SB County unveils ‘RISE’ reopening guide as supplement to state roadmap
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. - Santa Barbara County released new local reopening guidelines Friday, called the Reopening in Safe Environment--or 'RISE'--Guide.
The County says the guide was put together by local medical experts, with feedback from "all sectors of the community." The Board of Supervisors will vote to approve the RISE Guide during their meeting on Tuesday.
“We think this document will be valuable,” Second District Supervisor Gregg Hart said at Friday’s County Public Health news conference. “We intend to adapt it as circumstances change. It’s really, essentially, a living document. So as guidance from the governor comes down, we will potentially reconvene that stakeholder group, and work through those issues.
The County's guidelines generally follow the state's, but with some differences. The County feels that some state guidelines are too strict and would unfairly slow the reopening process in Santa Barbara County.
For example, the state's plan says counties must go 14 days without a COVID-19 death, and with only one COVID-19 case per 10,000 people (which equates to about 45 cases in Santa Barbara County), before restrictions can be loosened.
The RISE Guide suggests slightly different metrics for relaxing restrictions: less than a two percent fatality rate and less than 10 percent positivity of tests in a 14-day span, along with stable hospitalizations over that span.
Santa Barbara County Public Health Director Van Do-Reynoso says the County has given 1,768 tests in the past two weeks, with a positivity rate of less than one percent.
"We are excited to slowly see our local businesses open," Do-Reynoso said. "Yet it is imperative to remember that this trend will only be able to continue if new cases remain low and hospitalizations remain stable."
You can find the entire RISE Guide here.
One potential reopening hurdle still appears to be the Lompoc federal prison outbreak. Communication issues between prison authorities and the County continue.
The County's assistant CEO Barney Melekian said Friday that two asymptomatic prisoners at Lompoc penitentiary completed their sentences Wednesday, but had previously tested positive for COVID-19 and needed to complete a two-week quarantine.
While being isolated outside of prison grounds this week, one prisoner left for the Los Angeles County area two days before his quarantine was set to end. Melekian said LA County Public Health was alerted and that Santa Barbara County Public Health will work with the prison for more advanced notice ahead of future releases.
After the news conference, Supervisor Hart seemed to suggest that the prison outbreak situation has not had any noticeable improvement this week.
“We continue to be ready to help them in any way and look forward to collaborating with them," Hart said. “We’re trying to stay consistently positive and engaged.”
When it comes to caring for more vulnerable members of the community, County Public Health's Deputy Director of Community Health Paige Batson said Friday that the Department is giving prompt responses to reports of suspected COVID-19 cases in long-term care or skilled nursing facilities.
Batson said of the 14 skilled nursing facilities in the County, two have had positive cases. Those two facilities had between two to five cases between residents and staff, with one death.
