Solano's ICU capacity shrinks as regional capacity grows
(Graphic by Solano News Update)
The amount of hospital intensive care unit beds in Solano County dipped on Monday to 33 percent, a decrease of 2 percentage points, as the number of people hospitalized with complications from the novel coronavirus grew, according to county data.
The data released on Monday indicates a growing trend of COVID-19 infections and complications in Solano County, one that is likely exacerbated by a decision to not impose tougher restrictions on residents and businesses there.
Data released by county health officials on Monday showed 68 people were hospitalized with complications related to a positive COVID-19 case. The number is triple the rate of hospitalizations at this same time last month and is an all-time high for Solano County since health officials began collecting data in February, according to a review of the figures by Solano News Update.
The spike in infections and hospitalizations may eventually provoke Solano County health officials and local law enforcement to start enforcing overnight stay-at-home restrictions that were imposed in the middle of November.
Last week, Solano County health officials said they would not voluntarily adopt tougher, around-the-clock restrictions for residents and businesses under a renewed stay at home order that went into effect over the weekend. That order requires tougher restrictions when a region’s hospital ICU capacity is less than 15 percent.
Solano County is listed in the “Bay Area” region for purposes of the state’s new stay-at-home order. As of Monday, the Bay Area’s aggregate hospital ICU capacity was at 25.7 percent, an increase of 4 percentage points compared to Sunday’s rate of 21.7 percent.
Though Solano County has resisted efforts to voluntarily impose new restrictions, five Bay Area counties and the City of Berkeley have taken the opposite approach, vowing to implement tougher restrictions before the state’s capacity requirement is triggered.
“We cannot wait until after we have driven off the cliff to pull the emergency brake,” Dr. Sara Cody, the health officer for Santa Clara, told a local radio station. “We understand that the closures under the state’s order will have a profound impact on our local businesses. However, if we act quickly, we can both save lives and reduce the amount of time these restrictions have to stay in place, allowing businesses and activities to re-open sooner.”
Solano County health officials said they were also thinking about local businesses when they decided not to voluntarily impose new restrictions until the state forces them to.
“Evidence shows businesses are not where the major spread of COVID-19 takes place,” a county health official wrote in a statement. “The primary contributor of spread is personal behavior and people gathering with others outside of the household without following safety measures, like masking and physical distancing.”
County health officials offered no evidence to support the claim that businesses were not where COVID-19 primarily spread. In September, the Centers for Disease Control said participants in a recent study were twice as likely to have reported visiting a restaurant, bar or coffee shop in the days leading up to a positive COVID-19 result compared to those who tested negative for the virus. The CDC study did not specify where patrons ate or drank at an indoor or outdoor restaurant, but acknowledged the need for further “community mitigation strategies” to reduce the rate of infection.
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