Three People Hospitalized as COVID-19 Cases Increase to 32

Cottage Hospital Emergency Room (Photo: Cottage Hospital)
By edhat staff
Santa Barbara County health officials announced an increase in six new coronavirus (COVID-19) cases during a press conference on Thursday afternoon, bringing the total to 32 confirmed cases in the county.
Of the 32 cases, three patients are hospitalized with one of those patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). The remaining 21 patients are recovering at home while 8 have fully recovered.
The new positive cases fall between the 30's-60's age range. Two patients are in Santa Maria, two are in the Santa Ynez Valley, and one is in Lompoc, and on is in Santa Barbara.
- Case #27—in their 60s and resides in Santa Ynez Valley
- Case #29—in their 30s and resides in Santa Barbara
- Case #30—in their 40s and resides in Santa Maria
- Case #31—in their 30s and resides in Lompoc
- Case #32—in their 50s and resides in Santa Maria
Dr. Henning Ansorg, Santa Barbara County Public Health Officer, urged the public to practice social distancing the "flatten the curve" so our healthcare system does not get inundated with new patients all at once.
"Only if everybody complies with physical distancing and stay at home orders do we have a chance to accomplish this. I urge you to comply [with social distancing]," said Dr. Ansorg.
Public Health Emergency Preparedness Manager Jan Koegler confirmed officials are planning for a potential surge of patients. They are identifying areas within Santa Barbara County that could serve as additional medical sites to step down patients who do not require high levels of hospital care.
In surrounding counties, the numbers continue to climb. On Thursday evening, Ventura County reported 1 death and 61 positive cases with the majority of cases between ages 25 and 64.
In San Luis Obispo (SLO) County, the number of confirmed cases jumped to 54 with four in the hospital, one of those patients being in the intensive care unit (ICU).
On Tuesday, SLO County officials launched a hotline for residents to report violations of the shelter-in-place order. They stated if a business refuses to comply it may face a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 or up to six months in jail, or both.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown previously stated law enforcement will urge compliance through warnings instead of citations but is not opposed to giving tickets for frequent offenders.
The full press conference will be available here. For more information on COVID-19 resources visit publichealthsbc.org.
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50 Comments
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Mar 27, 2020 05:31 PMIt’s just like an oncoming Tsunami, and water is just beginning to recede from the beach. Stay disciplined with your social distancing because it’s becoming more important every day.
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Mar 27, 2020 04:43 PMAsk anyone that works at Cottage these numbers are not accurate. They currently have over 10+ people on vents and over 30 hospitalized. Tests are taking too long to verify but doctors have found other ways to diagnose COVID patients. This is real and it is already hitting our health care system. SBPH needs to update their methodology for tracking metrics to better reflect the reality of what's going on. The testing system is failing.
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Mar 28, 2020 12:12 AMPHD Santa Barbara are not doing their job well. New leadership is needed. Act now. They are not pushing enough, trying harder enough to get testing faster and more efficient. The statistics is a joke and they know it is but don't feel ashamed to toss it out there, because they think they are doing a job. Shame on them!
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Mar 27, 2020 03:04 PMUnder Newsoms order, restaurants that serve food may stay open, but may ONLY provide take-out or delivery of food. No in-restaurant dining is allowed. Patrons may also not dine or picnic on patios or outdoor tables at the restaurant.
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Mar 27, 2020 10:37 AMI can't remember where I saw the suggestion, but this might be good: A forum or something for all those currently with the virus to detail their whereabouts before they were symptomatic so we can get an idea of where if might be spreading. Voluntary, of course!
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Mar 27, 2020 10:36 AMIn Italy, 919 new deaths today, the highest daily total so far. We need to do our best to slow the transmission of the virus with staying home and social distancing to prevent our hospitals from getting overloaded. A little bit of carelessness goes a long way. I am still thinking about all those day laborers packed together.
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Mar 27, 2020 08:28 AMI have it; my husband has it and we traveled to a very high risk area now identified as such but in the US!! We will not take up a precious test or risk exposing others. Again I have said it's not the numbers of cases recorded; it's the lack of testing that currently is our emergency. Also to note 40% estimated transmission in China was from asymptomatic people! It may be you not the other guy. Pressure our City Councils to begin now creating isolation facilities at public facilities especially for those who live in huge densities in their homes. Stop pharmacies from telling sick people they have to come in to pick up prescriptions and pay!! Stop any store from lining people up. There is a lot to wake up to right here right now. I have been at it, from bed, now for a week, trying to get real action. It is our natural disaster we did not expect.
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Mar 28, 2020 10:37 AMShame on you for not getting tested and possibly infecting others
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Mar 27, 2020 11:40 PMTell ya what scientist 158537733, come over and document our symptoms. We have stayed away from people during our two weeks of hell but you're special and are welcome as our honored guest. Love to have ya!
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Mar 27, 2020 05:38 PMThat’s 70% more reliable than self diagnosing.
