Anonymous
Source: Santa Barbara County Public Health Department
The County of Santa Barbara Recommends Masking Indoors for Everyone, as a Precaution Against Increased Circulation of COVID-19. As of July 16, Santa Barbara’s reported daily case rate is now 3.6 per 100,000 and rising. With cases of COVID-19 rising locally and increased circulation of the highly transmissible Delta variant, the County of Santa Barbara recommends that everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks indoors in public places as an extra precautionary measure for those who are fully vaccinated, and to ensure easy verification that all unvaccinated people are masked in those settings.
As of July, the Delta variants comprised 50 percent of all specimens sequenced in California, and continues to rise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted that Delta variants are now responsible for 58 percent of new infections across the country.
Fully vaccinated people are well-protected from infections and serious illness due to known COVID-19 variants including Delta variants, and vaccinating as many people as possible, as soon as possible, continues to be our best defense against severe COVID-19 infection, and the harm it can do to our region. Vaccines are safe, effective, free, and widely available to everyone 12 and older.
Out of an abundance of caution, people are recommended to wear masks indoors in settings like grocery or retail stores, theaters, and family entertainment centers, even if they are fully vaccinated as an added layer of protection for unvaccinated residents. Businesses are urged to adopt universal masking requirements for customers entering indoor areas of their businesses to provide better protection to their employees and customers. Workplaces must comply with Cal/OSHA requirements and fully vaccinated employees are encouraged to wear masks indoors if their employer has not confirmed the vaccination status of those around them.
“It remains critically important that we continue to practice safety guidelines such as staying home if feeling ill, wear a mask in public indoor settings, avoid crowded events, and practice good hand hygiene,” said Dr. Henning Ansorg, County Health Officer. For masks to work properly, they need to completely cover your nose and mouth and fit snugly against the sides of your face and around your nose.
The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department will revisit this recommendation in the coming weeks as they continue to monitor transmission rates, hospitalizations, deaths, and increasing vaccination rates throughout the region. Santa Barbara data can be monitored here.
“We have a method of preventing severe illness and hospitalization from the COVID-19 Delta variant which we know is effective, and that is getting vaccinated,” said Santa Barbara Public Health Director Dr. Van Do-Reynoso. “It remains critical for protection against infection, especially with circulating variants.”
People are considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. People with only one vaccine dose of Pfizer or Moderna not fully protected. Completion of the vaccine series is necessary to provide full protection.
Visit our website to learn where you can find a vaccination site near you or call 2-1-1. If you missed your second dose, please find a vaccination clinic near you.
So, two weeks from now is the indoor mandate?
Lol
Of course they do…because it makes no scientific sense.
Science doesn’t support it, if you’re vaccinated. Not gonna do it. Go after the recalcitrant anti-vacc’ers and leave the responsible vaccinated citizens alone.
Interesting juxtaposition today. Went to Santa Cruz Market, every single person masked but me. Went to Whole Foods Market, not a single mask in the store other than my one checker. At some point, we just have to admit that some people are not going to get vaccinated for any reason, even if you drive the shot right to their street with a mobile clinic. Time to let people take responsibility for their own actions and let those who have taken precautions live our normal lives again. Covid is never going away and these mask mandates and whipsaw regulations are just not sustainable forever.
So 3.6 per 100k? At least that many people get food poisoning every day. lol
Lock out the anti-vaxxers from school and work and group activities – and we wouldn’t need masks.
Are there Santa Cruz markets in the 5 red states now that make up 25% of all the Covid cases in the US?
Cases of “covid” don’t matter any more than cases of athletes foot. They need a better marker, because mere “cases” has now been reduced to meaninglessness. Science and data over the past year has now shown that.
Part of me says, “I’m vaccinated, so nothing to worry about”, but the other part thinks, it’s not out of the realm of probability to pass it on to an unvaccinated person, and even though they are probably only operating on about 2% of brain capacity, do they deserve to die for their selfish ignorant decision to not get vaccinated? Probably not.
How do you know that just because they are not wearing a mask that they are not vaccinated?
Probably because the people who don’t get vaccinated won’t wear masks as part of their freedumb ethics.
