By the edhat team
New state data shows that Santa Barbara County has the highest COVID-19 rate of any other county in California.
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is tracking the effective breeding number for each county, also known as R-effective, to determine the average number of people each infected person will pass the virus on, thus representing the rate of COVID-19 spreading.
Based on the state model, Santa Barbara County has the highest R-effective in the state at 1.27 on Friday, said Director of Public Health Dr. Van Do-Reynoso. She explained that anything above 1 means that the virus is spreading exponentially.
R-effective trends by county from October 28, 2020 to January 13, 2021 (Source: CalCat)
Public health officer Dr. Henning Ansorg said the metrics are determined based on the number of positive tests, new cases and how quickly they increase. He cited a series of big jumps in case rates that show the virus’s exponential growth and the speed with which it spreads.
Dr. Do-Reynoso said the county was in “trouble” as last Sunday proved to have the highest case rate of 779 new COVID-19 infections, breaking the previous record in 200 cases. Weekly hospital and death rates quadrupled with test positivity reaching 16%.
These “extremely worrying” figures have been described as a sudden increase over a sudden increase and are directly related to vacation and travel meetings that are likely to last until February, said Dr. Do-Reynoso.
Effective R rates per county (Source: CalCat)
Vaccines are open to anyone aged 75 or over
Santa Bárbara County is initiating vaccination efforts for people aged 75 and over. Medical service providers approved to administer the vaccination will contact eligible patients to schedule vaccination appointments. Vaccinations will also be available at each of the public health community vaccination distribution points (PODs) that are located throughout the municipality.
This is scheduled to start on Wednesday, January 20th. Once sufficient vaccination supplies are received, community members aged 65 to 74 will be able to apply for vaccination, followed by those working in the education, daycare, emergency services and food / grocery / agriculture sectors.
Click here for more information about the vaccine launch.
Dr. Ansorg also addressed some “conspiracy theories” that are circulating on social media and clarified the rumor that the vaccine will cause infertility is not supported by any scientific data, saying that some women in the vaccine tests have already successfully conceived. He also stated that the theory that COVID-19-related deaths are actually due to the flu is not true, since all hospitalized patients are tested for influenza and COVID-19. He said there were deaths from influenza, but they are much less this year due to social detachment, wearing masks and increased hand washing.
Friday numbers
There were 364 new cases of COVID-19 and five deaths reported on Friday.
Of those who died, four were over 70 and one was between 50-69 years old. Three had underlying medical conditions and one death was associated with an outbreak in a congregated facility. Two of the deceased were from Santa Maria, two from Lompoc and one from Orcutt.
There have already been 228 deaths.
The municipality is undergoing 2,786 active cases, which include 192 hospitalizations, 52 of which in the intensive care unit.
The availability of the intensive care unit in the county of Santa Bárbara is currently 1.3%
Dr. Ansorg confirmed that the majority of people hospitalized are in the 40 to 50 age group.
Public health officials reminded the community to vaccinate when it’s their turn, wear a mask, keep their distance from others, wash their hands, stop meeting and leave the house only for essential needs.
More data can be found at https://publichealthsbc.org/status-reports/.