SLO County adds 123 cases of coronavirus — and another death
San Luis Obispo County added 123 new cases of coronavirus over the weekend and into Monday, according to ReadySLO.org.
The county added 56 cases on Saturday, 35 on Sunday and 32 on Monday. A total of 2,562 people have locally tested positive for COVID-19 since March, according to ReadySLO.org.
Also on Monday, San Luis Obispo County confirmed one more local coronavirus death , bringing the local tally of people who have died due to COVID-19 to 19.
The person was in their 90s and resided at a skilled nursing home, according to a tweet by the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department. The person had underlying health conditions.
New COVID-19 cases by city and age
The city of San Luis Obispo saw six new coronavirus cases over the weekend and on Monday.
In the North County, Paso Robles added 18 coronavirus cases over that time period, while Atascadero added 17 cases, San Miguel added seven and Templeton added four cases.
Shandon and Santa Margarita both reported no new coronavirus cases.
In the South County, Oceano added 13 new cases, Grover Beach added 10, Nipomo added six and Arroyo Grande added four. Pismo Beach and Avila Beach both added one case a piece.
In the North Coast area, Los Osos added two new cases and Morro Bay added one. Cayucos and San Simeon did not have new cases.
No new cases were reported in undisclosed parts of the county, but three new cases are under investigation, bringing the total to four.
Of the most recent local cases, the majority — 100 — involve people under the age of 50. The rest involved people over the age of 50.
SLO County coronavirus cases by the numbers
A majority of San Luis Obispo County residents who’ve tested positive for COVID-19 — 2,079— have completely recovered from the illness.
A total of 442 people are still recovering at home. Of the 20 patients receiving hospital treatment, five patients remain in intensive care units.
According to the county Public Health Department, cases are categorized by zip code rather than city or town limits.
The Paso Robles area continues to have the most COVID-19 cases in the county with 667, while Nipomo has 294 cases.
The city of San Luis Obispo has 289 coronavirus cases.
Atascadero has 284 cases, and Arroyo Grande has 178.
Grover Beach has 121 coronavirus cases, Templeton has 97, San Miguel has 95 and Oceano has 84.
Pismo Beach has 49 cases of coronavirus, Los Osos has 46, Morro Bay has 34 and Cambria has 28 cases.
Santa Margarita has 23, Shandon has 16, Cayucos has 14, Avila Beach has eight, and San Simeon has six COVID-19 cases.
A total of 225 inmates and 18 employees at the California Men’s Colony have tested positive for COVID-19 since mid-March, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. (The numbers reported on the CDCR website vary slightly from those reported by ReadySLO.org.)
Other areas — defined as cities or communities with fewer than five cases — have 11 cases altogether. And four cases are listed as under investigation.
In total, 468 cases involve people ages 50 to 64, while 214 cases involve people age 65 to 84, and 51 involve people over the age of 85 years old.
There are 901 residents aged 30 to 49 who have tested positive for COVID-19 and 687 residents aged 18 to 29 years old. The remaining 241 cases involve people age 17 and younger.
In total, 1,135 cases were acquired by person-to-person contact, meaning the patient came into contact with a confirmed coronavirus case. A total of 182 cases are travel-related, according to ReadySLO.org.
Another 679 cases were acquired by community spread, which means patients do not know if they came into direct contact with a confirmed case and they did not acquire COVID-19 by travel.
And 566 coronavirus cases are still under investigation by county contact tracers.
San Luis Obispo County public and private health labs have conducted at least 45,984 tests locally.
Where to get a COVID-19 test
After briefly requesting that residents hold back on getting tested for coronavirus, the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department is one again urging anyone with COVID-19 symptoms, or those who have come into contact with someone with the virus, to get tested.
In a news release on Aug. 14, the county said it has expanded its testing capacity and “can once again test anyone who may have been exposed, even if you do not have symptoms.”
“If you think you have been exposed, stay home and make an appointment online to get tested at least five days after exposure,” Public Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein said in the release. “Please also stay home until you receive your test results. We don’t want anyone unknowingly spreading COVID-19.”
A pop-up testing location will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday at Pavilion On the Lake, 9315 Pismo Ave. in Atascadero.
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 August 17, 2020 at 1:53 PM.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story did not include the number of new coronavirus cases in Grover Beach. It is 10.
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