But I as well as many others are fully vaccinated so we don’t wear masks anymore. Their’s no need to anymore.
First point: Back on July 9th I wrote that this would happen, and was met with comments like “I’ll bet you’re completely wrong” and “More FUD, as usual.”
Second point: The above PHD statement, “Fully vaccinated people are well-protected from infections and serious illness due to known COVID-19 variants including Delta variants” is curious. How are they defining “well-protected”. This can be interpreted different ways, probably by design.
That’s on them if they are not vaccinated by now. It wouldn’t be your fault. Don’t wear a mask if you’re fully vaccinated if you don’t want to. Just socially distance yourself from others.
This recommendation is about being indoors, where you can’t always do that. If you’re smart, you’ll mask up, if only because you could spread the mild case you get to someone somewhere else who is immunosuppressed or otherwise vulnerable.
Your argument isn’t supported by science. If you’re vaccinated, and in the unlikely event that you catch COVID, your viral load will be so small you can’t transmit it to others. If you do get COVID, after vaccination, you will probably be asymptomatic or have very minor, non-life-threatening symptoms.
The science doesn’t support a mask mandate for fully vaccinated individuals. We have had to endure this nonsense for over 18 months now, and enough is enough.
As a healthy adult, I didn’t mind wearing a mask to protect the elderly, the sick, the obese, and the immuno-compromised in the height of the pandemic when there was no medical solution.
Vaccines have now been widely available for several months. I am not going to wear a mask now because there are a bunch of irrational, stupid people who refuse to get vaccinated. F+ck them. They’re on their own. I don’t give a damn about them and they don’t give a damn about us.
What about the children that aren’t eligible for vaccination yet ? Should we forget about them ? The unvaccinated are choosing to put those children directly at risk … We are being asked to mask up because of these irresponsible people choosing to endanger all of us. It’s disgusting
I recently went to a real estate open house and brought my mask, just in case. Some of the other lookers were clearly not locals (possibly from LA, where the delta variant is really taking off?), and no one was wearing masks. You never know who you’ll come in contact with. If wearing a mask indoors was a huge burden, that would be one thing. But it’s not, so…
If you’re vaccinated, you’re protected against any serious adverse consequences of COVID, whether it’s the Delta variant or not. Everyone has now had an opportunity to get vaccinated, except for 12 and under. They aren’t at much risk, anyway, even unvaccinated, and should be under parental supervision, wearing masks. The people who haven’t got vaccinated are selfish bastards who are putting their lives at risk and the rest of the community. The rest of us cannot be expected to tolerate their intransigence any longer.
I am 100% in favor of businesses requiring proof of vaccination for maskless entry. If you have no proof, you don’t get in. That’s the way to solve this problem, not this completely idiotic, asinine and counterproductive universal mandate.
Love the phrase ‘in an abundance of caution,’ which has come to mean; ‘We really don’t know what we are doing.’ Ain’t wearing the mask except when they won’t let you in without it (medical facilities).
RHS: “we need to do our best to get them to consider the society of all. ”
Isn’t it obvious to you, after 18 months, that gently explaining to these people why they should get vaccinated ISN’T WORKING? It isn’t working. These people are immune to reasoned argument.
These anti-vacc’er people are ideological. They’re proud as hell that they are not vaccinated and they have no intention of doing so, nor will they even get a fake vaccination card because it would be beneath their dignity, because they are true believers in their Neanderthal, Hobbesian, dog-eat-dog world of extreme individualism and “sovereignty.” No amount of persuasion will convert them.
So they need to be denied entry to public transport, hotels, classrooms, sporting events, music arenas.
Private businesses need to take the lead because the liberals are too timid to enact a vaccine mandate.
Bars, restaurants, grocery stores, pharmacies, entertainment venues, etc., need to take the lead. Show me proof of vaccination or you don’t get in.
They dont know what they are doing? You mean trying to convince morons to get a shot that could save their lives. Yes someone doesnt know what they are doing.
Science supports it, you dont. Thats different.
Even vaccinated can get sick and pass it. Lets not give this virus mutation fuel! Think!
