By edhat team
The Department of Public Health (PHD) reports that the availability of the intensive care unit (ICU) in the county of Santa Barbara has dropped to 0%, as the county reported its highest COVID-19 in a single day.
Public health officer Dr. Henning Ansorg said the situation in Santa Barbara County is now “dire”.
“In light of our current situation, I am lost. Honestly, I don’t know what else to say. Many people are ignoring all the warnings,” he said at a news conference on Tuesday.
On Monday alone, there were 456 new cases of COVID-19, six deaths and 1,949 active cases. All of these metrics were at the highest level the county has seen since the start of the pandemic, said PHD Director Dr. Van Do-Reynoso.
Graph of daily cases of COVID-March 19 to the present day (Source: SBC Public Health)
On Tuesday, 341 new cases and seven deaths were recorded. All individuals were over 70 years of age, five had underlying health problems and four were associated with an outbreak in a residential establishment. Two people resided in the city of Santa Bárbara, two were from the city of Santa Maria, one resided in the city of Goleta, one resided in the non-incorporated area of Goleta and one in the Santa Ynez Valley.
This brings the total number of deaths to 173. The count of active cases now stands at 2,105 with 172 hospitalizations, including 55 in the ICU.
Dr. Do-Reynoso said hospitals are running out of staffed ICU beds and started using protective beds a few days ago, as the county’s capacity is now below 1%. Hospitals are now preparing for crisis care, meaning a person with health needs other than COVID-19 may not receive the health care they normally expect.
The hospitals’ emergency protocol works to reuse staff and rooms to accommodate infectious patients and discharge patients in a timely manner, while working with ambulances to determine who really needs emergency care and who can be redirected, said Dr. Ansorg.
In addition, the test’s positivity and case rates are at record levels, almost seven times the limit for the generalized transmission limit to reopen companies. In December alone, there were 28 outbreaks in companies in almost all sectors and 48 outbreaks in congregated health facilities.
“What used to be less risky is now risky due to widespread infection in our municipality,” said Dr. Do-Reynoso.
The authorities reaffirmed, once again, that the increase in cases and deaths is directly related to travel and collection during holidays. The current peak is directly attributed to Thanksgiving Day, although we have not yet seen the peak of the Christmas and New Year holidays.
“I understand that people are tired of the pandemic, however, denial of the facts only makes things worse. There are behaviors that are more risky, for example, traveling and meeting, especially when not wearing masks,” said Dr. Ansorg.
Graph of availability of beds in adult ICU with staff from August 2020 to December 2020 (Source: SBC Public Health)
Vaccination update
Santa Barbara County has administered 54% of its vaccine quota so far, said Dr. Do-Reynoso. PHD is currently focusing on Phase 1a that vaccinates acute care health workers, staff and residents in long-term care settings that care for the elderly and high-risk, EMS staff and dialysis center staff.
The PHD has 42 approved vaccination sites, as providers are increasing their logistics in preparation for distribution. Next week, PHD is planning to offer 350-500 vaccines a day, culminating in 1,000 doses a day in early February.
The general community is expected to be able to receive the vaccine by March or April.
More information on vaccine distribution can be found at https://publichealthsbc.org/vaccine/.