••• “Santa Barbara County will follow a statewide plan outlined Tuesday by California’s governor and tailor its criteria to reflect local needs before lifting a coronavirus shelter-in-place order, county officials said. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced six indicators for modifying the stay-at-home order that need to be met before California moves to next steps.” —Noozhawk
••• “There are now 334 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Santa Barbara County. […] 144 of the confirmed cases are recovering at home, 38 people are hospitalized, and 15 of those are in the ICU. 134 of those who have tested positive are considered to be fully recovered and additional cases are pending.” The Public Health Covid-19 dashboard is here. “At least 37 of those positive cases are health care workers, according to Santa Barbara County Public Health Director Van Do-Reynoso. At least 69 inmates and 22 employees have tested positive for Covid-19 at the Lompoc Prison, according to the Bureau of Prisons.” —KEYT
••• The Independent profiles Dr. Van Do-Reynoso, Santa Barbara County Public Health director.
••• “Blood Banks Call for Urgent Donations Due to Covid-19 Pandemic […] Officials urge potential givers to make appointments in the next few weeks; type O donors are especially needed.” A little fact for you: federal regulations prohibit gay men from giving blood unless they abstain from sex for a year. —Noozhawk
••• “Surfing is still allowed in Santa Barbara County, as long as surfers maintain at least six feet between themselves and others. That being said, the medical community is still trying to determine if even isolated surfers could be infected with the coronavirus while in the ocean.” The article goes on to quote Santa Barbara County Public Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg: “The virus is in the sewage, however, we don’t know how long it stays actually infectious.” —KEYT
••• “Board of Supervisors Chair Gregg Hart, who’s leading Santa Barbara County’s response to the Covid-19 crisis, is scheduled to be Newsmakers’s online interview guest on Friday, for a conversation about the challenges the coronavirus poses to the community. […] Email your questions to [email protected].”
••• “Santa Barbara County plans to open a hotel for the homeless in Santa Barbara,” or more accurately, the county is about to make a deal with an existing property. “The 68-room hotel would be for homeless people who do not have the Covid-19 virus. […] The first priority is housing people who are 65 or over with serious health conditions; then people with a serious health condition under 65; and then all individuals age 65 or over.” —Noozhawk
••• A stark reminder that the playing field is not even: “As many as 456 students do not have access to WiFi and are unable to attend online remote classes in the Santa Barbara Unified School District. The school district has struggled to track the number of students who are attending class and those who have WiFi access. District officials acknowledged Tuesday that they don’t have actual numbers of WiFi connectivity or the number of families who have been ‘lost’ from the system.” —Noozhawk
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