Six Coronavirus Patients in Intensive Care Unit

Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital (file photo)

Coronavirus Cases Jumps to 64 Overnight

The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department (PHD) is confirming 17 additional cases of COVID-19 today. This makes 64 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Santa Barbara County at this time. Below are more details about the 17 new cases:

• Case #48—in their 20s and resides in the South County Unincorporated Area
• Case #49—in their 50s and resides in Santa Maria
• Case #50—in their 40s and resides in Santa Maria
• Case #51—in their 40s and resides in Santa Maria
• Case #52—in their 70s and resides in Santa Barbara
• Case #53—in their 40s and resides in Santa Maria
• Case #54—in their 60s and resides in Santa Maria
• Case #55—in their 60s and resides in Santa Maria
• Case #56—in their 20s and resides in the South County Unincorporated Area
• Case #57—in their 60s and resides in Santa Maria
• Case #58—in their 50s and resides in Santa Barbara
• Case #59—in their 70s and resides in Santa Maria
• Case #60—in their 60s and resides in Santa Barbara
• Case #61—in their 40s and resides in Santa Maria
• Case #62—in their 50s and resides in Santa Barbara
• Case #63—in their 50s and resides in Santa Barbara
• Case #64—in their 20s and resides in Lompoc

Although PHD has released the cities and areas where confirmed COVID-19 cases have occurred, it is critical that residents in all areas of the county stay at home and practice social distancing when performing essential tasks outside their home.

Of the 64 cases, 47 are recovering at home, six (6) persons are recovering in a hospital, three (3) of which is in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and eleven (11) have fully recovered. PHD is prioritizing thorough investigations for cases with exposures in healthcare and other congregate settings to identify persons who may have been exposed. Mandated social distancing measures are in place to slow the spread of the virus.

As of Friday afternoon, five people are hospitalized with two of them in the intensive care unit (ICU) as the total number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases increases to 47 in Santa Barbara County.

Public Health officials confirm a patient under 10-years-old is among the fifteen newly confirmed cases. Due to privacy restrictions, officials only stated the ages of the recent positive cases range from less than 10-years-old to 70's. 

From the total 47 positive cases, 31 are recovering at home, 5 are hospitalized with 2 in ICU, and 11 are fully recovered. Of the fifteen new cases, 2 are in Santa Maria, 1 in the unincorporated area of Gaviota/Goleta, 2 in Goleta, 9 in Santa Barbara, and 1 in the unincorporated area of Montecito/Summerland/Carpinteria.

Below are more details about the fifteen (15) cases announced Friday, March 27:

• Case #33—in their 40s and resides in Santa Barbara
• Case #34—in their 50s and resides in Santa Maria
• Case #35—between ages 10-19 and resides in Goleta
• Case #36—in their 50s and resides in Santa Barbara
• Case #37—in their 70s and resides in the Unincorporated areas of the Goleta Valley and Gaviota
• Case #38—in their 40s and resides in Santa Maria
• Case #39—in their 50s and resides in Santa Barbara
• Case #40—in their 50s and resides in Santa Barbara
• Case #41—in their 30s and resides in Santa Barbara
• Case #42—in their 50s and resides in Santa Barbara
• Case #43—in their 20s and resides in Santa Barbara
• Case #44—in their 20s and resides in Goleta
• Case #45—is younger than 10 years old and resides in Santa Barbara
• Case #46—in their 50s and resides in the Unincorporated areas, including communities of Montecito, Summerland, and the City of Carpinteria
• Case #47—in their 50s and resides in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara County Public Health Department Director Van Do-Reynoso stated they expect to see these numbers increase in the days to come and urged residents to continue to stay home as much as possible and limit outings to essential tasks only.

"We are experiencing a significant uptick in new confirmed cases in the county. This is an expected development given the high infection rate. Fortunately, there are no fatalities," said Dr. Henning Ansorg, Santa Barbara County Public Health Officer.

Dr. Ansorg continued to state the turnaround time for COVID-19 testing has improved significantly, sometimes less than 24 hours in high priority situations. He clarified a high priority case as someone who has the potential to spread the virus, such as a nurse who works with a vulnerable population.

In response to a potential surge of patients at local hospitals, Do-Reynoso stating they are currently in communication with community and hospital partners putting together rough estimates and will have a model to share early next week. 

Cottage Health System CEO Ron Werft sent a letter to staff confirming 23 patients were awaiting COVID-19 test results. Of those patients, nine are in critical condition and four negative-pressure social isolation units are established to handle COVID-19 cases, reports Nick Welsh of The Independent.

“We have now moved to high-level surge planning and made the decision today to use every opportunity inside the walls of our hospital to convert space for patient care,” wrote Werft.

It is unclear how many of those patients, if any, were included in the 15 new cases announced today. During the press conference, officials stated they were unaware of Cottage Health's numbers as the Public Health Department only reports confirmed cases. 

As of Friday evening, Ventura County reported 83 positive COVID-19 cases and 3 deaths. The three deaths were patients in their 70's with pre-existing health conditions. Ventura County has tested 1,543 people to date.

San Luis Obispo County reports 59 cases with 0 deaths as of Friday morning.

The full press conference is available here.

[Editor's Note: This article has been edited with specific demographics of the new cases in Santa Barbara and updated numbers from Ventura County. ]