Category Archives: Vacaville CA

COVID-19 continues to spread in Solano County, 203 new cases overnight, 2210 active infections


Huge 2-week increase in Vacaville cases, over 1600 in 14 days

By Roger Straw, December 31, 2020  [Sources: see below.] [Editor: This will be an abbreviated report.  Solano Public Health worked all day, and so did I – but I’m taking the evening off for New Year’s! – R.S.]

Thursday, December 31: 203 new Solano cases overnight, no new deaths.  Since Feb: 19,211 cases, more than 750 hospitalized, 98 deaths.Compare previous report, Wednesday, Dec. 30:Summary

    • Solano County reported 203 new cases overnightIn just the last 14 days, Solano has seen an increase of 4,383 new cases.  We’re averaging 313 (!) new cases every day! (source: covid19.ca.gov Total of 19,211 cases since the outbreak startedVacaville has added over 1,600 new cases in the last 2 weeks!  Something is going on in Vacaville.
    • Deaths – no new deaths reported today, a total of 98 Solano deaths since the pandemic began.
    • Active casesSolano reported 72 more active cases today for a total of 2,210 active casesSolano’s average number of Active Cases during October was 284, average in November was 650 – and TODAY we are at 2,210!  Is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons?  Who knows?  To my knowledge, Solano has offered no reports on contact tracing.
    • Hospitalizations – CAUTION ON SOLANO HEALTH DEPARTMENT REPORTING: According to Solano Health Officer Dr. Bela Matyas, the County “occasionally” updates Age Group hospitalizations retroactively, adding substantial numbers.  Thus, many hospitalizations are never reported as CURRENTLY hospitalized.  Today, Solano reported 4 more CURRENTLY hospitalized persons, total of 138.  Among the age groups, the County reported only 6 new hospitalizations, for a total of 753 persons hospitalized since the outbreak began.  [For the numbers used in my manual calculation of total hospitalizations, see age group stats belowFor COVID19-CA.GOV numbers, see BenIndy page, COVID-19 Hospitalizations Daily Update for Solano County.]
    • ICU Beds – Solano County reported more ICU beds available today, back up to only 21% available, still in the YELLOW DANGER ZONECOVID19-CA.GOV reported today that SOLANO COUNTY HAD ONLY 3 AVAILABLE ICU BEDS AS OF YESTERDAY, DECEMBER 30(For COVID19-CA.GOV info see BenIndy page, COVID-19 Hospitalizations Daily Update for Solano County, and for REGIONAL data see COVID-19 ICU Bed Availability by REGION.)
Positive Test Rate – NEARLY 1 IN 5 ARE TESTING POSITIVE – VIRUS SPREADING LIKE WILDFIRE, STAY HOME!

Solano County reported our 7-day average positive test rate today at 18.5%, DOWN from yesterday’s 19.0%, but still far and away over the State’s purple tier threshold of 8%Average percent positive test rates are among the best metrics for measuring community spread of the virus.  The much lower and more stable California 7-day average test rate was down slightly from yesterday’s 11.8% to 11.6% today(Note that Solano County displays past weeks and months in a 7-day test positivity line graph 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 therefore also lags behind due to unknown recent test results.) 

