Avoid social and family gatherings to slow spread of COVID-19, SLO County says
San Luis Obispo County health officials are asking residents to avoid social and family gatherings after the county added 144 cases over the weekend.
As of Monday, the county has had 1,644 coronavirus cases since mid-March, 426 of which remain active.
Through contact tracing, the county has identified many cases have spread between households at holiday gatherings, birthday parties, graduation ceremonies and other medium-to-small sized gatherings, according to a county news release.
According to the release, many of the gatherings were indoors and involve people from multiple households being together for prolonged periods of time and sharing food or beverages.
“Nobody wants to infect loved ones, but it’s happening in SLO County,” San Luis Obispo County Public Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein said in the release. “We each have the ability to stop it and slow the spread of this disease.”
In early June, the county asked that people limit gatherings to 10 people and in early July, Borenstein introduced the term “social bubble,” however gatherings continue to be a large reason for COVID-19 spread within the county.
”Staying in touch and celebrating life events is still important. But now is not the time to gather in person, especially if you are or someone you know is particularly vulnerable to serious COVID-19 illness,” Borenstein said in Monday’s release.
Of the cases with a known route of transmission, 474 have acquired the virus from direct person-to-person contact. The cause of transmission for 637 total cases remains under investigation, according to ReadySLO.org.
“Protect your friends and family by avoiding gatherings. I know this is a difficult ask, but it is a key way we can help slow the spread of COVID-19 to keep SLO County healthy, open and strong as this pandemic continues,” Borenstein said in the release.
Maintaining a six-foot distance from people outside one’s household, wearing a face covering when in public, staying local and frequent hand washing are all ways to limit the spread of coronavirus, according to the county release.
This story was originally published July 27, 2020 at 3:44 PM.
