Santa Barbara County is expected to advance to the less restrictive red level on Tuesday, Department of Public Health officials said at Friday’s COVID-19 virtual press conference.
“This will provide us with new opportunities to open up business and entertainment venues,” Dr. Henning Ansorg, the county’s public health manager, to move into the second most restrictive category. “It also presents us with a challenge to stay safe and not fall back into another wave of viruses.”
Operations inside fitness centers and gyms, restaurants, cinemas, aquariums, museums and zoos are allowed with modifications at the red level, according to the state reopening framework COVID-19, the plan for a safer economy.
At the red level, Santa Barbara County wineries, breweries and distilleries will only be able to operate outdoors with modifications described in the rating system, including limited service hours and a 90-minute limit for guests. , others.
The 58 counties are under the California color-coded level system, which is a four-level classification framework. Santa Barbara County is at the “most widespread” level of purple, the most restrictive level.
Ansorg’s remarks during Friday’s news conference, which marked the one-year anniversary of the county’s first COVID-19 press conference, came shortly after state officials announced that California would reach 2 million of vaccination dose in the vaccine equity metric.
Two million doses of the vaccine were given to the hardest-hit communities, representing about 25 percent of eligible people in California, according to state officials.
As a result, the plan for a safer economy has been updated to allow for “slightly higher case rates at the substantial (red) level,” the state said.
The criteria for reopening levels will change when 2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to people living near 400 zip codes in the vaccine equity quartile.
Purple level criteria for case rates will go from more than seven new cases per day per 100,000 people to more than ten new COVID-19 cases per day, said county public health director Van Do-Reynoso .
Red-level case rate criteria will be expanded from four to ten daily cases per 100,000 people and the orange and yellow levels will remain the same, Do-Reynoso said.
The county must be at one level for three consecutive weeks before officially advancing to the red level, Do-Reynoso said.
The latest level assignment shows Santa Barbara County at a tight rate of 9.7 cases a day, so the county can advance to the red level now that the state has reached the two million vaccine threshold.
To advance to the less restrictive red level, the county must meet the test positivity rate for that level for two consecutive weeks. Santa Barbara County has a 3.6% positivity.
COVID-19 metrics in the county have “substantially decreased,” including the number of active cases, daily new cases, COVID-19 positivity tests, case rate, hospitalized patients with positive coronavirus, and mortality rate, he said. Do-Reynoso.
“The winter rise in cases is already over,” Do-Reynoso said Friday.
The county has reportedly received more than 117,700 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to date, Do-Reynoso said, adding that as of Friday the county had administered more than 80 percent of the allotted doses to date. He noted that vaccination data are three days late.
“The remaining doses are scheduled for clinics to occur in the coming days,” Do-Reynoso said Friday.
Santa Barbara County vaccinates people 65 and older, along with agriculture and food workers, educators and child care workers, emergency services workers, residents 75 and older, staff emergency physician and health workers.
Starting Monday, people ages 16 to 64 who are at high risk for morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 will be able to receive the vaccine in the county. Health conditions set out in county guidelines include cancer, chronic kidney disease stage four or more, chronic lung disease, Down syndrome, pregnancy, sickle cell disease, heart disease, severe obesity, and type 2 diabetes, among others. others.
“Whenever eligibility opens, vaccine supplies are still limited initially and there will be more available in the coming weeks,” Do-Reynoso said. “Be patient as we open up vaccination opportunities to other categories in our community.”
According to Ansorg, so far Santa Barbara County has approximately 10% of the population 18 years of age or older who are completely vaccinated against COVID-19.
“And give or take, 15% have received at least one dose, which already provides good protection against severe COVID and death,” Ansorg said.
According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau population estimate, there are more than 446,000 residents in the county.
The next two to three weeks are expected to be “challenging” because the number of weekly vaccines available in Santa Barbara County is unlikely to increase, while more residents will be eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines, Ansorg said.
“By April, we should see a dramatic increase in available vaccines, and hopefully by May, anyone who wants a vaccine will be able to get it,” Ansorg said.
County moves the COVID-19 mobile testing unit to Santa Barbara
To expand access to COVID-19 testing for residents, the Department of Public Health will move the COVID-19 mobile testing unit to Santa Barbara’s East Beach starting Monday.
The unit will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday in the boardwalk parking lot at 1118 E. Cabrillo Blvd. in Santa Barbara.
Appointments are required and tests are 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/) has more information on local testing options. Residents can also call 2-1-1 for help registering for a test appointment.
“Testing means detecting where the virus is spreading and ending it. We know our community is eager to move forward and testing is a key tool for that to happen. Decreasing our case rate will allow our community to move faster through the levels and start opening up more business sectors and schools, ”Do-Reynoso said in a statement. “The mobile test site is a great way for community members to easily access COVID-19 testing while enjoying a fantastic view.”
New COVID-19 status report for Santa Barbara County
Meanwhile, county public health officials reported 54 new positive COVID-19 cases on Friday, and two more Northern County residents have died of COVID-19.
There have been a total of 32,573 confirmed positive cases in the county and now the death toll from COVID-19 is 428, according to the COVID-19 community data board.
The two residents who died were part of the age group of more than 70 years and had underlying medical conditions, according to Public Health. The individuals who died resided in Lompoc and Santa Maria. According to the county, the deaths were not associated with an outbreak at a congregated care site.
There were 43 confirmed COVID-19 patients who were being treated at Santa Barbara District hospitals. Of these patients, 15 were in intensive care units.
The county was operating with more than 31% UCI availability as of Friday, according to Public Health.
Of the new positive cases on Friday, Santa Maria had 26, and four were reported in Santa Barbara and Orcutt. Three were reported in the Montecito-Summerland-Carpentry area, Goleta, Santa Ynez Valley, Lompoc, and unincorporated areas of North County. The unincorporated area of the Goleta and Gaviota valleys had two new cases and Isla Vista had one. Geographic locations had not been published in two new cases.
According to Public Health, there were approximately 255 community cases still considered infectious throughout the county.
It is almost the anniversary of the first confirmed case of a new coronavirus in Santa Barbara County. The county’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 dropped to zero.
“All cases of COVID-19 in the main prison have been cleared and there are currently no positive COVID-19 prisoners under control,” Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Raquel Zick said.
As of Friday, more than 210 inmates at the main prison had tested positive for COVID-19, including a Santa Maria inmate who died after landing at the hospital from COVID-19 complications while detained in the prison. county of Santa Barbara.
In addition, a deputy in the custody of a sheriff tested positive for COVID-19, Zick said Friday.
So far, 116 sheriff employees have tested positive for COVID-19, with 113 of those recovered and returned to work, Zick said.
Learn more about COVID-19 vaccine appointments
Registration information for county clinics and links to pharmacy and hospital vaccination sites can be found here: https://publichealthsbc.org/covid-19-vaccine-appointment-registration/.
Sign up for the county bulletin on vaccination efforts, including available appointment announcements, here: https://signup.e2ma.net/signup/1937902/1753150/.
Call 2-1-1 and select option 4 to reach the county call center for questions related to the vaccine and help you 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 9am to 5pm daily.
The 2-1-1 call center has people who can answer questions about COVID-19 in Santa Barbara County, according to the Department of Public Health.
The state of California has published lists of specific jobs that meet the requirements for each priority vaccination group, but not for the education and child care sector. Check out the lists here: https://covid19.ca.gov/essential-workforce/.
The Santa Barbara County Department of Public Health has additional vaccine-related information on its COVID-19 page here: https://publichealthsbc.org.
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