Category Archives: Solano County CA

Solano County publishes updated 34-page guidance document for business re-openings

By Roger Straw, June 8, 2020

New details on requirements for businesses opening in Solano County appear in a 34-page document on the County website.

Low and medium risk facilities now approved for opening if operated in accordance with the County’s strict orders include family entertainment centers, wineries and bars, zoos and museums, gyms and fitness centers, hotels, cardrooms, racetracks, campgrounds and outdoor recreation areas.

June 7 updates concerning businesses, organizations and activities that, by their nature, can typically provide physical distancing (at least 6 feet separation or other engineering controls, such as barriers or screening) appear in Appendix B, on p. 7 of the document.

June 7 updates concerning restaurants, bars and wineries, including tasting rooms and tap rooms appear in Appendix C on p. 27 and Appendix C-1 on p. 28.

The 34-page JUNE 7 UPDATED GUIDELINES can be found here.
More Solano County information: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Updates and Resources.

Solano County June 5 press release: new guidance on business re-opening

State health officials release new guidance, County encourages businesses to develop reopening plans

June 5, 2020

SOLANO COUNTY – The California Department of Public Health released new guidance today, giving Solano County Public Health officials authority to amend the County’s stay-at-home health order to allow some additional business sectors to reopen starting on Friday, June 12.

According to the new guidance, certain business sectors in Solano County, including family entertainment centers, wineries and bars, zoos and museums, gyms and fitness centers, hotels for travel and tourism, cardrooms and racetracks, campgrounds and outdoor recreations areas, are permitted to reopen, pending approval by the County Public Health Officer, as long as they meet guidance criteria.

“As we work to amend the stay-at-home health order to reflect these new changes, we strongly encourage these business sectors to start reviewing the guidance documents right away,” says Bela T. Matyas, M.D., M.P.H., Solano County Public Health Officer.  “By implementing these guidelines, businesses are taking the steps necessary to ensure the safety of their employees and the public, helping reduce the spread of COVID-19 illness in Solano County.”

Prior to reopening on June 12, businesses will be required to meet specific COVID-19 guidelines, including establishing a workplace specific plan, training employees, implementing screening and control measures, cleaning and disinfecting protocols and guidelines for social distancing best practices.  These guidance documents can be found by visiting the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) COVID-19 website at www.Covid19.Ca.Gov/Roadmap-Counties.  Business owners are also encouraged to visit the Solano County website to download the required signage, located on the Roadmap to Reopening businesses page at www.SolanoCounty.com/COVID19.

As Solano County moves to relax its Stay-at-Home health order, we encourage all residents to continue to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, California Department of Public Health and Solano County Public Health social distancing best practices, including wearing a cloth face mask outside your home whenever physical distancing cannot be maintained, maintaining a physical distance of six-feet from others, practicing coughing and sneezing etiquette, using a hand sanitizer or washing your hands for at least 20 seconds and to stay at home if you’re not feeling well.  Businesses that are permitted to reopen must abide by the social distancing requirements in the County’s and State’s Orders.

FREE COVID-19 TESTING FOR ANYONE IN SOLANO COUNTY
As more businesses begin to re-open, it is important to remember that you can be tested for COVID-19, regardless of symptoms.  Testing is free and by appointment only.  Sign up at www.Lhi.Care/CovidTesting and/or by calling (888) 634-1123.

For more information about Solano County’s Roadmap to Recovery, social distancing protocol and frequently asked questions about the phased reopening, visit the Solano County website at www.SolanoCounty.com/COVID19 and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SolanoCountyPH.

Solano County reconfigures COVID-19 age-group data, reports 1 new senior death


Friday, June 5: 1 new positive case, 1 new death. Total now 566 cases, 23 deaths.

Source: Solano County Coronavirus Information & Resources

Solano County Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Updates and Resources.  Check out basic information in this screenshot.  IMPORTANT: The County’s interactive page has more.  On the County website, you can hover your mouse over the charts at right for detailed information.
Previous report, Thursday, June 4
The County does not archive its dashboard.  Archives here: BenIndy’s Daily Count Archive.

