There continues to be a high level of COVID-19 transmission in Santa Barbara County. The BA.5 variant continues to be the dominant strain in the southern West Coast, as well as nationally. Over the last seven days, the weekly average of reported PCR-confirmed cases has increased by 5.6%. This is thought to be an underreporting of cases in the county given increased availability of rapid antigen home tests that are often not reported to the Public Health Department.
COVID-19 levels have increased from medium to high in Santa Barbara County, according to CDC ratings. This reflects an increase in new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people, new COVID-19-related hospital admissions per 100,000 people and the percent of inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients. This increase is being seen across California.
There have been four deaths reported over the last week.
– Katherine Zehnder
