SLO County adds more than 200 coronavirus cases over 3-day period, breaking record
San Luis Obispo County’s cases continued to increase drastically over the weekend and Monday — with a record-breaking new daily case count reported Saturday and a record high of active cases Monday.
A total of 226 coronavirus cases were added over a three-day period, according to ReadySLO.org.
San Luis Obispo County added 128 cases on Saturday, marking the highest number of new coronavirus cases reported in a day and the second time the county has added more than 100 cases in a day.
Prior to Saturday, the record for daily new cases was 115 cases, reported on Aug. 14.
Another 55 COVID-19 cases were reported Sunday, and 43 reported Monday.
As of Monday, a total of 4,794 San Luis Obispo County residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since mid-March.
The continued spike in cases comes after the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department released a statement saying many of the county’s active coronavirus cases involve Cal Poly students living off campus in San Luis Obispo “who are gathering without proper safety precautions.”
Over the weekend, Cal Poly reported 53 new coronavirus cases among students on and off campus who were tested through the university’s Health Center.
County residents between 18 and 29 years old added the most cases out of any age group this weekend, accounting for 127 of the newest coronavirus cases locally.
What tier is SLO County in?
As of Nov. 4, San Luis Obispo County continued to have “substantial” coronavirus spread, according to the California State Department of Public Health.
San Luis Obispo County’s positivity rate was at 1.9% as of the latest data, representing a .1 percentage point improvement from the week prior.
The county had 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 remained near the orange tier requirements.
And the health equity metric dropped more than one percentage point, landing at 1.3% — meaning that there was 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 data will be released Tuesday.
New COVID-19 cases by city
Here is where new COVID-19 cases were added over the weekend and Monday in San Luis Obispo County, according to ReadySLO.org:
San Luis Obispo: 83
Paso Robles: 46
Cal Poly (on-campus students): 27
Atascadero: 16
San Miguel: 13
Arroyo Grande: 8
Templeton: 6
Nipomo: 4
Grover Beach: 2
Morro Bay: 2
Oceano: 2
Pismo Beach: 2
Santa Margarita: 2
Creston: 1
As of Monday, 15 COVID-19 cases were listed as “under investigation.” The locations of four additional cases were listed as “other.”
The county Public Health Department listed Atascadero State Hospital as a separate location for the first time on Monday. According to ReadySLO.org, ASH has had 14 coronavirus cases.
A total of 92 on-campus Cal Poly students were in isolation due to coronavirus as of Monday, with an additional 809 students in quarantine. The university has reported a total of 460 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 Monday, according to the county Public Health Department:
- Active cases: 474
- Recovered cases: 4,287
- People recovering at home: 468
- People receiving hospital care: 6
- People in intensive care units: 2
- Deaths due to COVID-19: 33 (including two California Men’s Colony inmates)
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:
- 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 9, 2020 at 1:36 PM.
