Sana Barbara News-Press: December 04, 2020

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Christmas trees in high demand

From Rudolph to Dolly

Local Boy Scouts selling Christmas trees, wreaths in Carpinteria - A3

CBS airs variety of Christmas specials - A4

Our 165th Year

75¢

F R I DAY, DE C E M BE R 4 , 2 0 2 0

Gov. Newsom issues regional stay-at-home order By JOSH GREGA NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Gov. Gavin Newsom has announced a three-week, regional stay-at-home order for areas where ICU capacity falls below 15%. During a press conference on Thursday, Gov. Newsom remarked that California’s five regions,

Northern California, Greater Sacramento, the Bay Area, the San Joaquin Valley, and Southern California, are expected to see their ICU capacities fall to below 15% later this month as COVID19 cases rise. The Bay Area is expected to reach this point by mid to late December, while the other four regions are projected to reach it within the coming weeks.

Santa Barbara County is in the Southern California region. When a region is under the new stay-at-home order, sectors such as bars, wineries, personal services, and hair salons and barbershops will be temporarily closed. Sectors that will remain open include schools that have received a reopening waiver, critical infrastructure, retail businesses

at 20% capacity, and restaurants for take-out and delivery. Under the stay-at-home order, all non-essential travel will be restricted statewide. Gov. Newsom called the looming lockdowns as “a temporary moment.” “There is light at the end of

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To read more on Santa Barbara County’s latest COVID-19 cases, see A8

Please see newsome on A7

Oil wells capped

Surge in hospitalizations predicted for SB County By GRAYCE MCCORMICK

Project successfully completed in Summerland

NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

By JOSH GREGA NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Last weekend, a Curtin barge contracted by the State Lands Commission finished capping the leaking offshore oil wells Treadwell and NorthStar off the coast of Summerland. As the News-Press reported when the capping of Treadwell kicked off in the middle of November, Treadwell and NorthStar are respectively the second and third abandoned oil wells to be plugged under Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson’s Senate Bill 44. The State Lands Commission’s progress with the well capping project was made possible by nonprofit Heal the Ocean, which provided the commission with needed studies. Heal the Ocean executive director Hillary Hauser told the News-Press Thursday she is “beyond happy” that the abandoned wells have been plugged and that the capping has already yielded positive results. She said she has had people express to her how glad they are that they can now walk along certain Summerland beaches without wearing shoes and that they can bring their dogs without having to worry about oil getting in their paws. She described the waters off of Summerland’s southern coast prior to the capping as “unswimmable.” Please see capping on A2

KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS

Workers weld on a pipe during efforts to cap one of two leaking oil wells near Lookout Park off the coast of Summerland on Nov. 12.

At left, work is done on a pipe during efforts to plug abandoned oil wells in Summerland. At right, the barge off the coast of Summerland, seen during overnight hours.

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COVID-19 daily case counts, hospitalizations and deaths hit record highs even before Thanksgiving, and local health officials are saying this does not bode well for the region. Now the overwhelming of healthcare systems is very much a reality. Currently ICU beds statewide are at 75% capacity, and the projected total of ICU beds that will be occupied this Christmas Eve is 112%. That means the state will meet its ICU capacity in a few weeks. There are currently almost 100,000 hospitalizations in California. In Southern California, 74% of the ICU beds are currently occupied, and 107% of ICU beds are projected to be occupied on Christmas Eve. Southern California is predicted to hit ICU capacity in mid- to late December. “Having the capacity to care for COVID-19 patients is our greatest concern for the coming weeks,” Dr. Lynn Fitzgibbons, an infectious disease specialist at Cottage Health, told the News-Press Thursday. “Current Cottage Health capacity aligns with Southern California’s average of about 74%, and the numbers change daily. “As we see more patients needing hospital care for COVID, we are working hard to keep pace with these needs. Like other regions in California, our capacity is not only limited by beds, but also staffing and ongoing medical needs unrelated to COVID.” As of Thursday, Cottage Health was caring for a total of 277 patients across all campuses, 247 of which were acute care patients. There were still 141 acute care beds available. “The ability to staff open beds is going to be our greatest challenge,” Dr. Fitzgibbons said. “We ask the community to partner in staying safe to prevent community transmission that impacts the frontline healthcare staff needed to provide the critical care needed to help save lives.” Dr. Fitzgibbons provided a COVID-19 update for the public online on Tuesday, where she discussed current numbers, statistics and the surge of cases. “We are now contending with

unprecedented increases in the number of people who are severely ill with this infection,” she said. She reminded viewers that the county hasn’t even seen the effect of Thanksgiving in hospitalizations or deaths, but the state has already matched its numbers at the worst of the summer surge, and they’re still rising quickly. Cases in Santa Barbara County are well above the purple tier threshold, according to Dr. FItzgibbons, and anticipated strains on hospital beds and staffing are what she calls a “considerable concern locally.” A chart showing COVID-19 hospitalizations in the county showed a significant spike in the last two weeks of November, reaching a record high. “This is perhaps the chart that worries me the most and has led to some recent sleepless nights,” Dr. Fitzgibbons said. “Our hospitals and systems are excellent throughout Santa Barbara County. “But I worry about both how quickly the numbers have risen, but also the likely large number of patients who will be diagnosed in this coming week and will eventually need to come into the hospital next week or the week after.” The average stay for COVID19 positive individuals is four to five days, and longer for the ICU. If necessary, patients are typically hospitalized a week after their symptoms show up and likely two weeks after exposure. The deaths typically occur at least a week into their hospital stay. Between these time frames and the time it takes for individuals to wait for their test results, accurate data reflecting the status of COVID19 often doesn’t come out until weeks after. Next week will likely show much higher numbers. “The signals are really there this time. The curve has indeed changed and indeed exploded,” Dr. Fitzgibbons said. “I fear that filling many of our state’s ICUs is no longer a hypothetical or a model prediction, but rather, is increasingly likely. “The impact of this surge on our local hospitalizations and deaths has begun, and will worsen.” email: gmccormick@newspress. com

L O T T E RY RESU LTS

ins ide Classified.............. A7 Life.................... A 4-5 Obituaries............. A8

NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTO

Gov. Gavin Newsom pictured in June 2017. The governor issued a regional stay-at-home order for regions whose ICU capacities fall below 15% as COVID-19 cases rise.

Sudoku................. A6 Sports ................... A8 Weather................ A8

Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO: 6-8-13-31-38 Meganumber: 26

Thursday’s DAILY 4: 4-4-7-6

Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 7-33-53-61-65 Meganumber: 14

Thursday’s FANTASY 5: 4-9-11-24-25

Thursday’s DAILY DERBY: 04-07-06 Time: 1:43.51

Wednesday’s POWERBALL: 8-12-19-47-58 Meganumber: 2

Thursday’s DAILY 3: 3-7-1 / Thursday’s Midday 1-4-2


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