226 New COVID-19 Cases and 6 Deaths
By edhat staff
The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department reports 226 new COVID-19 cases and six deaths on Thursday.
Six individuals were 70+ years of age and four had underlying medical conditions. One death was associated with an outbreak at a congregate facility. Three people resided in Santa Maria, two in the Santa Ynez Valley, and one in Santa Barbara.
There have been 285 deaths due to COVID-19 in the county since the start of the pandemic.
There are currently 1,685 active cases in the community. Of those, 193 are hospitalized including 51 in the intensive care unit (ICU).
Santa Barbara County is reporting 12.8% ICU availability.
More data is available at https://publichealthsbc.org/status-reports/
36 Comments
-
1
-
1
-
Jan 30, 2021 08:52 AMI read that in one county (San Diego?), 17% of COVID infections were from the grocery store.
-
1
-
1
-
Jan 29, 2021 11:32 PMWhere is Nostrachumash? I don't know if I got his/her name right, but I am missing them in the conversation. Sending good thoughts.
-
3
-
1
-
Jan 29, 2021 03:16 PMIs there anything VOT(r) is NOT an expert in? His mental abilities are truly astound, in a pretzel logic sorta way. Zzzzzzzzzz.
-
1
-
1
-
Jan 29, 2021 03:20 PMWe have our very own Norm. (Cheers)
-
1
-
1
-
Jan 29, 2021 01:57 PMOur local sophomaniacs are on the job. Fear not.
-
1
-
-
Jan 29, 2021 12:06 PMOpps Sorry, didn't mean to post that. Wrong site.
-
1
-
-
Jan 29, 2021 12:00 PMMarian Regional Medical Center (Santa Maria) Announces Vaccine Available for SB County Residents 75+, by Appointment Only
Santa Barbara County is sharing today's news from Santa Maria's Marian Regional Medical Center. Per the press release shown below, vaccinations will be given by appointment only to eligible Santa Barbara County residents and health care staff.
To make an appointment, please call (805) 739-3815 or visit: https://sugeni.us/Wg5A.
-
-
2
-
Jan 29, 2021 12:18 AMJust for fun https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/When-U-S-attacked-itself-Government-tested-2864377.php
-
1
-
1
-
Jan 29, 2021 11:37 PMIt's totally relevant.
-
3
-
1
-
Jan 29, 2021 08:24 AMthats not fun, nor relevant.
-
1
-
1
-
Jan 28, 2021 11:36 PMI took microbiology30+ years ago. Had an aptitude for it, but was not my major. Ended up working with little un's. Still understand the way things work, still want to understand the numbers.
-
2
-
2
-
Jan 28, 2021 10:58 PMWhen I was in college, several decades ago - my microbiology professor told me a story in his office (out of class time). He and a colleague, years before, had been tasked by a government agency to blanket a city (San Fransisco) with a bacteria. The method they settled on was aerosols off planes taking off from the SF airport. I remember him telling me it was a red bacteria, and that was why, for years, there was a deep wound infection problem in SF hospitals after surgeries. You can't sanitize an entire air filtration system. I know there was a similar type experiment in Chicago off the roof tops of buildings. Not a conspiracy theory. Something a scientist told me.
-
1
-
1
-
Jan 29, 2021 01:13 PMFauci?
-
1
-
2
-
Jan 29, 2021 11:04 AMAttaining the status of Professor doesn’t automatically confer the status of sanity.
-
2
-
1
-
Jan 28, 2021 11:30 PMAlways question. Nothing wrong with that. The worst is that you're just wasting your own time. Now I see why you check the numbers. I'm the same way, and that comes naturally to me as a I've always be inquisitive and maybe that's why science came easy to me.
-
1
-
1
-
Jan 28, 2021 11:26 PMYep. So thirty years of knowing that this sort of stuff was going on.... I have thirty years of questioning what is going on now....
-
1
-
1
-
Jan 28, 2021 11:25 PMBTW, that's really cool that you took microbiology. May I ask what was your major in college, and how old you are? Microbiology is generally an elective these days, though maybe not when or where you took it. I never took micro, and have largely learned on the job. I wish I had time in college. It's similar to trigonometry these days. It's also an elective, though I did take that one and it helped me a lot in calculus for those weird derivatives and integrals.
-
1
-
1
-
Jan 28, 2021 11:06 PMMountainMan, that's sick, but unfortunately a true story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serratia_marcescens#Role_in_biowarfare_testing
-
3
-
-
Jan 28, 2021 09:48 PMDid we ever do any contact tracing, or did Public Health figure it was pointless? With so many of us being super careful, following all the guidelines, I’d like to know how the newly sick people are getting infected. I realize some people have not been able to keep six feet away from others, and of course some people aren’t trying at all. Are they the ones getting sick, or are people who carefully follow the guidelines also falling ill?
-
1
-
-
Jan 29, 2021 01:43 PMIt’s kinda like sensible weight-loss diets: they work, but only if you do them correctly, consistently.
-
4
-
-
Jan 29, 2021 11:53 AMLCP112233 - exactly. This is why I'm so baffled and outraged at those who refuse to wear masks! Yeah, we all know they don't cure the virus, but they are PROVEN to be at least pretty effective. You have to be a special kind of rotten to refuse to even try to slow the virus down.
-
2
-
-
Jan 29, 2021 11:25 AMStill worth the minuscule effort to put one on, even if they are only 50% effective. That would mean that they work 50% of the time. I'll take those odds any day when it comes to Covid.