By Age Group – Continuing a holiday surge in all age groups
  • Youth 17 and under – 17 new cases today, total of 2,133 cases, representing 11.1% of the 19,211 total cases.  No new hospitalizations reported today among this age group, total of 17 since the outbreak began.  Thankfully, no deaths have ever been reported in Solano County in this age groupBut cases among Solano youth rose steadily over the summer, from 5.6% of total cases on June 8 to 11% on August 31 and has plateaued at over 11% since September 30.  Youth are 22% of Solano’s general population, so this 11% may seem low.  The significance is this: youth are SERIOUSLY NOT IMMUNE (!) – in fact at least 17 of our youth have been hospitalized since the outbreak began.
  • Persons 18-49 years of age – 86 new cases today, total of 10,890 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents 56.7% of the total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  The County reported 1 new hospitalization among persons in this age group today.  A total of 238 are reported to have been hospitalized since the outbreak began.  Solano recorded no new deaths in this young group today, total of 7 deaths.  Some in this group are surely at high risk, as many are providing essential services among us, and some may be ignoring public health orders.  I expect this group is a major factor in the spread of the virus.
  • Persons 50-64 years of age – 53 new cases today, total of 3,989 cases.  This age group represents 20.8% of the 19,211 total cases.  The County reported 1 new hospitalization among persons in this age group today.  A total of 206 are reported to have been hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths were reported in this age group today, a total of 17 deaths.
  • Persons 65 years or older – 47 new cases today, total of 2,190, representing 11.4% of Solano’s 19,211 total cases.  The County reported 4 new hospitalizations (!) among persons in this age group today.  A total of 292 have been hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths were reported in this age group today.  A total of 74 of our elders have died of COVID, accounting for 76% of Solano’s 98 total deaths.
City Data
  • Benicia added 4 new cases today, total of 508 cases since the outbreak began. 
  • Dixon added 5 new cases today, total of 1221 cases.
  • Fairfield added 48 new cases today, total of 5,443 cases.
  • Rio Vista added 4 new cases today, total of 165 cases.
  • Suisun City added 16 new cases today, total of 1,346 cases.
  • Vacaville added 86 (!) new cases today, total of 4,854 cases.
  • Vallejo added 40 new cases today, total of 5,613 cases.
  • Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 61 cases.

More…

The County’s 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 significant portions.  For more, check out the Dashboard at https://doitgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=055f81e9fe154da5860257e3f2489d67.

Source
Source: Solano County Coronavirus Dashboard (posted on the County website late today, around 8pm).  For a complete archive of County updates, see my Excel ARCHIVEALSO see important daily updates from the state of California at COVID19.CA.GOV, embedded here on the BenIndy at Cases and Deaths AND Hospitalizations AND ICU Beds by REGION.

Solano County sets single-day record for new positive COVID-19 cases, 486 reported ill today


By Roger Straw, December 24, 2020  [Sources: see below.]

Thursday, December 24: 486 new cases overnight, no new deaths.  Since Feb: 17,330 cases, more than 725 hospitalized, 95 deaths.Compare previous report, Wednesday, Dec. 23:Summary

    • Solano County reported 486 (!!) new cases overnight, A NEW SINGLE-DAY RECORD INCREASE IN POSITIVE CASESIn just the last 14 days, Solano has seen an increase of 4,764 new cases.  We’re averaging 340 (!!) new cases every day! (source: covid19.ca.gov Total of 17,330 cases since the outbreak started.
    • Deaths – No new deaths reported today, a total of 95 Solano deaths since the pandemic began.
    • Active casesSolano reported 135 more active cases today for a total of 1,555 active casesSolano’s average number of Active Cases during October was 284, average in November was 650 – and TODAY we are at 1,555!  Is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons?  Who knows?  To my knowledge, Solano has offered no reports on contact tracing.
    • Hospitalizations – CAUTION ON SOLANO HEALTH DEPARTMENT REPORTING: According to Solano Health Officer Dr. Bela Matyas, the County “occasionally” updates Age Group hospitalizations retroactively, adding substantial numbers.  Thus, many hospitalizations are never reported as CURRENTLY hospitalized.  Today, Solano reported 4 fewer CURRENTLY hospitalized persons, total of 118.  And among the age groups, the County reported no change in hospitalization numbers, for a continuing total of 728 persons hospitalized since the outbreak began.  [For the numbers used in my manual calculation of total hospitalizations, see age group stats belowFor COVID19-CA.GOV numbers, see BenIndy page, COVID-19 Hospitalizations Daily Update for Solano County.]
    • ICU Beds – Solano County reported only 21% available today, up from 15% yesterday, still in the YELLOW DANGER ZONECOVID19-CA.GOV reported today that Solano hospitals had 12 available ICU beds as of yesterday, December 23(For COVID19-CA.GOV info see BenIndy page, COVID-19 Hospitalizations Daily Update for Solano County, and for REGIONAL data see COVID-19 ICU Bed Availability by REGION.)
    • Testing – The County report on COVID-19 testing today showed “UNAVAILABLE.”  As of yesterday, Solano had tested a total of 159,358 unduplicated residents since the outbreak began.  35.6% of Solano County’s 447,643 residents (2019) have been tested.
Positive Test Rate – 1 IN EVERY 5 TESTED IS POSITIVE – VIRUS SPREADING LIKE WILDFIRE

