Santa Barbara County Remains in Most-Restrictive COVID-19 Tier for ‘Widespread’ Infection | Coronavirus Crisis

Santa Barbara County’s public health director on Tuesday said the region will remain in the first — most restrictive — of four color-coded tiers in the state’s COVID-19 framework for reopening.

“We will be assigned the purple tier once again for this week,” Public Health Director Van Do-Reynoso told the county Board of Supervisors.

The state’s latest system classifies counties into four color-coded tiers based on the number of new cases per 100,000 residents per day and the testing positivity rate. Both numbers are measured by a seven-day rolling average, with a seven-day lag, according to Do-Reynoso.

The county’s numbers were 9.1 cases per 100,000 residents per day and a positivity test rate of 4.8 percent, Do-Reynoso said.

“The adjusted case rate for tier assignment is also 9.1,” she said, adding that Tuesday’s data was from Aug. 30 through Sept. 5.

The adjusted case rate “is a number the state uses to move a county upward if a county’s testing numbers don’t meet the state median, and in this case, ours was almost exactly on point — so it’s 9.1.”

The primary metric determining movement from higher tiers to lower tiers is new cases per 100,000 population; purple is more than seven cases per 100,000 residents or higher than an 8 percent positivity rate; red is four to seven new cases per 100,000 population or a 5 percent to 8 percent positivity rate; orange is one to 3.9 daily new cases per 100,000 residents or a 2 percent to 4.9 percent positivity rate; and yellow is fewer than one daily new case per 100,000 population or less than a 2 percent positivity rate.

A county is considered purple for having “widespread” COVID-19 infection; the red is the “substantial” tier; orange is the “moderate” tier; and yellow is the “minimal” tier.

Each tier requires wearing masks, physical distancing and hand washing or other hygiene directives, according to county staff.

The assessment for the tier change will occur every Tuesday, according to Assistant County Executive Officer Nancy Anderson.

A county must remain in a tier for a minimum of three weeks before being able to advance to a less restrictive tier, according to the framework.

“You have to be in a new tier for three weeks before industry sector changes occur,” Anderson said.

The total number of COVID-19 tests conducted in Santa Barbara County was 135,742 as of Tuesday, according to the most recent data. Its total number of COVID-19 cases increased 7 percent during the past two weeks, Do-Reynoso said Tuesday.

In the past 14 days, Do-Reynoso said, the number of coronavirus hospitalizations in the county decreased 30 percent and the intensive-care unit rate declined 56 percent.

The county’s public health director said seven areas saw “downward trends” during the past week.

Locations include the unincorporated areas of the South Coast, which covers Montecito and Carpinteria; Santa Barbara; unincorporated areas north of Goleta on the South Coast; Lompoc; Santa Maria; and unincorporated areas of the North County.

Do-Reynoso’s chart of the seven-day rolling total of new cases showed 11 areas in the county — and therefore Goleta, Isla Vista, the Santa Ynez Valley, Orcutt and the Lompoc federal prison complex weren’t mentioned. 

“New COVID cases are based on episode date, with a seven-day lag,” Do-Reynoso said. “The daily number of new cases may be changed on a daily basis as new lab reports are received into our CalREDIE (California Reportable Disease Information Exchange) system. Episode date is the earliest date of several dates onset of symptoms or specimen collection date, and corresponds to the earliest date the case can be known to have had the infection.”

CalREDIE is California’s infectious disease reporting system.

Local data provided a look at spikes in COVID-19 cases in the county.

“We began this pandemic at the best tier to be in, and then as we progressed through March, April, all the way to May, we were in the moderate tier,” Do-Reynoso said. “It is after Memorial Day (May 25) and the reopening of many sectors that we saw an increase in our cases, and then with the apex being around Sept. 11.”

In early July, “increased restrictions were put into place, and correspondingly we also saw a decrease in our cases,” Do-Reynoso said.

The state’s new tier report allows for tightening and loosening restrictions on sectors and activities in California counties.

Since Santa Barbara County is in the purple tier, there are limits on indoor operations for restaurants, gyms and fitness centers, places of worship, museums, galleries, zoos, aquariums, personal care services (with licensing board approval), protests, and youth sport leagues for conditioning and skill-building.