If we dont stop the spread it will mutate into something we all need to be concerned with. Stop putting your head in the sand
The mandates are helpful to businesses in that they can refer to the rule, and not be put in the position of having to card people at the door. I sure don’t want to have to wait while someone checks my vaccination status before I can enter the grocery store. Easier to wear a mask.
Science does not support it, PSTARSR, and you obviously didn’t pass Comprehension in school.
Nostradummus speaks.
This is why we can’t have nice things…Unfortunately, the Delta variant is spreading like wildfire due to ignorance, apathy and a ridiculous politicalization and denial of scientific facts. These things have kept a certain sect from getting vaccinated and alas we find ourselves going in the wrong direction. Those foolish people choosing NOT to get vaccinated are dragging this out for everyone. People stating that masks should only be worn by people who are unvaccinated. Really? How do you think that’s going to work? The “honor system”? HA! Most businesses have already stated that “customers who are vaccinated are welcome to enter unmasked”. Does anyone honestly believe that anti-vaxxers or any vaccine refuser has been following that? Heck No! Those people are usually Anti-mask as well! So here we are…now everyone gets punished with masking up again because of dummies who won’t do their part…:-/
Being vaccinated and refusing to wear a mask indoors is on par with lighting fireworks in the dry heat of summer. Both actions come with only a small risk of harm, but the harm is potentially severe. Considering how easy it is to wear a mask or resist the fun of lighting fireworks, a lack of concern for others is evident in people who fail do to either.
And let me head off any arguments that fireworks are more dangerous. Number of deaths in Santa Barbara County due to fireworks since the start of the pandemic: 0. Number of deaths due to COVID-19: 459
I don’t begrudge public health trying to convince people to get the shot, just think it is a fool’s errand. Such people have had every chance, but for whatever reason won’t do it. So, fine, let everyone else get on with their lives, don’t punish them just to try to contain the ;morons.’ Nature will take its course, and so far the Delta variant seems less of a threat than the annual flu, virtually no threat to the vaccinated.
If you are vaccinated, there is a very, very near zero chance you will die of covid and a 95% chance you wont get sick and be hospitalized. Is that not good enough? Getting vaccinated absolutely protects the unvaccinated as the chances of a vaccinated person spreading the virus is near zero, precisely because they do not become actively ill. There is NO SCIENCE behind vaccinated people masking. Zero.
If someone *chooses* to be unvaccinated, their illness and possible death is on them. If someone for health reasons cannot be vaccinated, for example has an immune system disorder, it IS the responsibility of everyone else to be vaccinated to protect them (who should be masked if near potential sources of virus infection—and they most likely are aware of that.)
It is the unvaccinated by choice that are making life challenging for everyone else. THEY are the ones who are causing virus mutations, they are the ones who are spreading the disease. They are the ones who are spreading lies and misinformation, causing everyone else to modify their lives. So mask up, vaccine deniers, or you might die. The rest of us will be fine.
I totally agree with “vaccination passports.” If your a vax denier, stay home, keep out, no entry. You are a risk. Go away.
Children aren’t really at risk though… the flu is literally more deadly for them. So they are doing this to protect the anti Vaxxers, which seems nutty and backwards and the recipe for this being a forever thing.
Do you do booster passports…? And then booster booster passports? Sounds like a good way to keep this going forever. Everyone over 70 has had over 3 months of easy and free access to the vaccine. If they do want it, fine…but making anyone wear the mask because of that is silly.
GINGER1: Spot on, as always.
Pediatricians recommend masking for children older than 2 years:
https://services.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/aap/2021/american-academy-of-pediatrics-updates-recommendations-for-opening-schools-in-fall-2021/
There is no medical science indicating that vaccinated people should wear masks now, but social science might suggest that they should. We do not have vaccine passports. We do not have bouncers at store entries keeping out the unvaxxed. So how do we make sure the unvaccinated wear masks? We make all people wear masks. It’s not fair, but what is?
And we want the unvaxxed to avoid infection because any viral spread increases the likelihood of more variants arising.
B.S.
8:21 PM – Absolutely true. And there’s nothing like enforcement to inspire compliance, so it would be gratifying to see some of that, as well, after the non-masking idiots become more obvious to casual observation.
