There were only seven patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 being treated in Santa Barbara County hospitals on Friday, the lowest number since last June.
Of those, just one was in an intensive-care unit, according to the county Public Health Department.
At the same time, three additional COVID-19-related deaths were reported in the county over the past four days.
One was a Goleta resident in the 30-49 age group who had no underlying health conditions.
The other two were 70+ years of age — one from the Santa Ynez Valley and one from the Lompoc Valley. Both had underlying health conditions, according to Public Health.
As of Friday, 677 COVID-19-related deaths have been reported in the county.
The county reported 158 new COVID-19 cases from Tuesday through Friday, an average of just under 40 cases per day.
Of those, 40 were in Isla Vista and 36 were in the Santa Barbara area.
The Goleta Valley recorded 26 cases, the Santa Maria Valley had 21, and the Montecito-Summerland-Carpinteria area reported 13.
There were eight new cases in the Lompoc Valley, and six in the Santa Ynez Valley, while six cases were pending geographic locations.
The county’s seven-day test-positivity rate, which has a four-day lag, has remained low at 1.3%.
— 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.