wednesday, January 20, 2021 25,983 177 28.0%
Thursday, January 21, 2021 26,191 208 20.0%
Friday, January 22, 2021 26,494 303 26.0%

According to the Fairfield Daily Republic on 1/14/21, Solano County Public Health Officer Dr. Bela Matyas said in a phone interview, “‘NorthBay has opened up additional ICU space and Kaiser and Sutter plan to.’”

My worst fear is that the COVID surge will rage on here in Solano County, and with more ICU beds now available, we will only fill them with those who become seriously ill with the virus.  It seems the State of California could do the same.  We may be lifting the strict stay-at-home order, but the purple tier restrictions are incredibly important.  We don’t want to fill those additional ICU beds!

California, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Intensive Care Units (ICUs), Vaccine

What Is Happening With the Virus in California? For Now, Many Mixed Signals

Monday: Hospital capacity is increasing in some areas. The vaccine rollout is still chaotic.

People waiting in line at a super vaccination station set up in an empty department store in Chula Vista.
People waiting in line at a super vaccination station set up in an empty department store in Chula Vista. Mike Blake/Mike Blake

New York Times, By Jill Cowan, 1/25/21, 9:07 a.m. ET  (This article is part of the California Today newsletter. Sign up to get it delivered to your inbox.)

Good morning.

If you’re confused about the state of the virus in California, you’re not alone.

While California’s overall case numbers have been on the decline, hospitals in Southern California are still overwhelmed and experts worry that new variants of the virus — including one that researchers recently found in more than half of samples collected in Los Angeles — could threaten progress curbing Covid-19’s rampant spread.

[Compare coronavirus case numbers, hospitalizations and deaths across California with this map.]

In the Bay Area, intensive care unit capacity has risen to 23.4 percent, according to the state as of Sunday — well above the 15 percent threshold that triggered the stay-at-home order for the region. Yet the Sacramento area has just 11.9 percent intensive care unit capacity, and was allowed to exit the strict order more than a week ago.

Although The San Francisco Chronicle reported on Saturday that officials in the region were feeling hopeful that the order would be lifted soon, the state’s department of public health reported on Sunday that the Bay Area wasn’t eligible to have restrictions loosened based on its projections.

[See how full hospital intensive care units are near you.]

Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to make an announcement about lifting some restrictions in the state on Monday.

The Associated Press reported that Mr. Newsom’s administration has refused to disclose key data that would help explain the difference in approaches between the Bay Area and Sacramento.

In any case, the state hinted in a news release on Sunday that Sacramento may be required to re-enter the stay-at-home order, which would force many businesses to shut back down. (We can expect to get an update from state officials in coming days.)

And even after President Biden unveiled what experts have long said is a desperately needed national strategy for finally controlling the pandemic, there are still major hurdles in the vaccine rollout, which in California has contributed to continuing chaos, in which vaccine eligibility rules have been implemented differently county by county.

As CalMatters reported, the state quietly rolled out a promised clearinghouse website to help people find vaccination appointments. But it’s still a work in progress.

[Track the vaccine rollout in California and other states.]

Read more:

  • One of the biggest contributors to Los Angeles County’s surge is its overcrowded housing. [The New York Times]

  • Mandatory masking for interstate travel. Ramped up manufacturing. Here’s more of what’s in President Biden’s pandemic executive orders. [The New York Times]

  • Experts believe as many as thousands of coronavirus deaths have not been counted in San Bernardino County, giving a false sense of the disease’s deadliness. [The Riverside Press-Enterprise]

  • Fear over testing positive for Covid-19 and not being able to return to work, as well as worries over the vaccines, are hurting the eastern Coachella Valley. [The Desert Sun]

  • A coalition of more than 50 Bay Area restaurants and wineries sued Governor Newsom over the state’s outdoor dining ban. [The San Francisco Chronicle]

  • Getting millions of people vaccinated will help reduce infections. But vaccines alone won’t end the pandemic. [The New York Times]

  • The governor’s $2 billion school reopening fund could actually cost districts money. [CalMatters]

 

California, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Coronavirus, Covid 19

California Covid-19 Update: Governor Gavin Newsom Orders 5,000 Body Bags, Refrigerated Units For Coroners As State Prepares For Surge In Deaths

California has refrigerators, body bags on standby as vaccine finally arrives

ABC7 News, by Alix Martichoux, December 15, 2020
(Click the image to go to ABC7 news video with 2:33 minute commercial…)

There may be light at the end of the tunnel, Gov. Gavin Newsom acknowledged Tuesday, but it’s a very, very dark tunnel.

California has placed an order for 5,000 additional body bags and has 60 53-foot refrigerators on standby at hospitals around the state. This comes as daily coronavirus deaths are four times higher than they were one month ago.

“We’re going through perhaps the most intense and urgent moment since the beginning of this pandemic,” Newsom said.  (See full length Newsom news conference on Youtube video.)

To combat this third and biggest surge of COVID-19, California is establishing medical overflow facilities and upping intensive care staffing.

The first 33,150 doses of the Pfizer vaccine have arrived in California and more are on the way this week, Newsom said. If the Moderna vaccine is authorized, Newsom anticipates the state will receive 2.1 million doses of both vaccines by the end of the month.

The first phase of vaccinations (called Phase 1A) includes health care workers and residents at long-term care settings, which is a population of about 3 million people. Phase 1B is a larger group of people, about 8 million Californians, and includes farm workers, grocery workers and teachers. Who among those 8 million is next in line is actively being discussed by the state, Newsom said.

It’s been “a very optimistic 48 hours,” the governor said, however the arrival of the vaccine is too little too late to help combat this winter surge of cases and hospitalizations.

The state saw 32,326 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours and intensive care units are starting to become overloaded.

As a region’s ICU capacity drops below 15%, it is required to implement a stay-at-home order.

The latest ICU capacity by region is:

  •  Bay Area: 15.8% 
  • Greater Sacramento: 14.9%
  • Northern California: 29.8%
  • San Joaquin Valley: 1.6%
  • Southern California: 1.7%[sta_anchor id=”newsom” /]
Here is Governor Newsom’s 1-hour 20-minute news conference on 12/15/20: