COVID-19 Cases Grow to 18 in Santa Barbara County

March 22, 2020, 6:19 am 32.7k Views 40 Comments

Update by County of Santa Barbara
March 22, 2020
 

The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department (PHD) is confirming five (5) additional positive cases of COVID-19 in the county. This makes 18 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Santa Barbara County at this time.

Case #14—in their 50s and resides in North County
Case #15—in their 40s and resides in North County
Case #16—in their 20s and resides in South County
Case #17—in their 70s and resides in South County
Case #18—in their 20s and resides in South County

PHD is conducting a thorough investigation to determine how they contracted COVID-19 as well as identifying persons with whom they may have had close contact. Mandated social distancing measures are in place to slow the spread of the virus.

The Governor of California has also issued a Stay at Home Order, which is a critical step to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our community. This is a socially transmitted illness, and we all have a role in stopping it from spreading. By working together to flatten the curve, we will help to prevent Santa Barbara County’s healthcare systems from being overwhelmed, and reduce the possibility of casualties from the virus.

 
Source: County of Santa Barbara
March 21, 2020
 

The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department (PHD) is confirming four (4) more positive cases of COVID-19 in the county, this makes 13 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Santa Barbara County at this time.

  • Case #10—in their 20s and resides in South County
  • Case #11—in their 60s and resides in North County
  • Case #12—in their 40s and resides in South County
  • Case #13—in their 40s and resides in South County

 

VPHD is conducting a thorough investigation to determine how they contracted COVID-19 as well as identifying persons with whom they may have had close contact.

Mandated social distancing measures are in place to slow the spread of the virus. All large nonessential professional, social, and community gatherings should be postponed or cancelled, and smaller gatherings should be modified to allow for at least six feet of space between participants.

“We are urging our community to stay home when they are sick and practice consistent social distancing practices, shared Van Do-Reynoso, Public Health Director for Santa Barbara County. “It is critical that we all take the necessary steps to slow the spread of this illness in our community.”

Community members are reminded to take measures to prevent the spread of respiratory illness:

  • Wash your hands with soap and water
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands
  • Avoid close contact with people who are sick
  • Stay away from people if you become sick with respiratory symptoms like fever and cough
  • Keep surfaces clean by wiping them down with a household disinfectant

 

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40 Comments

  1. Why aren’t the police patrolling public spaces like the Rose Garden and beach to prevent gatherings? People are acting like there isn’t anything wrong. We have a pandemic on our hands that is destroying the economy and killing people.

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  4. Eastbeach The problem is not the lack of tests, it’s the lack of PPE for health care professionals. For every test administered, there needs to be new gloves, new mask and technically a new gown to be completely safe. This is not feasible at this time. Testing 445K people who live in the county without the proper protection, is not safe. People need to assume everyone has it and simply stay home. If you must go out don’t touch anything, wash your hands and keep your distance. This really isn’t that hard of a concept.

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  5. “The problem is not the lack of tests” — Of course it is … read the article, and see how things have gone in places like Taiwan and Singapore. “it’s the lack of PPE for health care professionals” — that’s *also* a huge problem. Both of these problems could have been prevented.

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  6. Also see https://www.wired.com/story/coronavirus-interview-larry-brilliant-smallpox-epidemiologist/ ” maybe most important, we begin to see large numbers of people—in particular nurses, home health care providers, doctors, policemen, firemen, and teachers who have had the disease—are immune, and we have tested them to know that they are not infectious any longer. And we have a system that identifies them, either a concert wristband or a card with their photograph and some kind of a stamp on it. Then we can be comfortable sending our children back to school, because we know the teacher is not infectious.”

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  7. It’s Rand Paul. It’s always about him in his eyes and now he’s getting a bit of push back in that a few of his Republican cronies are self quarantining and that’s already putting Mitch in a serious bind when it comes to votes in the Senate. Tough! He might have to compromise for once in the past seven years or so.

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  8. It makes no sense not to list the cities where cases are. Ventura county does that. It is the same kind of logic this admin has been using to “pacify” the public. It does the opposite. The decision makers know no better than the rest of us how dangerous it is and the impact. Identify the cities!!

