COVID-19 Numbers Trending Down as Deaths Increase

By edhat staff

Santa Barbara County Public Health Department (PHD) officials stated the case rate and testing positivity are trending downward but deaths are continuing to increase.

During Friday’s press conference, PHD Director Dr. Van Do-Reynoso stated the good news is data shows those two metrics have peaked on January 9th and have been decreasing the past thirteen days. While this is encouraging news, we are not out of the woods yet as there is a substantial presence of COVID in our community., she said.

Hospitalizations and intensive care unit (ICU) stays remain at high due to the number of higher case rates. In the past three weeks, nearly three times as many people have died compared to peak weeks in the summer. Today it was reported that 11 people have died due to the virus.

Public Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg stated we’re simply seeing more deaths because there are more cases of the virus. During the peak of the summer, the highest ICU admission was 35 and currently the county is experiencing over 50 admissions for weeks on end.

Do-Reynoso also warned that the surge this summer took three months for the case rate and testing positivity to substantially decrease. Given the significantly higher winter peak, PHD is anticipating a much longer time frame for widespread transmission to stop.

PHD clinics are continuing to offer healthcare workers and those over 75 years of age the option to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Since January, PHD has allocated 81% of the vaccines to community providers which include hospitals, pharmacies, urgent care, and other clinics while retaining 19% to serve to the community. 

Dr. Ansorg confirmed the batch of Moderna vaccine that caused allergic reactions in several people in California has been cleared for use although no one in the county has received this batch. However, there have been two allergic reactions that required medical care. He stated both patients did not suffer any lasting harm and recovered quickly with the appropriate treatment.

PHD is hoping the availability of more vaccine will increase substantially in the next two to three weeks.

The Numbers

“In the first three weeks of 2021, we have seen over 8,000 new cases of COVID-19 & our healthcare system has been heavily impacted,” the PHD stated on Thursday.

On Thursday, PHD reported 353 new cases and six more deaths. Three individuals were 70+ and three were 50-69 years of age. Five individuals had underlying health conditions and two deaths were associated with an outbreak at a congregate-care facility. Two people resided in Santa Maria, one in Lompoc, one in North County unincorporated, one in Goleta Valley/Gaviota, and one in Goleta.

On Friday, PHD reported 238 new cases and 11 new deaths.

Eight individuals were 70+ and three were 50-69 years of age. Eight individuals had underlying health conditions and seven deaths were associated with an outbreak at a congregate-care facility. Five resided in Santa Barbara, two in Goleta, two in Orcutt, one in Santa Maria, and one in north county unincorporated.

There are currently 2,176 active cases with 187 hospitalizations including 50 in the ICU. The ICU availability remains at 0%.

More data can be found at publichealthsbc.org

Increasing Cases at County Jail

Four additional Sheriff’s Office personnel and one inmate have been found to be COVID-19 positive. One Sheriff’s Deputy, two Custody Deputies and one member of our professional staff have been found to be COVID-19 positive. This brings the total number of Sheriff’s employees who have tested positive for COVID-19 to 103, with 85 having recovered and returned to work.

One inmate was found to be COVID-19 positive during the intake process and has since been released. There are currently 33 active COVID-19 cases in the jail, five fewer than our previous press release. The total number of inmates who have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Main Jail during the pandemic is 160.