SLO County adds 72 new coronavirus cases — including 31 from North County
San Luis Obispo County added 72 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, bringing the total number of people who have locally tested positive for COVID-19 since March to 1,078, according to ReadySLO.org.
As of Tuesday, there were 359 active COVID-19 patients in San Luis Obispo County, a record-high number of active local patients at any time during the pandemic.
Paso Robles added 14 new cases of coronavirus, while Atascadero added 13 and Arroyo Grande added 12 cases.
San Luis Obispo and Nipomo both recorded an additional eight cases Tuesday, and Oceano and Templeton added four cases apiece.
Grover Beach and Los Osos each added two positive cases.
Of the newest cases, 49 involve people under the age of 50, and the other 23 cases involve patients 50 and over.
SLO County’s COVID-19 cases by the numbers
A majority of San Luis Obispo County residents who’ve tested positive for COVID-19 — 699— have completely recovered from the illness.
A total of 359 people are still recovering at home. Of 14 patients receiving hospital treatment, six patients remain in intensive care units.
Five local residents have died from COVID-19, including most recently a person in their 70s who had underlying health conditions.
The Paso Robles area continues to have the most COVID-19 cases in the county with 258.
That city is followed by San Luis Obispo, which has 171 cases, and Nipomo with 149. Atascadero has 111 and Arroyo Grande is at 101 cases total.
Grover Beach has 51 cases, San Miguel has 39, Templeton has 38 and Pismo Beach has 35.
Oceano has 23 cases, and California Men’s Colony reported 11 inmates with positive coronavirus results.
Los Osos has 22 cases and Morro Bay has 13.
Cambria has nine cases, while Santa Margarita has eight. Cayucos has seven cases, Shandon has six and Avila Beach has five.
Other areas — defined as cities or communities with fewer than five cases — have 17 cases altogether. And four cases are listed as unknown.
In total, 223 cases involve people ages 50 to 64, 124 cases involve people age 65 to 84, and 19 are people over the age of 85 years old.
There are 305 residents aged 30 to 49 who’ve tested positive for COVID-19 and 309 residents aged 18 to 29 years old. The remaining 97 cases involve people age 17 and younger.
In total, 402 cases were acquired by person to person contact, meaning they came into contact with a confirmed coronavirus case. A total of 112 cases are travel related, according to ReadySLO.org.
Another 320 cases were acquired by community spread, which means they do not know if they came into direct contact with a confirmed case and they did not acquire it by travel.
And 244 coronavirus cases are still under investigation by county contact tracers.
San Luis Obispo County public and private health labs have conducted at least 28,303 tests as of Monday.
Where to get a COVID-19 test
As the coronavirus pandemic continues, San Luis Obispo County says it can no longer keep up with an increased demand in testing.
On July 8, county public health officer Dr. Penny Borenstein asked that only community members with COVID-19 symptoms and those who work in high-risk settings, such as essential workers and congregate living facility workers, get tested.
A pop-up testing clinic will be open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at Dana Elementary School, 920 W. Tefft St. in Nipomo.
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.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the times for the pop-up clinic in Nipomo.
This story was originally published July 14, 2020 at 2:45 PM.
