Two new coronavirus-related deaths and 151 additional positive cases were reported Friday in Santa Barbara County, according to Public Health Department officials.
Authorities say the two people who died were over the age of 70 and had underlying health conditions. One lived in the Santa Ynez Valley and the other in the unincorporated North County. Neither was associated with a congregate care facility.
With the fatalities, the county’s cumulative death toll rose to 470 people.
There were 47 patients hospitalized with the virus as of Friday, including 13 in intensive-care units throughout the county.
The last time the county’s daily number was that high was March 11, when 48 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized.
Officials were tracking 780 active COVID-19 cases countywide Friday. The last time the single-day number was that high was Feb. 10 when there were 781 active cases.
There have been more than 840 new positive cases reported in the last seven days, averaging slightly more than 120 new cases each day. That is a nearly 47% rise when compared to the week prior, according to Noozhawk’s tracking of public health data.
To date, 37,133 COVID-19 cases have been reported countywide since the pandemic emerged locally in March 2020.
Of the 151 new cases reported Friday, Santa Maria had 40, the Lompoc Valley had 28, Santa Barbara had 24 and Orcutt had 19.
Six each were reported in Goleta, Isla Vista and the Santa Ynez Valley.
Elsewhere, five each were reported in the Goleta Valley and the Montecito-Summerland-Carpinteria area, and four were in the unincorporated areas of the North County.
Eight cases were still pending geographic location on Friday.
Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 helps protect against severe illness and death from the virus, according to public health officials.
More than 497,800 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered to Santa Barbara County residents, and about 63% of all eligible Santa Barbara County residents (people older than age 12) were fully vaccinated as of Thursday.
There was a steady stream of people at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic Friday at the Santa Barbara Health Care Center, at 345 Camino del Remedio.
“We’ve been doing this for a while, so we kind of have a rhythm of how to do things and a good workflow,” Health Care Center administrator Paola Hurtado said.
Shortly after 9 a.m., about 20 people were seated waiting for their vaccine or nearby in the observation area after receiving a shot.
Several other people were lining up and filling out paperwork.
Clinic staff provided translation in English, Spanish and Portuguese, and assisted vaccine recipients with paperwork.
“We are removing all barriers to access,” Hurtado said. “They’re bilingual, and it makes it easier to help our community.”
The team is just phenomenal, Hurtado said.
All three vaccines were available at the outdoor clinic, which could vaccinate up to 200 people and took place in celebration of National Health Center Week.
Additionally, the vaccine clinic included free nutritionist counseling.
“It’s working very well,” Hurtado said of the clinic.
Click here for more information on finding a COVID-19 vaccine provider in Santa Barbara County. The shots are free for everyone and available widely at pharmacies.
Several community COVID-19 vaccination clinics are scheduled in August, with no appointments required. Click here for more information.
Exposure Forces Animal Shelter to Close
Santa Barbara County Animal Services has temporarily closed the Santa Barbara Animal Shelter due to a positive case of COVID-19 identified among staff, according to the Public Health Department.
Effective immediately, shelter operations will be closed through Aug. 22 at the shelter at 5473 Overpass Road in Santa Barbara.
Shelter operations might be closed “possibly longer,” according to the county.
All services remain available at the Santa Maria Shelter, 548 West Foster Road.
For assistance, call 805.681.5285 to speak with customer service staff.
Animals are available for adoption and owner redemption during the closure.
To schedule a reclaim or interaction with any of the dogs, cats or rabbits, visit the Animal Services website and call to schedule an interaction at the Santa Maria shelter.
“Animal control field operations will respond to priority calls at this time,” the county’s statement said Friday. “Priority calls include law enforcement assistance, injured or sick stray animals, cruelty and neglect complaints, bite complaints, dangerous and aggressive dog complaints.”
If you have a stray animal on the South Coast, call the nonemergency line at 805.683.2724 to contact an animal control officer.
For the North and Mid County, SBCAS is asking the public to bring stray animals directly to the Santa Maria shelter.
According to the county statement, COVID-19 contact tracing efforts are “underway to ensure contacts are advised of next steps including quarantine and testing as appropriate. All adoptable dogs have been moved to the Santa Maria shelter for care during this closure.”
Questions or concerns regarding cats can be directed to ASAP Cats (Animal Shelter Assistance Program) at 805.683.3368 or via email at info@asapcats.org.
Questions and concerns regarding rabbits can be directed to Bunnies Urgently Needing Shelter (BUNS) at 805.683.0521 or via email at info@bunssb.org.
— 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.
