Edhat Staff
By edhat staff
The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department (PHD) claimed the recent increase in COVID-19 cases is “astounding” and “astronomical.”
PHD Director Dr. Van Do-Reynoso made the statements during the Board of Supervisor meeting on Tuesday morning.
The county’s case rate is 68 per 100,000 population with 16.8% testing positivity. The intensive care unit (ICU) availability four weeks ago in the county 38.4%, it dropped to just below 15% on December 24, and on January 5 it decreased to 0%
These metrics are anticipated to get worse until at least the end of January mainly due to resident’s holiday travel and gatherings.
The occupations that continue to be the most affected according to contact tracing are retired/unemployed residents, people under 18 years of age, and people who work in clerical/administrative settings.
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) projects the county’s data will not meet the criteria to move out of the lockdown order in the next four weeks.
PHF is offering 1,173 COVID-19 tests per day at various sites throughout the county. There is a walk-up, no appointment needed test in Isla Vista available on Fridays and Saturdays as well as a mobile testing unit at the CenCal Health parking lot. (Click here for more information on testing)
PHD has received 2,800 COVID-19 vaccine doses and administered 40% of these in three days. Community providers, including hospitals and clinics, received 13,975 vaccine doses and administered 53% within three weeks.
Those who have questions about the vaccine and if they are eligible are urged to call 2-1-1 where they will be referred to a public health representative.
On Tuesday evening PHD reported 470 new COVID-19 cases and eight deaths.
Seven individuals were 70+ years of age and one was between 50-69 years of age. Six had underlying medical issues and three deaths were associated with an outbreak at congregate facilities.
Three individuals resided in Santa Maria, one in South County Unincorporated, one in Santa Barbara, one in Lompoc, one in Orcutt, and one in North County Unincorporated.
There have been 207 total deaths.
There are currently 2,895 active cases with 211 people in the hospital, including 57 in the ICU.
More information can be found at https://publichealthsbc.org
Oh what do you know? Children are spreading COVID after all. Under 18s are listed as one of the top 3 groups of people testing positive.
Everyone already knew that SBTOWNIE…the point is they aren’t spreading it at school. The kids spreading it are the ones NOT in school…which is why you haven’t seen outbreaks in schools…it’s been kid to kid in unsupervised settings with friends at the park, beach, cousins house, etc…
There is plenty of evidence of outbreaks at schools across the nation, and the world. To think it could somehow get better if kids are in classrooms wearing insufficient masks, is delusion. I don’t disagree with you kids are getting it from hangouts. I see kids who live around me hanging out with friends all the time, riding in cars, meeting up, hanging out on the street together, etc. Some of them also go to school daily. COVID is airborne, there is now plenty of evidence for that. We were all told about droplet spread, but aeresol spread is proven to be real. Combine that with kids sitting in classrooms all day, insufficient masking, the B117 mutation (which is far more contagious), and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. One of the other groups of people getting heavily infected according to our officials are office/clerical workers. What does an office remind you of? A classroom.
Why is Edhat using the word “claimed” rather than the word stated in this article? Using the word with reduces the message in this article and the article should be revised to reflect the seriousness of this topic.
And there is plenty more evidence of outbreaks (AS IN RIGHT HERE IN CALI) when schools are closed. Again, as per public health officials…studies are showing that there is less community spread with schools open in the manner that we here in SB can be open! Montecito Union is spending quite a bit more time outside. Lot of handwashing and plexiglass. But again, as per public health, the best data right now is indicating that having kids in school is the safer environment.
By the logic of everyone here advocating for school openings, we should just reopen everything then except indoor dining without masks. New studies coming out show that once transmission within a community reaches a certain level, schools DO contribute to the spread of COVID. A lot of survivor bias showing up here, and failure to distinguish between what a school like MUS or the private schools can carry out (and whose students are most likely to be infected to begin with), and what will play out in the general public schools overall.
Actually we’re just referencing the Public Health official from their last briefing about schools in which they said studies out of the US and Europe were showing that there was less community spread with schools in session. So…what are you actually referencing, because I’m referencing our local health official….
SBTOWNIE – I’m curious, are you a teacher? : )
SBTownie, you’re contradicting yourself. You keep talking about insufficient mask usage, then go onto to say its airborne with aerosol spread. I agree with this and think that’s exactly why, even though we have widespread mask usage, cases have continued to climb. Non-N95 masks are useless against airborne viruses/aerosols. I also believe this widespread cloth / paper mask usage has actually increased the spread (of an airborne viruses/aerosols) due to the constant touching of the mask (very bad PPE protocol) and the false sense of security that cause many embrace masks (and engage in behaviors they wouldn’t have otherwise). Also, just as there wasn’t “widespread” fraud, there has not been “widespread” outbreaks in states and countries that have had school open. You are free to continue remote learning as long as you see fit, your family, your choice.
