Local plasma collection for COVID-19 patients begins, educators consider future student distancing options

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. - The latest Santa Barbara County COVID-19 update fell on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.

It's a day Santa Barbara County Supervisor Gregg Hart said provides hope.

“In the wake of this current emergency, I believe there will be increased attention on improving access to health care for undeserved communities, strengthening the social safety net for the most vulnerable residents, and better preparing for global health emergencies," Hart said.

Hospitals are now being encouraged to resume scheduled surgeries, preventive care and chronic disease management services.

The County's public health lab director Dr. Stewart Comer said both of the major medical centers in the county have started collecting the antibodies in the blood of recovered COVID-19 patients who volunteer.

Doctors call it convalescent plasma.

"We have made arrangements with Vitalant and we have already started our recruitment and collection of the convalescent serum and actually have used it as of this week, and I have talked with Marian Medical Center and they also have done that through Dignity Health,” said Comer.

A track and trace team also known as the disease control unit is busy contacting the contacts of the 11 new COVID-19 cases that brought the county total to 440.

Dr. Ansorg confirmed the county's fifth death.

The doctor credits the community for keeping that number from climbing.

He said 194 people have recovered, but there are still 12 people in intensive care, however, that number has been stable for the past two weeks.

"We have done so well, so far, I mean, I am so proud of our community, having achieved the stabilization in the ICU, in the beginning we were so afraid that the hospital would collapse locally.”

Educators are doing their part by keeping students busy with remote and flexible learning.

Their grading systems will continue to be decided by the individual districts

Santa Barbara County Superintendent Susan Salcido said education leaders met on Tuesday to begin talking about re-entry and what physical distancing will look like.

"Will the options work, you know, in terms of how you can have social distancing when you have a classroom full of students right now 20, 30- 35 students, and so we will be working closely with public health. We will work with the county. We will get advice from of course from the state," she said.

Salcido said it will be a nuanced plan.

"Re-entry will take careful consideration and time as we work through the nuances of being able to open campuses in the absence of vaccine and the presence of the need for social distancing," she said.

Educators are still serving 16,000 grab and go breakfast and lunches and they have made sure homes have the technology and internet connections needed for online learning.

"All of us, when we look at this situation through a lens of hope and optimism want to know that our systems, our thinking, ourselves will be changed in the best of ways when we are on the other side of this."

The next county COVID-19 news conference will be held on Friday afternoon.