Coronavirus cases skyrocketed in these SLO County towns. Here’s where COVID hit hardest
After nearly 11 months, the coronavirus pandemic has reached every corner of San Luis Obispo County.
Cases skyrocketed following the holiday season in all areas, but Latino residents and smaller North County towns remained the most affected by COVID-19.
As of Feb. 5, a total of 18,467 county residents had tested positive for coronavirus since mid-March.
About 41% of all COVID-19 cases in San Luis Obispo County were reported between Jan. 1 and Jan. 29, and more than 600 cases were reported in the first week of February.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the city of Paso Robles has stood out as a hotspot for coronavirus cases. San Luis Obispo’s case count has trailed Paso Robles’ total case count closely for the past few months.
However, a Tribune analysis of per capita data showed that smaller towns with higher Latino populations were far more impacted by the pandemic than San Luis Obispo County’s two most populated cities.
San Luis Obispo County Public Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein said at a Jan. 27 news briefing that the county is working to reach out to Latino communities.
“We do have a group that’s focused on particularly Latinos as well as (agriculture) workers,” Borenstein said. “We continue to really try to emphasize communities — whether it’s Latinx or others — who may not be getting their information in the same ways, or as routinely or vigorously, as you know, turning into a news station or picking up the newspaper.”
San Miguel, Shandon and Oceano see greatest coronavirus impact
Only two weeks into the local pandemic — on March 31, 2020 —Templeton, Morro Bay and Paso Robles were ranked in the No. 1, 2 and 3 spots for the highest coronavirus cases per capita locally.
At the time, Templeton had a per capita rate of six coronavirus cases per 10,000 residents.
Over the last 11 months, Templeton’s cases per capita has increased about 90%.
As of Feb. 5, Templeton had 611 cases per 10,000 residents and had the eighth highest local per capita rate.
San Miguel had the highest overall per capita rate at 1,105 cases per 10,000 residents as of Feb. 5.
In other words, roughly one out of every 10 San Miguel residents — 11% — has had coronavirus.
San Miguel — with a population of 4,089 people, according to the U.S. Census — saw a spike in coronavirus cases per capita in late June 2020, increasing from 31 cases per 10,000 people to 95 cases per 10,000 people in just two weeks.
Shandon had a per capita rate of 923 cases per 10,000 people, as of Feb. 5.
San Miguel and Shandon have held the top two spots in terms of cases per capita since August 2020 — with the exception of November, when an outbreak at Cal Poly pushed the San Luis Obispo university’s on-campus community into the No. 1 spot.
According to county data, Oceano residents had the third highest cases per capita at 857 cases per 10,000 residents.
Paso Robles followed with 805 cases per 10,000 residents, as of Feb. 5
County data showed that Paso Robles ranked highest in per capita cases in April and May 2020.
Nipomo’s case count jumped that summer, but leveled off in August around the time San Miguel’s cases began to soar.
Meanwhile, North Coast areas have consistently ranked the lowest in terms of per capita case counts.
The four lowest per capita rates as of Feb. 5 were reported in North Coast towns, and five out of the six lowest per capita rates were in North Coast communities.
Latino, Hispanic SLO County residents hit hardest by COVID-19
The places that have felt the greatest impacts of COVID-19 are also the areas with the most Latino and Hispanic residents, according to census data.
San Luis Obispo County is a majority white region.
Only 23% of the county identifies as Hispanic or Latino, yet Hispanic or Latino community members make up 32.9% of all coronavirus cases.
In August, when the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department first began reporting cases by race and ethnicity in August, Latino and Hispanic residents made up about 46% of total cases.
Over the past month, cases involving white county residents were reported at a higher rate than any other racial or ethnic group in San Luis Obispo County.
From Dec. 31 to Jan. 29, the rate of coronavirus cases per capita among white residents increased by 57%. In comparison, the rate of new cases per capita among Latino and Hispanic residents increased by 50.6% in that same timeframe.
As of Feb. 5, white residents make up 35.7% of all coronavirus cases reported in the county.
However, it remains that in San Luis Obispo County, nine out of every 100 Hispanic or Latino residents have tested positive for coronavirus.
The three locations with the highest per capita rate also have the highest percentage of Latino residents.
More than 45% of residents in each San Miguel, Nipomo and Oceano identify as Hispanic or Latino, according to census data. Around 47% of San Miguel residents, 58% of Shandon residents and 46% of the population in Oceano are Hispanic or Latino.
Data both locally and nationwide show that Latino residents have been disproportionately affected by coronavirus.
Locally, Hispanic and Latino residents cases per capita is triple that of the next most affected group in San Luis Obispo County.
People who identify as Black or African American make up the second most affected group in terms of coronavirus.
As of Friday, 185 of 4,871 Black of African American county residents have tested positive for COVID-19. That’s 349 cases per 10,000 people, or, 1% of San Luis Obispo County’s overall cases.
People who identify as Asian or Pacific Islander in San Luis Obispo County have the third highest per capita rate locally at 363 cases per 10,000 residents.
White San Luis Obispo County residents, who are the largest racial group in the county, have the fourth highest cases per capita.
According to county data, 342 of every 10,000 white residents have had coronavirus.
This data does not include the 5,017 coronavirus cases whose racial and ethnic identity are listed as “other or under investigation” on ReadySLO.org.
The Tribune is collecting community responses about why coronavirus has impacted Latino and Hispanic residents at such high rates in SLO County and what could be done to help. If you identify as Latino or Hispanic and have been affected by coronavirus, please fill out the form here.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREHow and why we did this story
The San Luis Obispo Tribune analyzed 11 months worth of coronavirus data to track the areas and racial and ethnic groups most affected by COVID-19. Per capita rates were calculated using census demographic data and coronavirus data from the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department and Cal Poly.
This story was reported to show which areas of San Luis Obispo County have been most affected by COVID-19. Though bigger cities have the most overall coronavirus cases, when broken down by per capita rates, data showed smaller towns have been hit harder by the virus.
The data also showed that Latino and Hispanic residents have been affected by the pandemic at disproportional rates — about three times the rate of any other racial or ethnic group. Next, The Tribune will investigate why.
