Despite reaching the red level, Santa Barbara County experienced problems

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, California. It’s been a while since Santa Barbara County reached the state’s red reopening.

This week we saw that restaurants, museums and gyms would open indoors for the first time since the fall.

The step in the right direction also gave secondary schools the green light to get back to the classroom.

“We enjoy opening different businesses and locations in our country,” said Van Do-Reynoso, director of public health.

The distribution of vaccines has also taken the pace with an effort to do everything on deck.

“Week after week we continue to see a very high percentage of vaccines being administered,” Do-Reynoso said.

“The Department of Public Health, together with our healthcare partners, is doing everything in our power to get the vaccine to everyone who wants it as quickly as possible,” added Henning Ansorg, public health official.

Youth sports are now in full swing nationwide.

However, this has brought new challenges because all athletes and coaches – who play football and water polo – have to take COVID-19 tests every week.

Tonight, the Big Game between Santa Barbara and San Marcos was canceled due to a positive COVID-19 test result.

“Over the past week, we have seen very positive cases from athletes from various schools,” Ansorg said. “It’s going for us.”

As for the number of fans in the stands, the Department of Public Health in Santa Barbara County will not apply the state’s one person per athlete rule.

Only allow immediate household members to hold sporting events for the youth.

“We have reviewed the state’s leadership,” Do-Reynoso said. “Unfortunately, it didn’t make sense to us either.”

As cases of coronavirus continue to decline, local health experts are aiming to reach the less restricted orange level.

“If we stop masking and distancing too soon, we can easily risk a new upsurge in cases,” Ansorg concluded.

Today begins the spring break for many public schools that have just reopened.

So next week will be a real test to see how fair these students are when they return to the classroom.