Santa Barbara County is officially back in the red tier for the first time in five months, allowing more schools and businesses to reopen. The move up in California’s reopening system comes just a few days after the passage of the federal American Rescue Plan, which will bolster vaccination, school return, and business recovery efforts.
Public Health Director Dr. Van Do-Reynoso announced at a March 16 Board of Supervisors meeting that the county had met the recently updated metric requirements to enter the red tier of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy.
After meeting its goal to vaccinate 2 million people in the lowest Healthy Place Index quartile, the state shifted the red tier threshold to make it easier for counties to move up in the system. With an adjusted case rate of 7.7, Santa Barbara County wouldn’t have qualified for the red tier under the state’s previous requirements.
Now that the county is in the red tier, transitional kindergarten through 12th grade schools can reopen, and districts no longer need to have their reopening plans approved by the Public Health Department prior to getting kids back in the classroom. Districts are still required to post their plans online five days before opening, and the county continues to offer technical support to districts as they develop their plans, Do-Reynoso said.
Santa Maria-Bonita School District is the latest to submit a plan, Do-Reynoso said. Santa Maria Joint Union High School District had not yet submitted a reopening plan as of March 16. Lompoc Unified School District and Orcutt Union School District already have approved plans, while Guadalupe Union Elementary School District’s is under review.
The American Rescue Plan, signed by President Joe Biden on March 11, includes funding to aid schools in reopening safely, U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) told the Sun.
“Many students are now scheduled to start going back to school, and getting those vaccines in the arms of educators has been crucial as well,” Carbajal said. “It is absolutely important that the $15 billion that were allocated to California K through 12 education is now going to provide the resources to safely open up again and create a safe environment for our students and teachers alike.”
Carbajal said this funding can go toward things like air ventilation systems and the staffing that is needed for safe, distanced, in-person learning.
The American Rescue Plan will also bolster state and local vaccine efforts, Carbajal said.
“We’ve been battling with vaccine supply since last year because not enough vaccines were purchased, there wasn’t infrastructure put in place, the Defense Production Act wasn’t rolled out. This president has done all of that,” Carbajal said. “That is huge in getting people vaccinated.”
Santa Barbara County got 9,080 first dose vaccines in its March 10 allocation, Do-Reynoso said at the March 16 meeting, and expects to receive a similar amount in the next shipment. The state’s vaccine equity efforts require that 40 percent of available doses go to communities hit hardest by the pandemic, as defined by the Healthy Places Index quartiles. In Santa Barbara County, there are three ZIP codes that fall into the lowest quartile: 93254, Cuyama; 93434, Guadalupe; and 93458, Santa Maria.
“I’m thrilled that the American Rescue Plan contains a $55.5 billion investment in public health for COVID-19 response efforts,” Do-Reynoso said, according to a statement from Carbajal’s office. “I am looking forward to seeing the flow of dollars into Santa Barbara County so that we can continue our work with partners to ensure that all members of our community will have access to testing, isolation and quarantine, case management, and vaccines.”
Things are also looking up for business owners: The American Rescue Plan expands the Paycheck Protection Program and creates a new Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which Carbajal said “is going to go a long way to helping businesses stay afloat.” The county’s new red tier status means some businesses can increase their capacity and allows others to reopen for the first time in months.
This article appears in Mar 18-25, 2021.