COVID-19 in Santa Barbara County has reached record highs, making it even more important for residents to stay home during the New Year holidays.
As of Wednesday, the adjusted rate is 30.8 cases per 100,000 inhabitants; the positivity rate, or the number of confirmed positive COVID-19 tests in the country divided by all the tests administered overall, is 9.1 percent.
‘What this means is that COVID-19 is actively spreading in our country. It is not safe to get along with people outside your household, ”said Van Do-Reynoso, director of the public health department. “Not only is it unsafe, but we can lose the extremely limited hospital beds we have left and exhaust the healthcare staff who tirelessly care for our community.”
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The province, which is part of the Southern California region, recently extended its stay at home because the capacity of the ICU in the region is at zero percent. This does not mean that there are no ICU beds available because the state uses a formula to allow space for non-COVID patients. However, many hospital resources are thin.
On the bright side, more COVID-19 vaccines arrived in Santa Barbara County this week. To date, 17,575 vaccines have been delivered to hospitals, health care centers and the Department of Public Health; 8,775 Pfizer BioNTech vaccines and 8,800 Moderna vaccines were received.
“As we continue to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine, we are getting closer and closer to being out of this pandemic,” said Dr. Henning Ansorg, public health officer, said. ‘We’re going to be very difficult for the next few weeks. Unfortunately, we can not stop in the immediate future, but we can affect the long-term trajectory of this virus spread. Stay home, wear a mask if you have to leave for essential tasks, isolate yourself immediately when you are sick, and please do not meet with those outside your home. ‘
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