If California’s COVID-19 pandemic reopening framework was still in place, Santa Barbara County Public Health officials on Friday said the region would be in the most-restrictive purple tier.
On June 15, the state retired the color-coded tiered reopening plan, known as the Blueprint for a Safer Economy. All 58 counties fell under California’s color-coded system, which was a four-tier classification framework.
Under the framework, the purple tier means there is “widespread” transmission in the community. In the purple tier, indoor operations of several types of businesses were not allowed and some establishments had capacity limits.
COVID-19 positive cases have reached “critically high” levels in Santa Barbara County, with the local positive case rate at 9.8 per 100,000 residents and the county’s testing positivity rate at 6.9%, according to public health officials.
“These metrics mean that we have widespread community transmission of the Delta variant,” the Public Health Department said in a statement Friday afternoon.
The Delta variant is more transmissible than other forms of the coronavirus.
The county’s case rate is based on the number of new positive cases reported.
More than 400 active cases were reported in Santa Barbara County on Friday, a 55% increase from the previous two-week average, according to the Public Health Department.
“As we enter this new phase of the pandemic, the landscape has changed dramatically from last year’s summer surge,” county Public Health Director Van Do-Reynoso said. “We have the safe, effective solution to stop this surge in its tracks.
“We need every eligible member of this community to act and get vaccinated as soon as possible. There are still 149,688 persons eligible to be vaccinated in Santa Barbara County who have not been vaccinated.”
As of July 20, more than 86% of new cases occurred in unvaccinated people, officials said Friday.
The demographics of people contracting the virus have shifted, according to the Public Health Department.
“Cases in the past month have trended younger with persons 18 to 29 years of age making up the majority of cases,” public health officials said. “More cases are now being detected in the southern part of the county, which is a contrast from earlier in the pandemic when the majority of new infections occurred in North County.”
The Public Health Department “strongly advises” people to:
» Wear a face covering in all indoor spaces outside your home.
» People who feel sick should stay at home, even if vaccinated.
» Avoid crowded events.
» Get the COVID-19 vaccine if you have not done so already.
Ninety-four new positive cases and one additional death were reported in Santa Barbara County on Friday. Additional details on the COVID-19-related death were not immediately available.
The county’s cumulative COVID-19 death toll increased to 462, and there have been 35,741 confirmed cases in the county to date.
There were 23 patients hospitalized with the virus as of Friday, including four in intensive-care units.
Of Friday’s new cases, Santa Maria reported 25, the Santa Barbara area had 18 and Isla Vista added 17.
Elsewhere, the Lompoc Valley had 13, the unincorporated areas of the Goleta Valley had six, three each were in Orcutt and the Montecito-Summerland-Carpinteria area, as well as two each reported in the Santa Ynez Valley, Goleta and the unincorporated areas of North County. Three cases were still pending geographic location.
COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic and Backpack Giveaway in Lompoc
A COVID-19 vaccination clinic and backpack giveaway will take place from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 6 at Lompoc Valley Medical Center, 1515 E. Ocean Ave.
Anyone older than age 12 can attend and receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
Children in kindergarten through 12th grade attending the event are eligible to receive a free backpack or school bag, while supplies last.
Vaccination is not required to receive one of the school bags, which were donated by local organizations, including the Santa Barbara Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Walk-ins will be accommodated.
“With the rates of COVID-19 infections rapidly rising in our county, it is more vital than ever that as many people as possible get vaccinated,” Lompoc Valley Medical Center CEO Steve Popkin said. “A vast majority of the new cases of COVID-19 infection are among those who are not vaccinated. This free event gives parents a chance to have their children ages 12 and older vaccinated, while also receiving school supplies for the coming school year.”
Lompoc Valley Medical Center, the county Public Health Department, the Lompoc Valley Community Healthcare Organization, the Healthy Lompoc Coalition, the Santa Barbara County Promotores Network, the Santa Maria-Lompoc NAACP and the Lompoc Unified School District are partnering to host the one-day event.
Click here for more information.
The COVID-19 vaccinations are free and available at pharmacies and community vaccination clinics. Some facilities offer walk-ups as well as appointments.
Visit the county website, publichealthsbc.org/vaccine, or state locator, myturn.ca.gov, to find a provider near you. Or, text your ZIP code to GETVAX (438829) to get a list of nearby vaccination sites. For the same service in Spanish, text your ZIP code to VACUNA (822862).
Click here for Noozhawk’s complete Coronavirus Crisis coverage.
— 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.
