Category Archives: Solano County CA

COVID-19 in Solano County – 15 new cases over the weekend, curve continues up, partial city listings, fewer tests

UPDATE: See today’s latest information

Monday, April 6 – 15 new cases – 3 on Saturday, 9 on Sunday, 3 more on Monday, total now 88:

Solano County Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Updates and Resources, April 1, 2020.  Check out basic information in this screenshot.   IMPORTANT: Note the County’s interactive page has more.  On the County website, you can click on “Number of cases” and then hover over the charts for detailed information.

Last report (Friday, April 4):

Summary:

Solano County reported 15 NEW POSITIVE CASES over the weekend and today – total is now 88No new deaths in Solano County – still only 1.

For the first time, County officials are disclosing case numbers for Solano cities.  Larger cities show numerical data: Vallejo 28 cases; Fairfield 26 cases; and Vacaville 14 cases.  Smaller cities are not assigned numerical data: all show <10 (less than 10).  Residents and city officials have been pressuring County officials for city case counts for the past two weeks.  Today’s response is welcome, but incomplete.

As of today, 63 positive cases were individuals between the ages of 19 and 64 (72% of the total – up 2% since last report), and 25 were 65 were older, (28% of the total – down 2% since last report).  35 of the 88 are active cases (2 more than previously reported), and 23 of the total cases have resulted in hospitalizations (1 more than previously reported).

TESTING seems to be minimal in Solano County and most recently somewhat on the decline.

Most recent numbers for specimens collected are:

    • 3 on Saturday, April 4
    • 4 on Friday, April 3
    • 6 on Thursday, April 2.

Check out basic information in the screenshots here on Benicia Independent.  IMPORTANT: Note the County’s interactive page has more.  On the County website, you can click on “Number of cases” and then hover over the charts for detailed information.

Solano’s steep upward curve

The chart at right gives a clear picture of the infection’s trajectory in Solano County.  Our coronavirus curve is on a steep uphill climb!

Everyone stay home and be safe!

Contra Costa County reporting coronavirus cases by city – Solano County has yet to do so

By Roger Straw, April 5 2020
[UPDATE: On Monday April 6, Solano County released new information showing cases by cities, but detailing only the three largest cities in Solano.  Smaller cities like Benicia are still in the dark.  See COVID-19 in Solano County – 15 new cases over the weekend, curve continues up, partial city listings, fewer tests.  – R.S.]

On Sunday, April 5, the Antioch Herald published information clearly showing a city-by-city listing of positive COVID-19 cases in Contra Costa County.

Contra Costa Health Services: Data reported to CCHS as of 4/5/2020 at 11:30 a.m. Data is manually compiled from CalREDIE and hospitalization data is collected via phone survey. All data points could be a snapshot at different times. We are continually working on improving the data collection.

This information comes from the Contra Costa Health Department’s coronavirus Dashboard – see coronavirus.cchealth.org/dashboard.  The listing also notes City population and Cases per 100,000.  (Note that the Dashboard was slow to barely functional at the time of this writing.  I’m guessing this is due to high traffic volume.)

SOLANO COUNTY REFUSAL

Solano County officials have been approached on multiple occasions with requests for more detailed information as to the whereabouts of cases in our county.  On advice of County Council Bernadette Curry, the Solano Health Department has refused to release a city-based listing.  Curry claims that releasing city specific data would violate the County’s obligations under HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act that was passed by Congress in 1996.

Note that Contra Costa is disclosing the number of cases in several cities smaller than Benicia.

On March 27, we reported that Orange County CA is also releasing a city-based listing of cases.

We hope the Solano County Counsel will reconsider and permit the Health Department to be more transparent.  Residents and businesses deserve to know more about the facts and trends in our home towns.

Coronavirus COVID-19 – new page on the Benicia Independent

By Roger Straw, April 5, 2020

Information about Coronavirus in Benicia, Solano County and beyond is now easier to find on the Benicia Independent.


BenIndy’s new CORONAVIRUS page shows:

Find the page easily using the “Coronavirus” BUTTON in the menu at top.

And if you are looking for specific information, you can always use the SEARCH box at top left on any page.

Northbay Healthcare: Solano County uptick due to more testing

[Editor:   Why is Solano County experiencing a dramatic upward curve of cases of COVID-19?  An email I received today from Northbay Healthcare stated that the “recent uptick in cases is due to an increase in the number of tests performed.”  The message continues, “Nevertheless, testing capability locally remains limited and we continue to test only those at very high risk.”  – R.S.]

NorthBay Healthcare logo

Dear NorthBay Patient,

We are committed to helping you and your family stay healthy during the coronavirus outbreak and to keeping you up–to–date on resources available to you locally through NorthBay Healthcare and other community sources.

We are fortunate that so far the number of people in Solano County who are sick with coronavirus and requiring hospitalization has remained low, but rest assured your local health care community is prepared should we see an increase in the coming days.

To keep tabs on the number of cases locally, check the Solano County Health Department website which is updated daily.  Please note that much of the recent uptick in cases is due to an increase in the number of tests performed. Nevertheless, testing capability locally remains limited and we continue to test only those at very high risk. 

If you are experiencing symptoms and are concerned about COVID-19 you have several options:

To protect our patients and staff, most office visits at NorthBay Medical Practices are being converted to a phone or video visit. If you have a medical concern, or need to connect with a provider for an ongoing condition, call your provider’s office. Chances are your problem can be addressed with a video or phone visit. Please do not come to the office without a scheduled appointment.

We have set up a nurse assist line for our patients who need help accessing community resources such as food, prescriptions and transportation. If you need this type of help please call our nurses at (707) 646–5799.

On behalf of the entire NorthBay Healthcare family, I want to extend our gratitude to you for continuing to shelter–at–home, maintaining social distancing and doing your part to control the spread of COVID-19 in our community.

Stay safe,

Shanaz Khambatta, DO

Shanaz Khambatta, DO
Medical Director, NorthBay Center for Primary Care