By edhat staff
Health officials warn that the increase in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations is expected to continue until the end of January.
Ron Werft, president / CEO of Cottage Health System, said during Friday’s press conference that it is far from over.
While hospital beds, personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilators are well available, hospitals are most concerned about critical care staff. The ability to identify, recruit and expand staff is very challenging for every hospital in the country, Werft said.
Cottage Health’s training plans are underway, but there is a “limit to what we will be able to do,” he said.
The Department of Public Health announced that the COVID-19 data was delayed for Friday due to a problem with the state’s CalREDIE reporting system, but Director Van Do-Reynoso was able to provide an update based on the past two weeks.
Santa Barbara County is seeing a tenfold increase between Thanksgiving and the New Year, directly related to gatherings and travel around the holidays, she said.
The data is ‘literally off the charts’, Do-Reynoso said, confirming that they had to adjust their graphical displays to accommodate the increase in numbers. From 27 December to 2 January, COVID-19 cases increased by 53%, active cases increased by 19% and the test of positivity increased to almost 17%. That means one is positive for every 16 people tested, she said.
In addition, there were eight outbreaks in community care institutions and six outbreaks in businesses: two in administrative offices, one in skilled labor, one in a grocery store, and one in retail.
Werft said Cottage Health receives two to four requests for patient transfer every 24 hours, as many hospitals have hit the wall at beds that have no intensive care unit available.
Federal laws determine how hospitals manage transfers where each is reviewed based on the capacity of the hospital, a higher level of care and the confirmation that the requesting hospital has exhausted every possible solution between them and Santa Barbara. Werft confirmed that Cottage Health does not have its ability to harm the local community if the transport is accepted.
To date, the Department of Public Health has received 16,775 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and recently ordered 4,900 doses with an additional 7,200 doses to be requested next week. The department hopes to vaccinate 5,000 people this month.
Starting Monday, a mobile COVID-19 test unit will be available to support the expansion of testing nationwide. The mobile test unit will be located at CenCal Health in Santa Barbara (4050 Calle Real) from 09:30 to 19:00. This test site is available from 07:00 to 19:00 Monday – Friday thereafter for a minimum of two (2) weeks and is available to all members of the community.
The mobile test unit will then move to a new location which will be announced. Go online to https://lhi.care/covidtesting to request an appointment. Call 2-1-1 if you need help registering.
In addition to the new mobile testing website, extensive COVID-19 testing is also available in the Santa Maria and Isla Vista communities.
Isla Vista Theater
(Beginning January 8, 2021)
960 Embarcadero del Norte, Isla Vista
Fridays and Saturdays
12 – 17:00
Walk-in only (no appointments).
Santa Maria Health Center
2115 Centerpointe Pkwy, Santa Maria
Tuesday – Friday
10:00 – 12:00 and 13:00 – 15:00
More information can be found at https://publichealthsbc.org/