Category Archives: Solano County Health Department

#Masks4All, #wearamask, California Department of Public Health, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Delta variant, Face coverings, Solano County Health Department, Solano County Health Officer Bela Matyas

Dr. Matyas in his own words: Importance of masking and social distancing when socializing in our homes and backyards

By Roger Straw, August 6, 2021
[Editor: While Dr. Matyas is dead wrong in his opposition to renewing a public indoors mask mandate, he does raise important and perhaps alarming issues about our private socializing in homes and backyards.  – R.S.]

Solano County health director defends decision to not implement indoor mask mandate

ABC7 News, By J.R. Stone, August 3, 2021 [BenIndy apologizes for ABC7’s lengthy introductory commercial message in its videos.  See especially the FULL INTERVIEW video below.]

SOLANO COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) — While seven Bay Area counties do have mask mandates going into place Tuesday, August 3, a few do not.  [BenIndy editor: see Aug. 5 update.]

Napa, Lake and Solano counties recommend wearing masks indoors but aren’t requiring them.

“Just wear a mask,” said one store manager.

“I don’t think we still need to wear a mask,” said a store patron.

FULL INTERVIEW: Solano Co. health director defends not implementing mask mandate

The back and forth has started between those who believe indoor masking should be mandated for both unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals and those who are against it.

At the Natural Grocery Company in El Cerrito, mask requirement signs will be put out before the store opens on Tuesday.

“Yes we have to go back to the mask-wearing but as I said before hopefully this time around we’ll have a better outcome,” said Natural Grocery Company store manager Claudia Barajas.

RELATED: Bay Area health officials issue new indoor mask mandate

But that is Contra Costa County where there will be a mandate. In Solano County, there is no mandate, just a recommendation.

“The data doesn’t support the need for such a mandate,” said Solano County Health Director Dr. Bela Matyas. “This disease in our county is very clearly spreading during and through social events with people who are going to parties, barbecues, picnics, and campouts.” Dr. Matyas described some of the transmission events to be “sharing of food, sharing of cigarettes, playing beer pong, activities that are clearly going to transmit the virus very effectively and then there are larger gatherings where people are essentially on top of each other.”

Dr. Matyas says indoor public spaces are not where they have seen COVID-19 transmission, therefore he doesn’t believe an indoor mask mandate would help.

“I’ll use a metaphor, you know we’re filling up a tank with gas to fix a flat tire. It’s not going to fix the flat tire.”

But many we saw in Solano County were wearing masks.

“I’m not vaccinated so I’m going to keep my mask on,” said Ranyia Colbert.

RELATED: These 5 Bay Area cities may be ‘most at risk’ for new COVID-19 infections, data shows

Others made it known why they aren’t into the idea and in favor of Solano County decision not to implement a mandate.

“We were already vaccinated and I can’t really breathe when I wear a mask so for me it’s annoying to wear,” said Oriza Evangelista.

Dr. Matyas said Solano County would have a lot fewer COVID-19 cases if people wore a mask to parties and didn’t go to a party if they had any signs of being sick.

#Masks4All, #wearamask, California Department of Public Health, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Delta variant, Face coverings, Solano County Health Department, Solano County Health Officer Bela Matyas

Napa County issues indoors mask mandate, leaving Solano Public Health Officer Bela Matyas alone in Bay Area with bad advice

By Roger Straw, August 6, 2021

Masks now REQUIRED in Napa workplaces and indoor settings, regardless of vaccination status

Napa County is now the 8th of 9 Bay Area counties to require masks indoors.

Only Solano County remains unprotected by public health officials who prefer to ignore their responsibility to protect public health and safety during the delta variant’s increasing summer surge.

The Napa mandate can be downloaded here.  Relevant introductory policy statement is as follows:

    1. Summary: This Order requires all individuals to wear face coverings when indoors in workplaces and public settings, with limited exemptions, and recommends that businesses
      make face coverings available to individuals entering the business.
    2. Effective Date and Time: This Order becomes effective at 12:01 a.m. on August 6, 2021, and will continue in effect until the Health Officer rescinds, supersedes, or amends it in
      writing.
    3. Background: This Order is made in light of the recent significant increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Napa County, due primarily to the Delta variant of SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Emerging evidence indicates that the Delta variant is more transmissible than prior variants of the virus, may cause more severe illness, and that even fully vaccinated individuals can spread the virus to others. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) now both recommend that all persons—regardless of vaccination status—wear face coverings indoors when with people outside of their household. Vaccination remains the best and most effective tool in preventing COVID-19 and its harms….”