Because science said it was safer (plus obviously a lot better) to have kids in school then out…so…we adjusted based on that science to a more logical plan.
Keep in mind that outbreaks in schools do NOT equal an increase risk of community spread. There are “outbreaks” in all kinds of community settings: workplaces, churches, restaurants, and most importantly in family homes. Schools (when using precautions) have NOT contributed to an increase in community spread (this is now well understood by the CDC). Keep in mind that many schools have been open in Santa Barbara since August and the COVID numbers have not correlated with school openings here or in other areas. The key here is the negative impact on the community of schools being closed vs. the negative impact schools pose on “community” outbreak.
The schools aren’t going to reopen in the Spring, despite local health advisories that it is relatively safe. We (us parents) should stop deluding ourselves. The teachers’ union is absolutely adamant that there will be no in-school instruction until the fall at earliest. Maldonado and predecessor have lied to us time and time again.
If teachers aren’t going back to school, they need to join me at the very back of the vaccine line. No in-school instruction = no vaccine.
You got that backwards. The sane version is “no vaccine, no school”.
Let’s just have another round of applause for the federal government, everybody. Without their stunning, phenomenal abundance of leadership we would have never found out how to inject people with bleach and pray until it went away by the grace of Jesus and Emperor Trump. We should also give a big hand for VP Pence, head of the response effort and former governor of the state ranked 40th for healthcare. And when we needed testing kits, the government Went to Jared, who made it his school project to arrange national testing efforts. The national response was so good that nobody noticed it and they stopped trying because they were winning so bigly. Trial by Combat! Huzzah!
Does anybody have a theory about why retired/unemployed would have high case rates? Chem? I get it that some of the retired category may have infectious caregivers, but what about the ones who don’t have caregivers? And the unemployed? I thought it was front line grocery store workers who had higher rates, not people who don’t have to work with the public.
Why don’t you call 211 and ask the PHD, instead of asking for health advice from random fools on the web?
I’m not asking for health advice. I don’t take health advice “from fools on the web.” My question had no personal utility. But I was and still am interested in other people’s theories. I find other people’s thoughts interesting. Sorry you don’t.
Ah, so you revel in speculation from non-primary sources. OK: Retired people are being attacked by space monkeys.
Eight more deaths today and 34 more healthcare workers infected since Sunday.
It’s well past time for [people to start taking the health protocols very seriously.
Do not patronize any businesses flouting the regulations, now or in the future. They are killing people.
You are really trying hard to pick a fight with someone. Are you okay? My post was so benign can’t believe THAT could be controversial! LOL. If you don’t like to hear other people’s opinions, why are you on EdHat? Unlike you, I think there can be value in getting a conversation going. You don’t have to believe or be influenced by what others say, but there are a few people on here who are intelligent and qualified in various fields, and have interesting thoughts to share. That is why most people are on here—because they are interested in other people’s opinions. If you are not, and have to be so unpleasant, you don’t have to read EdHat, no one is forcing you.
No, not eight more deaths “today”. Two deaths are attributed to last week, five the week before, and one from three weeks ago. I’m now having to screen shot the ‘Weekly deaths’ tab on a daily basis, because it keeps changing and you can’t go back to compare the data.
Bene, I hope you’re well. With respect to your question, I’ll just offer my opinion that these observations are incorrect and largely worthless for the following reasons. First of all, “people under 18 years of age” is not an occupation that I’ve ever heard of. Furthermore, people under 18 years are only 9% of the cases (see the SBPHD Dashboard), which doesn’t sound like “most affected” to me. The classification of cases is suspect as well. I get tested weekly, and I don’t fill out any questionnaires regarding my demographics. It appears that no information on the employment status of an individual is lumped in to the “none” category, which is being interpreted here as “retired/unemployed”. You can see this breakdown for various areas in our county here (https://publichealthsbc.org/testing/). Look at the infographic for Goleta. You can see that 60% of cases in Goleta are categorized as “none”; it’s 64% “none” for the state of California. Does that mean that we have 60%+ retired/unemployed, or just that they don’t have enough information to classify these cases? In summary, don’t worry too much about that data supplied from contact tracing, as it’s only as good as the process used to collect it. As of today, contact tracers have determined that 44% of COVID transmissions are unknown or under investigation, which speaks volumes.
