Fifth Death of COVID-19 Patient in Santa Barbara County

Source: Santa Barbara County Public Health Department

Santa Barbara County Public Health Department (PHD) is reporting that an additional person has died of COVID-19. The individual who passed resided in North County and was over 70 years old without underlying health conditions.  As of today, there are 429 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

“Our deepest sympathies go out to the family and friends of the individual who passed away. We continue to battle the spread of COVID-19 in our communities and it is imperative that we continue wearing face coverings and keeping physical distance when outside our homes,” said Henning Ansorg MD, Santa Barbara County Public Health Officer. 

Although most cases of COVID-19 exhibit mild or moderate symptoms, PHD recommends additional measures to prevent exposure among vulnerable people, including the elderly and those with underlying health conditions (such as diabetes, cancer, immunodeficiency, asthma, COPD and others). PHD recommends that residents, especially those who are vulnerable:

• Stay home except for essential tasks. Ensure you have a two-week supply of medication on hand.
• When engaging in essential tasks away from home, remain 6 feet away from others and wear a facial covering.
• Wash your hands with soap and water regularly.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Keep surfaces clean by wiping them down with a household disinfectant,

Information for the 13 new confirmed cases can be found here.

Three cases are individuals incarcerated at the Federal Prison in Lompoc, CA.

One hundred seventy-eight people are recovering at home, 42 are recovering in a hospital, 13 of whom are in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 183 have fully recovered, and 21 are pending an update. Five deaths have been reported.

Please visit Santa Barbara County’s coronavirus web page for other preparedness resources and updates at https://publichealthsbc.org/.

For general questions about COVID-19 and precautions currently recommended by Santa Barbara County Public Health, residents may call the 2-1-1 Call Center 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by dialing 2-1-1 if calling from within the county; or (800) 400-1572 if calling from outside the area.  

Source: Cottage Health

Below is a status update as of April 21, 2020. 

·         Cottage Health is caring for a total of 201 patients across all campuses.

·         149 are acute care patients; 224 acute care beds remain available.  

·         In surge planning, capacity is identified for adding 270 acute care beds.

·         Of the 149 patients, 8 patients are on ventilators; 60 ventilators remain available (adult, pediatric and neonatal ventilators)

·         Of the 149 patients, 18 are in isolation with COVID-19 symptoms; 13 are confirmed COVID-19 positive.

·         Of 18 patients in isolation, 9 patients are in critical care.

·         Cottage has collected 2,336 cumulative test samples: 180 resulted in positive, 2,078 resulted in negative, and 78 are pending. In most of these tests, patients did not require hospital admission.

Additional updates:

• The Supply Donation Drop-Off Center has new hours to accept supplies in the Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital parking lot: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.  Community members in the Santa Ynez Valley area can contact June Martin to arrange for pick up of supply donations: j2martin@sbch.org or 805-691-9509.
   

More COVID-19 resources and updates are available at cottagehealth.org/covid19