Solano County reported our 7-day average positive test rate today at 20.9%, up from yesterday’s 18.6%, far and away over the State’s purple tier threshold of 8%Average percent positive test rates are among the best metrics for measuring community spread of the virus.  The much lower and more stable California 7-day average test rate has also been on an alarming rise lately, down from yesterday’s 12.6% to 12.1% today(Note that Solano County displays past weeks and months in a 7-day test positivity line graph 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 therefore also lags behind due to unknown recent test results.) 

By Age Group – Continuing the post-Thanksgiving surge, especially in age groups 18-49 and 50-64 years
  • Youth 17 and under – 42 new cases today, total of 1,931 cases, representing 11.2% of the 17,330 total cases.  No new hospitalizations reported today among this age group, total of 17 since the outbreak began.  Thankfully, no deaths have ever been reported in Solano County in this age groupBut cases among Solano youth rose steadily over the summer, from 5.6% of total cases on June 8 to 11% on August 31 and has plateaued at over 11% since September 30.  Youth are 22% of Solano’s general population, so this 11.x% may seem low.  The significance is this: youth are SERIOUSLY NOT IMMUNE (!) – in fact at least 14 of our youth have been hospitalized since the outbreak began.
  • Persons 18-49 years of age – 237 (!!) new cases today, total of 9,945 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents nearly 60% of the total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  The County reported no new hospitalizations among persons in this age group today.  A total of 233 are reported to have been hospitalized since the outbreak began.  Solano recorded no new deaths in this young group today, total of 7 deaths.  Some in this group are surely at high risk, as many are providing essential services among us, and some may be ignoring public health orders.  I expect this group is a major factor in the spread of the virus.
  • Persons 50-64 years of age – 142 (!!) new cases today, total of 3,552 cases.  This age group represents just over 20% of the 17,330 total cases.  The County reported no new hospitalizations among persons in this age group today.  A total of 196 are reported to have been hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths in this age group today, a total of 16 deaths.
  • Persons 65 years or older – 65 (!) new cases today, total of 1,828, representing 10.9% of Solano’s 17,330 total cases.  The County reported no new hospitalizations among persons in this age group today.  A total of 282 have been hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths were reported in this age group today.  A total of 72 of our elders have died of COVID, accounting for 76% of Solano’s 95 total deaths.
City Data
  • Benicia added 9 new cases today, total of 469 cases since the outbreak began. 
  • Dixon added 19 new cases today, total of 1138 cases.
  • Fairfield added 91 (!) new cases today, total of 4,957 cases.
  • Rio Vista added 4 new cases today, total of 143 cases.
  • Suisun City added 27 new cases today, total of 1,207 cases.
  • Vacaville added 265 (!!!) new cases today, total of 4,185 cases.  Something is happening in Vacaville – stay tuned!
  • Vallejo added 71 new cases today, total of 5,170 cases.
  • Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 61 cases.
Race / Ethnicity

The County report on race / ethnicity includes case numbers, hospitalizations, deaths and Solano population statistics.  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 Latinx 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 16% of hospitalizations, and 21% of deaths.
  • Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 18% of cases, 25% of hospitalizations, and 17% of deaths.
  • White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 28% of cases, 29% of hospitalizations and 32% of deaths.