Surely a meaningful distinction. Glad you’re keeping yourself busy.
Thanks much Chem!
If you’re interested in fiction and speculation, read a comic book. If you want valid information about the pandemic, ask the public health department.
SARS-CoV-2 is many times more infectious than influenza. That attempt at spreading FUD is a well known loser.
Unemployed is not an occupation. I can’t help but wonder if it’s because they are gathering. Like my unemployed neighbors did tonight with several people over, inside, for quite awhile.
Our public health (science if you will), said this:
““I come to you with data that I didn’t know until this morning and I wouldn’t know until ahead of time,” said Susan Klein-Rothschild with the Public Health Department. Klein-Rothschild was referring to the unpredictable turns of the pandemic and that recent data shows it is safe to open schools and that students are more likely to follow guidelines in school than out of school with friends.
And from what little has played out in Santa Barbara Unified so far, it appears true. There has been no COVID-19 transmission on any campus since small cohorts and athletics have been allowed to resume in person”
https://www.independent.com/2020/12/16/distance-learning-taking-toll-on-santa-barbara-unified-students/
Darwin is saying – “I told you so”
I agree Andrea, one of the many reasons why these blanket, long-term restrictions don’t work.
SBTownie, I don’t know who “science” is but CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said:
“The truth is, for kids K through 12, one of the safest places they can be from our perspective is to remain in school” “The [CDC] did not recommend closing schools in the spring, nor does it recommend it now.” From back in November: https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/cdc-director-redfield-says-it-does-not-recommend-closing-schools-covid-acquired-in-the-household-96256581558
SBTownie, so the 2 people (and their friends, unknown number) you know that got appointments “trumps” the news that the published article that says the sites were inundated with people without appointments and therefore couldn’t get vaccinated? That is some sharp thinking. Eyeroll.
Cool story, Pit. Los Angeles also struggled in the first few days of the previous phase and got things figured out within 1-2 days. You’re fixated on the wrong thing. My question is why our county hasn’t even started rolling out the option to people over 65 and ALL medical workers. I know medical workers here in SB who are STILL waiting because they’re part of some lesser tier within phase 1. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the country… more and more people are being vaccinated and we’re patting ourselves on the back for vaccinating 600 people last week. At that rate, we’ll be finishing up our 2-dose vaccines about 28 years from now. Why are you so antagonistic to anyone suggesting our local government may be anything less than perfect? Is it not citizens’ jobs to keep government on its toes and to demand answers? The leeway you grant our overlords while decrying anyone who dares challenge authority or list its failures is truly astounding.
100% SBTownie, they work for us! “Is it not citizens’ jobs to keep government on its toes and to demand answers? The leeway you grant our overlords while decrying anyone who dares challenge authority or list its failures is truly astounding.”
Thanks, Sandy. It seems like our local public health officials are NOT heeding the state’s direction. They said again today that we will begin with over 75s in February…
Newsflash: Family members in Orange County over 65 are being vaccinated THIS WEEK. They do not work in healthcare, one does have pre-existing condition but it is NOT a requirement for vaccine. What is going on here?! I just visited the county health website and it states they will START on over 75s in FEBRUARY? What are our local bureaucracies doing? Why are we so behind? Every article I read and press conference is a big pat on the back to everyone yet here we are weeks or months behind other regions nearby who are moving ahead with mass vaccinations? We need to demand action, answers, and accountability!!!
I completely agree.
Because some politicians with a certain political persuasion care more about appearing to distribute the vaccine equitably vs. getting vaccines in to arms ASAP.
Newsflash, saying they are “eligible” doesn’t mean they can actually get it. They don’t have enough right now to give to everyone over 65. But it sure got you fired up to attack our officials. From LA Times:
“The county’s three existing POD [point of distribution] sites were overwhelmed by individuals without appointments today, effectively shutting down the vaccination sites. It is critical for people to understand that appointment slots are available based on VACCINE AVAILABILITY. Showing up without an appointment stresses the system and depletes SCARCE resources,” the healthcare agency said in a statement.
The Indy Facebook site seems to work okay because those faces have actual names attached to them and FB will close their accounts if they violate their policies. Same as the Edhat nanny.
Pit, these people have scheduled appointments THIS FRIDAY. It’s happening. This is real. They are vaccinating people over 65 in OC right now. Two different family members were able to get appointments, as were their friends.
Because our County is run by a bunch of bozos. There are many states and counties across the country that are rolling out the vaccine in record time with websites that clearly state how to go about getting a vaccine.