COVID-19 cases falling fast in Santa Barbara County

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. — Despite restrictions rolling back, Santa Barbara County’s case rate has decreased by 41% over the past two weeks.

“We haven’t seen low case rates like this since September,” public health officer Henning Ansorg said. “Prior to the fall surge.”

This has allowed the county to enter into the state's less restrictive Orange reopening Tier for the first time ever. 

“We are now in the Orange Tier and that is much to be celebrated,” public health director Van Do-Reynoso said.

This means that more businesses are able to open indoors with modifications.

“I’m so happy that we are in the Orange Tier, but the fight is not over,” Do-Reynoso said. “We need to continue to be diligent.”

As of today, 42% of county residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine while 27% of residents are fully vaccinated.

However, we’re still a ways away from reaching herd immunity.

According to local health experts, this would require around 80% of the county’s population to be fully vaccinated.

“The scarcity of vaccine supply does not seem to be the problem,” Ansorg said.

Yet even with eligibility open to all residents over the age of 16, vaccine demand is slowing down.

“To increase vaccine access, we have formed five mobile teams available to provide 50 to 300 daily Moderna vaccinations each day,” Do-Reynoso concluded. 

The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department is also planning on bringing a mobile clinic to the UCSB campus.