Number of confirmed coronavirus cases jumps to 54 in SLO County
San Luis Obispo County now has 54 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with eight new positive tests added on Thursday, according to the Public Health Department.
There have been no reported deaths here due to COVID-19. However, four patients are currently in the hospital, and one is in the ICU, according to ReadySLO.org.
The rest of the patients are at home, and 10 have reportedly recovered.
SLO County’s total is well above its neighbors, with more confirmed cases than any other county between San Jose and Los Angeles.
The North County has been particularly hard hit, with almost half of the local cases.
The county is currently preparing for a surge in cases and has asked qualified volunteers to apply for the Medical Reserve Corps. The corps would be activated in event that hospitals reach capacity and Cal Poly is used as an alternative care site.
To volunteer for the medical corps auxiliary sign up at: HealthcareVolunteers.ca.gov then email that information to the San Luis Obispo Medical Corps coordinator at slomrc@gmail.com.
How SLO County coronavirus numbers break down
The latest geographic distribution of confirmed cases shows there are now 25 in the North County, 15 in the South County, nine on the coast and five in the central San Luis Obispo area.
A largest number of the cases are in the 18-to-49 year range, with 19 people falling into that category. Additionally, 13 cases are in the 65-years-and-older age group, 11 are in the 50-to-64 age range, and three are under 18.
Twenty-three cases are travel-related, 16 received the virus from person-to-person contact, five cases were community-acquired and 10 have unknown routes of transmission, according to ReadySLO.org.
San Luis Obispo County announced its first coronavirus case on March 14. Since then, the number of cases has grown rapidly.
As of Thursday, the Public Health Department has tested 330 people, and 26 cases were confirmed by its lab. Private labs reported the other 28 confirmed cases, however the county does not know how many total patients have been tested by private labs.
Look out for these symptoms of COVID-19
Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough and shortness of breath. Older adults and individuals with underlying medical conditions are particularly vulnerable to the virus.
Health officials urge those who exhibit these symptoms to stay home, avoid contact with others, and call their health care provider or urgent care clinic before seeking medical care to receive safe arrival instructions, if directed to do so.
Go to the emergency room only if you are experiencing a medical emergency.
Visit ReadySLO.org for the latest public health updates and recommendations.
This is an ongoing story and will be updated when more information becomes available.
This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 12:54 PM.