Santa Barbara County officials believe the county is in a prime position to start easing COVID-19 restrictions and reopening businesses, based on testing capabilities and other data trends.
On May 4, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that some retailers, such as bookstores and music shops, could begin reopening on May 8 with modifications like curbside pickup. During the same press conference, the governor said that some counties could move faster in opening other businesses, like dine-in restaurants, if they meet certain criteria.
State officials are slated to release additional details on this expedited reopening process on May 7, but county Public Health Director Van Do-Reynoso said based on her conversations with the California Department of Public Health, the county is in good shape to reopen at an accelerated pace.
“Without the guidelines being revealed, I think that our data puts us in a ready state,” Do-Reynoso said during the county Board of Supervisors meeting on May 5. “I think there are elements of the containment piece that we need to strengthen, but I think we’re in a good spot.”
The county started working on its own reopening plan in late April, which includes various meetings with stakeholders from different industries. During the most recent board meeting, Assistant County Executive Officer Nancy Anderson said this process should wrap up next week. These reopening standards for businesses in the county will be posted online for public comment and presented to the board when completed.
This document will guide the reopening of the county’s businesses as county officials complete the self-certification process the governor said is required prior to local jurisdictions opening at a faster pace than the state.
Although the state still has to release its guidelines, based on what she’s anticipating, Do-Reynoso said the county is meeting some of the criteria, such as hospital capacity and the ability to conduct contact tracing. Meanwhile, the county has room for improvement in the daily change in case totals, which continues to fluctuate, she said. On average, the number of cases has increased each day by about 1.6 percent over the last two weeks.
Fourth District Supervisor Peter Adam was dismissive of data that shows cumulative cases totals. He said the county should only look at the number of active cases—which Do-Reynoso also presented to the board.
Although 526 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the county since the pandemic began, 404 people have recovered and there are currently 114 active cases. This number of active cases is down from 194 on April 22, according to Do-Reynoso’s presentation.
“We keep inflaming the public with this ever-increasing number, which isn’t reflective of the actual situation,” Adam said.
While the county is moving toward reopening, Adam said steps should have already been taken in that direction. He added that the COVID-19 restrictions the state and county put in place were designed to stop the hospital system from becoming overwhelmed.
Locally, this effort has been effective. Out of the nearly 700 COVID-19 treatment beds local hospitals have allocated, only 5.6 percent are occupied. Similarly, out of the 154 ventilators the county has in supply, only seven are being used by COVID-19 patients.
First District Supervisor Das Williams said that from his perspective, the county is in a position to reopen businesses faster than the state. He asked Do-Reynoso to return to the board on May 14 with more details on what other businesses the county can allow to reopen and what precautions those businesses must take.
“There are tens of thousands of Santa Barbarans out of work,” Williams said. “Time is short before many slip into poverty or have their housing endangered. And I think there’s a lot of health outcomes that hang in the balance for them and their children.”
This article appears in May 7-14, 2020.