It may not have been completely out of the blue, but this weekend’s announcement that Governor Gavin Newsom recommended that bars and brewpubs in Santa Barbara County be shut down caught many elected officials here by surprise. While the governor’s recommendation appears distinctly at odds with Santa Barbara County Public Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg’s decision late last week to open up personal service businesses — nail salons, massage therapy, and the like — it appears likely that county health officials are poised to go along with the proposed shutdown.
Nancy Anderson, the county’s senior administrator charged with overseeing the reopening of the county’s economy, sent out a mass email explaining that the county will be issuing a new health order later Monday announcing that bars and brewpubs will be closed down effective this Wednesday. This order, however, does not apply to wine tasting rooms or to bars that provide patrons with the opportunity of sit-down meals. Because many bars and brewpubs serve food, it’s not clear how many businesses will actually be affected.
Governor Newsom announced this Sunday that bars and brewpubs would be shut down in seven counties and recommended a similar shut down in eight others. At the time of the governor’s announcement, Santa Barbara fell into the latter camp. But as of today, it appears the county could well fall within the former camp of mandatory closure. State public health authorities have been monitoring the health metrics of all 58 counties for their COVID-19 caseloads. As of Sunday, Santa Barbara County appeared to have exceeded the state’s threshold when it came to the rate of new reported cases and new hospitalizations for 13 days. By Monday, that number hit 14. And that number is the threshold for the state’s mandatory shutdown order.