Santa Barbara County reported 12 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, all of them in the North County, which has been hard hit by the virulent virus.
The county Public Health Department also confirmed a fourth death, a Lompoc prison inmate whose passing was reported Friday night by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
The latest cases bring the county’s total thus far to 385, with nearly 80 percent of those in the North County.
Those numbers are being skewed heavily by the Lompoc federal prison complex, which has reported 81 inmates and 30 staff members infected, or roughly 29 percent of the county’s total.
Inmate Oliver M. Boling, 66, died of the coronavirus on Friday, five days after being taken to an undisclosed local hospital, according to the Bureau of Prisons.
Local, state and federal officials are struggling to contain the outbreak at the prison, and have announced plans to set up a field hospital to treat inmates.
There were 41 people hospitalized in the county on Saturday, with 14 in intensive care units, health officials said. Those numbers have remained fairly stable during the past 10 days, with the number of critical patients declining slightly.
Of the remaining cases, 149 are recovering at home, 170 have fully recovered and 21 are pending an update.
Seven of Saturday’s cases are in the 18-29 age group, three are in the 0-17 age group, one is in the 30-49 age group and one is in the 50-69 age group.
Public Health officials are urging the community to continue adhering to the following recommendations for avoiding COVID-19:
» Stay home except for essential tasks. Ensure you have a two-week supply of medication on hand.
» When engaging in essential tasks away from home, remain 6 feet away from others and wear a facial covering.
» Wash your hands with soap and water regularly.
» Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.
» Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
» Keep surfaces clean by wiping them down with a household disinfectant.
Click here for the county Public Health Department’s coronavirus information.
Click here for Noozhawk’s Coronavirus Crisis section.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.