After analyzing recent data and looking at omicron’s characteristics, Santa Barbara County Public Health officials decided to end the local indoor mask mandate effective Feb. 16, aligning with California Department of Public Health decisions.
“While the omicron variant has proved to be more transmissible than previous variants, it has also resulted in shorter periods of illness, fewer hospitalizations, and a lower death count for fully vaccinated community members,” county Public Health officials told the Sun via email.
As of Feb. 14, Public Health data showed new cases dropped by 53 percent, active cases dropped by 49 percent, and hospitalizations dropped by 22 percent. About 67 percent of Santa Barbara County is fully vaccinated, and more than 768,000 doses had been administered.
Only unvaccinated individuals will be required to mask in all indoor public settings, and the county Public Health Department recommends that vaccinated people continue masking indoors. Universal mask requirements will stay enforced at hospitals, K-12 schools, child care centers, shelters, correctional facilities, and public transit, officials continued.
Lompoc Valley Medical Center Chief Executive Director Steve Popkin said this is a step in the right direction.
“Personally, I support it. I think it’s time to make that change, and—based on observation—I don’t think it will have a material negative impact on the situation. Ultimately we need to get as close to normal as possible, and [move] this from a pandemic to an endemic. The revising of this mandate is an appropriate step in that direction,” Popkin told the Sun.
All hospital staff are still required to wear masks, and clinical staff can wear normal surgical masks if they have been vaccinated and boosted. Non-vaccinated staff need to wear N95 masks when providing clinical services to patients, he said.
Prior to the mask mandate ending, the Lompoc Valley Medical Center (LVMC) enforced a less restrictive visitor policy that allows two visitors per patient as long as they are fully vaccinated or present a negative COVID-19 test. Other than that, LVMC policies have not changed, Popkin said.
“I think for the foreseeable future, some type of masking will continue in a lot of areas within the hospital. Even before the pandemic, masks were used. Expanding that a little will still happen for quite some time, but I don’t think it will be a hardship on employees or visitors to continue to do that,” he said.
Masking continues at the school level, too, but Santa Maria-Bonita School District Public Information Officer Maggie White said via email that may change after county Public Health officials review the K-12 school masking policy on Feb. 28.
Right now, students aged 2 to 18 are required to mask up, regardless of vaccination status, but masks are optional in outdoor settings. Vaccinated staff will need to wear masks when students are present while inside, but aren’t required to wear a mask unless children are present, White said.
In light of the policy changes, District Interim Superintendent Matt Beecher sent out a memo to families to avoid potential confusion.
“In shared spaces, we encourage our employees to be respectful and considerate of others. There may be a variety of reasons why individuals continue to wear a mask. We also encourage our staff to continue to practice health and safety guidance, such as hand washing, physical distancing, and staying home when sick,” the memo stated. “This new guidance relates to mask wearing only. All other mitigation strategies continue in place, such as contact tracing, testing, and isolation [or] quarantine protocols.”
This article appears in Feb 17-24, 2022.
