SLO County reports second spike in COVID-19 cases — with 72 new patients
San Luis Obispo County experienced another major spike in coronavirus cases on Friday.
The county added a total of 72 cases of COVID-19 on Friday, according to ReadySLO.org. That’s on top of 74 new cases reported Thursday, the majority of which involved young adults.
The majority of the new cases are also occurring in SLO and on the Cal Poly campus. Some 44 of Thursday’s new cases were in those two areas. On Friday, that numbered jumped to 55.
San Luis Obispo County public health officials concerned by the “alarming spike in COVID-19” cases in recent days warned residents on Thursday not to “ease up” on coronavirus precautions.
According to a release from the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department, many of the county’s active coronavirus cases are among Cal Poly students living off campus in San Luis Obispo “who are gathering without proper safety precautions.”
As of Friday, a total of 4,568 San Luis Obispo County residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since mid-March.
As of Wednesday, San Luis Obispo County has continued to have “substantial” coronavirus spread, according to the California State Department of Public Health. The weekly tier update, which is usually released on Tuesdays, was pushed to Wednesday due to the national election.
San Luis Obispo County’s positivity rate is at 1.9% as of the latest data, representing a .1 percentage point improvement from the week prior.
The county has an adjusted average of 4.1 new cases per 100,000 people per day, with an unadjusted case rate of 6.1, according to state data. Both metrics were .1 percentage points higher than the week prior, but still remains near the orange tier requirements.
And the health equity metric dropped more than one percentage point this week, landing at 1.3% — meaning that there is a 1.3% positivity rate for people who live in the 12 census tracts in San Luis Obispo County ranked in the lowest quarter of California’s Health Place Index. That is in the moderate tier’s range.
New COVID-19 cases by city
Here is where new COVID-19 cases were added Friday in San Luis Obispo County, according to ReadySLO.org:
San Luis Obispo: 36
Cal Poly (on-campus students): 19
Paso Robles: 11
Arroyo Grande: 2
Atascadero: 1
Creston: 1
- Grover Beach: 1
- Morro Bay: 1
Total coronavirus cases by city are:
- Paso Robles: 1,138
San Luis Obispo: 946
- Atascadero: 430
Nipomo: 370
- California Men’s Colony: 294
- Arroyo Grande: 244
Cal Poly (on campus): 88
- Grover Beach: 174
San Miguel: 171
Oceano: 143
- Templeton: 153
- Morro Bay: 70
Pismo Beach: 69
- Los Osos: 66
- Shandon: 58
- Cambria: 36
- Santa Margarita: 35
- Creston: 27
- Cayucos: 19
- Avila Beach: 10
- San Simeon: 6
As of Friday, 12 COVID-19 cases were listed as “under investigation.” The locations of four additional cases were listed as “other.” Three cases were resolved from total COVID-19 cases for San Miguel.
A total of 45 on-campus Cal Poly students were in isolation due to coronavirus as of Friday, with an additional 471 students in quarantine. The university has reported a total of 353 COVID-19 cases to date.
For a detailed look at local coronavirus cases by age, occupation and more, visit ReadySLO.org.
SLO County coronavirus cases by the numbers
Here’s a look at San Luis Obispo County’s cases on Thursday, according to the county Public Health Department:
- Active cases: 314
- Recovered cases: 4,221
- People recovering at home: 306
- People receiving hospital care: 8
- People in intensive care units: 3
- Deaths due to COVID-19: 33 (including two California Men’s Colony inmates)
One death was removed from the total tally of local deaths due to COVID-19.
Here is a look at the racial breakdown of local coronavirus cases:
Hispanic and Latino: 2,049
White: 1,638
Other and under investigation: 657
Black or African American: 88
Asian and Pacific Islander: 70
Multiracial: 58
American Indian or Alaska Native: 8
Where to get a COVID-19 test
The San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department is urging anyone with COVID-19 symptoms, or those who have come into contact with someone with the virus, to get tested.
Free coronavirus testing is available at clinics throughout San Luis Obispo County:
- Arroyo Grande: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday. Woman’s Club of Arroyo Grande, 211 Vernon St.
- Morro Bay: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Veterans Memorial Building, 209 Surf St.
- Paso Robles: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Frontier Pavilion, Paso Robles Event Center, 2198 Riverside Ave.
- San Luis Obispo: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Veterans Memorial Hall, 801 Grand Ave.
In addition, COVID-19 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. ReadySLO.org lists more than a dozen urgent care centers that offer COVID-19 testing.
To make an appointment, visit emergencySLO.org/testing; you can register by phone at 888-634-1123.
This story was originally published November 6, 2020 at 2:26 PM.