Public Health Officials Say Stay-at-Home Order Working
But Can Santa Barbara Residents Continue to Practice Social Distancing Long Enough to Slow the Surge?
At a time when good news has become a rare commodity, the County Board of Supervisors got a painful dose of it on Tuesday morning. It was the most informative presentation to date of where the county stands in its fight against COVID-19.
Physical isolation really does make a big difference, said county health officials. Should Santa Barbarans continue to shelter in place at their current rate — estimated to be about 50 percent — it appears there are enough intensive care unit (ICU) beds throughout the county to handle the anticipated surge of cases. As of the Independent’s deadline, there have been 218 confirmed infections. For those experiencing acute respiratory distress at the time of the surge, however, there will not be enough ventilators.
If county residents would pick up the pace of physical isolation by just 5 percent, County Public Health Director Van Do-Reynoso stated, the county’s 50 available ventilators would be sufficient to handle the patient load. But if residents backslide in their sequestering efforts by as much as 10 percent, county hospitals could collectively find themselves about 500 beds short for the number of critically ill patients seeking help.
