SLO County adds 37 new coronavirus cases — and a third death

San Luis Obispo County reported 37 new COVID-19 cases and a third local coronavirus-related death on Wednesday, bringing the total number of people who locally tested positive for COVID-19 since March to 845, according to ReadySLO.org.

San Luis Obispo County is expected to be added to a state “watch list” after exceeding the state’s COVID-19 case rate criteria over the weekend. Over the last 14 days, the county’s case rate was about 114 COVID-19 patients per 100,000 people, according to a Tuesday news release.

As of Tuesday, there are 241 active COVID-19 patients in San Luis Obispo County, the highest daily total so far.

Of the new cases, 12 involved people 50 or older, and 25 involved people under the age of 50.

Paso Robles added eight coronavirus cases, while San Luis Obispo added 11.

Pismo Beach, Atascadero and Nipomo added three cases each. Arroyo Grande, San Miguel, Grover Beach and Santa Margarita added one each.

A majority of San Luis Obispo County residents who’ve tested positive for COVID-19 — 601 — have completely recovered from the illness.

A total of 227 people are still recovering at home. Fourteen patients are receiving hospital treatment, six of whom are in intensive care units.

Three local residents have died from COVID-19, including a 61-year-old patient who was living in a long-term care facility before being hospitalized for COVID-19 symptoms about two weeks ago.

The first San Luis Obispo County resident to die of coronavirus died in early April.

The Paso Robles area continues to have the most COVID-19 cases in the county with 203.

That city is followed by San Luis Obispo, which has 141 cases, and Nipomo with 125. Atascadero has 85 and Arroyo Grande is at 66 cases total.

Templeton has 27 cases, Grover Beach has 33, San Miguel has 35 and Pismo Beach has 25. The California Men’s Colony has reported 11 cases.

Morro Bay has 11, Los Osos has 16 and Shandon has six. Oceano has 17 cases and Cambria has seven.

Avila Beach has five cases, Cayucos has six cases and Santa Margarita has seven cases.

Other areas — defined as cities or communities with fewer than five cases — have 15 cases. And four cases are listed as unknown.

In total, 176 cases involve people ages 50 to 64, 101 cases involve people age 65 to 84, and 16 are people over the age of 85 years old.

There are 235 residents aged 30 to 49 who’ve tested positive for COVID-19 and 242 residents aged 18 to 29 years old. The remaining 75 cases involve people age 17 and younger.

In total, the county has determined 99 patients acquired the virus through travel, 349 acquired it through person-to-person contact and 284 contracted it through community spread.

The county has not determined the route of transmission for 113 cases.

San Luis Obispo County public and private health labs have conducted at least 25,534 tests, 162 have been positive at the SLO Public Health Lab and 646 have been detected at outside labs.

Where to get a COVID-19 test

As the coronavirus pandemic continues, testing has increased in San Luis Obispo County.

Pop-up testing clinics will be staffed by county employees and analyzed at the Public Health Department lab.

A pop-up clinic will be available 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 13 through July 16 at the back parking lot of Dana Elementary School, 920 West Tefft Street in Nipomo.

In addition to the pop-up testing events, free COVID-19 testing is available at ongoing sites in Grover Beach and San Luis Obispo.

▪ Grover Beach: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Ramona Garden Park, 993 Ramona Ave.

▪ 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.

This story was originally published July 8, 2020 at 2:32 PM.