I am vaccinated, as is everyone I know. I will not put a mask back on because some people refuse to be vaccinated. If children were vulnerable (and the vaccine were not yet available to them), then I would not have this stance. But all vulnerable populations have had ample time to receive any one of the multiple vaccines available and if at this point you are not vaccinated, and therefore not going out of your way to contribute to a healthy and immune society, then I am certainly not going out of my way to “protect” you by wearing a mask I don’t need.
Ignoring the fact that children are not yet eligible for vaccination, and some people cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons. Stop being selfish yourself, just not quite as bad as the antivax jerks. The mask is a trivial imposition, and only indoors.
Grab your masks, ladies and gentlemen. We’re in for a bumpy ride!
We don’t know what we don’t know. . . Donald Rumsfeld
Children are not vulnerable to the disease and its worth effects. Stop lying.
Also if your justification for us wearing masks is that some people cannot be vaccinated for “medical reasons” then we need to continue wearing masks until the end of time. No. Do we wear masks to prevent measles for babies and those who cannot be vaccinated? No. We do not. Because vaccines work and the only people causing risk and harm to these populations are the unvaccinated. I was against lackadaisical attitudes toward children getting COVID earlier in the pandemic because of who they had the potential to infect: grandparents, their pregnant mothers, etc. ALL of those people have now had the opportunity to be vaccinated. If they have chosen not to be, that is on them. I will not wear a mask because some people are too ridiculous, stupid or selfish to get the vaccine. And once again, children are not at risk of COVID in any way that warrants the entire population wearing masks for their protection.
The selfish are those who remain unvaccinated by choice. That puts them and their unvaccinated friends and neighbors at risk. It puts those as yet unvaccinated children and those with immune system disorders and chemo treatments at risk. The selfish are the unvaccinated. We who are vaccinated are of no risk to anyone. Wearing a mask does absolutely nothing to help anyone. It is pure theater. Not science. So tired of the BS.
Riiight. That’s why the American Academy of Pediatrics group urges children older than two years be masked. It’s all just for fun, and to inconvenience you.
Many of you simply do not realize, or refuse to believe, that fully vaccinated people are still at serious risk of dying from the delta variant, particularly if they are over 50. This data is coming from Public Health England, which has been dealing with a 95+% delta case-rate for weeks. Most (46%) of the deaths reported as being caused by the delta variant are in fully vaccinated individuals over the age of 50 (Ref. 1). If you don’t believe me, please look at the data for yourselves.
These masking recommendations, or mandates in the case of Los Angeles, are being done because everyone is still at risk—regardless of vaccination status. The recommendations/mandates are not being done exclusively for the benefit of the small percentage of people who remain unvaccinated. The truth is that if you are vaccinated you still need to be cautious, despite some of the irresponsible comments you may read here.
9 PM – Masking helps prevent infection, vaccinated or not. Anyone who says otherwise is lying, or is several sandwiches short of a picnic, or is just trying to justify their own reluctance to do something simple to help others.
Thank you all. +1
I’m not putting a mask on for those who won’t get vaxed. I support their choice, but I’m over it.
For the last time. If you’re compromised, get vaxed, stay home or mask up with an actual N95. Should have been that way to start, but whatever. I’m vaxed and not putting a mask on for YOU anymore.
BTW where are our more left wing always posting friends on this??
I will not give them my business. They have every right to request that and I have the right to spend my money elsewhere,
They flat out said it’s because schools Need to and have to open because of how detrimental closing was and that it would be a lot easier to just put a blanket recommendation of masks out as we aren’t doing a vaccine passport. You do read the articles, at least partly right…?
They’d still find a way to suggest/require masks… there truly is a “forever mask” crowd …
It’s not a question of left vs right, dem vs repub vs trumplican. It’s about science vs theater. Calling for everyone to be masked only fuels the fear and ignorance of those poor souls who need/deserve to be reassured that this can end. Masking the vaccinated sends the wrong message. Immunity is the only way out and that can be accomplished by vaccination or “allowing” a certain number of people to get sick, some of who will die. Those will be the anti-vaxxers and masking the vaccinated won’t change that one bit. Vaccination is clearly the best road to take. Just remember: 100% chance of not dying, 99% chance of not getting anyone else killed, 95% chance of not ending up sick and in the hospital and 99.96% chance the vaccine won’t get you sick. What more do you need to know? It’s a friggin’ miracle!
