[For a complete archive of day by day data, see my Excel ARCHIVE – R.S.]

Monday, August 31: 124 new cases over the weekend, 1 new death.  Since the outbreak started: 5,512 cases, 47 deaths.Compare previous report, Friday August 28:Summary

• Solano County reported 124 new cases over the weekend, total of 5,512 cases since the outbreak started.  Over the last 2 weeks, Solano reported 745 new cases, an average of 53 per day.
• Deaths – 1 new death today, total of 47 Solano deaths.
• Active cases – Solano reported 7 more ACTIVE cases today, total of 338.  Note that only 30 of these 338 people are hospitalized, so there are a lot of infected folks out among us, hopefully quarantined.  Is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons?  Who knows?  To my knowledge, Solano County has no reporting on contact tracing.
• Hospitalizations – the number of currently hospitalized persons included 2 more today, total of 30.  The total number hospitalized since the outbreak started increased by 1, total of 279.  (Note that the County no longer reports Total Hospitalized, but we can add the new hospitalization numbers in the Age Group report – see below.)  Concluding a fifth week now, the County offers no information about availability of ICU beds and ventilators.
• Testing – The County reports today that 2,479 more residents were tested over the weekend, new total of 74,620.  Solano has a long way to go: only 16.7% of Solano County’s 447,643 residents (2019) have been tested.

Positive Test Rate

Solano County reported today that our 7-day average test rate rose today, from 6.4% to 6.8%.  Over the past week the daily rate change was +0.8%,  -1.3%, +1.0%, -1.0%, +0.7% and today’s +0.4%.  I find these daily fluctuations improbable.  7-day averages don’t normally jump like this – they are designed to “smooth out” the volatility of a daily data chart.  What is going on here?  The County reported a 7-day test rate low of 4.1% on August 11, and the County’s rate peaked at 9.3% on July 22.  Not really a smooth ride!  Health officials and news reports focus on percent positive test rates as one of the best metrics for measuring the spread of the virus.  The California 7-day test rate fell today from 5.7% to 4.9% – ALSO A REMARKABLE DROP.  (Note that Solano County displays past weeks and months in a 7-day test positivity curve chart 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 also lags behind current unknown results.) 

By Age Group

• Youth 17 and under – 18 new cases today, total of 607 cases.  No new hospitalizations among this age group, a total of 5 hospitalizations since the outbreak began.  Thankfully, no deaths.  It is clear that our young people are catching the disease, with a recent increase in hospitalizations.  It seems too many youth are ignoring public health orders.  Cases among Solano youth have risen steadily over the summer, from 5.6% of total cases on June 8 to 10.9% most recently, and to over 11% for the first time  today.  Youth are 22% of Solano’s general population, so this 11% may seem low.  The significance is to show two things: 1) that youth numbers are increasing steadily and at a faster rate than the other age groups, and 2) that youth are seriously NOT immune – in fact 5 youth have been hospitalized.
• Persons 18-49 years of age – 81 new cases today, total of 3,342 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents 60.6% of the 5,512 total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  The County reported 1 new hospitalization in this age group today, total of 92 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths among this age group today, total of 4 deaths.  This age group is very active.  Some are surely ignoring public health orders, and many are providing essential services among us.  I expect his group is a major factor in the spread of the virus.
• Persons 50-64 years of age – 19 new cases today, total of 1,057 cases.  This age group represents 19.2% of the 5,512 total cases.  No new hospitalizations, total of 75 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths  in this age group today, a total of 7 deaths.
• Persons 65 years or older – 6 new cases today, total of 505 cases, representing 9.2% of the 5,512 total cases.  No new hospitalizations today, total of 107 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  In this older age group, 21.4% of cases required hospitalization at one time.  This is a much higher percentage than in the lower age groups.  1 new death was reported in this age group today, total of 36 deaths.  This group accounts for 36 of the 47 deaths, or 77%.

City Data

• Benicia added 1 new case today, total of 132 cases since the outbreak began.
• Dixon added 7 new cases today, total of 379 cases.
• Fairfield added 49 new cases today, total of 1,773.
• Rio Vista remained steady today, total of 38 cases.
• Suisun City added 11 new cases today, total of 396 cases.
• Vacaville added 14 new cases today, total of 930 cases.
• Vallejo added 42 new cases today, total of 1,847 cases.
• Unincorporated areas – Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 17 cases.

Hospitalization rate by Race / Ethnicity

The County report on race / ethnicity includes case numbers, hospitalizations, deaths and Solano population statistics.  Today I am again featuring the tab that shows a calculated HOSPITALIZATION rate per 100,000 population by race/ethnicity.  As with our case numbers and death rates, this information is discouragingly similar to national reports that indicate significantly worse outcomes among black and brown Americans.  Note that the Hospitalization Rate comparison here surely undercounts Latinx Americans, as there is a large group of “Multirace / Others” with a hospitalization rate much higher than every other group (127.5/100K).

Perhaps the best measure is to compare each group to the County’s overall hospitalization rate of 62.1/100K.  As of today:

• Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 9% of cases and 11% of hospitalizations, but 16% of deaths.  The hospitalization rate for Solano Asian Americans is 40.9 per 100K (up from 39.4 on Friday).
• Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 11% of cases, but 18% of hospitalizations, and 23% of deaths.  The hospitalization rate for Black Americans is 66.4 per 100K.
• Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 30% of cases, 34% of hospitalizations, and 28% of deaths.  The hospitalization rate for Latinx Americans is 69.1 per 100K.
• White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 20% of cases, 21% of hospitalizations and 21% of deaths.  The hospitalization rate for Solano Whites is 28.5 per 100K.

Much more…

The County’s new and improved 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 a report or two.  Check out the Dashboard at https://doitgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=055f81e9fe154da5860257e3f2489d67.