COVID-19 case and hospitalization rates declining in Santa Barbara County

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. -- Santa Barbara County's coronavirus case rates have dropped to half of what was reported during the Omicron peak in mid-January.

The county had a record-high case rate of 257 daily new cases per 100,000 people on Jan. 10, and on Thursday that number had declined to 126 new cases per 100,000 people, according to county Public Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg.

"That is good news, it is half our peak," Ansorg said during News Channel’s weekly chat with public health on the mid-day news. "However, it is still very high. We have high transmission in the community."

Coronavirus-related hospitalizations are also down to 113 as of Thursday from a Jan. 20 peak of 150, Ansorg said, adding that this trend is very promising.

While Santa Barbara County and the rest of the world is not quite at the "endemic" phase of the pandemic, Ansorg said the county is going in the right direction.

He added that the Public Health Department is planning "vigorously" to make that transition as safe and quick as necessary.

The Public Health Department recently extended the county's indoor mask mandate, and Ansorg noted that the statewide mask mandate is still in effect until Feb. 15.

Santa Barbara County cannot be less restrictive than the state, and the Public Health Department said it will align itself with the state's guidance following the verdict of whether to extend the statewide mandate.

Also on Feb. 15, the Food & Drug Administration Advisory Committee will give its advice on the safety of the COVID-19 for children aged six months to five.

Ansorg said that he anticipates that the advisory committee will determine that the vaccine is safe for those younger kids.

"For many parents it will feel like a godsend to have their kids protected," he said.

"And for the society overall, it is also helpful to have as many people  — including children who can carry the virus  — provided with immunity as broadly as possible."