Santa Barbara County is reporting the deaths of three more people who tested positive for COVID-19.
Health officials say all three were over the age of 70 and two had underlying health conditions.
They lived in Lompoc, Santa Maria, and an unincorporated area of northern Santa Barbara County.
Santa Barbara County also reported 62 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the county's total to 6,526 confirmed cases as of August 4.
However, County Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg said those numbers may not be accurate because of an issue the State of California is having processing incoming reports. That issue has led to an under-reporting of cases, and county health officials say the data published on the county's COVID-19 dashboard is likely to be an underestimate of the true number of local cases.
Dr. Ansorg says some statistics, including hospitalizations and death rates, are not impacted.
According to Santa Barbara County Public Health, of the 227 active cases in the county, 88 people are hospitalized, including 25 patients who are in the ICU.
Health officials say 6,235 people have recovered, including 1,016 inmates at the federal prison in Lompoc.
Health officials say 80,951 coronavirus tests have been conducted in the county so far. According to the Public Health Department's metrics website, about ten percent of tests have been positive over the past seven days.
Three free coronavirus testing sites are open to the community in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, and Buellton.
Appointments are required at all locations. Visit lhi.care/covidtesting or call 888-634-1123 to make an appointment.
Breakdown of cases by location:
- Santa Maria - 2,941
- Lompoc federal prison - 1,019
- Santa Barbara - 849
- Lompoc - 480
- Guadalupe and North County unincorporated areas (Sisquoc, Casmalia, Garey, Cuyama, New Cuyama) - 264
- Orcutt - 208
- Carpinteria and South County unincorporated areas (Montecito, Summerland) - 152
- Goleta - 147
- Unincorporated Goleta Valley and Gaviota - 112
- Santa Ynez Valley (Solvang, Buellton, Santa Ynez, Los Alamos, Los Olivos, Ballard) - 74
- Isla Vista - 55
The locations of an additional 225 cases are listed as "pending."
For more information on the county's COVID-19 response, visit publichealthsbc.org.