Santa Barbara County is expected to move into the less restrictive red level Tuesday, Department of Health officials said at Friday’s virtual COVID-19 press conference.
“It offers us new opportunities for business and entertainment venues to open,” said Dr. Henning Ansorg, provincial public health officer, said he had moved into the second most restricted category. “It also presents a challenge to us to remain safe and not fall into another virus stupor again.”
Indoor operations of fitness centers, gyms, restaurants, cinemas, aquariums, museums and zoos are allowed, according to the COVID-19 reopening framework, the blueprint for a safer economy, with changes in the red level.
At the red level, wineries, breweries, and distilleries in Santa Barbara County will only be allowed to operate outdoors with modifications set forth in the classification system, including limited hours of service and a 90-minute time limit, among others.
All 58 counties fall under California’s color-coded level system, which is a four-level classification framework. Santa Barbara County is in the “widespread” press level, the most restrictive level.
Ansorg’s remarks during the press conference on Friday, which marked the one-year anniversary of the province’s first COVID-19 press conference, came shortly after government officials announced that California had reached 2 million vaccination doses in the vaccine benchmark.
According to government officials, two million vaccine doses were administered to the worst-affected communities, representing about 25 percent of California’s people.
As a result, the Blueprint for a Safer Economy levels have been updated to allow for a somewhat higher case in the substantial (red) level ‘, the state said.
The criteria for reopening will change if 2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered to people living in approximately 400 postal codes in the quartile of the vaccine.
The press-level criteria for cases will shift from more than seven new cases per day per 100,000 people to more than ten new COVID-19 cases per day, said Van Do-Reynoso, provincial director of public health.
The criteria for the rate for red levels will be extended to four to ten daily cases per 100,000 people, and the orange and yellow levels will remain the same, Do-Reynoso said.
The province needs to be in a level for three consecutive weeks before officially going to the red level, Do-Reynoso said.
The latest allocation shows Santa Barbara County at an adjusted rate of 9.7 cases per day, allowing the country to advance to the red level now that the state has reached the 2 million dose threshold.
To proceed to the less restrictive red level, the country must meet the test positivity rate for that level for two consecutive weeks. Santa Barbara County has a positive percentage of 3.6%.
The country’s COVID-19 standards have ‘significantly decreased’, including the number of active cases, daily new cases, COVID-19 testing of positivity, cases, coronavirus-positive patients in hospital and mortality, Do-Reynoso said .
“The winter push in cases is now over,” Do-Reynoso said Friday.
According to the province, more than 117,700 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been received so far, Do-Reynoso said, adding that by Friday, the province had administered more than 80% of the allotted doses. She noted that the vaccination data has a delay of three days.
“The remaining doses are planned for clinics to take place in the next few days,” Do-Reynoso said Friday.
Santa Barbara County vaccinates people 65 years of age and older, along with agricultural and food workers, educators and child care workers, emergency services workers, residents 75 years of age or older, medical emergency workers and health workers.
As of Monday, individuals between the ages of 16 and 64 who are at risk of COVID-19 disease and death may be able to receive the vaccine in the country. The health conditions set out in the provincial guidelines include cancer, stage four or more in chronic kidney disease, chronic lung disease, Down syndrome, pregnancy, sickle cell disease, heart disease, severe obesity and type 2 diabetes.
“Whenever appropriate, vaccine stocks are initially still limited and more will be available in the coming weeks,” Do-Reynoso said. “Please be patient, because we offer the vaccine opportunities for the remaining categories in our community.”
According to Ansorg, Santa Barbara County to date has about 10% of the population 18 years or older fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
“And give or take, 15% have received at least one dose, which already offers good protection against severe COVID and death,” Ansorg said.
According to the latest census from the U.S. Census Bureau, the province is home to more than 446,000 residents.
The next two to three weeks are expected to be ‘challenging’ because the number of weekly vaccinations available for Santa Barbara County is unlikely to increase, while more residents are eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines, Ansorg said.
“By April, we will see a dramatic increase in available vaccines, and hopefully everyone who wants a vaccine will be able to get it by May,” Ansorg said.
