COVID-19: 4,550 - County Breaks Daily Case Record, Again. Only 44 Available ICU Beds | Capitol Reports Poor Security Due To "Bad Optics" | Learning From History |

North Park Water Tower From Our Balcony (Taken 1.7.2021)

Today I read on social media that a local brewery has now reopened under the pretense of 'peaceful protest' and they've declared themselves essential. It's so infuriating. I'm trying not to rage-watch the news and socials and emails, but it makes me insane when people are just blatantly and willfully ignoring that the country is now hovering around 4,000 daily deaths and a couple dozen are dying every day right here in San Diego. I don't want to see compliance teams "educating" anymore. I want shutdowns, fines, losing of licenses, and pulling of permits. I'm sick of being home. This pandemic wasn't supposed to get this bad. But this patchwork of compliance and enforcement and regional lockdowns while some regions still aren't even doing the bare minimum of mask mandates is just not going to fucking cut it while we're waiting for vaccinations and 1 in 5 tests is coming back positive and the state is ordering backup storage freezers for all of the dead corpses that were someone's mom or dad, brother or sister, son or daughter. I have no problem reporting businesses and I have completely lost sympathy if they lose their licenses and permits. We really don't need businesses in our community that flout the rules that are meant to keep customers and the community safe. I've included the text of a notice that went out to restaurant operators from the Dept. of Environmental Health Food and Housing Division.

We've been doing our best to stay home. We needed some groceries today, so me and Darren went to Grocery Outlet and loaded up on stuff, but it's funny to think we're shopping at 8:30pm on a Friday night and that is us living on the edge. But when all is said and done, we still forgot the damn eggs. I hate when that happens. 

It was a long day, there's a ton of news, and I try to get through all of my inbox everyday but it's 11:20pm and still have 74 to go, so I'll have some delayed news and stuff worth sharing on Saturday. (To continue our raging Friday, we're watching Scott Lewis from Voice of San Diego's Friday Five.) Be safe out there. I'll just be here being a keyboard warrior.