More…

The County’s 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 significant portions.  For more, check out the Dashboard at https://doitgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=055f81e9fe154da5860257e3f2489d67.

Source
Source: Solano County Coronavirus Dashboard (posted on the County website late today, around 8pm).  For a complete archive of County updates, see my Excel ARCHIVEALSO see important daily updates from the state of California at COVID19.CA.GOV, embedded here on the BenIndy at Cases and Deaths AND Hospitalizations AND ICU Beds by REGION.

ICU Hospital Bed Capacity in Vacaville and Vallejo Among Most Impacted in Bay Area

How Bay Area ICU capacity compares to the most impacted areas in California, nation

San Francisco Chronicle, by Kellie Hwang, Dec. 11, 2020 
Nurse Waymond Jones (left) Respiratory Therapist Laura Sandoval (center) and nurse Larry Ngiraswei (right) prepare to prone a COVID-19 patient in the ICU at Regional Medical Center of San Jose, an acute-care hospital, on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020 in San Jose, California. Following Thanksgiving there has been an uptick in COVID-19 cases all over California and the Bay Area. Photo: Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle

Hospitals in the Bay Area, California and across the nation are running short of intensive care unit beds as the latest coronavirus surge sets new records for cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

On Thursday, California reported a record 2,710 ICU hospitalizations, and four of five state regions, including part of the Bay Area, were under the regional stay-at-home order issued last week by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The order is triggered when available ICU hospital capacity dips below 15%.

The five regions, based on California’s mutual aid system and emergency response networks, are the Bay Area, Southern California, the San Joaquin Valley, Greater Sacramento and Northern California.

The Southern California region, with 7.7% ICU availability as of Thursday, and the San Joaquin Valley, with just 1.9% availability, fell under the stay-at-home order last weekend. Restrictions went into effect overnight Thursday for the Greater Sacramento area, with 13.3% availability.

The Bay Area region was at 17.8% available ICU capacity Thursday, though five of its 11 counties — San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara and Marin — have voluntarily tightened restrictions in line with the state order. Sonoma County announced Thursday it will join them this weekend. Northern California had the highest ICU availability in the state, at 30.3%.

Critical shortages are occurring across the nation. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services began releasing COVID-19 hospital capacity data at the facility level, aggregating daily hospital reports and sharing them on a weekly basis. The New York Times has created an interactive map detailing the ICU capacity throughout the U.S.  [BenIndy editor: The NYTimes map shows Fairfield (22 of 30 ICU beds occupied, 75% on Dec. 9) as well as Vallejo (20 of 24, 81%) and Vacaville (10 of 11, 91%).  It’s a little hard to navigate the map, but worth it for the numbers.  – R.S.] 

Here are the ICU occupancy rates for both the most-impacted and the largest high-population locations in the Bay Area, compared with California and the U.S., according to the data released Monday. The figures are based on seven-day average patient count by hospital service area.

Daly City: 100% of ICU beds occupied

Santa Rosa: 95% of ICU beds occupied

 Vacaville: 91% of ICU beds occupied 

South San Francisco: 90% of ICU beds occupied

San Leandro: 90% of ICU beds occupied

Petaluma: 88% of ICU beds occupied

Martinez: 83% of ICU beds occupied

Fremont: 83% of ICU beds occupied

 Vallejo: 81% of ICU beds occupied 

Castro Valley: 80% of ICU beds occupied

Sonoma County

In Santa Rosa, the largest city in Sonoma County, ICUs are 95% full. Sonoma County did not initially join the five Bay Area counties in adopting the stay-at-home measure, but officials announced Thursday that the county would adopt it starting Saturday at 12:01 a.m.

