In the last month, in Santa Barbara County, the number of active cases of COVID-19 has quadrupled, and the number of hospitalizations has almost tripled.
“The case rate is staggering, it’s astronomical,” Public Health Director Van Do-Reynoso said at Tuesday’s supervisory board meeting. “We expect to grow at least by the end of January due to travel and holiday gatherings.”
Public health officials on Tuesday reported eight more COVID-19 deaths, including three Santa Maria residents, a Santa Barbara resident, an unincorporated South County resident, a Lompoc resident, an Orcutt resident and an unincorporated area resident from North County. Three of the deaths were associated with outbreak facilities, according to the county.
Since March, 207 people have died from COVID-19 in Santa Barbara County, and a third of those deaths have been reported in the past month.
COVID-19 cases and the number of hospitalizations have increased in recent weeks, making and beating records constantly and causing concern for the availability of intensive care units.
As of December 31, the Department of Public Health reported a record 396 new cases daily. That number was soon surpassed, with 456 new cases reported on January 4 and shattered on Thursday when 512 new cases were reported.
The highest number of daily cases so far was reported on Sunday, when the county reported 779 new cases in a single day.
470 new cases were reported on Tuesday. There are currently 2,895 infected people (people who have recently given positive results, which the county calls active cases).
More than 200 Santa Barbara County residents are hospitalized with COVID-19, the highest number recorded during the pandemic. (Illustration by Giana Magnoli / Noozhawk)
Santa Barbara County had an adjusted case rate of 64 new cases per 100,000 people on Tuesday and an average seven-day positivity test rate of 16.8%.
Hospitalizations exceeded 200 for the first time on Tuesday, when Public Health reported 211 COVID-19 patients in local hospitals in the county, of which 56 require intensive care.
Overall, 80 of the 89 intensive care beds have been occupied since Tuesday, and 71% of these patients have COVID-19, according to the county data board in the county.
Public health officials anticipate that the county will remain under the command of Governor Gavin Newsom to stay at home for at least another month, as projections do not show that ICU availability in the Southern California region will reach 15% or more. It has been 0% since Tuesday.
According to Do-Reynoso, public health officials believe that cases and hospitalizations will continue to rise for a few more weeks due to the delay between exposure, infection and illness enough to require hospital care for those who do.
Less than three weeks of Christmas and two weeks of New Year’s Eve passed, when many people traveled and attended meetings.
| Santa Barbara County | December 15th | December 22nd | December 29 | January 5th | January 12 |
| New positive cases reported in the previous week | 1,268 | 1,445 | 1,541 | 2,320 | 3,240 |
| New cases among health workers in the previous week | 54 | 84 | 72 | 50 | 113 |
| Total test results reported in the previous week | 17,532 | 18,243 | 15,753 | 12,681 | 23,953 |
| COVID-19-positive hospital patients | 78 | 103 | 127 | 172 | 211 |
| Active cases (still infectious after positive testing) | 1,059 | 1,245 | 1,227 | 2.105 | 2,895 |
| Cumulative deaths related to COVID-19 | 140 | 150 | 156 | 173 | 207 |
The county is expanding test sites, making progress in the first round of vaccinations
The county has extended free COVID-19 testing opportunities to the public and can test 1,173 people a day among the five sites, Do-Reynoso said.
“Having the mobile test unit and the extra 500 tests it brings is really timely and important,” Gregg Hart, the second district supervisor, said of the newest site at the CenCal Health building near Santa Barbara. Appointments for all five sites can be made online.
Do-Reynoso said the county has 48 case investigators / contact detectors who work seven days a week. They can close about 400 cases a day a week and 200 on a weekend when they have fewer staff, she said.
The percentage of cases with a full follow-up investigation has decreased as cases increase, and public health officials have asked members of the public to help.
“With the dramatic increase in positive cases, the Department of Public Health is working as soon as possible to contact the follow-up of all those who tested positive again, but resources are expanding beyond anything previously seen, even with capacity growth plans. in force, “officials said in a Dec. 14 statement. “It is essential that the public attends. If people have tested positive for the virus, they must take immediate action to stay home and isolate themselves from others, while following the isolation guidelines and notifying others who have been in contact. close with them. ”
One-third of the 207 local COVID-19 deaths have been reported in the past month, according to the Department of Public Health’s community dashboard. (Illustration from the Department of Public Health of Santa Barbara County)
About 80 percent of cases had a follow-up investigation in October and 70 percent between Nov. 25 and Dec. 24, but only 59 percent of Dec. 25 had an investigation, Do-Reynoso said.
Incomplete follow-up data from the last week of December show that office / management workers, health workers, children and pensioners / unemployed are over-represented in recent cases compared to the general pandemic.
Do-Reynoso also provided an update on vaccination efforts at the county level.
The Department of Public Health distributed most of its vaccine doses to community providers, including hospitals, and 53 percent of those 13,975 doses were given in three weeks, she said.
Public health itself has vaccination sites and used 40 percent of the 2,800 doses last week, she added.
COVID-19 vaccine doses are still a priority for the first phase of humans, which Governor Newsom called “vaccination of vaccinators.”
Healthcare workers, emergency medical workers and staff and residents of long-term care institutions are eligible for vaccination.
The county is making significant progress among these groups, officials said, and is expected to have information soon about appointments for the next phase of people aged 75 and over.
“We get hope, optimism and then people’s resilience to stay a little longer in public health to control the virus,” Hart said.
The public website of the Department of Public Health, coronich virus, publichealthsbc.org, contains information about the vaccination distribution plan and estimated deadlines.
“Some details about registration for appointments are currently available because the information specifically targeted our healthcare community,” the Department of Public Health said Monday.
– Noozhawk staff writer Jade Martinez-Pogue can be contacted at . (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Sign in with Noozhawk on Facebook.