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Mar 27, 2020 03:30 PMScience is that the test is 30% unreliable. And unavailable. Also thanks for your encouragement and empathy.
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Mar 27, 2020 02:27 PMWithout a test you have no idea if you have it. That’s science.
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Mar 27, 2020 10:04 AMEverything? Did you lose your sense of smell/taste?
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Mar 27, 2020 10:10 AMNo I can't do all that! It's what you read but intermittent and comes up suddenly. Stomach issues just started.
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Mar 27, 2020 08:55 AMI don't feel like going through all of that. Almost all symptoms but intermittently. Stomach just got way worse at 14 days.
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Mar 27, 2020 08:47 AMEverything you read. It takes too long. So far 14 days and intermittent everything you hear about. Stomach as well.
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Mar 27, 2020 08:42 AMCan you please describe the details of your illness? When did it occur, symptoms each day, how many days, progress, improvement or decline, etc.
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Mar 27, 2020 07:31 AMWhat, exactly, is Cottage's capacity? How many ICU beds does Cottage have, and how many are currently available? How many ventilators? Can they currently accommodate 20 patients? 50? 100? System-wide or just at SB? What are their plans for expansion of this capacity in the near-term? Empty hotel rooms? UCSB dorms? They are not being too open about their ability to accommodate a possible spike in the county.
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Mar 27, 2020 10:02 AMAs of 3/24: There are 454 beds between the Santa Barbara and Goleta Valley hospitals, including 60 intensive care unit beds. ... “We can add well over 100 patient beds as needed,” he said, adding that Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital has 47 existing negative pressure rooms. https://www.noozhawk.com/article/hospitals_develop_surge_plans_santa_barbara_county_coronavirus_patients
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Mar 27, 2020 09:57 AMAs of 3/23: Cottage had 39 ventilators and 21 on order. https://www.independent.com/2020/03/23/a-message-from-cottage-health-to-our-community-2/
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Mar 27, 2020 09:23 AMI cannot verify - only saw it on Twitter - but I read around 30 ventilators at Cottage SB.
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Mar 26, 2020 10:41 PMhttps://www.independent.com/2020/03/26/cottage-ceo-confirms-three-covid-19-patients-hospitalized/
Cottage Health System CEO Ron Werft confirmed that three COVID-19 patients are currently hospitalized at Cottage Hospital. According to a letter sent by Werft to all medical staff, <b>Cottage has three confirmed COVID-19 patients and another 23 who have been tested for COVID-19 and for whom the test results are still pending. Of those, he stated, nine are in critical condition. </b>Four negative-pressure social isolation units have been established to handle potential or confirmed COVID-19 cases.
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Mar 26, 2020 08:19 PMFrom the Kentucky State Health Dept. website: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 35 million Americans became sick with the flu, 490,600 were hospitalized and 34,200 flu-related deaths were reported during the 2018-2019 flu season. Signs and symptoms of the flu typically are intense and occur suddenly. Fever (usually high), headache, extreme tiredness, dry cough, runny or stuffy nose, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea (more common in children) are common symptoms. From the California Health Dept. website: https://countyofsb.org/uploadedFiles/phd/PROGRAMS/Epidemiology/Flu%20SBCPHD%20update%20(week%2011%202020).pdf
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Mar 27, 2020 10:47 AMDr John Campgell & the Johns Hopkins inaddition to Gates & Fauci. Dr F has to pull his punches with 45 looming...
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Mar 27, 2020 10:15 AMWe think we were exposed to the virus at an IKEA in Burbank on March 2. A women directly in front of us let out a huge sneeze, less than three feet from us. We went to the bathroom and cleaned our faces and hands. It was bad. During that week I was taking a routine blood pressure test every morning so I have some data. Blood pressure slowly rose through the week as symptoms increased, peaking on the 7th and slowly declined. Was the sickest on that day, immobile, feverish, coughing, runny nose, lack of appetite. Other person in family also sick but on a slightly different timetable. BP and pulse normal by the 12th but symptoms persisted (weakness, cough, one night of difficulty breathing). We both had the symptoms. It took a while, until the 23rd, for me to get back to normal. Other family member still coughing, but appears recovered. Our physician had told us that tests were not readily available except for those with life threatening or critical care needs, to stay at home and use the normal flu and cold remedies, which we did. The lack of testing in California is just one of the many factors that are exacerbating the pandemic spread.
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Mar 27, 2020 09:47 AM431--how can people like you so stubbornly ignore the facts. This is not the traditional flu--it is twice as infectious, it is harder to detect, it is far more deadly and there is no vaccine.
Seriously, you people still going on about this not being different from the flu, just quarantine yourselves.
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Mar 27, 2020 09:45 AMLiterally WTF does the flu have to do with Coronavirus?
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Mar 27, 2020 09:30 AMThe country needs to be listening to the experts like Dr Fauci and Bill Gates. It's unfortunate we have a president who is putting his own self-interest before that of nations health and lives.
