Novel coronavirus cases and related hospitalizations are continuing to drop in Santa Barbara County as the Public Health Department reported a total of 279 new cases over the four-day period since Friday.
The county also reported three COVID-19-related deaths Tuesday.
The deaths were of individuals ages 70 or older, 50 to 69, and 30 to 49, one of whom had underlying medical conditions. None of the deaths was associated with a congregate care site. The recent deaths were of residents of Orcutt, the North County unincorporated area, and Goleta.
The number of COVID-19-positive patients in Santa Barbara County hospitals has declined from 150 people to 50 in the past month.
According to the Community Data Dashboard, of the new cases reported since Friday, 86 were on Saturday, 81 on Sunday, 48 on Monday, and 64 on Tuesday.
The seven-day testing positivity rate was at 7.8% as of Friday — the most recent data available for this rate.
This is the lowest the testing positivity rate has been since late December, according to Noozhawk’s data tracking.
The number of COVID-19 test results reported per day has also decreased, though, with only 200 tests reported on Tuesday and 518 tests on Monday. A total of 4,330 test results were reported on Friday.
While the number of COVID-19-positive people hospitalized throughout the county last week ranged from 70 to 82, there were 50 COVID-19-positive individuals hospitalized Tuesday, with 10 of these patients being treated in intensive-care units.
Of the new cases reported since Friday, 102 were in the Santa Maria Valley and 57 were in the Lompoc Valley.
The Santa Barbara area reported 51 cases, and the Goleta Valley logged 19 cases.
Isla Vista accounted for 17 cases, and the Montecito-Summerland-Carpinteria area recorded 14 cases.
The Santa Ynez Valley reported nine cases and 10 cases were pending geographic location.
Since the pandemic began in early 2020, the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department has reported a total of 84,039 COVID-19 cases. As of Tuesday, there were 746 cases currently considered active or still infectious.
Last week, Public Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg said the dropping rate of new cases, plus the community immunity provided by vaccinations and recent infections, contributed to the county's decision to end its universal mask mandate for indoor public spaces.
He still strongly recommends wearing masks indoors in public, and said a recent study published by the CDC demonstrates that wearing a high-quality mask consistently in public indoor settings “reduces the risk for catching COVID significantly,” Ansorg said.
A respirator-type mask like N95s or KN95s provide the best protection, and surgical masks and cloth face masks provide much better protection than wearing no mask, according to the CDC data.
— Noozhawk staff writer Serena Guentz can be reached at sguentz@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.