Central Coast counties recommend wearing masks indoors as COVID cases, hospitalizations rise

Santa Barbara and Ventura county public health departments are now recommending that everyone wears a mask indoors in public places, regardless of vaccination status, to protect against novel coronavirus infections

“With cases of COVID-19 rising locally and increased circulation of the highly transmissible Delta variant, the County of Santa Barbara recommends that everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks indoors in public places as an extra precautionary measure for those who are fully vaccinated, and to ensure easy verification that all unvaccinated people are masked in those settings,” the Public Health Department said in a statement Monday afternoon.

Statewide mandates currently require unvaccinated people to wear masks at indoor public places, while fully vaccinated people are not required to wear masks in all public settings.

The Delta variant of the novel coronavirus is responsible for the majority of new cases across the country and the state, and the local transmission of the variant is rising, according to the Public Health Department.

This variant is believed to spread twice as much as the version of the virus that started the pandemic.

Santa Barbara County public health officials reiterated that COVID-19 vaccines are safe, effective, free, and offer excellent protection against serious illness and death from the disease.

“Out of an abundance of caution, people are recommended to wear masks indoors in settings like grocery or retail stores, theaters, and family entertainment centers, even if they are fully vaccinated, as an added layer of protection for unvaccinated residents,” public health officials said.

“Businesses are urged to adopt universal masking requirements for customers entering indoor areas of their businesses to provide better protection to their employees and customers. Workplaces must comply with Cal/OSHA requirements and fully vaccinated employees are encouraged to wear masks indoors if their employer has not confirmed the vaccination status of those around them.”

Santa Barbara County’s case rate – the number of new positive novel coronavirus cases reported – has been increasing every week since mid-June.

It was at 3.6 cases per 100,000 residents on Friday; if the color-coded tier system that ended June 15 were still in effect, the county would be in the orange tier.

Hospitalizations have stayed fairly steady, with about 10 COVID-19-positive patients in the county each day, but increased notably over the weekend, according to public health data.

There were 19 COVID-19-positive patients in county hospitals on Monday, an increase from 11 on Friday. Six of the 19 were in intensive care units, which is double what it was on Friday.

This is the highest number of COVID-19-related hospitalizations since April 14.

In past surges of the novel coronavirus, hospitalizations typically increase a few weeks after cases increase, according to public health officials.

“It remains critically important that we continue to practice safety guidelines such as staying home if feeling ill, wear a mask in public indoor settings, avoid crowded events and practice good hand hygiene,” said Dr. Henning Ansorg, county health officer.

He suggested people wear well-fitted masks, which completely cover the nose and mouth and “fit snugly against the sides of your face and around your nose.”

People are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, or two weeks after the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

People with only one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines are not fully protected, and are not considered fully vaccinated, according to the Public Health Department.

Vaccination locations are available around the county, and more information can be found on the public health website, at publichealthsbc.org/vaccine, and myturn.ca.gov.

Ventura County, which has a similar case rate to Santa Barbara, also issued a recommendation on Monday for everyone to wear masks indoors in public.