Officials with the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department on Friday urged residents to be vigilant in the wake of a recent rise in the number of novel coronavirus cases.
“It is within our direct control as a community to move into the orange tier,” Public Health Director Van Do-Reynoso said during Friday’s press briefing. “We are almost there. If we can only work to continue to practice vigilance in adhering to the safety guidelines and decrease our overall case rates.”
The county is designated under the red tier of California’s reopening system, and it needs to reduce its number of daily cases to move into the less-restrictive orange tier. That will require an average daily rate of 17 or fewer new cases per day, which amounts to an adjusted case rate of 3.9 daily new cases per 100,000 residents.
There were 187 new COVID-19 cases in the county during the past seven days, making for an average of 26.7 new cases per day.
County officials reported 373 new COVID-19 cases in the past two weeks, bringing the county’s average to 26.6 new cases per day.
The red tier indicates “substantial” spread of the virus in the community, according to the state COVID-19 reopening plan, officially known as the Blueprint for a Safer Economy.
Do-Reynoso said Friday that “we are solidly in the red tier toward the orange tier rather than toward the purple tier” within the state’s four-tier COVID-19 reopening system.
The next tier under the state’s framework will allow the county to reopen additional business sectors.
The county’s adjusted case rates “have been inching up week by week,” Do-Reynoso said.
Four weeks ago, Do-Reynoso said, the county’s adjusted case rate was 4.2. The county’s most recent adjusted case rate was 4.6, Do-Reynoso said.
“It is our case rate that is holding us back,” she said.
Do-Reynoso urged everyone to “limit attending events” and “to do your part to decrease the transmission of COVID-19 in our county.”
One COVID-19-related death and 39 new cases of the disease were reported Friday, bringing the county’s total to 131 virus-related fatalities and 10,128 cases.
The individual was “over 70 years old, did not have underlying medical conditions and resided in the unincorporated area of Sisquoc, Casmalia, Garey, Cuyama, New Cuyama and the city of Guadalupe,” according to public health officials.
The Public Health Department said the death was not associated with an outbreak in a congregate facility.
There were 12 confirmed COVID-19 patients being treated in local hospitals, a slight decrease from 13 the previous day. Of those, two COVID-19 patients were in intensive-care units, a number that has remained unchanged in the county in the past 24 hours.
Of Friday’s new cases, 13 were in Santa Maria, seven in Santa Barbara, five in Orcutt and four in Lompoc. The Montecito-Summerland-Carpinteria area had three, and the unincorporated areas of Sisquoc, Casmalia, Garey, Cuyama, New Cuyama and Guadalupe also had three. Isla Vista reported two new cases, while the unincorporated area of the Goleta Valley and Gaviota had one. A geographic location was pending for one case.
County public health officials reported that more than 205,500 COVID-19 tests had been conducted as of Friday.
Free Seasonal Flu Shots
Dignity Health Urgent Care in Solvang will offer no-cost flu shots to people ages 18 to 64 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at 1992 Old Mission Drive, Suite 140.
A flu vaccine appointment is not necessary, but supplies are limited, according to Dignity Health spokeswoman Sara San Juan.
Everyone older than age 3 is invited to receive a free flu shot next week in Guadalupe. A free flu shot event will occur from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday at Curation Foods, 4575 W. Main St.
No insurance, identification or appointment is needed, but face masks are required.
The free community flu shot clinic is hosted by the county Public Health Department, in collaboration with Curation Foods, the Santa Barbara-based nonprofit Peoples’ Self-Help Housing, the City of Guadalupe and the Little House by the Park. It is one of several free influenza vaccinations offered this year in the county.
Prior events throughout Santa Barbara County have produced “record community participation” with more than 3,700 community members vaccinated, according to the county’s COVID-19 Joint Information Center.
According to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it can take about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies that protect against the flu to develop in the body. Health experts across the nation recommend everyone age 6 months and older, including pregnant women, get a flu vaccine.
Flu shots are covered by Medi-Cal, Medicare and by most insurance plans.
In addition, the public health department is hosting drive-up flu shot clinics starting next week in the North County. Click here for more information.
“We have several opportunities for free flu shot events,” Do-Reynoso said.
Getting a flu vaccine is especially important to protect yourself, family and the community from flu because of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health officials said.
“Equally important is that flu vaccination helps save limited medical resources necessary for the care of COVID-19 patients,” the county’s COVID-19 Joint Information Center said. “Just like wearing a mask, getting a flu shot is an easy and safe action we can take to stay healthy during this pandemic.”
» Click here for Noozhawk’s Coronavirus Crisis section.
» Click here to find other locations offering the seasonal flu vaccination.
— 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.
