Santa Barbara County reported its highest-ever number of active cases Tuesday, which includes people who have recently tested positive for COVID-19 and are still infectious.
“We have a high of 643 active cases, which is a 44% increase from the last peak that we experienced, at 444 cases in July,” Public Health Director Van Do-Reynoso told the county Board of Supervisors.
Do-Reynoso presented details on local COVID-19 hospitalizations and co-morbidities, the underlying medical conditions that can increase a person’s risk for serious illness from the novel coronavirus and disease it causes.
From March through October, three county hospitals reported 1,018 hospital stays for 922 COVID-19 patients, since some people were hospitalized more than once.
There were 9,079 total cases reported in that time, which is a hospitalization rate of 10%.
Do-Reynoso said 53% of COVID-19-related hospitalizations so far have been in residents over the age of 50, and 54.6% of hospital patients had at least one underlying condition.
The most common “co-morbidities” in local COVID-19 hospitalizations are type 2 diabetes, obesity, serious heart conditions, and chronic kidney disease, she said.
As board Chair Gregg Hart noted, this means that almost half of local COVID-19 hospital patients had no preexisting medical conditions.
“I think that is more revelatory than the opposite. I think it’s a common belief that the only people being hospitalized are people who are very sick before they get COVID-19, and what your data shows is almost half the people are healthy who end up hospitalized,” Hart said.
“That’s absolutely correct,” Do-Reynoso said.
She also shared updated demographics on local cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
“COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted communities of color, not only in our community, but across the state and country, highlighting racial disparities,” she said.
Responding to questions about COVID-19 death certificates, she said 24 local deaths only list COVID-19 as a cause, while 114 list COVID-19 and other medical conditions.
There are 61 death certificates that list COVID-19 as a cause of death along with diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), heart disease, and/or obesity, she said.
The county has reported at least 15 COVID-19 deaths among people with no underlying conditions.
Later on Tuesday, the Public Health Department reported 125 new cases in its daily update, and 50 current COVID-19-positive hospital patients.
Public health data continues to show that cases are more frequently occurring in adults ages 18-29, who make up 32% of the cases and represent about 21% of the county’s population, Do-Reynoso noted.
Santa Barbara County Nov. 24 Dec. 1 Dec. 8 New positive cases reported in previous week 560 475 893 New cases among healthcare workers in previous week 28 13 53 Total test results reported in previous week 15,112 13,940 15,490 COVID-19-positive hospital patients 21 39 50 Active cases (still infectious after testing positive) 399 394 700 Cumulative COVID-19-related deaths 135 137 139
County Supervisors Ask the State to Separate Central Coast from Southern California Stay-at-Home Order
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to send a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom requesting this county, along with San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties, be allowed to exit the Southern California region of the state’s stay-at-home order.
The three counties have relatively more available hospital beds and intensive care unit beds than Los Angeles County and others in the Southern California region, according to public health officials.
“We’ve had compliance and support by our population, and it’s as if we’re being punished for having behaved well,” Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann said.
The stay-at-home order went into effect Monday, since the regional intensive care unit availability dropped below 15%, and prompted new restrictions and closures.
However, as of Tuesday, ICU bed availability across Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura Counties was at 32%, County Executive Officer Mona Miyasato said.
The three counties also have a history of partnering up on regional issues.
“We have a unique ability to protect the shared constituencies and maintain critical ICU capacity,” said Assistant County Executive Officer Terri Nisich.
The counties propose having the Central Coast become its own region after the current three-week-long order is over, so it can be evaluated on its own for ICU availability.
“It is highly problematic to have us join the larger region when our communities have diligently complied with state and local health orders since the beginning of the pandemic,” the letter states. “We are best positioned to understand the critical needs within our region, and have existing partnerships to promote the health and economic well-being of our communities.”
During public comment at Tuesday’s supervisors meeting, 45 people requested to speak, and most of them voiced frustration with the state for grouping Santa Barbara County with the Southern California region.
Others told the supervisors that sending a letter was not enough, and asked them to openly defy the state-mandated stay-at-home order.
County Counsel and other officials explained that the county cannot ignore the public health order.
The Board of Supervisors’s letter follows a similar request sent by Tri-County public health officials Monday night. Scroll down to read that letter.
Central Coast Coalition Letter Dec. 7, 2020
Noozhawk managing editor Giana Magnoli contributed reporting to this story.
— Noozhawk staff writer Jade Martinez-Pogue can be reached at jmartinez-pogue@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
