Edhat StaffBy edhat staff
Santa Barbara County Public Health Department (PHD) is reporting three additional deaths of individuals who tested positive for COVID-19. Two individuals were over 70 years of age and were associated with congregate living facilities in the South County Unincorporated Area. Deaths are reported when a death certificate is processed listing COVID-19 as a cause or a significant condition. The process can take several days and up to 2 months to finalize if pending Coroner verification.
| Date of Death | Age | Underlying Conditions | Region |
| 07/05/20 | 50-69 | Y | City of Santa Maria |
| 07/29/20 | 70+ | Y | South County Unincorporated Area |
| 07/30/20 | 70+ | Y | South County Unincorporated Area |
“Our hearts go out to the loved ones of those who have lost their lives to COVID-19. Avoid gatherings, wear face coverings, and stay at least 6 feet away from others you do not live with,” said Van Do-Reynoso, Santa Barbara County Public Health Director.
PHD reported 60 new cases on Wednesday bringing the grand total to 6,586 cases. Of that, 224 are considered infectious or active. There are currently 82 hospitalizations with 25 in the intensive care unit (ICU). There have been 67 deaths total.
Additionally, the state’s electronic disease reporting system has been experiencing issues processing incoming reports. Therefore, recent data published on the SB County Public Health COVID-19 dashboards are likely to be an underestimate of true cases in the county. PHD will keep this disclaimer in place on their website until the state reporting issue is rectified.
More information can be found at https://publichealthsbc.org/status-reports/.
I loathe the reporting of deaths by Corona19. As a layperson, we need to know if there was any underlying cause or pre-existing condition(s)….did the person have cancer, heart , lung cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes? We never get to see the full medical history of these patients. “70+ doesn’t help.” How old were they? Were they 93 and on their death bed? Do these facilities get State money for reporting “corono19” virus? Who’s to say what these numbers mean? Complete lack of info causes complete unnecessary paranoia.
If Covid-19 was the tipping point, then that IS the cause. The knee on George Floyd’s throat was the cause of his death, not heart attack, not passing a counterfeit bill, not anything else. If you don’t like the news, don’t read it.
11:28 – the underlying causes or lack thereof are really irrelevant I think. The concern should be with the actual number of new infections. The number of deaths don’t indicate how fast it is spreading, the number of new cases (and locations) do.