March 18, 2021
Yesterday was a big day, as we officially entered the red tier, with businesses able to expand their operations and more activities resuming, albeit still with significant limits and required modifications. After months in the purple tier and the regional stay at home order over the holidays, this change is being met not just with a collective sigh of relief, but renewed hope for what’s to come.

Sure, we only just qualified for the red tier, but with our testing positivity rate solidly in the orange tier and case rates continuing to decline, there is already talk of when we might reach the next milestone.

Just as the state set a goal of 2 million vaccine doses administered in communities most at risk statewide to increase eligibility for the red tier, it has now set a goal of 4 million to move the bar once again. I’ve made some notes on the state’s chart below to try to explain this:
It may seem complicated, but the premise is simple – the state wants to incentivize vaccinations in the communities that have had the highest case rates. When those most at risk are vaccinated, the risk for the community as a whole is greatly reduced.

Now the bad news
News reports yesterday highlighted the fact that cases in 14 states across the country increased by more than 10% this week compared to last. The affected states are mostly in the upper Midwest and mid-Atlantic regions. Michigan has had the largest increase at 50% week over week.

This just goes to show that COVID-19 is still a highly infectious disease and letting our guards down too soon can wipe out all the progress that has been made.

Red tier details
We put together a summary of the changes now that we’re in the red tier, based on the state’s guidance. Click on the link to see the full document:
Case numbers
Additional stats are linked below:
County charts and graphs updated yesterday

Vaccine update
  • More than 1.41 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been delivered to the region, and nearly 1.3 million have been logged as administered. This number includes both county residents and those who work in San Diego County.
  • Of those vaccinated to date, over 461,000 County residents, or 17.1% of San Diegans 16 and older, are fully immunized.
  • Overall, over 731,000 County residents have received at least one shot of the two-dose vaccine. That’s 27.2% of those eligible.

If you are eligible, we have links to various appointment sites on the city’s website. If you or someone you know is 65 or older and wants help scheduling an appointment, call 2-1-1.

Pay particular attention to the Operation Collaboration sites, run through a partnership between local fire departments and the county. You can look for those sites here. Operation Collaboration sites are deployed by the county strategically, often for specific populations, but I have noticed they also make vaccines available to the public based on availability. Unfortunately, it requires checking the website often because they often don’t know what their supplies will be until the last minute. When we find out about availability, we also share the details through social media. If you aren’t on social media, you can still see our Twitter feed on the city website.

More supply is expected, so it won’t always be like this.

Tax deadlines extended
The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service announced yesterday that the federal income tax filing due date for individuals for the 2020 tax year will be automatically extended from April 15, 2021, to May 17, 2021. The IRS will be providing formal guidance in the coming days, but here is some of what the news release reported:
 
"Even with the new deadline, we urge taxpayers to consider filing as soon as possible, especially those who are owed refunds. Filing electronically with direct deposit is the quickest way to get refunds, and it can help some taxpayers more quickly receive any remaining stimulus payments they may be entitled to."

Individual taxpayers can also postpone federal income tax payments for the 2020 tax year due on April 15, 2021, to May 17, 2021, without penalties and interest, regardless of the amount owed. This postponement applies to individual taxpayers, including individuals who pay self-employment tax. Penalties, interest and additions to tax will begin to accrue on any remaining unpaid balances as of May 17, 2021. Individual taxpayers will automatically avoid interest and penalties on the taxes paid by May 17.

The state also put out a short announcement saying the same deadline would apply to state income tax, and details would be coming soon.

More Carlsbad innovation in the news
In my last update I shared news of a Carlsbad-based life sciences company that developed a quick turnaround COVID-19 test. Yesterday I saw news of the latest XPRIZE competition, also having to do with COVID-19 testing. XPRIZE is a nonprofit that hosts competitions for innovation in several areas, including space exploration, climate change and, most recently, COVID-19 research.

Two of the five winners for the $6 million rapid COVID-19 testing competition are located right here in Carlsbad, and a third is in San Diego. Each winner created high-quality, affordable COVID-19 testing to help society safely reopen and return to everyday activities. Affordability was a key criterion, as was a turnaround time of 12 hours from sample to result. The winners were:
 
Part of the city’s economic development strategy is “talent attraction,” meaning that we want to be a place where talented, entrepreneurial people want to come to launch businesses, especially in our key industries, such as life sciences. A natural synergy exists when like-companies are located near each other. In addition to bragging rights, having these kinds of innovative companies right in our own backyards creates high paying jobs and even internship opportunities for those looking to get into these fields.
 
That’s all I’ve got for this week. By the way, as we were looking back on the past year of our COVID-19 response, we counted 150 City Manager Updates (or, as of today, 151). Whether you started to follow these just recently or have been reading them all along, I would like to thank you for keeping current on how COVID-19 is affecting Carlsbad and how you can help.
 
I often share the chart below: 
Carlsbad once again has the lowest rate of COVID-19 cases in the region, among cities with 50,000 in population and larger. A lot has had to go right to maintain this low case rate, and it starts with you. We should feel proud of our collective efforts and be more motivated than ever to keep up the precautions that got us here:

  • Avoid crowds
  • Maintain a 6-foot distance from others
  • Wear a mask when around people not from your own household
  • Stay home if you have COVID symptoms or think you may have been exposed
  • Consider skipping spring break travel this year
  • Get vaccinated when it’s your turn

I’ll be back next week. Until then, please stay the course and continue to #Care4Carlsbad.

Scott Chadwick
City Manager
City of Carlsbad | Website