“Although Sonoma County has fared better until now than other parts of the state in terms of demand on our hospitals, we have been seeing an alarming increase in cases and hospitalizations in recent days, and this is putting increased strain on our medical resources,” county health officer Dr. Sundari Mase said in a news release. “We feel we have no choice but to join the other Bay Area counties in preemptively adopting the governor’s Stay-Home order.”

Mase noted that hospitalizations in Sonoma are near the county’s highest ever, and that coronavirus case rates are at their highest since the pandemic began. “We also are seeing a wider geographic spread of infection,” Mase said. She tied the increases to the surge in cases across the nation as well as large gatherings in the county, including over Halloween and Thanksgiving.

At a community briefing on Wednesday, the most recent ICU available capacity was reported at 11.6% in Sonoma County. ICU beds occupied in Sonoma are at 57%, Healdsburg is at 20% and Petaluma stands at 88%. The county removed hospital capacity data from its website, and the Press Democrat reported that officials are working with the state to fix discrepancies between the county and state websites.

MOST IMPACTED CALIFORNIA

Daly City: 100% of ICU beds occupied

Huntington Beach (Orange County): 100% of ICU beds occupied

Ventura: 99% of ICU beds occupied

Upland (San Bernardino County): 97% of ICU beds occupied

Chula Vista (San Diego County): 97% of ICU beds occupied

Oxnard (Ventura County): 96% of ICU beds occupied

Victorville (San Bernardino County): 95% of ICU beds occupied

Thousand Oaks (Ventura County): 95% of ICU beds occupied

Santa Rosa: 95% of ICU beds occupied

Fresno: 95% of ICU beds occupied

Lynwood (Los Angeles County): 95% of ICU beds occupied

Northridge (Los Angeles County): 95% of ICU beds occupied

Arcadia (Los Angeles County): 94% of ICU beds occupied

Redlands (San Bernardino County): 94% of ICU beds occupied

Fontana (San Bernardino County): 93% of ICU beds occupied

Redding: 91% of ICU beds occupied

Huntington Beach

In California, all of Huntington Beach’s 11 ICU beds are occupied. The Orange County city of fewer than 200,000 has made headlines as a gathering place for locals to demonstrate their resistance to mask orders and other pandemic restriction-enforcement measures.

Ventura County

In Ventura County, the cities of Ventura, Oxnard, Thousand Oaks and Camarillo are all at more than 95% ICU capacity. The county is grouped in the Southern California region, which is under the regional stay-at-home order. County supervisors have unanimously voted to propose a new region that would include Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, which have much higher available ICU capacity and therefore likely could remove restrictions on businesses sooner.

MOST IMPACTED U.S.

Albuquerque, N.M.: 116% of ICU beds occupied

Baton Rouge, La.: 109% of ICU beds occupied

Ogden, Utah: 107% of ICU beds occupied

Upland, Pa.: 106% of ICU beds occupied

Easton, Pa.: 104% of ICU beds occupied

Abington, Pa.: 102% of ICU beds occupied)

Pompano Beach, Fla.: 100% of ICU beds occupied

Port St. Lucie, Fla.: 100% of ICU beds occupied

Dothan, Ala.: 100% of ICU beds occupied

Douglasville, Ga.: 100% of ICU beds occupied

Wailuku, Hawaii: 100% of ICU beds occupied

Chicago Heights, Ill.: 100% of ICU beds occupied

Leonardtown, Md.: 100% of ICU beds occupied

St. Joseph, Mo.: 100% of ICU beds occupied

St. Cloud, Minn.: 100% of ICU beds occupied

Albuquerque

The hospital service area that includes Albuquerque shows the highest ICU occupancy in the nation at 116%. In mid-November, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham tightened restrictions statewide in hopes of reducing the virus spread, but that wasn’t enough. On Nov. 20, a backup hospital in Albuquerque was opened to relieve the strain. Now hospitals are reaching surge capacity at nearly 1,000 hospitalizations daily. Officials are preparing to ration care to coronavirus patients, with the only criterion being whether a person is likely to survive.