You are so selfish sbtownie
Completely and totally false report. Garbage, but fortunately caught you before anyone took it seriously. This BS was posted on social media under the label “we love trump”. Seriously. Debunked by Public Health England, Reuters News Fact Check, Health Feedback. I can provide the direct links if anyone wants them but suffice it to say that it’s best you ignore Chemicalsuperfreak. This person is a perfect example of how disseminating false and misleading information disrupts effective communication. Shame on you.
The unvaccinated should not be allowed to play in any reindeer games.
Andrea, I think you have really hit the nail on the head. The government can’t mandate a vaccine, but they can work with the private sector to force everyone to get one. Want a job, show proof, want a bank account, show proof. I think this could be leveraged to require folks to wear a badge or similar on their clothes as you suggest. Another way the government is partnering with private industry is by working with Facebook and social media to help stop the spread of misinformation. The government can’t block free speech, but the private sector can. The biden administration is actively collaborating with Facebook right now by reporting misinformation. Facebook then reviews and censors it as appropriate. I see great potential to expand this program and to make it far more effective. When the government reports misinformation, why stop at simply removing a post or banning a user from a platform. Facebook could refer the user to other entities they do business with such as their banks, credit card companies, landlords, and employers. In this way, anyone spreading information the government deems harmful can be pressured to learn the errors of their ways. For example, if someone posts on Facebook in opposition to vaccines, the government can start by reporting the post to Facebook. Then, Facebook can censor the post and forward the information to other entities. Next, the bank can threaten to close the poster’s account, and the employer can threaten to fire the poster. This leverage can be used to compel people to get vaccinated, or even to take appropriate te-education courses to de-program them from the right wing propaganda they have been hearing in Fox News. Perhaps this method could even be used to get Fox News off the air too. The possibilities are limitless, this new government-industry collaboration will help guide people to do the right thing and will make us all safer.
Why do people assume it’s the “far right” always not getting vaccinated? I know plenty of “far left” new age hippy dippies who won’t vaccinate for various reasons, they think it’s unhealthy, one said that they cleared their “energy field” and are not going to get sick b/c that raises immunity, a friend of mine lives in Flagstaff amongst new age hippy dippies who won’t vaccinate. So please people ,stop with the generalizations.
BENE – no, not really. Those far left and younger people are not flat out refusing to ever get vaxxed, they’re of the “wait and see” what happens crowd. The only ones stomping their feet into the ground and screaming “no vax, no mask” are pretty easily identified as members of a particular group.
That’s the far right narrative…..
People, take note. This post is a fine example of how a intellectually challenged person thinks. Amazing isnt it? And yet somewhere, at some time, someone actually told this person they were “bright” and “going places”… And that’s why we’re really messed up as a society. 40% of the people walking around are legitimate morons. Legally defined as such and yet somehow functioning… And to make matters worse, those people make up 85% of Facebook’s users and 99.99% of FoxNews viewers…
Chemical Superfreak The authors of the England and Israeli studies don’t agree with your assessment of their numbers. What you are saying is wrong.
https://www.reuters.com/article/fact-check-covid-england/fact-check-englands-covid-19-death-statistics-do-not-suggest-vaccines-arent-working-idUSL2N2OJ1ET
Everything pstarsr said is true. The fully vaccinated can get COVID, and even if asymptomatic, will have several days during which they shed the virus. The vaccinated don’t get seriously ill, that’s all.
I was just talking with paramedics and cottage hospital physicians yesterday. The consensus from these professionals is that vaccinated people can and do spread covid, and that a certain percentage, albeit a relatively small percentage, of fully vaccinated people can and will die of covid especially the Delta variant. in addition there are some people who remain unvaccinated who are not irresponsible but have health problems making the vaccination a hard choice.
