More testing will bring COVID numbers down and increase openings

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - A call out has been made for more frequent COVID-19 tests by the public as a way to bring down the overall case rate numbers. With that re-openings can come faster.

That word has been delivered to the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors many times recently but it was driven home stronger at today's meeting that before.

It was also pointed out by radio talk show host Andy Caldwell, with the Coalition of Labor Agriculture and Business (COLAB) that increased testing in San Luis Obispo has shown a faster drop in COVID numbers recently. He cited an effort at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

He said, "it's a game to some degree" to drive the numbers down.

Santa Barbara County Health Officials say at this point more testing will likely reveal more negative results and that is the key to bringing down the data used to determine openings and closings for schools and businesses.

This week Santa Barbara County has a mobile testing site in Carpinteria available at the PROCORE headquarters, in addition to the normal sites listed on the county's web page.

The newest numbers put Santa Barbara County on the verge of the red tier when new guidelines are implemented.

Public Health Director Dr. Van Do-Reynoso says it's possible the new configuration could move up the pace to go from the restrictive purple tier to the less restrictive red tier in two days after the county reaches the approved level under the state's changing guide.

More details on this will be out this week from the California Department of Public Health.

Supervisor Bob Nelson, the board chairman, says he was "frustrated" over the lack of vaccine available for agricultural workers, since they are a sector identified as high risk, and the better that population is protected the better the county's overall health and safety will be.

There's also been support from the county level for involvement from business owners. The "vaccine hesitancy" by employees is said to be reduced significantly when employers are offering the shot through a workplace program.

Do-Reynoso says all of the three current vaccines are able to deal with the COVID-19 and the newly discovered variances in the area.

Looking at the timeline ahead, Supervisor Gregg Hart said soon there will be a massive supply of the vaccine coming to the area. He urged patience now. Hart said we are close to "a really good moment for our country."

This week, more school district, recently approved to open with protocols are welcoming back students. Supervisors Das Williams said the urgency by some residents to get the vaccine is understandable, but he wanted the public to support the efforts for sectors, especially teachers, to get their shots on a priority basis.

He warned the public not to "jump the line," with falsifications to get ahead of others for a vaccine.

The current roll out calls for 70 percent of the doses to be designated for the 75 years old and older population.

The latest shipment was 12, 580 doses of the vaccine. That's up from a week earlier when 9080 was delivered.

It will still take many months for the county to be fully vaccinated based on the rate of delivery and distribution projected.

Do-Reynoso says when the state reaches the mark of 2-million vaccinations, there will be a shift in the criteria for adjusting the tiers.

Normally you have to be in a tier for three weeks to move. Santa Barbara County is already meeting some of the qualifying metrics and that will put it in the right positions for a quicker drop down when the state makes the adjustment.

The numbers indicate the first chance for that would be at the end of the week. It could then kick in Monday.

Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg said the public should know that someone who is fully vaccinated could still get ill.

Santa Barbara County had its first COVID case March 15, 2020. Since then it has had a significant surge on May 20, and another in the December 2020/ January 2021 time frame which included impacts from the holiday period. The peak was January 13 at 3256 cases.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued new guidelines on gatherings. It says those who have been fully vaccinated can gather in small groups without masks.

The CDC also says those with vaccinations in public should still wear a mask.

More information can be found here: CDC Covid rules