The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department has announced two new COVID-19 deaths.
Both were individuals over 70 years of age who had underlying conditions. One was a resident of Lompoc and the other was a resident of Santa Maria. The new deaths were announced Monday and no deaths reported on Tuesday.
The release of Santa Barbara County’s daily COVID-19 numbers from Monday was delayed until Tuesday.
The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department reported 100 new cases of COVID-19 in the county on Tuesday and 54 on Monday.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in Santa Barbara County is now 11,166. Some 10,632 of those cases are individuals who have recovered, 399 are still infectious, and 135 are individuals who have died.
Before issuing its daily update, health officials released a statement that the county remains in the purple tier of the state’s reopening plan. Santa Barbara County has been in the purple tier for one week and has yet to meet the criteria needed to advance to the red tier.
The county’s positivity rate has increased 0.5% and it’s adjusted case rate has increased 0.2% from last week.
“These small, but constant increases indicate that widespread transmission of the virus that causes COVID-19 is happening in Santa Barbara County,” the statement read.
“We are continuing to face significant upticks in our local cases, and beginning to see increases in our hospitalizations. Very quickly, we have seen our metrics approach the Orange Tier metrics and then suddenly revert back to Purple Tier levels,” Public Health Director Dr. Van Do-Reynoso, said in a statement. “I urge you to please stay home and local this upcoming Thanksgiving Day and weekend. It is not too late to change your holiday plans. Although it isn’t the easy choice, it is in fact the right choice this year.”
A plurality of Tuesday’s daily cases, 26, were in Santa Maria. There were 21 in Santa Barbara, 17 were in Lompoc, eight were in Orcutt, six were in Goleta, five were in the South County Unincorporated Area, five were in Isla Vista, five were in the unincorporated area of the Goleta Valley and Gaviota, and two were in the Santa Ynez Valley.
Three daily cases were scattered throughout the unincorporated areas of Sisquoc, Casmalia, Garey, Cuyama, New Cuyama, and the city of Guadalupe.
The locations of two daily cases are still pending.
Santa Maria leads the county in COVID-19 deaths with 73. Santa Barbara is a distant second, with 14 deaths. There have been nine deaths in Lompoc, seven in the South County Unincorporated Area, seven in the Santa Ynez Valley, six in Orcutt, five in Goleta, three in the Lompoc Federal Prison, three in the unincorporated area of the Goleta Valley and Gaviota, and one in Isla Vista.
Santa Maria also leads the county in still infectious cases, with 115. There are 89 still infectious cases in Santa Barbara, 46 in Lompoc, 28 in Isla Vista, 25 in Orcutt, 24 in the unincorporated area of the Goleta Valley and Gaviota, 20 in the South County Unincorporated Area, 19 in Goleta, 10 in the Santa Ynez Valley, and one in the Lompoc Federal Prison.
There are also four still infectious cases throughout the unincorporated areas of Sisquoc, Casmalia, Garey, Cuyama, New Cuyama, and the city of Guadalupe.
The locations of 18 still infectious cases are still pending.
A plurality of Tuesday’s daily cases, 35, were in the 18-29 age range. Thirty were in the 30-49 age range, 19 were between 50-69, eight were in the 0-17 age range, and another eight were in the 70+ age range.
County health officials announced that daily status reports will not be posted Thursday or Friday and normal reporting will resume on Monday.
email: jgrega@newspress.com