The Napa mandate continues with more detailed information, including exceptions:

  1. Indoor Face Covering Requirement: Regardless of vaccination status, all persons must wear face coverings at all times when indoors except:
    1. in their own residence solely with members of their own household; or
    2. when working in a closed room or office; or
    3. when actively performing an activity that cannot be done while wearing a face covering, such as actively eating or drinking, swimming, showering in a fitness facility, or obtaining a medical or cosmetic service requiring temporary removal of a face covering to perform the service; or
    4. as specifically exempted from use of face coverings under the guidance of CDPH at https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/guidance-for-facecoverings.aspx, such as to communicate with someone who is hearing impaired or where a face covering poses a safety risk.
Solano County Deputy Director of Health and Social Services Dr. Bela Matyas

Solano County Public Health Officer Dr. Bela Matyas continues to refuse to issue a countywide mask mandate.  His public comments have been dismissive, stating repeatedly that “The transmission that’s occurring [is] in people’s homes, backyards, camping.” “…it’s not an environment where masking recommendations are going to apply.”

In my opinion, Dr. Matyas is endangering the health and safety of residents of Solano County, most especially our unvaccinated children and those with compromised health.  As increasing numbers of us catch the virus with mild symptoms, the virus is spread farther and farther, and inevitably reaches those whose symptoms will be devastating.  This has got to stop – by all measures: renewed masking and social distancing as well as vastly increased vaccination.

I’m not sure, but there may be disagreement within the Solano County Public Health Department.  Witness the County’s Facebook page, and website, where masking is highlighted in support of the California mandate.  Pinned to the top of the Facebook page since July 29:

https://www.facebook.com/SolanoCountyPH/

Also on July 29, Solano County Public Health updated its Coronavirus Updates and Resources page with the following details, in support of the California partial mask mandate.

Face Covering

All Californians will continue to follow State masking guidelines:

Masks are required for all individuals in the following indoor settings, regardless of vaccination status:

    • On public transit[1] (examples: airplanes, ships, ferries, trains, subways, buses, taxis, and ride-shares) and in transportation hubs (examples: airport, bus terminal, marina, train station, seaport or other port, subway station, or any other area that provides transportation)
    • Indoors in K-12 schools[2], childcare[3]
    • Emergency shelters[4] and cooling centers[5]Masks are required for all individuals, in the following indoor settings, regardless of vaccination status (and surgical masks are recommended):
      • Healthcare settings[6]
      • State and local correctional facilities and detention centers[7]
      • Homeless shelters[8]
      • Long Term Care Settings[9] & Adult and Senior Care Facilities[10]
      • Additionally, masks are required* for unvaccinated individuals in indoor public settings and businesses (examples: retail, restaurants, theaters, family entertainment centers, meetings, state and local government offices serving the public).

4.      Exemptions:
The following specific settings are exempt from face covering requirements:

    • Persons in a car alone or solely with members of their own household,
    • Persons who are working alone in a closed office or room,
    • Persons who are obtaining a medical or cosmetic service involving the nose or face for which temporary removal of the face covering is necessary to perform the service,
    • Workers who wear respiratory protection, or
    • Persons who are specifically exempted from wearing face coverings by other CDPH guidance.

·     The following individuals are exempt from wearing face coverings at all times:

    • Persons younger than two years old. Very young children must not wear a face covering because of the risk of suffocation.
    • Persons with a medical condition, mental health condition, or disability that prevents wearing a face covering. This includes persons with a medical condition for whom wearing a face covering could obstruct breathing or who are unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove a face covering without assistance.*
    • Persons who are hearing impaired, or communicating with a person who is hearing impaired, where the ability to see the mouth is essential for communication.
    • Persons for whom wearing a face covering would create a risk to the person related to their work, as determined by local, state, or federal regulators or workplace safety guidelines.

*Note: Persons exempted from wearing a face covering due to a medical condition who are employed in a job involving regular contact with others must wear a non-restrictive alternative, such as a face shield with a drape on the bottom edge, as long as their condition permits it.

Related Materials: Face Coverings Fact sheet (PDF) | Face Mask Tips and Resources | Face Shields Q&A (PDF) | All Guidance | More Languages

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

Solano County summer surge: 138 new COVID cases per day over last 2 days

By Roger Straw, Wednesday, August 4, 2021

Wednesday, August 4 in Solano County: 276 new COVID infections in last 2 days, positive test rate near 20%, percent of available ICU beds remains in  yellow  danger zone.

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

No new deaths reported today.  The County total remains 249 COVID deaths since the pandemic began.  The County reported  276 new COVID cases in the last 2 days, 138 per day!

TREND: Cases-per-day are dramatically up in July/August

Solano County is clearly experiencing a dramatic “summer surge” in cases.  Cases-per-day were trending downward in the Spring, but rose rapidly in July and are extremely high in early August:

Solano’s 836 ACTIVE cases is up from Monday’s high of 797, and nearing our remarkable high last Friday of 972, which was higher than anything since February 5, 2021.  Active cases are up alarmingly from 212 on July 2.

Solano Positive Test Rate INCREDIBLY HIGH – much higher than US & California!

