COVID rates are up to 15 times higher now in some SLO County spots. Here’s where it’s worst
Coronavirus cases have surged throughout San Luis Obispo County during the past three months — and in some areas, the per capita rate of spread is now up to 15 times greater than it was in May.
As of Friday, 2,439 residents had tested positive for COVID-19. Most cases of the virus have occurred during summer months, following business reopenings, graduations and holidays.
During July alone, 1,172 people tested positive for coronavirus. That month, Public Health officials once again prohibited indoor operations at gyms, restaurants and hair salons after the county ended up on the state’s watch list.
Although the virus has spread to communities throughout the county, greater rates of transmission have occurred in certain areas. The county tracks coronavirus cases by zip code and releases data only for areas where five or more people have tested positive for the virus.
In May, the county had released data for nine of the county’s zip code areas. By Friday, there were five or more cases in 18 zip code areas.
Coronavirus spreads throughout SLO County
About 47% of the county’s coronavirus cases remain concentrated in six North County zip codes — Paso Robles, Atascadero, Templeton, San Miguel, Shandon and Santa Margarita/Pozo.
Paso Robles, where 649 people have tested positive for coronavirus since March, is home to more than a quarter of the county’s cases.
Nearly 29% of local cases are located in the South County, about 5% of cases are on the North Coast and San Luis Obispo’s two zip codes contain about 12% of all cases.
The remaining cases are located at California Men’s Colony and in unidentified zip codes — likely in Creston, Bradley, south of Nipomo and toward the county’s eastern border.
Virus per capita rates balloon during the summer
In general, the coronavirus has spread at at greater rate in communities to the far north, south and east, but the county’s largest city has seen large increases as well.
The number of COVID-19 cases per capita in San Luis Obispo — which is home to nearly 65,000 people in two zip codes — has increased more than 14-fold since May.
During the course of three months, it’s jumped from three cases per 10,000 people to 44.
San Miguel — which has a population of just over 4,000 people — already had 22 cases per 10,000 people in May. Now, that number has ballooned almost tenfold to 215 cases per 10,000 people.
The same is true in Nipomo, which has a population of 20,775 and 288 coronavirus cases. San Luis Obispo has about 44,000 more people and 283 total cases.
Nipomo’s per capita rate of coronavirus transmission has increased 15-fold from May — going from nine cases per 10,000 people to 139 in August.
The virus’s rate of spread is now 11 times greater in Templeton, where at least 30 coronavirus cases were tied to an outbreak at a nursing home.
Coronavirus per capita rates also increased eight-fold in Arroyo Grande, six-fold in Morro Bay and Paso Robles and five-fold in Pismo Beach.
How has the coronavirus impacted SLO County’s Latino communities?
So why have coronavirus cases increased so much since May?
Excluding Templeton, the communities with the most coronavirus cases per capita — San Miguel, Paso Robles, Nipomo, Shandon and Oceano — all have sizable populations of residents who identify as Hispanic or Latino, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
At least 30% of residents in all five communities consider themselves Latinos. Such residents make up as much as 58% of the population in Shandon, 47% of the population in San Miguel, 46% of the population in Oceano, 36% of the population in Nipomo and 32% of the population in Paso Robles.
About 23% of all San Luis Obispo County residents identify as Hispanic or Latino, according to Census data.
The county Public Health Department has not released any race and ethnicity data for residents who’ve tested positive for coronavirus. The Tribune has asked repeatedly for this demographic breakdown, and Public Health officials say they are planning to begin releasing it soon.
However, Public Health officials provided the state with data in June showing at least 37% of all county residents who’d tested positive for coronavirus identified as Hispanic or Latino.
And the number at that time was almost certainly higher, because it included a portion of respondents who provided no information on their race or ethnicity. Of the 175 who did indicate race, Latinos made up nearly 58%.
The coronavirus has disproportionately impacted California’s Latino communities. If SLO County’s numbers stood up, they would match the state nearly exactly, where almost 59% of people who’ve tested positive for COVID-19 statewide identify as Latinos, according to California Department of Public Health data.
Health experts and advocates attribute this trend to “barriers that prevent some from accessing healthcare, a higher likelihood of living in multi-generational households and working in professions considered essential that cannot be accomplished at home,” according to the Sacramento Bee.
Other factors in SLO County coronavirus transmission
Coronavirus case spread has also been attributed to an increase in social gatherings and residents not complying with prevention strategies, such as mask-wearing and social distancing.
Dr. Penny Borenstein, county Public Health officer, in June linked some of the cases to bar reopenings.
In July, Borenstein mentioned cases had been spreading at graduation ceremonies, holiday get-togethers, birthday parties and other gatherings. She urged people to avoid gathering with those outside their households as much as possible.
Kristin Edler, a county public health nurse and contact tracer, also told The Tribune that multi-generational housing in Paso Robles and Nipomo has contributed to increased case numbers in those areas.
“We tend to see multi-generational family units, so a lot of people living in the same household are in those two areas of the county,” Edler said. “So, oftentimes they sound like a horrific amount of cases, but it might be that there’s 10 people in one house.”
Earlier in the month, Paso Robles City Manger Tom Frutchey released a letter to the Paso Robles community addressing the high rate of coronavirus spread in his community and encouraging people to wear masks and take steps to protect themselves and others from COVID-19.
“Even after looking at additional data, there have been no concrete conclusions as to why Paso is suffering worse COVID-19 impacts,” said Michelle Shoresman, county Public Health Department spokeswoman, in response to questions about the letter. “Considerations have included possibly less compliance with recommendations such as mask wearing, distancing and no gatherings; denser housing; higher risk demographics. At the end of the day, nothing rose to statistical significance or definitive conclusion.”
This story was originally published August 17, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "COVID rates are up to 15 times higher now in some SLO County spots. Here’s where it’s worst."