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  9. It’s a like there is a big fire spreading, but PHS doesn’t want to tell you where it is. It is the information that lets people make some sense of the situation, to avoid the areas, to have some sort of control over the situation. Hiding it only causes more anxiety among the public because they have been in the dark so very long, for many things. The county health service did poorly on this. Not impressed at all.

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  10. Prepare for increased homelessness and civil unrest if the present lockdown is still in place a month from now. We need selective quarantining of the sick and elderly; the rest of us should practice good hygiene and social distancing. It is not sustainable to keep all businesses closed. People are losing their jobs. The self-employed have no access to unemployment benefits. The freeze on evictions won’t last forever and is likely ineffective in the case of people who sublease or have no lease at all.

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  11. If I knew it was in Goleta, for example, I would only shop for groceries in towns where there are no reported cases yet. What harm is there in giving us this information? Ventura is doing it, why not do us the same courtesy?

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  13. JQB Yes they could have been preventable but it wasn’t. So now we have to choose which is more critical. Protecting those on the front lines is more important than testing the entire population. We need to assume everyone has it and stay home as much as possible.

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  14. I totally agree with “SBMH2015 “. It would be good to know exactly where these cases live and have been in the last couple weeks. Then, I would know if I was more at risk. For example:::: If a case is up in Santa Maria / North County, which is over an hour away from Santa Barbara , 65 miles away, and since I have NOT been to Santa Maria, then I have less to worry about. But, if it’s a case in Goleta, then I would be a little more worried, since I’ve been in Goleta, and maybe start scrubbing down everything again. I think it’s, almost, critical to give out as much info as possible. WHY NOT give the exact location?????? Even giving out the name of the infected….. Then, we would know if we had been in contact with them, or in contact with someone that’s been in contact with the infected person… >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Do you get it now ????? Or, do I need to add more examples

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  15. Knowing the locations of the infected people does not matter. If they were unknown only contagious before their test, they likely infected a couple dozen more people who are now mingling around Goleta, Santa Barbara, Montecito, Carpinteria, and Summerland. THAT’S WHY YOU NEED TO STAY AT HOME AND SOCIALLY DISTANCE NOW AND GO OUT ONLY WHEN IT’S ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY! The virus is in our communities even though it does seem like it.

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  17. https://www.propublica.org/article/a-medical-worker-describes–terrifying-lung-failure-from-covid19-even-in-his-young-patients “I have patients in their early 40s and, yeah, I was kind of shocked. I’m seeing people who look relatively healthy with a minimal health history, and they are completely wiped out, like they’ve been hit by a truck. This is knocking out what should be perfectly fit, healthy people. Patients will be on minimal support, on a little bit of oxygen, and then all of a sudden, they go into complete respiratory arrest, shut down and can’t breathe at all.”

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  18. That information should have been released, where and how many. It is ridiculous that they think withholding the info does any better than telling people what’s going on. It is utterly stupid and against the logic that this is pandemic.

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  19. Shasta Guy, that kind of number contradicts most of the data out there from recognized authorities. On the other hand, see:
    https://www.statnews.com/2020/03/17/a-fiasco-in-the-making-as-the-coronavirus-pandemic-takes-hold-we-are-making-decisions-without-reliable-data/
    For one of the best articles on Coronavirus spread that I have seen in three months. And from Stanford medical school researchers no less.

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  20. Dividing the number of deaths by the number of confirmed cases during a developing pandemic is very misleading — if that number went down, it’s because the number of confirmed cases has shot up, mostly because of increased testing in NY. “the curve is exponential, but it is going down per capita, not up” is completely meaningless … exponential means that the rate of grow is increasing.

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  22. I didn’t post an article from ProPublica because of any other agenda than sharing information … I received the article from a friend in an email titled “Of Concern”. The article contains medical details, and X-Rays … I’m pretty sure X-Rays don’t have a political agenda, but someone who rejects such things just because of where they are published certainly does. https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/propublica/ Factual Reporting: HIGH

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  26. I’ve seen more people outside than ever. People are going stir crazy, and I get it, but I’d like to add: IF you are outside, at the beach, on a trail hiking, or wherever, PLEASE KEEP YOUR 6FT DISTANCE! ffs. I’ve noticed LOTS of people, mainly young white men (go figure, huh?) NOT moving over, NOT moving out of the way at all. Just DO IT. Keep your distance if you have to go out. Common sense, the Golden Rule. Safety First.