Our 7-day average percent positivity rate was up again today from 17.6% on Monday to a new summer high of 19.7% today, our highest since last January 25, and over 3.5 times California’s rate and nearly twice the U.S. rate.  COMPARE: The California  rate rose today to 5.5% and today’s U.S. rate jumped to 10.5%.  [Source: Johns Hopkins]  The Delta Variant is among us and spreading fast.  Time to mask up again – watch out and take care!

Hospitalizations down a bit today, but still high!

CURRENT hospitalizations today fell from 85 to 80 persons, but (aside from Monday), still higher than anytime since February 11, 2021.

ICU Beds took a dramatic turn on Friday, falling to 26%, and remains at 26% today, in the County’s yellow danger zone for the first time since March 5, 2021.

Ventilators available today rose slightly today from 60% to 64%.

TOTAL Hospitalized – The County’s Monday-Friday updates show an intake/discharge total of CURRENTLY hospitalized cases, but never report 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 2,022 persons hospitalized since the beginning of the outbreak, in the following age groups:

Age Group Hospitalizations % of Total
0-17 36 2%
18-49 581 29%
50-64 543 27%
65+ 862 43%
TOTAL 2,022 100%

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.  Interestingly, the total doesn’t square with totals by age groups.

Race / Ethnicity Hospitalizations % of Total
Asians 321 17%
Black / African American 330 17%
Hispanic / Latinx 548 29%
White 614 32%
Multirace / Others 84 4%
TOTAL 1,897 100%
New State Guidelines…

COVID is clearly spreading again and surging in Solano County!  See California’s new Guidance for the Use of Face Coverings.  The new guidelines include a recommendation for universal masking indoors statewide, adding of Adult and Senior Care Facilities to settings where all individuals must wear masks indoors, and a reference to new requirements for unvaccinated workers.  Some California counties are returning to mandatory masks for all in crowded places.  In the Bay Area, Solano County is the only holdout against even RECOMMENDING masks in public indoors spaces.  Dr. Matyas needs to make some difficult decisions soon!

STUDY SHOWS HIGHER RATE OF “BREAKTHROUGH” CASES AMONG THE VACCINATED  – About wearing masks again, Social Distancing & Vaccination…

We heard seriously shocking news last Thursday about the large number of FULLY VACCINATED persons who are catching the virus and actively transmitting it.  As the Washington Post reports, “A sobering scientific analysis published Friday found that three-quarters of the people infected during an explosive coronavirus outbreak fueled by the delta variant were fully vaccinated. The report on the Massachusetts cases, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, offers key evidence bolstering the hypothesis that vaccinated people can spread the more transmissible variant and may be a factor in the summer surge of infections.” 

This is HUGE!  We were just beginning to associate more freely with fully vaccinated friends and family, and now we are to understand that some 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!

My personal plan is to mask indoors in public now, and we’re even wondering if we should mask indoors with vaccinated family and friends!  Sheeesh, I thought we were done with that!  Everyone PLEASE talk to anyone you know who isn’t vaccinated.  This thing ain’t over yet!

Cases by City on Wednesday, August 4:
  • Benicia added 10 new cases today, a total of 1,125 cases since the outbreak began, 4.1% of its population of 27,570.
  • Dixon added 11 new cases today, total of 2,043 cases, 10.3% of its population of 19,794.
  • Fairfield added 85 new cases today, total of 9,891 cases, 8.4% of its population of 117,149.
  • Rio Vista added 9 new cases today, total of 442 cases, 4.7% of its population of 9,416.
  • Suisun City added 26 new cases today, total of 2,574 cases, 8.7% of its population of 29,447.
  • Vacaville added 64 new cases today, a total of 9,584 cases, 9.7% its of population of 98,807.
  • Vallejo added 71 new cases today, a total of 10,756 cases, 9.0% of its population of 119,544.
  • Unincorporated remained steady today, a total of 110 cases (population figures not available).

Continue reading Solano County summer surge: 138 new COVID cases per day over last 2 days →

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

Hospitalizations surging in Solano County, fewer ICU beds and ventilators

By Roger Straw, Monday, August 2, 2021

Monday, August 2 in Solano County: 245 new COVID infections over the weekend, % of ICU beds in yellow danger zone, fewer ventilators available, rising number of hospitalizations in Solano County

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

No new deaths reported today.  The County total remains 249 COVID deaths since the pandemic began.  The County reported  245 new COVID cases over the weekend, 82 per day!

TREND: Cases-per-day were dramatically up in July

Solano County is clearly experiencing a dramatic “summer surge” in cases.  Cases-per-day were trending downward in the Spring, but rose rapidly in July:

Solano’s 797 ACTIVE cases is down from last Friday’s remarkable high of 972, which was higher than anything since February 5, 2021.  Active cases rose alarmingly in July, up from 212 cases on July 2.

