Edhat Staff
Photo by Markus Spiske from Pexels
The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department (PHD) is confirming 16 additional cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) as of Saturday. This makes 168 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Santa Barbara County.
Of the 168 cases, 101 are recovering at home, 26 persons are recovering in a hospital,17 of which are in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 38 have fully recovered, and 2 are pending an update. One death has been reported.
Although PHD has released the cities and areas where confirmed COVID-19 cases have occurred, it is critical that residents in all areas of the county stay at home and practice social distancing when performing essential tasks outside their home. The full demographics of each confirmed case can be viewed at publichealthsbc.org/dashboard/.
PHD is prioritizing investigations for cases with exposures in healthcare and other congregate settings to identify persons who may have been exposed. Mandated social distancing measures are in place to slow the spread of the virus.
San Luis Obispo County Reports First Death
The County of San Luis Obispo announced Saturday a North County resident in their 80s has died due to COVID-19. The patient had underlying health conditions, was hospitalized and succumbed to their illness.
“We extend our sincere condolences to the patient’s loved ones,” said San Luis Obispo County Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein. “As the number of local cases grow, this death is a sad milestone for all of us. Most cases of COVID-19 exhibit mild or moderate symptoms, yet this tragic death underscores the urgent need for us to take steps to protect residents who are at higher risk of developing serious illness.”
To date, 93 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in SLO County, 65 have recovered, 22 are currently recovering at home and five 5 are currently hospitalized.
In Ventura County, officials are reporting 221 total cases with 6 deaths relating to COVID-19 as of Sunday. Of the 221 cases, 62 have fully recovered and 153 are under quarantine in their homes.
By edhat staff
As of Friday evening, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases reached 152 with 26 hospitalizations. Of the 26 hospitalized, 17 are in the intensive care unit (ICU).
The 13 new cases ranged in age from the 20s to over 70 in both north and south county cities. Out of the total 152 cases, 35 have fully recovered and one person has died. For more details on the demographics of each case, visit the Public Health’s website dashboard.
The Public Health Department confirmed additional information about infected healthcare workers would be released in the days to come.
Based on preliminary models the best-case scenario for Santa Barbara County is for COVID-19 cases to peak in mid-May, although it’s not set in stone, said Dr. Van Do-Reynoso, Director of the Public Health Department.
Cottage by the Numbers
Below is a status update as of April 3, 2020.
- Cottage is caring for 126 patients; 247 beds remain available.
- In surge planning, capacity is identified for adding 270 acute care beds.
- Of the 126 patients, 9 patients are on ventilators; 51 ventilators remain available (adult, pediatric and neonatal ventilators)
- Of the 126 patients, 18 patients are in isolation for COVID-19 symptoms.
- Of the 18 patients in isolation, 9 patients are in critical care
- Cottage has collected 1,123 cumulative test samples: 61 resulted in positive, 899 resulted in negative, and 163 are pending.
All Cottage Health hospitals – including Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital, Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital, Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and Cottage Rehabilitation Hospital — are open and available to community members who need urgent or emergency care. While many elective procedures have been rescheduled, all hospitals remain open to provide care when it’s needed.
The Supply Donation Drop-Off Center continues to accept supplies in the Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital parking lot, with new hours: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Community members in the Santa Ynez Valley area are encouraged to contact June Martin to arrange for pick up of supply donations: j2martin@sbch.org or 805-691-9509. Donations collected in the Santa Ynez area are shipped to the Supply Donation Center to consolidate.
Ventura & SLO Counties
As of Friday morning, San Luis Obispo County reports 93 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Of those 30 are recovering at home and 6 are hospitalized while 57 have fully recovered.
Ventura County is reporting 189 total cases with 6 deaths, as of Friday evening. Out of 189 cases, 50 have recovered with 133 under active quarantine.
Resources
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Public Health Department website: https://publichealthsbc.org/
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Santa Barbara County Call Center: (833) 688-5551 (Hours: 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.)
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2-1-1 Call Center: In 805 – Dial 211 / Outside 805 – (800) 400-1572
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Recorded Information Line: (805) 681-4373
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Behavioral Wellness 24/7 Access Line: (888) 868-1649
I noticed on Monday that traffic picked up again a little and the neighborhood in general started picking up in volume. A house on our block also had an adult birthday party (I heard them singing) the other night. It’s a house with 2 people renting but I heard at least 3 or 4 other voices, people who aren’t normally there. People are becoming complacent at just the wrong time it seems and that scares me.
We hear several young adults (more than live there) talking on our neighbor’s front porch almost every night. We don’t check to see if they are sitting six feet apart…..hope so.
When I drive by the neighborhoods close to City College, I frequently notice that students are still having loud, well attended parties. In addition, they are frequently hanging out on their porches yapping, coughing, yelling—all the things that supposedly could spread virus 6 yo 27 feet. Some neighbors’ porches are within that distance. Doesn’t seem like social distancing is as easy in some neighborhoods as others.
Went to Goleta supermarket for our once a week outing to replenish the larder. Several people in the store were purchasing inflated party balloons. Most were not wearing masks of any kind. One unprotected woman was trying to corral four very young children as the ran around the store. We got out as quickly as possible. All we can do is try to be responsible for ourselves and avoid the fools I guess.
Trader Joe’s has FINALLY allowed employees to wear masks.
Now they need to install acrylic panels at the cash registers to safely separate customers and checkers.
I thought it was a democratic hoax….