SLO County drawing down large-scale COVID-19 response operations
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- San Luis Obispo County is currently drawing down some of its large-scale COVID-19 response operations.
Two recent announcements show the county is pulling back on two high-profile relief operations.
The county's Alternate Care Site (ACS), which was built soon after the pandemic started last year as a temporary hospital inside the Cal Poly Recreation Center, is now being dismantled.
The facility held hundreds of beds intended for future patients who were too sick to care for themselves at home but did not need acute care provided at a hospital.
Even as COVID-19 cases soared into the hundreds on a daily basis at the height of the pandemic in the winter, the ACS never admitted a single patient.
Instead, the site was used to store supplies, like ventilators and PPE, which were provided to hospitals.
“We hoped we would never have to use the ACS but were prepared for the worst,” Wade Horton, San Luis Obispo County Administrative Officer and Emergency Services Director said in a release. “It’s a relief to say that we no longer need an ACS for our community and that, even during the surge in COVID-19 cases here this past winter, our hospitals were able to provide the quality care our community members needed.”
In addition, county leaders have announced three large-scale vaccination clinics operated by the Public Health Department will close on June 4.
Since vaccinations began late last year, the county has operated three clinics, at Cuesta College, the Paso Robles Event Center, and a pair of Arroyo Grande locations, Arroyo Grande High School, and more recently, the South County Regional Center.
Since the first vaccinations were given in December 2020, Public Health clinics have administered over 151,687 doses.
The county has indicated as more and more vaccination opportunities become available at places like local healthcare providers and pharmacies, it will refocus its vaccination efforts to mobile clinics, as well its three long-standing Public Health clinics.
“When we stood up these large, temporary clinics, our goal was to administer vaccines as swiftly as possible to our residents, beginning with those most at risk for COVID-19,” said Dr. Penny Borenstein, County Health Officer in a release. “I’m proud to say this made the vaccination process easy and fast for tens of thousands of residents. Our commitment to ensuring our community has access to the vaccine has not changed⎯but now that it is available from many other providers, we can shift our focus to mobile clinics.”
For more information on COVID-19 in San Luis Obispo County, visit ReadySLO.org or call the recorded Public Health Information Line at (805) 788-2903.