Solano Positive Test Rate INCREDIBLY HIGH – much higher than US & CA!

Our 7-day average percent positivity rate was down a bit today from a shocking 19.3% on Friday to 17.6% today, over 3.5 times California’s rate and more than twice the U.S. rate.  COMPARE: The California  rate today is at 4.8% and today’s U.S. rate is 7.9%.  [Source: Johns Hopkins]  The Delta Variant is among us and spreading fast.  Time to mask up again – watch out and take care!

Hospitalizations rising sharply in Solano County!

CURRENT hospitalizations today jumped from 51 to 85 persons, higher than anytime since February 9, 2021.

ICU Beds took a dramatic turn on Friday, falling to 26%, and remains at 26% today, in the County’s yellow danger zone for the first time since March 5, 2021.

Ventilators available today fell from 73 to only 60.  Solano has not had this few ventilators on hand since February 26, 2021.

TOTAL Hospitalized – The County’s Monday-Friday updates show an intake/discharge total of CURRENTLY hospitalized cases, but never report 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 reported 4 new hospitalizations today, 1 age 18-49, 1 age 50-64, and 2 age 65+.  Percentages remain the same.  The Age Group chart now shows a total of 2,022 persons hospitalized since the beginning of the outbreak, in the following age groups:

Age Group Hospitalizations % of Total
0-17 36 2%
18-49 581 29%
50-64 543 27%
65+ 862 43%
TOTAL 2,022 100%

Hospitalizations are also recorded on the County’s demographic chart labeled “Hospitalizations by Race / Ethnicity.”  The chart was updated today, adding 3 Black persons and 1 Multi-race person.  Here are the current numbers.  Percentages remain the same.  Interestingly, the total doesn’t square with totals by age groups.

Race / Ethnicity Hospitalizations % of Total
Asians 321 17%
Black / African American 330 17%
Hispanic / Latinx 548 29%
White 614 32%
Multirace / Others 84 4%
TOTAL 1,897 100%
New State Guidelines…

COVID is clearly spreading again and surging in Solano County!  See California’s new Guidance for the Use of Face Coverings.  The new guidelines include a recommendation for universal masking indoors statewide, adding of Adult and Senior Care Facilities to settings where all individuals must wear masks indoors, and a reference to new requirements for unvaccinated workers.  Some California counties are returning to mandatory masks for all in crowded places.  In the Bay Area, Solano County is the only holdout against even RECOMMENDING masks in public indoors spaces.  Dr. Matyas needs to make some difficult decisions soon!

STUDY SHOWS HIGHER RATE OF “BREAKTHROUGH” CASES AMONG THE VACCINATED  – About wearing masks again, Social Distancing & Vaccination…

We heard seriously shocking news last Thursday about the large number of FULLY VACCINATED persons who are catching the virus and actively transmitting it.  As the Washington Post reports, “A sobering scientific analysis published Friday found that three-quarters of the people infected during an explosive coronavirus outbreak fueled by the delta variant were fully vaccinated. The report on the Massachusetts cases, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, offers key evidence bolstering the hypothesis that vaccinated people can spread the more transmissible variant and may be a factor in the summer surge of infections.” 

This is HUGE!  We were just beginning to associate more freely with fully vaccinated friends and family, and now we are to understand that some 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!

My personal plan is to mask indoors in public now, and we’re even wondering if we should mask indoors with vaccinated family and friends!  Sheeesh, I thought we were done with that!  Everyone PLEASE talk to anyone you know who isn’t vaccinated.  This thing ain’t over yet!

Cases by City on Monday, August 2:
  • Benicia added 5 new cases today, a total of 1,115 cases since the outbreak began, 4.0% of its population of 27,570.
  • Dixon added 13 new cases today, total of 2,032 cases, 10.3% of its population of 19,794.
  • Fairfield added 77 new cases today, total of 9,806 cases, 8.4% of its population of 117,149.
  • Rio Vista added 4 new cases today, total of 433 cases, 4.6% of its population of 9,416.
  • Suisun City added 16 new cases today, total of 2,548 cases, 8.7% of its population of 29,447.
  • Vacaville added 68 new cases today, a total of 9,520 cases, 9.6% its of population of 98,807.
  • Vallejo added 62 new cases today, a total of 10,685 cases, 8.9% of its population of 119,544.
  • Unincorporated remained steady today, a total of 110 cases (population figures not available).

COMPARE: From the most recent report on Solano County’s COVID Dashboard, Friday, July 30:

The data on this page is from today’s and the previous Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard.  The Dashboard is full of much more information and updated weekdays around 4 or 5pm.  On the County’s dashboard, you can hover a mouse or click on an item for more information.  Note the tabs at top for “Summary, Demographics” and “Vaccines.”  Click here to go to today’s Solano County Dashboard.

Sources