After two weeks of meeting the criteria, Santa Barbara County is now moving to the orange level.
The county registered a decrease of 21% in active cases between April 5-19. Hospitalizations and rates for intensive care units are the lowest since October last year – hospitalizations fell by 63% and cases of intensive care by 71%. Santa Maria, in particular, saw a 53% drop in cases from April 1 to 15.
The adjusted case rate of the county is 4.5, and the positivity rate is 1.8 percent. To be in the orange level, the adjusted case rate must be below 5.9 and the positivity rate must be below 4.9 percent.
Jasmine McGinty, the county’s chief analyst, presented an update on Tuesday about the impact of the orange level on business. She said that so far there are 4,706 companies that have submitted their certificate and reopened.
The main difference between switching from red to orange, McGinty said, is that the permitted capabilities are changing. For example, a maximum of 25 people were allowed to gather at the red level, but at the orange level, it rises to 50. While the full list of guidelines will be published on Tuesday night, state guidelines for the orange level can be found. here.
VACCINE UPDATE
Fifty-two percent of Santa Barbara County residents have received at least one dose of vaccine, and 29 percent are fully vaccinated.
This week, the county received 7,280 first doses and 16,870 second doses. These totals do not include federal allocations for pharmacies and other providers. Every week, the allowances increase more.
Public health director Van Do-Reynoso also provided an update on mobile clinics in the county. The aim of the clinics is to bring the vaccine to those who cannot access it and it was built from the success of public health by bringing the vaccine to the elderly, the homeless and the homeless.
There are five bilingual teams of eight or nine public health personnel, the Santa Maria Health Center hosting three teams, the Lompoc Health Center hosting a team, and the Santa Barbara Health Center hosting a team. The target groups are H2-A homes, community mental health care and treatment centers, churches and others.
Do-Reynoso also encourages community groups to partner with public health and request a mobile clinic for their employees or clients via e-mail. [email protected].
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