‘Devastating.’ January was deadliest month for COVID-19 in Santa Barbara County

More than half of Santa Barbara County’s reported deaths related to COVID-19 occurred in two months — December and January.

In January, 131 county residents died after contracting COVID-19, according to the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department.

To date, January marked the deadliest month of the pandemic since the county reported its first case in mid-March last year, and its first death in April.

The record number of deaths in January came after unprecedented surges in COVID-19 positive cases and hospitalizations, and the wintertime surge was much larger than the previous summertime surge. In December, as cases were started to spike, the county reported 24 COVID-19-related deaths.

July and August were the next deadliest months in Santa Barbara County, with 31 and 33 deaths respectively, Public Health officials told Noozhawk.

“When we have more cases, we know that hospitalizations and deaths will follow that trend,” Public Health spokeswoman Jackie Ruiz said in an email. “January has been a devastating month for all those impacted by this illness, and we must continue to take all precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 from even happening.”

The trend has always been a rise in deaths following increased cases of COVID-19 and hospitalizations, according to Ruiz.

“This surge has been no exception,” she said.

Santa Barbara County confirmed its first death from COVID-19 on April 1, and in nine months (April through December) the county reported 160 deaths from the virus.

The new number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the county rose on Tuesday, with the cumulative COVID-19 death toll at 303.

The total number of coronavirus-related fatalities countywide has increased by about 29% — from 231 on Jan. 18 to 298 on Monday, public health director Van Do-Reynoso told the county Board of Supervisors. The county reported 67 deaths in a two-week period, Do-Reynoso said.

In January, at least 54 fatalities were among people age 70 or older. The 70-plus age group accounts for more than 10% of the county’s population, according to data on the online community data dashboard.

In the week of Jan. 10, 44 county residents died from COVID-19, marking it the deadliest week of the pandemic.

At a Jan. 22 news conference, Do-Reynoso said that over three weeks, about three times as many county residents had died because of COVID-19 compared with the peak weeks in the summer months.

The online data dashboard notes that the number of deaths will change as additional cases are reported.

Deaths are reported when a death certificate is processed listing COVID-19 as a cause or a significant condition, according to the county Public Health Department. The process can take several days and up to two months to finalize if pending verification by the county Coroner’s Bureau, a division of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.

Of the county’s 303 COVID-19-related deaths, 124 residents lived in Santa Maria, 55 in Santa Barbara, 27 in Lompoc, 20 in Goleta, 19 in Orcutt, 17 in the regions of the North County unincorporated area, 14 in the Santa Ynez Valley, 11 in the Montecito-Summerland-Carpinteria area, 10 in the unincorporated area of the Goleta Valley and Gaviota, four in the Lompoc federal prison complex, and one in Isla Vista. One death is pending the geographic area.

On Tuesday, the county has reported 104 deaths associated with an outbreak at a congregate care facility.

Twelve of the county’s 14 skilled nursing facilities have reported at least one resident death connected to a COVID-19 outbreak, according to the county community data dashboard.

Country Oaks reported 14 COVID-19-related resident deaths as of Monday, according to the Public Health Department’s community data dashboard.

Only skilled-nursing facilities are provided in the county’s online data, and “less than 11” is the indicator of at least one because the database does not disclose the exact number of active cases or COVID-19-related deaths.

The first pediatric death related to COVID-19 was reported in mid-December.

There have been more than 41,300 COVID-19 deaths in California as of Monday, according to the state Department of Public Health.

The most recent update available from the CDPH shows that about 75% of all COVID-19 deaths statewide are among residents in the 65-plus age group, followed by about 19% in the 50-64 age group and about 7% in the 18-49 age group.

About 46% of all COVID-19-deaths statewide were among Latino residents, and about 32% were white, according to the CDPH. Nearly 60% of all COVID-19-deaths in California are among men, the state’s COVID-19 dashboard reported.

The number of active cases (residents who recently tested positive and are still infectious) is trending downward in Santa Barbara County, but concern is ongoing about the availability of intensive-care unit beds.

There were 1,254 people still infectious in the county on Tuesday, and the county’s cumulative number of confirmed cases was more than 29,000.

Active cases in the county decreased by roughly 50% in the last two weeks of January, from 2,568 to 1,288 as of Monday, Do-Reynoso said. A peak of 3,256 people actively infected occurred on Jan. 13, Do-Reynoso said.

“While the number of active cases decreasing is encouraging, our ICU (intensive care unit) availability is still low and of concern,” Do-Reynoso said Tuesday.