[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 Noozhawk staff writer Serena Guentz 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 reported 516 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday. On Friday, it reported 816 cases, the highest one-day total since the pandemic emerged nearly two years ago.
» On Monday, the Food & Drug Administration amended its emergency use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to allow 12- to 15-year-olds to receive a booster dose, and allow a third dose for certain immunocompromised children 5 to 11 years old. The FDA also shortened the time between the primary vaccine series and booster dose to five months for Pfizer-BioNTech recipients.
» Skilled nursing facilities and local hospitals are changing their visitation policies due to the surge in cases.
» Beginning Jan. 15, the state “mega event” threshold changes to 500 or more people for indoor venues, and attendees must show either proof of vaccination or a recent negative test result.
» Cases in Santa Barbara County are continuing to increase, and the demand for COVID-19 testing has also increased. County Public Health Department director Van Do-Reynoso says people who test positive for the virus with an at-home rapid test are not required to report it to the county, so there are likely more cases locally than what is being reported.
» All indoor sporting events scheduled for this week at schools in the Santa Barbara Unified School District have been postponed.
» The Sheriff’s Department reported Tuesday that 50 additional inmates in the Main Jail have been identified with COVID-19. This brings the total number of cases in the latest outbreak that began Dec. 8 to 169, with 83 cases currently active.
Isolation, Quarantine Guidelines
The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department updated its isolation and quarantine guidelines Monday to align with those of the California Department of Public Health.
Under the updates, individuals who test positive for COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status, should isolate for five days. After day five, if a COVID-19 test shows a negative result and there are no symptoms, or symptoms are resolving, isolation can end.
Those who are unable to or do not want to get tested for COVID-19 should isolate or quarantine for at least 10 days, according to the state.
Guidelines for people who have been exposed to someone who tested positive for the virus vary based on the person’s vaccination status.
The state also recommended that individuals who develop symptoms of COVID-19 self-isolate until they can be tested.
Updated Visitation Rules
Beginning Wednesday, Cottage Health hospitals in Santa Barbara County will prohibit visitors for most patients due to the increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria will also be modifying visitor guidelines, allowing just one consistent care partner per patient for most hospital units.
The restrictions follow the California Department of Public Health’s announcement that visitation requirements are changing at skilled nursing and residential care facilities, effective Jan. 7.
Both indoor and outdoor visitors will be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination with all recommended doses and a negative test result. If a visitor cannot show proof of vaccination, they can visit outdoors only, as long as they show a negative test result from either an antigen at-home test taken within one day or a PCR test taken within two days of visitation.
COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker
As of Tuesday, nearly 69% of eligible Santa Barbara County residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and 76.7% of those eligible have received at least one dose of a vaccine.
Almost 65% of all Santa Barbara County residents — including those under the age of 5, who are not yet eligible — are considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
With the FDA’s updated recommendations for the Pfizer vaccine, everyone ages 12 and older is now eligible to receive a booster dose. Additionally, certain immunocompromised children ages 5 to 11 may receive a third dose.
Currently, the Pfizer vaccine is the only one approved for individuals under the age of 18.
According to the Community Data Dashboard, Santa Barbara County providers have administered a total of 706,810 vaccine doses, which includes 110,565 booster shots.
Got Questions?
Readers have sent us dozens of questions about COVID-19, vaccination, business reopening rules, in-person school and other pandemic-related issues. 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 staff writer Serena Guentz can be reached at sguentz@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.