Summary

  • Solano County reported 1 new positive case today, total of 566.
  • 1 new death today, total of 23.
  • Active cases – 2 fewer than yesterday, 61 active cases..
  • Very little testing – reporting only 47 residents tested.
  • Youth – With today’s report, Solano County introduces a new way of listing cases by age group.  Previously, we saw 3 age groups: 0-18, 19-64 and 65+.  Today we see 4 groups: 0-17, 18-49, 50-64 and 65+.  Although the additional age breaks are interesting and perhaps even helpful, we can no longer continue to track the upward trend among those 18 and under as we have been doing since May 4.  Note that the new 17 and under age group shows 2 fewer cases today, indicating that 2 young people were actually 18 years old, now included in the 18-50 group.  Anyway, reducing the count by 2, it is still noteworthy that there have been 28 new cases among those age 17 and under in the last 23 days, with only 6 new cases over the 5 weeks prior.  (See table below).

BY AGE GROUP
(IMPORTANT TO NOTE that today, the GREEN bar in the County’s chart no longer represents “Non-severe” cases.  Rather, it represents the TOTAL of all cases: non-severe cases, those hospitalized and deceased persons.)

Yesterday:Today:

  • Today the County is showing 2 fewer cases in the youngest age group, redefining that group as those 17 and under (rather than 18 and under), total of 33 cases, including one hospitalization.  Our concern remains: cases among youth have increased over the last two weeks to 6% of the 566 total confirmed cases.
  • Persons 18-49 years of age total 256 cases, including 22 hospitalized and 2 deaths.  This age group represents 45% of the 566 total cases.   22 of the 256 cases in this age group have been hospitalized at one time, almost 9% of total cases in the age group(It is unclear whether the 2 deaths were ever hospitalized.)
  • Persons 50-64 years of age total 145 cases, including 28 hospitalized and 3 deaths.  This age group represents 26% of the 566 total cases.   28 of the 145 cases in this age group have been hospitalized at one time, a little over 19% of total cases in the age group(It is unclear whether the 3 deaths were ever hospitalized.)
  • Persons 65 years or older total 132 cases, including 38 hospitalized and 18 deaths.  This age group represents just over 23% of the 566 total cases.  1 new death, total of 18.  38 of the 132 cases in this age group (29%) were hospitalized at one time, a substantially higher percentage than in the lower age groups(It is unclear whether the 18 deaths in this age group were ever hospitalized.)

CITY DATA

  • Vallejo reported no new cases for the second day in a row today, remaining at a total of 310.
  • Fairfield added 1 new case today, total of 121.
  • Vacaville remained at 60 cases.
  • Suisun City remained at 31 cases.
  • Benicia remained at 23 cases.
  • Dixon remained at 11 cases.
  • Rio Vista and “Unincorporated” are still not assigned numerical data: today both remain at <10 (less than 10).  The total numbers for other cities add up to 556, leaving 10 cases somewhere among the 2 locations in this “<10” category (same as last reported)Residents and city officials have pressured County officials for city case counts.  Today’s data is welcome, but still incomplete.

HOSPITALIZATIONS:  89 of Solano’s 566 cases resulted in hospitalizations since the outbreak started, 1 more than yesterdayCumulative hospitalizations is a most important stat to watch.  On May 1 there were 51 hospitalizations, and the daily increase was relatively steady, adding 2 or less each day until a little over a week ago.  On May 22, the County reported 4 new hospitalizations, on May 29 an additional 9, 3 more on June 2 and another 1 today.  The County has seen 18 additional hospitalizations in just 14 days.  Stay tuned!

ACTIVE CASES:  61 of the 566 cases are currently active, 2 fewer than yesterday.  Note that the county does not report WHERE the active cases are.  Below you will see that only 13 of the active cases are currently hospitalized, which leaves 48 of these 61 active cases out in our communities somewhere, and hopefully quarantined.

HOSPITAL IMPACT: The County shows 13 of the 89 hospitalized cases are CURRENTLY hospitalized, 2 more than yesterday.  The County’s count of ICU beds available and ventilator supply remains at “GOOD” at 31-100%. (No information is given on our supply of test kits, PPE and staff.).
TESTING: The County reports that 13,141 residents have been tested as of today, an increase of only 47 residents tested since yesterday.  Earlier this week, over 500 residents were tested on each of two consecutive days.  Not sure why the slow-down, but it’s disappointing.  We have a long way to go: only 2.9% of Solano County’s 447,643 residents (2019) have been tested.  NOTE: State run testing sites in Vallejo and Vacaville are open to anyone.