• COVID-19:
• An oldie but updated goodie in case you need a refresher: How Do People Catch Covid-19? Here’s What Experts Say - Bloomberg (Updated 1.7.2021) 
• Politics/News:
• Pentagon placed limits on D.C. Guard ahead of pro-Trump protests due to narrow mission - The Washington Post (1.8.2020)
• Inauguration planners reassessing security after Capitol siege. Inaugural officials still plan to hold Biden's swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol on Jan. 20. - Politico (1.7.2021)
• Other Reading:
• A Meditation: We Must Grow Past our Inabilities to Learn from History or Accept the Value of Science - The Humanist (1.6.2021)
• Global COVID-19 Stats (JHU 1/8/21 10:22pm):
• 88,879,115 Known Cases
• 1,913,665 Known Deaths
• US COVID-19 Stats 
• (JHU)
• 21,862,986 Cases
• 368,777 Deaths
• (COVID Tracking Project):
• 310,080 New Cases/21,654,108 Known Cases (8.6%+ Change over 7 Days)
• 3,777 New Deaths/360,054 Known Deaths
• 131,889 Current COVID-19 Hospitalizations
• 23,886 Currently COVID-19 patients in ICU
• 7,909 COVID-19 patients currently on ventilator
• California COVID-19 Stats:
• Aggregate California ICU Bed Availability: 0%
• 50,030 New Cases/2,568,641 Total Cases (2% increase)
• 493 New Deaths/28,538 Total Deaths (1.8% increase)
• 13.3% 14-day test positivity rate
• 22,836 COVID-19 Hospitalizations (-17 patients, -0.1% from prior day)
• 4,905 COVID-19 ICU hospitalized in CA (+64 patients, +1.3% from prior day)
• 1,147 ICU beds available (-63 from prior day)
• San Diego County 
• Free Testing Sites and Schedule in San Diego
• I posted this yesterday, but this is the confirmation: County of San Diego to Open First “Vaccination Super Station” in Partnership With UC San Diego Health, Padres and City of San Diego - County News Center (1.8.2021)
• Health Order Compliance and Enforcement 
• General Public: To report businesses or organizations that are open and have been ordered to close, or otherwise not following the health order, call (858) 694-2900 or email SafeReopeningComplianceTeam@sdcounty.ca.gov. Reports can be anonymous.
• State Data:
• Southern California ICU Bed Availability: 0%
• 3,850 New Cases/180,510 Total Cases 
• 47 Deaths/1,738 Total Deaths
• 65.9 cases/100k population (Assessed on 1/5. Unadjusted Case Rate)
• 13.3% Test Positivity (Assessed on 1/5)
• 19.0% Health Equity Positivity (Assessed on 1/5)
• 1,756 COVID-19 hospitalized patients (+24 patients, +1.4% from prior day)
• 410 COVID-19 ICU hospitalized patients (+10 patients, +2.5% from prior day)
• 169 ICU beds available (0 from prior day)
• County Data:
• Record COVID-19 Cases, 33 More Deaths Reported in Region - County News Center 
• 4,550 New Cases/185,062 Total Cases 
• 33 New Daily Deaths/1,771 Total Deaths
• 16% Daily Test Positivity/16% (7-day avg after 7-day lag)/14.3% Test Positivity (14-day average)
• 53.4 cases/100k population (Assessed on 1/5. Adjusted case rate per 100,000 excluding prisons.) 
• 36% Case Investigation (under 70% goal)
• 8.9% Increasing Day Over Day COVID-19 Hospitalizations (1,694 patients. 89% increase over 30 days. 401 ICU | 1,753 Total COVID Hospitalizations)
• 81% Used Hospital Capacity (over 80% trigger)
• 16% ICU Capacity (388 patients. 67% increase over 30 days)
• 401 COVID ICU/259 Non-COVID/Only 44 ICU Beds Available Countywide
• 10 New/40 Community Outbreaks (7-day)
• Business 18
• Retail 1
• Faith-based Setting 3
• Government 2
• Daycare/preschool 3
• Healthcare 4
• Emergency Services 3
• Warehouse/Distribution 4
• Hotel/Resort/Spa 2
• Universities:
• SDSU COVID-19, UCSD COVID-19, USD COVID-19, CSU San Marcos, PLNU

This is the first time San Diego County has gone into the bed reserves

This is a letter that was sent to restaurants and food service venues. What this means is that if you go to a restaurant for take-out and then their tables and chairs are still set up outside of their facility, they are VIOLATING THE HEALTH ORDER. 

Dear Food Facility Operators,

The Regional Stay at Home Order for the Southern California Region, which includes San Diego County, limits all food facilities including restaurants, markets, bars, breweries, distilleries and wineries to take-out, pick-up or delivery service. All indoor and outdoor dining, including eating and drinking at common area tables and patios, is prohibited. Please take steps to ensure these areas are not available for the public to use or gather at by:

• Removing chairs, stools or benches from the tables, if possible.
• Blocking access to patio or seating areas.
• Placing signs or caution tape on unmovable furniture to indicate it cannot be used.
• Please continue to take all necessary precautions to slow the spread of COVID-19:
• Wear face coverings.
• Physically distance six feet when possible.
• Frequently wash your hands.
• Stay home if you’re sick.
• Follow industry specific guidelines for COVID-19.

Review your onsite Safe Reopening Plan or Food Facility Protocol and if necessary, update it to be consistent with the new requirements for your industry.

We appreciate your continued commitment to protecting public health. If you have questions regarding this information or your operation, please contact our duty information specialist (withheld).

For updated information about COVID-19, including resource documents such as frequently asked questions, informational posters, and guidance, please visit www.coronavirus-sd.com. You can also text COSD COVID19 to 468-311 to get text alert updates or follow SDCountyHHSA on Facebook or @SDCountyHHSA on Twitter.

Sincerely,

Department of Environmental Health
Food and Housing Division