[Editor’s note: Noozhawk’s weekly COVID-19 email newsletter is delivered to subscribers on Wednesdays. You can sign up here. We are republishing the newsletters on the website so more readers have access to them.]
Welcome to Noozhawk’s Weekly COVID-19 Briefing.
I’m Giana Magnoli, managing editor of Noozhawk, with the latest COVID-19 news in Santa Barbara County.
This newsletter is a way for Noozhawk readers to get important updates in one place.
It is emailed out every Wednesday, for free, to everyone who subscribes.
Here’s What We Know
» The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department reports that 1,086 people tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week of May. There were 28 coronavirus-positive hospital patients on Tuesday, including five people being treated in intensive-care units.
» South Coast communities are reporting the highest number of new cases countywide. Santa Barbara had 201 “active cases” on Tuesday, followed by Isla Vista with 194.
» The local case rate is about three times as high for people who are unvaccinated as for people who are fully vaccinated. About half of recent cases are among the unvaccinated, even though that group is in the minority (26.7%) of those old enough to be vaccinated.
» Of the 907 cases with vaccination status information reported in the week ending May 21, 443 people were unvaccinated, 299 were vaccinated and boosted, and 165 were fully vaccinated and not boosted.
» Santa Barbara County and every other coastal county in the state have moved from a low-level to a medium-level of community transmission, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data tracking.
» The Sheriff’s Department stopped visitation at the Main Jail due to another COVID-19 outbreak among inmates.
» The state-run COVID-19 testing locations in Goleta and Santa Maria are also Test-to-Treat centers where health-care providers can write antiviral prescriptions to treat COVID-19.
» The I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival returned to the Santa Barbara Mission after a two-year, pandemic-imposed hiatus.
COVID-19 Reinfection
Several coronavirus Omicron subvariants are circulating in Santa Barbara County and the country right now that are more contagious than previous variants and are more likely to cause reinfection in people who have previously had COVID-19, according to public health officials.
“Unfortunately, persons who got COVID during the previous original, Alpha and then Delta wave (last summer), could get infected again with the original Omicron,” said Dr. Henning Ansorg, the county’s public health officer.
“The initial Omicron virus (BA.1) did stimulate only a very short-lasting immunity. Therefore, the later appearing Omicron variants BA.2 and BA.2.12.1 are now able to reinfect someone who had either Delta or even Omicron earlier this year.”
Counting Self-Isolation Days
Noozhawk readers have asked how to count their self-isolation days if they test positive for COVID-19, and how to know when to safely end their self-isolation without infecting others.
County public health officials urge people to isolate themselves if they test positive or have symptoms of COVID-19, which can include cold and flu-like symptoms.
Day One is the day after symptoms start, or the day after the day of your first positive test if you do not develop symptoms.
“You can end isolation after five days if you test negative (use an antigen test) on Day 5 or later — as long as you do not have a fever and your symptoms are getting better,” said Dr. Henning Ansorg, the county’s public health officer.
“If you still test positive on or after Day 5 or if you don’t test, isolate for 10 full days, and until you don’t have a fever,” he said.
“It is strongly recommended that you wear a well-fitting mask around others — especially when indoors — for 10 days, even if you stop isolating earlier.”
Click here to read Noozhawk Asks: I Tested Positive for COVID. How Do I Count Self-Isolation Days?
Readers have sent us dozens of questions about pandemic-related issues. Please send yours to news@noozhawk.com and we’ll try to include them in future newsletters and Noozhawk Q&As.
Reader Resources
» Find a COVID-19 vaccine provider near you on the Vaccine Finder search function of https://www.vaccines.gov/search/. You can search for providers by location and by specific vaccine available (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson). You can also find providers on the county website, publichealthsbc.org/vaccine, or at myturn.ca.gov. Some facilities offer walk-ups as well as appointments.
» Text your ZIP code to GETVAX (438829) for a list of vaccine providers in English, or text your ZIP code to VACUNA (822862) for a list in Spanish.
» There are free COVID-19 testing facilities around the county.
» Find more local pandemic-related information on the Public Health Department website and the county’s COVID-19 recovery page, with resources for business reopening, rental assistance, food assistance and more.
» Click here for Noozhawk’s complete Coronavirus Crisis coverage.
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— Noozhawk managing editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.