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  27. It really doesn’t matter how many cases get confirmed or where the specific location is identified. Like the cold, “regular” flu, and other Corona viruses, just assume probably everyone is going to get COVID-19 at some point while practicing common sense of proper hygiene and isolating yourself if you are sick or suspect you will get it. But, again, that is probably a huge number at this point. If people did that with colds and the flu (where the latter creates a 10% death rate of those contracting it), those would spread far slower, as well. Amidst all the doom and gloom people seem to dwell upon while the fear, panic, and hysteria spreads, keep these real and encouraging numbers from numerous sources (WHO, CDC, Worldmeter, etc.) published this morning in mind:
    1) Death rate about 4% worldwide and dropping.
    2) Death rate about 1% in the U.S. and dropping.
    3) At least 95% of those who have died, they all had compromised “underlying” health issues, and that includes any age bracket, so media and people stating it is killing every age bracket are correct, but they are omitting this important fact and contributing to the fear and uncertainty.
    4) At least 95% of those who have confirmed cases exhibit mild or no symptoms. For those quoting false or speculative numbers, you are only hoping to stoke your own fears and create them in others.

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  28. ” the flu (where the latter creates a 10% death rate of those contracting it)” — you’re off by a factor of 100. Several other errors here too. Take a look at https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ … those curves are exponential. Worldwide, one person has died for every 5 who have recovered. In the U.S., where the pandemic is just getting underway, there are only 187 recovered cases compared to 504 deaths … claims that “Death rate about 1% in the U.S. and dropping” are nonsense. “underlying health issues” include obesity and hypertension.

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  29. REALBEBE I am so sorry please do not feel afraid – I saw that they are now starting carside testing but I think it’s for Sansum patients not sure. Just keep calling your doctor and insisting. In the meantime, drink lots and lots of water and if a friend can, have them go get Oil of Oregano for you. I will pray for your swift recovery even though I do not know you. You will be OK! Also – do vapor inhales with boiling water and if you have them some essential oils and lemon water too – helps thin out mucous.

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  32. Unfortunately I have found out that several local doctors (PCP & Specialists ) have gone MIA not seeing patients, answering phones or returning messages for the rest of the month and just directing me to call 911 if it’s an emergency .

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  33. BOBBYK – have you considered that they might just be insanely busy trying to help battle this thing and are maybe screening their calls for only critical ones? I know a few local doctors in town and they’re definitely NOT MIA.

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  36. 4:09 – I WOULD have said try gargling with an antiseptic or vinegar, as I heard from a doctor friend of mine that it lives in the throat first. BUT…… I’d hate to upset anyone trying to pass non-hurtful remedies.

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  37. FWIW – I never said gargling with vinegar would “prevent” coronavirus. It MAY, according to a doctor, slow the progression of the virus if you catch it while it’s still in the throat and not already in the lungs.

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  38. SACJON, I was actually going to say that I didn’t think it could hurt to gargle, but that the claim that it can be washed down to prevent spreading is a myth that was passed around but has been debunked, but I decided to avoid getting into something contentious with you, so I simply posted that link. That didn’t work out, but not because of *my* attitude. I’m sorry that being fact- and evidence- based is seen as arrogant. I’ve stopped talking about Trump here, even though there’s a lot to say about his role in all of this, and tried to stick to stuff that is informative and not contentious, but it has not been appreciated much, so I think I’ll stop even the factual stuff here. Best of luck to you.

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  39. “It MAY, according to a doctor, slow the progression of the virus if you catch it while it’s still in the throat and not already in the lungs. ” — No doctor who knows what s/he is talking about makes this claim. The claim came from a fabricated list that was posted on Facebook late February and has been repeatedly refuted … Snopes posted a line-by-line response spelling out which items of the list were true, partially true, myths, dangerous, etc. Over and out … setting a Cold Turkey timer on this site.

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