Santa Barbara County has the highest spread of COVID-19 in California



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By edhat staff

New state data shows Santa Barbara County has the highest COVID-19 rate of any other county in California.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) tracks each county’s effective reproduction number, also known as R-effective, to determine the average number of people each infected person will transmit the virus to, thus representing the rate at which COVID-19 is spread.

Based on the state model, Santa Barbara County has the highest R-effective in the state at 1.27 on Friday, Director of Public Health Dr Van Do-Reynoso said. She explained that anything greater than 1 means the virus is spreading exponentially.


R-efficient trends by county from October 28, 2020 to January 13, 2021
(Source package: CalCat)

Public health officer Dr Henning Ansorg said the parameters are determined based on the number of positive tests, new cases and how quickly they are increasing. He cited a series of huge jumps in case rates that show the virus is growing exponentially and how quickly it is spreading.

Dr Do-Reynoso said the county was in a “desperate situation” as last Sunday was found to have the highest case rate of 779 new COVID-19 infections, breaking the previous record of 200 cases. Weekly hospitalization rates and deaths have quadrupled, with test positivity reaching 16%.

These “extremely worrying” numbers have been described as a surge in more than a wave and are directly linked to holiday gatherings and travel that will likely last until February, Dr Do-Reynoso said.


Effective rates R by county (Source: CalCat)

Vaccinations are open to anyone aged 75 or over

Santa Barbara County begins immunization efforts for people 75 years of age and older. Medical providers authorized to administer the vaccination will contact eligible patients to schedule vaccination appointments. Vaccines will also be available at each of the public health community (POD) distribution points which are located throughout the county.

It should start on Wednesday, January 20. Once enough vaccines are received, community members aged 65 to 74 will be able to register for immunization, followed by those working in education, child care, service emergency and food / grocery / agriculture.

Click here for more information on vaccine deployment.

Dr Ansorg also touched on some “conspiracy theories” circulating on social media and clarified the rumor that the vaccine causes infertility is not supported by any scientific data, saying a few women participating in vaccine trials have since been successfully designed. He also said that the theory that COVID-19-related deaths are actually due to the flu is not true because everyone admitted to hospital is tested for both influenza and COVID-19. . He said there have been deaths from the flu, but they are far fewer this year due to social distancing, wearing masks and increasing hand washing.

Friday numbers

As of Friday, 364 new cases of COVID-19 and five deaths were reported.

Of those who died, four were over 70 and one was between 50 and 69. Three had underlying medical conditions and one death was associated with an outbreak at a collective facility. Two of the deceased were from Santa Maria, two from Lompoc and one from Orcutt.

There have now been 228 deaths.

The county currently has 2,786 active cases, including 192 hospitalizations, including 52 in intensive care units.

Santa Barbara County ICU availability is currently 1.3%

Dr Ansorg confirmed that the majority of people hospitalized are between 40 and 50 years old.

Public health officials reminded the community to vaccinate when it is their turn, wear a mask, keep away from others, wash their hands, stop congregating and stay in your room. home only for basic needs.

More data can be found at https://publichealthsbc.org/status-reports/.



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