There is a low level of COVID-19 transmission in Santa Barbara County, according to definitions set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This reflects new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population, new COVID-19 related hospital admissions per 100,000 population and the percent of inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients.
There were no deaths reported over the last week, according to the county Public Health Department.
COVID-19-related hospitalizations have been decreasing and ICU bed availability has been increasing.
Over the last seven days, the weekly average of reported PCR-confirmed cases has decreased by 7.3%, the Public Health Department reported in its weekly report.
But the department cautioned that there is an underreporting of cases in Santa Barbara County, given increased rapid antigen home testing that is often not reported to the public health department.
BA.5 continues to be the dominant variant in California.
— Katherine Zehnder