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Mar 27, 2020 09:03 AMYes. Like any illness, even the thought of one exacerbates symptoms. In line with the mind being the devil's playground. So if we were overly concerned with the flu, many would find a plethora of reasons that they might have it too. This already happens, but we mostly just take better care and get a good night rest in hoping we beat it. Going forward we'll certainly have higher awareness to all illnesses, including flu, and perhaps better remedies in reducing transmission. In this mornings NY update Cuomo was sticking to the 20% hospital visit number. Saying most of which would be evaluated, treated and sent home. There is a strong likely hood that 50%+ of these people are experiencing any number of other illnesses if any at all. These experiences are enhanced by the real fear we're experiencing and this fear deserves no discount. It's real and everyone sympathizes with it. This is new for everyone and nobody is familiar with this disease. Emotions allow people to be in different phases, one of which is denial. So we must truly be our best, remaining confident and strong moving forward. Each of us doing our part in staying calm and not allow our minds to get so out of control that it effects our bodies. And I say this by experience. I've gone through much freaking out over the past few weeks just have many have. Yet I'm trying my best to get a grip. To practice precautions that help me and also everyone.
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Mar 27, 2020 08:22 AMThe CNN Town Hall meeting video referenced by sbmh2015 at 11:14PM is available at:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/26/app-news-section/full-coronavirus-town-hall-march-26-2020-app/index.html
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Mar 26, 2020 11:44 PMThat comment must have been one of the deleted ones....
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Mar 26, 2020 11:16 PMThe flu doesn't send hundreds of not thousands of people to the hospital, all at once. And many of those people need intubation in ICU. This virus doesn't have treatments. It is an unknown. Very, very, very different than the flu. The crisis in the hospitals right now should be enough to understand that
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Mar 26, 2020 11:14 PMI highly recommend watching the CNN town hall that aired tonight. It was very informative. Dr Fauci and Bill Gates were on. The flu has a vaccine, not as contagious and we have treatments. The flu doesn't send people all at once to the hospital and require intubation with a ventilator. So much different than flu
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Mar 26, 2020 10:48 PMDifferent flu, different virus - but if Covid 19 has caused the death of 81 people in California, where is the freak out over 685 deaths with influenza, including 16 'pediatric' deaths in California this season so far? Or the 23,000 deaths in the US last year due to the 'flu'.
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Mar 26, 2020 10:38 PMMAR 26, 2020 08:19 PM <<<<<<<<<<<"Different flu" comment directed at this commenter.
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Mar 26, 2020 10:36 PMDifferent flu.
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Mar 26, 2020 06:45 PMAll I know is that it is going to get way worse. Today there were hundreds of day laborers shoulder to shoulder by the water treatment plant.
Why is nobody doing anything about this?
These people need to be protected and cared for. They are out of work and desperate.
If one has Covid -19 they all will.
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Mar 26, 2020 10:40 PMToday we drove past a City crew working on sewer problem. All four men were standing nearly hip-to-hip. Are they considered a "family cluster?" They looked happy to be at work, but . . .
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Mar 26, 2020 07:03 PM6:45 pm: That’s how we go from a couple dozen cases to a couple hundred cases in short order. Look for a surge in local cases in 1-2 weeks. Not good at all. Some of them may have high density living situations leading to many others getting infected. Very bad news. Cottage is going to need those triage tents sooner rather than later.
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Mar 26, 2020 06:41 PMThe article mentions businesses that violate the order. So, is a restaurant that allows outdoor seating violating? What is the precise letter of this specific order?
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Mar 26, 2020 07:25 PMRestaurants are only allowed to do take out or delivery right now
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Mar 26, 2020 07:22 PMYes. Outdoor seating still constitutes dining in
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Mar 26, 2020 06:28 PMIndependent article has Cottage CEO saying there are three confirmed cases in the hospital, along with 9 unconfirmed cases in critical condition. Article posted around an hour ago--5:00 Thursday.
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Mar 27, 2020 09:24 AMYeah, the 9 in critical condition (most of whom are still awaiting test results) is deeply concerning. Wonder what constitutes critical - ventilated??
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Mar 26, 2020 06:21 PMEdhat staff :. Can you clarify ? Headline says 1 hospitalized. Story says 3.
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Mar 26, 2020 06:22 PMOne is in intensive care. The headline should be fixed though
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Mar 26, 2020 06:14 PMWhy do edhatters seem to not want to deal with the issue of social distancing violations?
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Mar 26, 2020 05:31 PMThis is why I am calling for reporting of violations.
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Mar 27, 2020 10:58 AMPUGLUVR, thank you for your vigilience. We need that right now. Any and all violations should be reported and taken seriously. This is for the greater good. We will get through this, but it's of crucial importance that we all adhere to the rules for a bit. Life WILL return to a state of normalcy after time. Please do report violations. We should have a hotline for it.
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