Santa Barbara County reported 29 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, but no new fatalities from the virus, according to the county Public Health Department.

Over the last three days, there have been 89 new cases in the county, for an average of more than 29 per day.

In the last seven days, there have been 221 cases, for an average of just over 31 per day.

Earlier this month — on Sept. 14 — the county reported an average of just under 33 cases per day in a seven-day period.

There were 23 patients being treated for COVID-19 in local hospitals as of Monday, a decline from 26 the previous day.

Of those, four COVID-19 patients were in intensive-care units, up from three on Sunday.

Of 176 acute care patients at Cottage Health, eight were in isolation with COVID-19 symptoms, with six confirmed COVID-19 positive, spokeswoman Maria Zate said.

Also on Monday, Cottage Health reported no ICU coronavirus patients.

More than 210 acute care beds remain available on Monday at Cottage Health, according to Zate.

Of the new cases reported by the Public Health Department, 10 were in Santa Maria, six were in Santa Barbara, three were in Orcutt, and two each were in the Santa Ynez Valley and in Lompoc.

Goleta, Isla Vista and the unincorporated areas of the Goleta Valley each had one.

Geographic locations were pending on three cases.

As of Monday, Santa Barbara County reported 151 active cases (people still infectious) and 8,930 total cases. 

The number of COVID-19 deaths in the county remained at 110.

The countywide seven-day test-positivity rate in the community was at 4.2% on Monday.

Testing positivity is defined as the total number of positive COVID-19 cases divided by the total number of COVID-19 PCR tests conducted in a seven-day period, with a seven-day lag, according to the county’s Surveillance Metrics Dashboard site.

The statewide COVID-19 test positivity rate continues to decline, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday. The positivity rate is averaging 3.1% over a 14-day period, and the seven-day positivity rate is 2.8%, he said.

“Real progress as it relates to our case counts,” Newsom said. “Real progress as it relates to our positivity rate in the state of California.”

The state had a 23% decline in coronavirus hospitalizations and a 25% decrease in the total number of COVID-19-positive ICU admissions over a two-week period. 

“Hospitalization numbers declining at a relatively consistent rate over the course of not just the last two weeks, but even beyond,” Newsom said during a news conference. “Three or four weeks.”

The county Board of Supervisors is slated to receive an update on COVID-19 at its meeting Tuesday.

The meeting will be live-streamed on the county’s YouTube and online as well as being broadcast on CSBTV Channel 20.   

Click here to read the full agenda report.

State officials also update on where different counties fall in the color-coded coronavirus reopening framework on Tuesday. 

Under California’s system for loosening and tightening restrictions on activities, the county is in the purple tier, so COVID-19 transmission is considered “widespread” by the governor’s reopening framework as of Monday.

California’s reopening scheme is based on testing positivity and a seven-day average of new cases per 100,000, with a seven-day lag, according to county officials.

Click here to go to Noozhawk’s Coronavirus Crisis section.

— 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.

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