County moves COVID-19 test unit to Santa Barbara
To expand access to COVID-19 testing for residents, the Department of Public Health will move the COVID-19 testing unit to Santa Barbara’s East Beach from Monday.
The unit is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the waterfront parking lot at 1118 E. Cabrillo Blvd. in Santa Barbara.
Appointments are required and the test is free and available to all members of the community.
Appointments can be made online at https://lhi.care/covidtesting or by calling 888.634.1123.
The Department of Public Health website – https://publichealthsbc.org/testing/ – provides more information on local testing options. Residents can also call 2-1-1 for help registering for a test appointment.
‘To be tested means to detect where the virus is spreading and stop it. We know our community is eager to keep going, and testing is an important tool to make that happen. “By lowering our case, our community can move faster through the levels and start reopening more sectors and schools,” Do-Reynoso said in a statement. “The mobile testing site is a great way for community members to easily access COVID-19 testing while enjoying beautiful views.”
Santa Barbara County’s New COVID-19 Status Report
Meanwhile, provincial health officials reported 54 new positive COVID-19 cases on Friday, and two additional North County residents died from COVID-19.
There were a total of 32,573 confirmed positive cases in the country, and the COVID-19 death toll now stands at 428, according to the COVID-19 community data dashboard.
Both residents who died were in the age group of over 70 and had underlying medical conditions, according to Public Health. The individuals who died lived in Lompoc and Santa Maria. According to the province, the deaths were not related to an outbreak at a community care facility.
There were 43 confirmed COVID-19 patients treated in hospitals in the Santa Barbara County area. Of the patients, 15 were in intensive care units.
According to County Health, the province was available to the ICU more than 31% as of Friday.
Of the new positive cases from Friday, Santa Maria had 26, and four each were reported in Santa Barbara and Orcutt. Three were each reported in the Montecito-Summerland-Carpinteria area, Goleta, Santa Ynez Valley, Lompoc and in the unincorporated areas of Northern County. The unincorporated area of the Goleta Valley and Gaviota had two new cases, and Isla Vista had one. Geographical locations were not disclosed for two new cases.
According to Public Health, there were approximately 255 community cases that are still considered contagious.
This is almost the one-year anniversary of the first confirmed case of new coronavirus in Santa Barbara County. The province’s first COVID-19 case was reported on March 15, 2020 and the first local death was announced in April.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department reported Friday that the number of active COVID-19 cases among inmates at the main prison has dropped to zero.
“All the COVID-19 cases in the main prison have been cleared and there are currently no COVID-19 positive inmates being monitored,” sheriff’s spokesman Raquel Zick said.
As of Friday, more than 210 inmates in the main jail have tested positive for COVID-19, including a Santa Maria inmate who died after being hospitalized due to COVID-19 complications while in Santa Barbara County Jail .
In addition, one deputy attorney general tested positive for COVID-19, Zick said Friday.
To date, 116 sheriff employees have tested positive for COVID-19, with 113 of those recovered and getting back to work, Zick said.
More information on COVID-19 vaccine appointments
Registration information for county clinics and links to pharmacy and hospital vaccination websites is here: https://publichealthsbc.org/covid-19-vaccine-appointment-registration/.
Sign up for the provincial vaccination newsletter, including announcements of available appointments, here: https://signup.e2ma.net/signup/1937902/1753150/.
Call 2-1-1 and select option 4 to reach the provincial call center for vaccination-related questions and help sign up for an appointment if you are eligible. The call center can be reached at 800.400.1572 for numbers outside the area and is open daily from 09:00 to 17:00.
According to the Department of Public Health, the 2-1-1 call center is staffed with people who can answer questions about COVID-19 in Santa Barbara County.
The state of California has introduced lists of specific positions that are eligible for each priority group for vaccinations, but not for the education and child care sector. Check out the lists here: https://covid19.ca.gov/essential-workforce/.
The Department of Public Health in Santa Barbara County has additional vaccination-related information on its COVID-19 page here: https://publichealthsbc.org.
Click here to read stories in the Coronavirus crisis section of Noozhawk.
– The author of the Noozhawk staff, Brooke Holland, can be reached (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Get in touch with Noozhawk on Facebook.