“As we move to the next tier — the red tier — these outdoor operations can be moved indoors at a certain percentage, ranging from 10 to 25 percent,” Do-Reynoso said.

Hair salons and barbershops can open indoors with modifications, and retail stores can operate at 25 percent capacity.

As of last week, more than 4,100 businesses in the county have submitted a COVID-19 reopening self-certification, Anderson said.

Overall, 925 restaurants, 701 retail stores and 459 office workspaces in the county had submitted those self-certifications as of Sept. 10.

In addition, 295 hair salons and barbershops, 199 limited services, 169 gyms and fitness businesses, 136 personal services, 108 hotels, 106 wineries/bars, and 76 construction workplaces submitted the county’s requirements to reopen. 

Public health officials are urging all county residents to get tested for COVID-19.

Do-Reynoso said people are encouraged because the “state has increased their supply and our county has plenty of supply,” plus there is a quicker turnaround time now for results, and “you may be asymptomatic and you may have been exposed, but not be aware.

“Now that the opportunity is available,” she said, “we are encouraging people to get tested.”

The expectation is that the county will occupy at 85 percent at the three state-run testing locations. State-run testing sites are located at the Goleta Valley Community Center at 5679 Hollister Ave.; the Santa Maria Fairpark at 937 Thornburg St., and at American Medical Response, 240 E. Hwy 246, Suite 110 in Buellton. 

Click here to schedule a testing appointment. 

“It’s a use it or lose it thing with the state,” First District Supervisor Das Williams said. “If we don’t utilize the testing sites the state has provided, then the state may shrink the number of sites or end it entirely, which is a potential real problem for us.”

For essential workers, county-run testing sites are in Santa Maria, Lompoc and Santa Barbara, Do-Reynoso said.

Visit the county’s COVID-19 page for more information.

New COVID-19 Cases Announced Tuesday

Santa Barbara County Public Health reported 26 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, bringing the countywide total to 8,741.

There were 32 COVID-19 patients being treated in local hospitals, an increase from 30 the previous day.

Of those, eight were in intensive-care units, a number that remained unchanged since Sunday.

Public health officials reported one additional COVID-19-related death on Tuesday. The Santa Maria resident was in the 50-69 age range and had underlying medical conditions. The individual “was associated with an outbreak at a congregate-living facility,” according to officials.

The latest fatality brings the county’s COVID-19 death toll to 107.

To date, 8,485 people have recovered from the virus in the county.

Schools Receive COVID-19 Reopening Waivers

Fourteen schools in Santa Barbara County had their COVID-19 reopening waivers approved as of Monday, Do-Reynoso said.

The schools include: 

» The Howard School in Carpinteria

» Knox School of Santa Barbara

» Laguna Blanca (Lower School)

» The Waldorf School of Santa Barbara

» Coastline Christian Academy in Goleta

» Montessori Center School in Goleta

» Crane Country Day School in Santa Barbara

» St. Raphael School in Santa Barbara

» Marymount School in Santa Barbara 

» St. Mary of the Assumption in Santa Maria

» Valley Christian Academy in Santa Maria 

» Pacific Christian School in Santa Maria 

» Santa Ynez Valley Family School

» Santa Ynez Valley Christian Academy

Three schools — Providence School in Santa Barbara, Cold Spring School District and Montecito Union School District — had waivers forwarded to the California Department of Public Health on Monday, Do-Reynoso said.

On Tuesday afternoon, Principal Amy Alzina said Cold Spring School’s waiver had been approved for in-person instruction to begin next week.

“I am extremely excited to report that, today, we received official notification that the elementary school waiver application for the Cold Spring School District has been approved by the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department and the California Department of Public Health,” Alzina wrote in a statement to the school community. “On Thursday, Sept. 10, the Cold Spring teachers and staff were all tested by Merso Labs for COVID-19.

“I am pleased to report that we did not have any positive results. This was a condition for the waiver to open school. All staff will be tested monthly.”

Five schools have submitted waivers, but their plans for reopening were pending additional information on Monday. The schools include the Dunn School, Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, Blochman Union School District, Notre Dame School and St. Louis de Montfort.

Santa Ynez Valley Charter School and La Purísima Concepcion Catholic School in Lompoc had submitted reopening waivers as of Monday, according to Do-Reynoso.

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— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.