As the warm weather brings people together, it also brings a new uptick in COVID-19 cases.
Across the western United States, test positivity was increasing the week of July 27, and COVID-19 levels in California’s wastewater were the highest they’ve been since January.
The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department is not tracking localized case and hospitalization data anymore, but wastewater surveillance gives communities a sense of how pervasive viruses are in the community, including the novel coronavirus.
All of California shows “very high” concentration in wastewater surveillance, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CDC data also shows that Santa Barbara County’s COVID-19 hospitalization numbers are low, even as the number of local cases climbs.
Jenna Holmen, an infectious disease specialist at Cottage Health, said they are seeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases, primarily in urgent care and outpatient facilities.
“Most of the hospitalized patients are still hospitalized with COVID, not for COVID,” Holmen said. “There are a handful that have some mostly mild symptoms, but we do have one person with more significant symptoms.”
Holmen said the number of positive cases they saw doubled from June to July, even after June had a significant uptick in cases from May.
Most of the cases are asymptomatic, but for those that are symptomatic, the main symptoms are a cough and fatigue. A handful of patients have experienced a difficult time breathing and have needed a small amount of oxygen, according to Holmen.
Holmen said they are seeing the virus across all age groups, but people age 75 or older are more likely to experience respiratory issues.
“COVID is here to stay, but it’s definitely not the same disease we saw at the beginning of the pandemic,” Holmen said.
With children preparing to start school later this month, Holmen said she expects the rise in cases to continue. The first two weeks of school are usually when they see most new infections, but cases should go back down after a couple weeks, she said.
“I still very strongly encourage people to get the vaccine,” Holmen said. “Getting vaccinated is still very helpful at preventing severe infection.”
A new COVID-19 vaccine is expected to become available next month, but Holmen said current versions of the vaccine are still effective against the current surge.
The CDC recommends wearing a mask to help reduce the risk of getting infected by the novel coronavirus. Public health officials also recommend testing and isolating when sick to help determine what steps need to be taken to slow the spread.
Local appointments for COVID-19 vaccinations and back-to-school immunizations can be found at myturn.ca.gov/.
