Agenda Item No. 4
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council DATE: January 24, 2022 FROM: Matthew Bronson, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Matthew Bronson, City Manager
SUBJECT: COVID-19 Response Update
RECOMMENDATION
Receive an update on the countywide and City response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
BACKGROUND
The City continues its work in addressing the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic following the direction of the County Public Health Department in coordination with other local agencies. The following is an update on the status of the COVID-19 pandemic in the county as well as the City’s continued response since the last regular Council meeting on January 10.
As of January 18, San Luis Obispo County has had a total of 39,427 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 54 current hospitalizations including eight in the ICU and 2,225 active cases at home. This is an 16% increase in total cases over the past two weeks with an 8% increase in active cases.
Hospitalizations have also increased nearly 200% over the past two weeks and the 14-day average number of new daily cases is now 383 which is a record high since the pandemic began.
In South County, there has been a total of 10,220 confirmed cases (approximately 26% of countywide cases) with 3,366 in Arroyo Grande, 3,061 in Nipomo, 1,787 in Grover Beach, 1,209 in Oceano, and 797 in Pismo Beach. Current case numbers in Grover Beach per 1,000 residents (137) continue to be lower than Oceano (173), Arroyo Grande (187), and Nipomo (191), though higher than Pismo Beach (100). There has been approximately a 17% increase in cases in Grover Beach over the past two weeks which is similar to countywide trends in case numbers.
Conditions in the county and throughout the state continue to be challenging given the spread of the highly transmissive omicron variant. There has been a significant increase in the number of new cases along with a marked increase in hospitalizations with the omicron variant. Fortunately, data from both the U.S. and other countries has indicated that while there may be a large number of new cases, the overall severity of cases is lower than with the delta variant or original virus particularly for vaccinated individuals. This trend is also being seen locally as hospital capacity is still sufficient even with the rise in hospitalizations.
The County continues to be under a local mask order for indoor public spaces since September 1 (9-1-2021-Health-Order-6-Mask-Mandate.pdf (ca.gov)) which covers all businesses, government offices, churches, and other indoor facilities with limited exemptions such as working alone in an office or room, actively eating or drinking, or specific medical reasons. The State also issued a mask order for indoor public spaces for all counties that did not have a local order with the State order recently extended to February 15.
Staff Report: COVID-19 Response Update Page 2
January 24, 2022
Vaccines are now available for everyone ages 5 and up with boosters also available for ages 12 and up who received their vaccination five months ago. Approximately 66% of residents in San Luis Obispo County ages 5 and up have been fully vaccinated with 73% of residents at least partially vaccinated and 27% unvaccinated. Approximately 61% of residents ages 5 and up in Grover Beach are fully vaccinated and 69% partially vaccinated for reference. The rate of vaccination in the county continues to increase slowly towards the desired goal of 70%-80% of residents fully vaccinated. The City continues to work with the County on outreach and mobile clinics in addition to the Public Health clinic at 286 South 16th Street. One of the County’s three testing sites is also located in Grover Beach at 1336 Ramona Avenue.
City Hall counter hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Monday through Thursday to provide inperson public access during normal business hours in addition to access electronically though email or on the City’s website or over the phone. The counter is closed on Fridays to allow additional time for staff to process applications, issue permits, and carry out other administrative tasks. Employees are working primarily in the office however remote work is being carried out by some employees particularly with caregiving needs or who work in more open workspaces.
Staffing shortages due to COVID cases among employees may lead to slower responses and wait times for services on a temporary basis. Council meetings remain virtual for now with a callin function available for the public to make comments. Staff is continuing to plan for a return to inperson meetings in winter-spring 2022 once case numbers and other metrics improve.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this item.
ALTERNATIVES
The Council has the following alternatives to consider:
1. Receive an update on the response to the COVID-19 pandemic; or
2. Provide alternative direction to staff.
PUBLIC NOTIFICATION
The agenda was posted in accordance with the Brown Act.