Santa Barbara County on Tuesday announced the predicted peak dates of COVID-19 cases, and officials were working on “alternate care beds” for critically ill patients.
The county reported 99 total confirmed novel coronavirus cases as of Tuesday afternoon, according to Public Health officials.
Five of the new cases are in the city of Lompoc and the communities of Mission Hills and Vandenberg Village; two are in the unincorporated area of the Goleta Valley and Gaviota; two are in the unincorporated area of Sisquoc, Casmalia, Garey, Cuyama, New Cuyama and the city of Guadalupe; one is in the city of Santa Maria; and one is in the community of Orcutt.
Of the 99 total cases in the county, 57 are “recovering at home”; 13 people are recovering in a hospital, 11 of whom are in an intensive care unit; 22 have “fully recovered”; and seven are “pending an update,” Public Health officials said.
“PHD is prioritizing investigations for cases with exposures in health care and other congregate settings to identify persons who may have been exposed,” the department wrote in a press release. “Mandated social distancing measures are in place to slow the spread of the virus.”
The COVID-19 peak date is projected to range from April 26 to July 28 in the county, according to initial modeling-based estimates.
Van Do-Reynoso, the county’s public health director, spoke of coronavirus case surges during a Board of Supervisors special meeting Tuesday.
“We know there’s a range in peak dates,” Do-Reynoso said. “Peak date refers to when we crest. When we are at the top of the curve.”
The county is looking at models from Penn Medicine, Meher Lab and the University of Washington to determine when coronavirus patients might overwhelm local hospitals. Key variables for the data include the number of COVID-19 cases, hospitalization rates, intensive care unit rates and ventilation rates, Do-Reynoso said.
County public health officials are “planning for the best-case scenario or the worst-case scenario—as more data becomes available we can scale that need,” Do-Reynoso said.
Models are based on the limited data that county officials have available, which is why the peak date varies, Public Health spokeswoman Jackie Ruiz said.
“We know that social distancing will delay our peak and also reduce how high our peak is,” Ruiz told Noozhawk.
The hospital capacity countywide had not been exceeded as of Tuesday; however, public health officials “are preparing for such a case,” Ruiz said.
The county is “aggressively” pursuing 500 to 1,000 “alternate care beds” to help respond to the coronavirus, Ruiz said.
The beds would create what county officials referred to as “alternate care sites” that would allow hospitals to care for the critically ill.
Ruiz said she did not have confirmed sites, and no further details were available.
County officials aim to have the sites up within two weeks, she said.
The county’s Medical Reserve Corps is activated and has been since the county emergency declaration was issued earlier in March, Ruiz said.
“They (MRC) have filled various roles in our COVID-19 response and would be an asset available to us for any future response,” Ruiz added.
County officials Tuesday requested the state’s cache of emergency supplies — including thermometers, 100 ventilators, 500 disposable ventilators, supplies to operate “three alternate care sites” and specimen collection supplies — in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Do-Reynoso said.
County officials were unsure of the total amount of supplies they will receive from the state.
“How many of the 100 (ventilators) in our order to be gotten is anyone’s guess,” Do-Reynoso said.
As of Tuesday, there were 85 ventilators available in Santa Barbara County, Do-Reynoso said.
“We know the hospitals have put ventilators on their order list,” she said.
In addition, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved new Public Health Department funding from federal bills for COVID-19 response.
Supervisors were asked to increase appropriations of more than $458,000 in the Public Health Department’s health fund for salaries and benefits ($112,000), and services and supplies ($346,612) funded by unanticipated revenue through the state and allocated through the Centers for Disease Control.
Santa Maria is furloughing many of its hourly, limited-service workers because facilities are closed and programs were canceled to limit the transmission of COVID-19, said Mark van de Kamp, public information manager for the city.
“At this time, 93 people — who worked from four hours to 19 hours per week — have been informed there is no work for them and have been instructed to file for unemployment,” van de Kamp said in a statement Tuesday. “The only change to our workforce is the limited number of 19-hours-per-week employees furloughed during this time.”
“No layoffs have been processed at this time” he added.
Many hourly employees were already not working or working reduced hours because of the renovation at the city’s aquatic center pool, which began in January, according to van de Kamp.
Sixty-eight people worked with the city’s recreation and parks department, 22 at the public library, two worked with the community development department, and one at the city manager’s office, he said.
The city has 160 limited-service positions, van de Kamp said.
“With the expectation that its revenues will take a significant blow, the city needs to be strategically positioned,” van de Kamp said. “We also have imposed a hiring freeze across the board.
“Like many local businesses also experiencing economic hardship, we look forward to things returning to normal, and then our intent is to re-evaluate needs and bring back employees,” he continued.
The Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District will start reduced bus service effective April 6, until further notice, MTD spokeswoman Hillary Blackerby said.
The agency is temporarily reducing bus service for several routes across the South Coast, including Goleta, Santa Barbara and Carpinteria.
Click here to view more information about MTD’s updated bus service.
“This reduction is due to the governor’s continued stay-at-home order intended to flatten the curve of COVID-19 cases, reduced ridership and MTD workforce constraints,” Blackerby said in a statement released Tuesday.
More information about prevention, symptoms and health care guidance is available on the Public Health Department COVID-19 website or by calling the COVID-19 call center at 833.688.5551 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Noozhawk has daily coverage in its Coronavirus section here.
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
