Santa Barbara County gets closer to COVID-19 ‘red tier’ as numbers improve
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The number of COVID-19 cases are decreasing in Santa Barbara County and help could be on the way for local schools and businesses.
Santa Barbara County passed a critical milestone as it hopes to progress into the state's 'red tier' of reopening.
Currently, the County is in the 'purple tier' of the state's reopening criteria which is means COVID-19 is considered to be widespread.
"Over the past week we are seeing a decreasing trend," said Santa Barbara County Public Health Director Dr. Van Do-Reynoso at the County Board of Supervisors weekly meeting.
There is a decrease in Santa Maria and Lompoc, but a slight uptick in Goleta, Isla Vista, Santa Ynez and the unincorporated area of the North County, Do-Reynoso said.
23 people are hospitalized and the hospitalization rate is decreasing. The same trend has been reported for cases needing stays in Intensive Care Units.
For the week of September 6-12, the County's case rate was 6.7. The threshold for the 'red tier' is four to seven cases per 100,000.
This one week in the red is a good credit towards advancement. The county needs to have two consecutive weeks of the numbers that qualify for the red tier to move forward.
The county will have to be assigned to the red tier for 14 days before schools can open. That will be October 13 at the earliest. In that time period, school waivers can still be requested.
"We would strongly advise community members to be cautious," said Do-Reynoso. She continued to tell the public to avoid group settings, wash hands often and do family outings for activities.
"A list of public COVID-19 complaints also produce the date to public health and when you forwarded those waivers to public health and the dates they were approved," she said.
If moved into the red tier, houses of worship will be able to open indoor with limited capacity. Restaurants, gyms, museums, movie theaters could also see their indoor operations restored with partial use.
Supervisor Gregg Hart said, "This is important good news. It is a reflection on our collective efforts."
Supervisor Steve Lavagnino asked How long can the county could "stay in the red" if cases start to rise again.
"After two weeks of being bumped back, the county has three days to go to the more restrictive tier," said Do-Reynoso.
Supervisor Das Williams said challenged residents to avoid that fate. "Let's not blow it," he said. "We need to continue a level of vigilance, to ensure this positive trends continue."
On the reopening, he suggested a staggered reopening of businesses to see if there's any concern related to a specific industry.
Supervisor Joan Hartmann reminded the public to get a flu shot. Because both COVID and influenza have similar symptoms, it's important for health officials to be able to rule the flu out if you get sick.
The reopening process, if it occurs, will be slow. Not all businesses will be allowed to open at 25 percent capacity right away. The county is talking about a careful rollout.
Williams said, taking time on the reopenings could reveal, "a negative trend associated with any particular opening." He was concerned about a set back.
As the weekly meeting began, Supervisor Steve Lavagnino came on through remote technology and said a staff member had tested positive for COVID-19. Lavagnino did not have a positive test but he is expected to be in quarantine for 10-14 days.
There was no discussion at the meeting about Halloween activities or restrictions. There was also no mention of the outreach efforts that had been discussed in Isla Vista a few weeks ago, or how that is taking place in an effort to avoid a spike in the college student demographic.
For more information, visit the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department.
To find out what's open and what's not in each tier go to: California Department of Health COVID-19 tiers
Late Tuesday afternoon the State Department of Health Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said nail salons are now permitted to open across California, regardless of tier status.
