Following the latest blueprint for a Safer Economy tier assessment, Santa Barbara County met all moderate orange tier criteria for the first time on Tuesday and is on track to officially advance to the less restrictive orange tier next week.
The province reported an adjusted rate of 4.6 daily new cases per 100,000 people, a positivity rate of 1.9% and a positivity rate of 2.7% for health equality.
All three statistics have decreased since the previous reporting period.
If the province maintains these low numbers until next week, it will advance to the orange low on April 20, Health Director Van Do-Reynoso said at Friday’s COVID-19 briefing.
The province must meet all orange level criteria for two consecutive weeks to officially advance to the next level.
Advancing to the orange level means greater indoor and outdoor capacity for dining and entertainment venues, as well as relaxed restrictions for other industry sectors.
Santa Barbara County public health officials reported just 11 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday and no additional deaths for the seventh day in a row.
The county’s cumulative COVID-19 death toll remained at 441.
There were 143 cases across the province that were still considered contagious. The daily number of active cases has not been this low since November 7, 2020, according to Noozhawk’s data tracking.
21 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized, including four in intensive care units. The availability of the ICU in the province was 29.9%.
Of Tuesday’s new cases, five came from the Santa Maria Valley, four from Santa Barbara, and one from the Goleta Valley. One case is still pending geographic location.
According to the county’s Community Data Dashboard, as of Monday, 21.5% of the county’s population was fully vaccinated.
On Tuesday, the California Department of Public Health announced it has ordered health care providers to discontinue use of Johnson & Johnson’s one-time vaccine.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have recommended the Tuesday break out of great caution, said Erica Pan, state epidemiologist.
Of more than 6.8 million doses administered nationally, six cases of a rare and serious type of blood clot have been reported, with symptoms occurring six to 13 days after vaccination, Pan said.
The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department will follow state guidelines and pause administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine until further notice, Jackie Ruiz, public health spokeswoman, told Noozhawk.
Any clinics scheduled for this week that originally planned to use the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will not be canceled, but will instead use the Moderna vaccine, she added.
– Noozhawk staff writer Jade Martinez-Pogue can be reached at . (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk @BuienRadarNL and @BuienRadarNLConnect with Noozhawk on Facebook.