The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department reported 234 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, bringing the county’s total 14,190.
Of the total cases, 12,925 have recovered and 1,120 county cases are considered still infectious. No new COVID-related deaths were reported on Thursday.
The city of Santa Maria reported 65 additional COVID-19 cases, and the North County city now has a total of 5,441 cases. Of those, 341 are considered active, according to officials.
The city of Santa Barbara reported 47 new cases, bringing its total to 2,100. Of those, 245 remain active.
The city of Lompoc reported 23 new cases and now has a total of 1,512 cases, including 133 that remain active. The city of Goleta reported 19 new cases and now has 528 total, including 80 that remain infectious. The unincorporated area of the Goleta Valley in Gaviota reported 16 new cases and now has 392 total, including 39 that are active.
Other daily case numbers include: South County unincorporated area, including Montecito, Summerland and city of Carpinteria, 12 new cases (394 total, 43 active); Community of Orcutt, 11 new cases (674 total, 56 active); Unincorporated areas of Sisquoc, Casmalia, Garey, Cuyama, New Cuyama and the city of Guadalupe, 11 new cases (604 total, 37 active); Isla Vista, eight new cases (599 total, 32 active); and the Santa Ynez Valley, six new cases (319 total, 28 active).
The geographic area of 16 cases was pending on Thursday.
According to the health department, 714 health care workers have contracted COVID-19.
Some 91 residents are recovering in a local hospital, with 23 in the Intensive Care Unit.
Per the California Department of Public Health, Santa Barbara County’s ICU availability was at 29.1% on Thursday. The ICU availability for the Southern California region was 0%.
Also on Thursday, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department reported that two custody deputies have tested positive for COVID-19, and three inmates who were COVID-19 positives were booked into custody.
The first custody deputy, who last worked on Dec. 8 and developed symptoms during days off, was tested on Monday, and was found to be positive on Thursday. The second custody deputy was not symptomatic but was tested on Sunday. The custody deputy last worked on Wednesday and was found to be COVID-19 positive that evening. Both custody deputies consistently wore masks while at work, said Raquel Zick, sheriff’s spokeswoman.
In total, 59 Sheriff’s Office employees have tested positive for COVID-19, with 48 having recovered and returned to work.
Three unrelated COVID-19 positive inmates were recently booked at the Main Jail. One inmate was known to be positive for COVID-19 prior to intake Wednesday night and was released within a few hours pursuant to the local court’s extension of the no bail rule. The second and third inmates tested positive for COVID-19 during the intake screening process and are each being housed in negative-air pressure housing areas, separate from the general population, Ms. Zick said.
As of Thursday, two inmates tested positive upon intake to the jail. A total of 68 inmates have recovered, including 66 who contracted the virus while in the facility. Sixteen inmates have been released from custody, including five who tested positive upon intake and 11 who contracted COVID-19 in the facility. One inmate has died due to COVID-19, Ms. Zick said.
email: mwhite@newspress.com
