SLO County adds 127 coronavirus cases, 4 deaths while CMC active case count drops
San Luis Obispo County added 127 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, passing the 16,000-case mark, according to data from the county Public Health Department.
In total, 16,056 San Luis Obispo County residents have tested positive for coronavirus since March 2020.
Although San Luis Obispo County has more than 2,000 active COVID-19 cases, the region is seeing a slight downturn of new cases of coronavirus. That’s reflected in the leveling out of new cases among incarcerated people at California Men’s Colony state prison in San Luis Obispo.
As of Wednesday, 887 incarcerated people at the state prison had active coronavirus cases. Wednesday marked the first day in weeks that the active case count at CMC dropped below 1,000.
That being said, the CMC active case count remained the highest of any prison in California on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, San Luis Obispo County reported an additional four deaths due to coronavirus, involving people ranging in age from 70 to 100. Locally, 140 people were confirmed to have died due to the virus.
CMC reported two inmate deaths Wednesday, bringing the total up to four. It was unclear Wednesday afternoon whether the county had included the most recent deaths reported at CMC.
As of Wednesday, San Luis Obispo County remained in California’s most restrictive tier of California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy and under the Southern California regional stay-at-home order.
What is ICU bed availability in Southern California and SLO County?
According to the state, 53% of San Luis Obispo County’s intensive care unit beds were available as of Wednesday.
A total of 55 patients were being treated at local hospitals due to COVID-19. Of those, 10 were in intensive care units — including 3 in ICUs out of the county, according to the county.
Even though San Luis Obispo County’s ICU availability isn’t below 15%, the ICU availability in the Southern California region means that the county falls under the stay-at-home order.
As of Wednesday, ICU availability in the Southern California region remained at 0%, health department data showed.
How many people has SLO County vaccinated?
The San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department has received a total of 17,010 first and second doses of the Moderna and Pfizer coronavirus vaccines as of Jan. 15, according to the county.
Of the total vaccines, 9,925 were designated as first doses and 7,085 were designated as second doses.
The week of Jan. 11 to Jan. 15, the county received 5,375 second dose vaccines and no first dose vaccines.
As of Wednesday, the county is still awaiting guidance from the state regarding whether they can begin administering vaccines allocated as “second doses” to people for their first dose.
According to the county, 6,266 people have received coronavirus vaccines from the county Public Health Department — and 1,060 have received both their first and second doses.
The county’s information does not include doses sent to or administered by other vaccine providers in San Luis Obispo County, including Dignity Health, Tenet Heath Central Coast and CVS.
Vaccine information will be updated on a weekly basis, the county said.
New COVID-19 cases by city
Here is where new COVID-19 cases were added on Wednesday in San Luis Obispo County, according to ReadySLO.org:
- California Men’s Colony: 50
Paso Robles: 18
Atascadero: 14
Nipomo: 13
San Luis Obispo: 9
Templeton: 7
Grover Beach: 6
Oceano: 3
Arroyo Grande: 2
Los Osos: 2
San Miguel: 1
Morro Bay: 1
Pismo Beach: 1
Creston: 1
Shell Beach has been removed as a location on ReadySLO.org because the county identifies cases by zip code and Shell Beach falls under the Pismo Beach zip code. All cases in Shell Beach will be counted as Pismo Beach moving forward.
The locations of nine cases were listed as “other.” A total of 84 cases remained under investigation.
Outbreaks at California Men’s Colony and Atascadero State Hospital have been greater than indicated by county data, according to data from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Department of State Hospitals.
CDCR had recorded 2,302 total coronavirus cases among CMC inmates as of Wednesday, with 887 active cases in custody — the most of any California prison facility — with 727 of those testing positive in the past 14 days.
Four inmates have died due to COVID-19.
DHS reported Wednesday that 190 patients have tested positive at Atascadero State Hospital since May 2020. The agency reports 25 of those patients have tested positive within the past 14 days. The facility has not reported any deaths and has reported fewer than 11 hospitalizations due to COVID-19.
Cal Poly’s documented total of coronavirus cases involving both on-campus and off-campus students was 1,131 as of Wednesday.
SLO County coronavirus cases by the numbers
Here’s a look at San Luis Obispo County’s cases on Wednesday, according to the county Public Health Department.
- Active cases: 2,453
- Recovered cases: 13,429
- People recovering at home: 2,398
- People receiving hospital care: 55
- Total people in intensive care units: 10
People in intensive care units out of the county: 3
- Deaths due to COVID-19: 140
For a detailed look at local coronavirus cases by age, occupation and more, visit ReadySLO.org.
Where to get a COVID-19 test and schedule a vaccine appointment
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. To make an appointment, visit emergencySLO.org/testing; you can register by phone at 888-634-1123.
As of Wednesday, the county Public Health Department is administering coronavirus vaccines to people in Phase 1A and Phase 1B by appointment only.
To schedule an appointment visit RecoverSLO.org or call 805-543-2444.
Appointment schedules for the following week will be released every Thursday on RecoverSLO.org and via county email alerts.
To sign up for email alerts visit EmergencySLO.org/en/newsletter.aspx.
This story was originally published January 20, 2021 at 3:17 PM.
