The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department reported a 14.1% decrease of PCR-confirmed COVID-19 cases in the county this week.

The number represents an underreporting because rapid antigen home tests often are not reported to the Public Health Department.

This week, there were 397 COVID-19 cases reported and two COVID-19-related deaths.

The seven-day test positivity rate was 10.2% on Tuesday. On Thursday, there were 44 COVID-19-positive people hospitalized throughout the county, four of whom were in intensive-care units. They could be patients who were hospitalized for non-COVID-19-related conditions and tested positive while in the hospital. 

BQ. 1.1 is the dominant variant of the COVID-19 virus in California, according to county Public Health. However, the variant XBB.1.5 has been increasing. The XBB.1.5 variant is estimated to make up as much as 43% of COVID-19 cases in the United States for the week ending Saturday, according to Reuters. 

COVID-19 community levels remained low this week in Santa Barbara County, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s metric. However, transmission rates remain high in the county, according to the metric.

Everyone age 6 months or older is encouraged to receive the updated bivalent booster. Visit vaccines.gov to schedule an appointment.