COVID-19 cases drop in Santa Maria as hospital numbers decline across California

COVID-19 hospitalizations statewide have dropped 20% over a 14-day period, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday, which is “continuing to trend in a very encouraging direction.”

The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department has reported a 28.9% drop in local hospitalizations over two weeks, from 76 patients on Aug. 11 to 54 on Monday.

Over the same period, the county reported 16 COVID-related deaths, including one on Monday — of a Santa Barbara and Mission Canyon area resident over the age of 70 who lived in a congregate care facility.

Some death reporting may be delayed, and the Public Health Department has stopped disclosing when deaths occur, citing health privacy issues.

However, HIPAA — the federal medical privacy law — does not restrict the disclosure of de-identified information, such as a person’s age, city of residence, and death date, which the county was disclosing until recently.

Younger people are accounting for more of the county’s new positive cases, and five of the COVID-19-related deaths reported in the past week were people younger than 70.

Public health officials said last week that 40% of COVID-19-positive hospital patients were in their 20s, 30s, and 40s.

As of Monday, local hospitals reported 54 COVID-19-positive patients, including 19 being treated in intensive care units and 17 on ventilators.

There were 61 new positive cases reported, for cumulative total of 7,800 cases in the county.

Santa Maria has accounted for the majority of local community cases, and has seen a steep decline in new infections over the past several weeks.

In the two-week period ending Aug. 11, Santa Maria reported 559 new cases. In the two weeks ending Monday, the city had 396 new cases.

Public health officials have attributed the trends to people complying with health officer orders, and adhering to guidance on face coverings and social distancing.

They also credited their community group partners, and the city of Santa Maria, for help with isolation and quarantine support, education and code enforcement.

Santa Barbara County is still on the state monitoring list, and will need to further reduce the rate of virus transmission to get off it, Public Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg said last week.

He also reported that the county will be closing its beaches to “stationary activities” on Labor Day weekend to try and reduce crowds and gatherings, as it did on Fourth of July weekend.

On Saturday, the Sheriff’s Department reported an additional three people who contracted COVID-19 while in custody at the County Main Jail. All three had been housed in a “cohort” quarantine after being exposed to people who later tested positive, spokeswoman Raquel Zick said.

They had tested negative and a week later, tested positive, and were moved to negative air flow cells where they will be medically monitored, she said.

As of Monday, 39 people in custody of the Main Jail have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, including seven who tested positive during the intake and quarantine period, and 32 who contracted the virus within the facility.

The Coroner’s Bureau is investigating the death of a Santa Maria man who died in custody after testing positive for COVID-19 while incarcerated in the Main Jail.