A COVID-19-related death was reported for an Isla Vista resident Thursday for the first time, and the Public Health Department said the person was 50 to 69 years old and was associated with a congregate care facility.
Santa Barbara County also reported the death of a Santa Maria resident over the age of 70.
There have been 84 deaths reported countywide since April.
An additional 71 positive novel coronavirus cases were reported Thursday, and most of them were among younger people. Five of the cases were among children, 25 cases were in the 18-29 age range, 22 cases were in the 30-49 age range, 15 cases were in the 50-69 age range and four cases were among people age 70 or older.
Public Health staff investigate every outbreak at congregate-living facilities and recently “cleared” several skilled-nursing facilities.
When positive cases are reported in facilities like this, there is a process for weekly, widespread testing until there are two weeks of negative results, public health officials have said.
As of Thursday, two facilities with recent resident deaths were no longer on the list of current outbreaks: Buena Vista Care Center in Santa Barbara and the Lompoc Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitative Care Center.
Four facilities have ongoing outbreaks under investigation, including Alto Lucero Transitional Care in Santa Barbara, Marian Extended Care in Santa Maria, Samarkand Skilled Nursing Facility in Santa Barbara, and Valle Verde Health Facility in Santa Barbara.
— Noozhawk managing editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