-
1
-
-
Jan 29, 2021 10:43 AM@VOR, I agree that a fair % of community transmission is likely close contact. We don't know for sure on the community transmission though - partially because people don't ACTUALLY know that there's close contact (except in cases like at work, where they will contact you). But also because people aren't necessarily 100% truthful.
-
1
-
1
-
Jan 29, 2021 10:22 AMLet Me go, I think a good portion of the "community transmission" are actually close contacts. If there is asymptomatic transmission you wouldn't know you got it from a close contact.
-
1
-
-
Jan 29, 2021 10:01 AMThe public health department includes the contact tracing results on their dashboard.
A fair percentage of the cases (slightly less than 1/3) are "unknown" because people don't answer the phone.
Of the people who respond to PHD, approximately 62% are close contact/ known contact with people who tested positive. There are a few travel cases. The remaining 37-38% are "community spread" - meaning either (1) we don't know exactly where they picked it up in the community - grocery store, restaurant, work, whatever or (2) the people aren't being 100% honest about their goings-on. (Meaning, maybe they went to a party or an indoor dinner but don't want to admit it to the contact tracers.)
Community close contact: 8675
Prison: 1078
Travel: 168
Community transmission: 5463
Unknown: 10384
Under investigation: 1987
It's really hard to say if people are being smart or not, but I see enough on IG to know that some people simply aren't being smart and are gathering. Masks aren't 100% effective, but they also aren't zero - so it's a continuum. I have two close relatives who have had COVID. One of them was not being careful at all (still gathering). The other literally only left the house to walk the dog since March - except for a single trip to the post office, and that's where they got it. (Living in a state where most were refusing to wear masks.)
-
1
-
1
-
Jan 29, 2021 09:54 AMYes, particularly if your concerned adhering to proper mask protocol is a wise move (no touching!). Remember, the whole premise of masks is they protect others if you are asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic. For the "others" I believe that UNLESS you very strictly follow mask protocol and NEVER touch it, that masks may do more harm than good. You're at the grocery store, touching things, maybe contaminated things, then you touch your mask. Well, unlike if you touched your cheek (if you had no mask) now you just put the contaminate on a piece of cloth you're breathing through that the rest of your outing, seems like a great way to get the virus into your airway as the pores in the cloth are WAY bigger than the virus, it'll pass right through. Another concern with masks, goggles, and other PPE that aren't used perfectly, it gives people a false sense of security and they engage in activities that aren't as "safe" as they may think. And for these reasons, that is why I believe masks have not had a significant impact stopping the spread of coivd.
-
4
-
-
Jan 29, 2021 09:37 AMI realize we can’t be 100% sure of how each person was infected, and even good masks, worn properly, can’t guarantee safety. But if I’m not gathering with anyone, not working in an office with others, etc, I can feel some hope for my own safety. Some people seem to be saying “masks don’t work, you can’t stay safe,” and I think Chem’s info indicates the opposite. If *I* follow all the guidelines, maybe even wear glasses to protect my eyes when I’m shopping, I’ll have a chance.
-
1
-
1
-
Jan 29, 2021 08:47 AMPer CFM, for the flu....., covid is more contagious. It being airborne would be a good explanation why we're getting so much spread with so many masks. If masks we're 90-95% effective for covid we would not still be in a pandemic.
-
3
-
1
-
Jan 29, 2021 08:23 AM90-95% effective is not "doesnt work" VOR
its still 90-95% effective
-
-
1
-
Jan 29, 2021 08:21 AMI don't think that's what he's saying Ahchoo, people are falling ill despite all the precautions. I guess yes, many/most of the infections were preventable if everyone wore Level 4 biohazard suits, and everyone used them correctly, but we can't even use paper masks correctly soo....
-
1
-
-
Jan 29, 2021 08:05 AMThanks for the info, Chem. It makes me feel a bit better knowing that many/most of the infections were likely preventable.
-
1
-
1
-
Jan 29, 2021 01:33 AMVOR: The masks, even the best, are only 90-95% effective. Only thing 100% is Level 4 biohazard suits. I'm currently trained and and have clearance to for blood borne pathogens level 2 and routinely spend my days with my arms in a biosafety cabinet class II with laminar air flow. I work with cancer cells, pathogenic bacteria, and viruses, which are largely attenuated. I know a little about this stuff, despite what Mr. Keystone Dok likes to suggest.
-
1
-
2
-
Jan 29, 2021 01:03 AMWait, so masks don’t work? (shocker!)
-
3
-
-
Jan 28, 2021 10:00 PMAhchooo, tracing is a great idea, but in practice it failed in our county, and likely in the state and nation as well. Clearly our healthcare professionals are taught the guidelines and practice these daily, yet their positive cases are increasing nevertheless. Therefore I believe your last suspicion is true and they are also falling ill despite all the precautions. This is, as I've illustrated countless times with peer-reviewed journals that masks are only effective 90-95% for influenza, and SARS-CoV-2 is considered more contagious.
-
2
-
-
Jan 28, 2021 09:52 PMYes they do contact tracing, the majority of infections are due to gatherings. Large and small. There have also been several workplace outbreaks, lately the majority have been in office buildings.
-
4
-
1
-
Jan 28, 2021 09:39 PM"One death was associated with an outbreak at a congregate facility. " Why is this still happening???
"Santa Barbara County is reporting 12.8% ICU availability." Less than 15%, so shouldn't we be fully locked down???