SLO County adds 20 new coronavirus cases — with more than half in North County
San Luis Obispo County added 20 new cases of coronavirus Wednesday, bringing the total number of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 since March to 473, according to ReadySLO.org.
This is the third time in the last seven days where cases have increased by 20 or more in a single day. Prior to last Wednesday, the highest single-day increase was 14 new cases.
Public Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein said in a Monday news release that the county anticipated a rise in cases.
“As expected, SLO County’s COVID-19 positivity rate is increasing as we expand testing and continue to open for business,” Borenstein said in the release.
Paso Robles added the highest number of new cases, with seven.
San Luis Obispo added four cases, and Templeton added three. Atascadero, Nipomo and Arroyo Grande each added one new case.
And, for the first time, Cambria broke out into its own listing with five cases.
Since Tuesday, the county determined that five additional cases were spread from person-to-person contact and four additional cases were contracted via community spread. The other 11 new cases are still under investigation.
SLO County’s COVID-19 cases by the numbers
A majority of San Luis Obispo County residents who’ve tested positive for COVID-19 — 354 — have completely recovered from the illness, with eight new recoveries reported since Tuesday.
A total of 109 people are still recovering at home. Nine patients, are receiving hospital treatment. Only two patients, two fewer than Tuesday, are in intensive care units.
One local resident has died from COVID-19.
The Paso Robles area continues to have the most COVID-19 cases in the county with 147.
Atascadero has 64 cases, Nipomo has 57, San Luis Obispo has 53, Arroyo Grande has 38 and Templeton has 20.
The California Men’s Colony has 11. Pismo Beach and Grover Beach each have 14 cases. Morro Bay has 10, San Miguel has nine, Los Osos has six, and Shandon has five.
Other areas — defined as cities or communities with fewer than five cases — have 20 cases altogether.
In total, 104 cases involve people ages 50 to 64, 65 cases involve people age 65 to 84, and 11 are people over the age of 85 years old. Wednesday marks the first day where the county separated the 85 and older age range.
There are 226 residents aged 18 to 49 who’ve tested positive for COVID-19. The remaining 51 cases involve people age 17 and younger.
In total, the county has determined 60 patients acquired the virus through travel, 228 acquired it through person-to-person contact and 153 contracted it through community spread.
The county has not determined the route of transmission for 32 cases.
The county has not yet updated the number of tests conducted since Tuesday.
Where to get a COVID-19 test
Two new free COVID-19 testing clinics open this week in Oceano and Cambria.
The pop-up testing clinics will be staffed by county employees and analyzed at the Public Health Department lab, which has recently increased its testing capacity to 300 tests per day.
In addition to the pop-up testing events, free COVID-19 testing is available at ongoing sites in Grover Beach and San Luis Obispo. In total, the sites include:
▪ Cambria: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. Cambria Veterans Hall, 100 Main St.
▪ Grover Beach: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Ramona Garden Park, 993 Ramona Ave.
▪ Oceano: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday. Oceano Community Center, 1425 19th St.
▪ San Luis Obispo: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Veterans Memorial Hall, 801 Grand Ave.
Testing is available through private healthcare providers, urgent care centers and the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Lab.
Visit ReadySLO.org for the latest public health updates and recommendations.
To make an appointment, visit emergencySLO.org/testing; you can register by phone at 888-634-1123.
The county continues to ask that people limit large social gatherings and wear face coverings in public spaces when physical distancing can’t be maintained, in accordance with a state mandate issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom last Thursday.
This story was originally published June 24, 2020 at 1:08 PM.
