Following the latest Blueprint for a Safer Economy level assessment, Santa Barbara County met all moderate orange level criteria on Tuesday and is on track to officially advance to the less restrictive orange level next week.
The county reported an adjusted rate of 4.6 new cases per 100,000 people, 1.9% testing positive and 2.7% health equity.
All three metrics have been rejected since the previous reporting period.
If the county keeps those numbers low next week, it will advance to the orange level as early as April 20, public health director Van Do-Reynoso said at the county’s COVID-19 briefing on Friday.
The county must meet all orange level criteria for two consecutive weeks to officially move to the next level.
Advancing to the orange level means an expanded indoor and outdoor capacity for restaurants and entertainment venues, as well as a reduction in restrictions for other industrial sectors.
Santa Barbara County public health officials reported only 11 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday and there were no additional deaths for the seventh day in a row.
The cumulative death toll in COVID-19 County remained at 441.
There were still 143 cases considered infectious across the county. According to Noozhawk data tracking, the daily number of active cases has not been as low since November 7, 2020.
There were 21 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, including four in intensive care units. The availability rate at the county ICU was 29.9%.
Of the new cases on Tuesday, five were from the Santa Maria valley, four from Santa Bàrbara and one from the Goleta valley. One case is still pending geographic location.
As of Monday, 21.5% of the county’s population was fully vaccinated, according to the county’s community data board.
On Tuesday, the California Department of Public Health announced it was directing health care providers to stop the use of the Johnson & Johnson one-shot vaccine.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended pausing Tuesday with great caution, said Erica Pan, a state epidemiologist.
Of more than 6.8 million doses administered nationwide, there have been six reported cases of a rare and severe blood clot type, with symptoms occurring six to 13 days after vaccination, Pan said. .
The Santa Barbara County Department of Public Health will follow state guidelines and pause Johnson & Johnson vaccine administration until further notice, Public Health spokeswoman Jackie Ruiz told Noozhawk.
Clinics scheduled for this week that initially planned to use the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will not be canceled, but will use the Modern vaccine, he added.
– Noozhawk staff writer Jade Martinez-Pogue can be contacted . (You need JavaScript enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews i @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.