Santa Barbara County health officials reported on Wednesday that the numbers of COVID-19 hospitalizations and patients in intensive-care units are continuing to rise, hitting the highest daily total since September.
Local hospitals were treating 42 COVID-19 patients, including nine in intensive care units, according to the county Public Health Department.
The last time the county’s numbers reached this level was 44 hospitalizations on Sept. 8, and nine in the ICU on Sept. 12.
COVID-19 hospitalizations have been increasing steadily over the past week in the county, and the total number of ICU patients has more than doubled in the last week alone.
Meanwhile, Santa Barbara County public health officials reported 89 new COVID-19 cases and one additional death on Wednesday.
The newest report brings the county’s total number of cases to 11,720 people who tested positive for the novel coronavirus, and the confirmed death toll to 138 as of Wednesday.
The person who died was a Santa Maria resident between the ages of 30 and 49, who had underlying medical conditions, the health officials said.
They added that the death was not associated with an outbreak at a congregate-living facility in the county.
Of the 89 new COVID-19 cases, 21 were in Santa Maria, while 18 were in Lompoc, 12 in Santa Barbara, nine in Goleta, seven in Orcutt, and five in the Montecito-Summerland-Carpinteria area.
The Santa Ynez Valley, the unincorporated areas of the North County, as well as the unincorporated area of the Goleta Valley and Gaviota each had three new cases.
Two confirmed cases were in Isla Vista, and the geographic locations were pending on six cases.
The county Public Health Department this week noted that officials were expecting lower COVID-19 case counts early this week because fewer people had been tested over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
The numbers are anticipated to rise over the next couple of days as residents return from travel and vacation, and get tested for COVID-19, according to public health officials.
The Public Health Department included a disclaimer on its website saying there’s a delay in receiving test results in the county.
“Quest Diagnostics, one of the labs where COVID-19 tests are processed, has reported a backlog of test results,” the website stated. “There is no estimate at this time of when the backlog will be resolved.”
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— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