This is the most dangerous type of misinformation. Anecdotal, hearsay, filtered through an anonymous source and put out as if its factual or real by a random person… Take this stuff and toss it out like you do junk mail and table scraps.
You really have become a cliche’.
That doesnt even make sense… Maybe try to make a new friend or two or maybe find a new, healthy hobby. This ranting and raging on the inter-webs isnt working out so well for you Coast…
Science DOES support it, and far too many people have gotten lax. I’ve never stopped wearing my mask in indoor places, and I am fully vaccinated. NOT going to take the risk!
Not only is Newsom not ordering this, I hope the stupid recall fails hugely. It’s a Republican led ploy to take over governance of our state. NO THANK YOU.
Duke, clearly you haven’t been seeing the statistics that the elderly are no longer the majority of Covid cases, and that younger and younger people, including children, are getting it now because of the more contagious Delta variant.
Dok Elmer FUD has no shame, constantly posting sociopathic nonsense couched in technospeak.
Andrea – no!!! Get vaccinated and then live your life. The path you are suggesting is (truly) never ending madness.
VOR, you are an unbelievable nitpicker. I would just be glad I reduced my viral load. If I wanted to reduce it 100% I would walk around in a space suit, but that is hardly practical for everyday living. You seem like an all or nothing person. It must be very hard to live in this world.
But cloth masks are to protect others, not yourself. Remember the entire rational to wear masks; incase you’re an asymptomatic spreader? It’s evolved since then to become a security blanket for millions.
VOR back to spread misinformation. Make sure Sac knows you are back, he really missed you.
“Based on an analysis of existing information, a new study contends that masks may also protect mask wearers from becoming infected themselves.
Different masks, writes the study author, block viral particles to varying degrees. If masks lead to lower “doses” of virus being inhaled, then fewer people may become infected, and those who do may have milder illness.”
https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/preventing-the-spread-of-the-coronavirus#:~:text=We%27ve%20known%20for,%22maskless%22%20hamsters.
The ignorant liars will persist in their lies, while young people are dying: https://www.al.com/news/2021/07/im-sorry-but-its-too-late-alabama-doctor-on-treating-unvaccinated-dying-covid-patients.html
You have no way of knowing what science and data have shown since you have never looked at any.
Marcelk, from your article “Dying at such a young age from COVID-19 is extremely rare. Of the more than 18,600 people who have succumbed to it in Georgia, only 11 were children, state Public Health Department records show. Nationwide, 335 of the roughly 600,000 people who have died from COVID-19 were under 18” 335 out of 600,000 is 0.056%. There are many other significantly greater risks to our children’s lives out there, including other communicable diseases.
Right. It’s just another risk, so why not let your children play on the freeway, too?
1206pn – But then you can take it the other way too… do you take your kids in a car, let alone a car on the freeway? Exponentially more kids will die in car accidents this year than of Covid… so why are you still driving…?
Pit, let’s follow through with that. You’re wearing a mask and a virus laden water/aerosol droplet hits it, the mask saved you! Well, did you immediately take the mask off, wash your hands, throw it away, and replace it with a new one? How long do you think that droplet will last before evaporating, leaving the virus behind on the mask, with holes way to big to stop a virus particle, that you are now breathing through the rest of the day.
You did provide a great example of why I’ve been distancing from Edhat, you jump to name calling and politics when anyone has a different opinion.
The growing rate of infection among the vaccinated makes masking a prudent practice. The lies on the internet and in the media are extreme on both sides of this issue. As stated, time will tell all about the vaccines, but folks don’t want to be patient. It is natural to long for the old normal and to be distressed that it may never return. Be careful and kind in the meantime, we’ll et through this eventually.
Sac – And it’s funny how the far left who are bending over backwards to provide anything/everything for the drug addled homeless that are to this point refusing help are all of a sudden about consequences. Humorous hypocrisy on all sides…no?
Marcel – We finally agree on something…hooray! An ID to vote is absolutely obvious and fundamental and not a political issue at all. Weird/odd that anyone thinks it is. Glad to find common ground mate…only took 317 different threads in which we wildly disagreed on everything! Baby steps!