Santa Barbara County sets daily COVID-19 record with 396 cases, 3 deaths Thursday lompocrecord.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lompocrecord.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
COVID vaccines arriving but virus spread increases in Santa Barbara County
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Santa Barbara County health officials are reporting a steep surge in positive COVID-19 cases as the first batch of the long-awaited coronavirus vaccine arrives.
On Monday, 360 cases were reported followed by 207 new cases on Tuesday. Monday s case total is the highest single-day increase since cases began being tracked back in Spring.
Santa Barbara County Public Health Director Dr. Van Do-Reynoso says the rise in cases is directly connected to gatherings during Thanksgiving week. This surge in cases falls just over two weeks after the Thanksgiving holiday, she said. It is directly related to the gathering of family and friends as we had predicted.
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On Monday, public health reported the county’s highest daily number of new cases, 360. The increase in new cases is seen across all areas of the county, Do-Reynoso said.
“The numbers indicate that we have to continue to take this pandemic seriously,” First District Supervisor Das Williams said.
A state-mandated stay-at-home order is in effect for the Southern California region, which includes Santa Barbara County, because hospital beds are quickly filling up with COVID-19-positive patients.
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There were 75 confirmed COVID-19 patients being treated in local hospitals, including 21 people in ICU beds.
Of Monday’s new COVID-19 cases, Santa Maria tallied 136, Santa Barbara had 68, and Lompoc had 35. The rest were spread throughout the county.
Seven new COVID-19 cases were from the Lompoc federal correctional complex, where few cases have been reported since the large inmate outbreaks in the spring.
“We have reached case counts that exceed all previous records,” Do-Reynoso said. “It is imperative that each individual take action now and stay home.
“We are reaching a point where we can see on the horizon our health care system being overrun,” she continued. “We must take immediate action as our decisions are now seeing the price to be paid, and it is costing the lives and wellbeing of our community members.”