TOP LARGEST LOCATIONS IN THE BAY AREA GROUP

San Francisco: 72% of ICU beds occupied

Oakland: 62% of ICU beds occupied

Santa Rosa: 95% of ICU beds occupied

San Jose: 68% of ICU beds occupied

Greenbrae: 59% of ICU beds occupied

Napa: 45% of ICU beds occupied

Vallejo: 81% of ICU beds occupied

Daly City: 100% of ICU beds occupied

Concord: 78% of ICU beds occupied

Salinas: 61% of ICU beds occupied

Santa Cruz: 76% of ICU beds occupied

TOP LARGEST CALIFORNIA CITIES

Los Angeles: 80% of ICU beds occupied

San Diego: 65% of ICU beds occupied

San Jose: 68% of ICU beds occupied

San Francisco: 72% of ICU beds occupied

Fresno: 95% of ICU beds occupied

Sacramento: 83% of ICU beds occupied

Long Beach: 51% of ICU beds occupied

Oakland: 62% of ICU beds occupied

Bakersfield: 75% of ICU beds occupied

Anaheim: 87% of ICU beds occupied

Santa Ana: 37% of ICU beds occupied

Riverside: 88% of ICU beds occupied

Stockton: 90% of ICU beds occupied

Irvine: No ICU data reported from local hospitals

Chula Vista: 97% of ICU beds occupied

Chula VIsta

Chula Vista, in San Diego County, has the highest percentage of ICU beds occupied at 97%. San Diego County’s hospitals have seen a crush of coronavirus admissions since late November, and some facilities have reported that they are already utilizing surge beds, concerned about an increase of cases due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

TOP LARGEST U.S. CITIES

New York City: 78% of ICU beds occupied

Los Angeles: 80% of ICU beds occupied

Chicago: 65% of ICU beds occupied

Houston: 91% of ICU beds occupied

Phoenix: 64% of ICU beds occupied

Philadelphia: 84% of ICU beds occupied

San Antonio: 91% of ICU beds occupied

San Diego: 65% of ICU beds occupied

Dallas: 93% of ICU beds occupied

San Jose: 68% of ICU beds occupied

Austin, Texas: 85% of ICU beds occupied

Jacksonville, Fla.: 79% of ICU beds occupied

Fort Worth, Texas: 92% of ICU beds occupied

Columbus, Ohio: 83% of ICU beds occupied

Charlotte, N.C.: 81% of ICU beds occupied

Texas

Dallas has the lowest ICU capacity on this list, with just 7% of ICU beds available. Dallas County recently reported the second-highest daily death toll in the pandemic, and the county had to lower business capacity from 75% to 50% on Dec. 3 after going over the 15% ICU capacity threshold.

Fort Worth, in Texas’ Tarrant County, follows closely behind with 92% of ICU beds occupied. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s office is near storage capacity for bodies, so two refrigerated trucks have been brought in and are expected to be used soon.

Final certified election results: Benicia, Vallejo, Fairfield, Suisun City, Vacaville, Rio Vista, Dixon, Solano County

By Roger Straw, November 25, 2020

Solano County has completed it’s count and certified election results.  The Registrar of Voters office posted the final count at 4pm on Tuesday, November 24.

The County provides excellent reports on its website.  Most interesting in my opinion is the report titled  Certified Election Results Site (Downloadable format).  This is actually an html web page, but if you click on Reports at top right, you will be able to download Excel or PDF files for:

The page is also searchable.  For instance, in your browser just search on “benicia” and you will find results for local races and Benicia’s Measure D.

Solano County Election Results
Last Updated: November 24, 2020 – 4:00PM
Results below are certified, no additional changes can be made.

Total Ballots Issued:
Vote By Mail & In person for Registered voters – 258,850

Ballots Processed & Counted
Vote by Mail – 178,5112
In person – 30,490