With COVID-19 cases rising significantly during the past few weeks, Santa Barbara County has been moved up from low to medium in the community infection levels as determined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The county — with 30.1 cases per 100,000 residents — has joined 32 of the state’s 58 counties at that level, at which the CDC advises residents at high risk for severe illness to consult their health care providers about whether they need to wear a mask or take other precautions.
San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties also were moved up this week into the medium level.
The change comes as the county Public Health Department reported 581 new cases of COVID-19 during the past three days.
In the past seven days, the county has reported 1,141 new cases, a 16.3% increase over the previous week, according to data compiled by Noozhawk.
Of the latest cases, the largest number — 132 — are in Isla Vista, followed by 113 in the Santa Maria Valley, 108 in the Goleta Valley and 105 in the Santa Barbara area.
The Lompoc Valley reported 38 cases, the Santa Ynez Valley had 30 and the Montecito-Summerland-Carpinteria area recorded 27 cases.
Geographic locations were pending on 28 cases.
The last COVID-19 death in the county was reported on May 19, and there has been one fatality in the past 14 days.
Hospitalization numbers have remained relatively stable in the county during the past week.
There were 19 COVID-19-positive patients being treated in local hospitals on Friday, although some of those were admitted for other medical reasons.
There were three novel coronavirus patients being treated in local intensive-care units.
New COVID-19 Outbreak at County Jail
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office reported Friday that it had identified 13 County Jail inmates who have tested positive for COVID-19 this week.
“None of the COVID-positive inmates in this outbreak require hospitalization. Two inmates have reported being symptomatic, and 11 are asymptomatic,” said Raquel Zick, sheriff’s public information officer.
Visitation to the jail has been suspended, Zick said.
“As we identify COVID-19-positive inmates, they are moved into an area of the facility that has negative-pressure cells,” Zick said. “The remainder are placed together in small groups (cohorts) and isolated from other inmates and monitored by Wellpath for symptoms.”
Hundreds of County Jail inmates tested positive for COVID-19 in an outbreak that began late last year.
— 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.>