Solano’s curve – cumulative cases as of June 5

This chart shows that the infection’s steady upward trajectory could be flattening a bit in Solano County.  Still too early to tell.  Our nursing homes, long-term care facilities and jails bear watching!

Still incredibly important – everyone stay home if you don’t need to go out, wear masks when you do go out (especially in enclosed spaces), wash hands, and be safe!

Comparing Solano to neighboring counties: COVID-19 Cases, Deaths and Fatality Rate

By Roger Straw, June 5, 2020

Solano County is bordered by 5 other Counties: Contra Costa, Napa, Sonoma, Sacramento and Yolo.  I was curious how Solano compares with its neighbors in its containment of the coronavirus.

Below you will find my spreadsheet comparisons showing detailed data on each of these counties.  (Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.)

FINDINGS: Solano County ranks second from highest among its neighbors in cases per 1000, deaths per 1000 and fatality rate.  …ALSO: there’s something serious going on in Yolo County.

After the tables, you will find my County snapshots for this data from Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

COUNTY DATA ON JUNE 5, 2020

Counties by Coronavirus Cases per 1000

COUNTY POPULATION CASES CASES PER 1000 DEATHS DEATHS PER 1000 FATALITY RATE (Deaths/Cases)
Contra Costa 1,133,247 1,547 1.37 38 0.03 2.46
Solano 438,530 559 1.27 22 0.05 3.94
Sonoma 501,317 593 1.18 4 0.01 0.67
Yolo 214,977 216 1.00 24 0.11 11.11
Sacramento 1,510,023 1,490 0.99 58 0.04 3.89
Napa 140,530 126 0.90 3 0.02 2.38

Counties by Coronavirus Deaths per 1000

COUNTY POPULATION CASES CASES PER 1000 DEATHS DEATHS PER 1000 FATALITY RATE (Deaths/Cases)
Yolo 214,977 216 1.00 24 0.11 11.11
Solano 438,530 559 1.27 22 0.05 3.94
Sacramento 1,510,023 1,490 0.99 58 0.04 3.89
Contra Costa 1,133,247 1,547 1.37 38 0.03 2.46
Napa 140,530 126 0.90 3 0.02 2.38
Sonoma 501,317 593 1.18 4 0.01 0.67

Counties by Fatality Rate (deaths/cases)

COUNTY POPULATION CASES CASES PER 1000 DEATHS DEATHS PER 1000 FATALITY RATE (Deaths/Cases)
Yolo 214,977 216 1.00 24 0.11 11.11
Solano 438,530 559 1.27 22 0.05 3.94
Sacramento 1,510,023 1,490 0.99 58 0.04 3.89
Contra Costa 1,133,247 1,547 1.37 38 0.03 2.46
Napa 140,530 126 0.90 3 0.02 2.38
Sonoma 501,317 593 1.18 4 0.01 0.67

County snapshots from Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center

SNAPSHOT ON JUNE 5, 2020: SOLANO COUNTY

Solano County COVID-19 Status Report on June 5, 2020 (Click on the image to open interactive chart on Johns Hopkins website.)

SNAPSHOT ON JUNE 5, 2020: CONTRA COSTA COUNTY

Contra Costa County COVID-19 Status Report on June 5, 2020 (Click on the image to open interactive chart on Johns Hopkins website.)

SNAPSHOT ON JUNE 5, 2020: NAPA COUNTY

Napa County COVID-19 Status Report on June 5, 2020 (Click on the image to open interactive chart on Johns Hopkins website.)

SNAPSHOT ON JUNE 5, 2020: SONOMA COUNTY

Sonoma County COVID-19 Status Report on June 5, 2020 (Click on the image to open interactive chart on Johns Hopkins website.)

SNAPSHOT ON JUNE 5, 2020: SACRAMENTO COUNTY

Sacramento County COVID-19 Status Report on June 5, 2020 (Click on the image to open interactive chart on Johns Hopkins website.)

SNAPSHOT ON JUNE 5, 2020: YOLO COUNTY

Yolo County COVID-19 Status Report on June 5, 2020 (Click on the image to open interactive chart on Johns Hopkins website.)