The Santa Barbara Public Health Department (PHD) reported that the current number of Covid-19 cases in Santa Barbara County remains at 267. The data was presented at the beginning of the Board of Supervisors meeting Monday morning.
Of the 267 cases, 162 of those cases remain active, while the remaining 105 cases are fully recovered. According to public health officials, the three most recent cases were reported on Easter Sunday.
The following is break-down of cases by city and unincorporated areas within the county:
Santa Maria: 64
United States Penitentiary (USP) Lompoc: 47
Lompoc: 41
Santa Barbara: 35
Orcutt: 27
South County Unincorporated Area: 16
North County Unincorporated Area: 15
Unincorporated Areas of Goleta Valley and Gaviota: 11
Goleta: 5
Santa Ynez Valley: 5
Isla Vista: 1
Santa Barbara County Public Health Director Doctor Van Do-Reynoso provided the update Monday morning saying that social distancing is working within the county.
"Our local government can put in more restrictive orders but can't be less restrictive," Do-Reynoso said about social distancing Monday.
A member of the board addressed the high number of cases being reported at the Lompoc Federal Prison. Do-Reynoso responded to say the health department is in contact with leadership at the prison and that cases have been growing rapidly, which is a concern. In an effort to address these concerns, Do-Reynoso says there are different tracks the health department could consider, which included the state government providing a self-contained hospital unit, providing testing for staff, or disease containment and how the spread of Covid-19 is being contained.
Another point addressed by the board included what it would take to decrease regulation when it comes to social distancing, calling the process complex and a logistial challenge.
"It is as complex as you've described. i think we all know that we need to get a handle on who's been infected and we can only do that truly through testing," Do-Reynoso said. "Only when we have tested widespread testing will we be able to quarantine, will we be able to do the contact tracing and then self-isolate and really hanker down and draw that box around the infections."
Do-Reynoso called testing "complex." She says testing can be completed through the health department, hospitals, and private practices.
"What I am encouraged by is the conversations in Sacramento about the need for increased testing and then also going down the path for serology testing, and that's the Stanford Task Force a lot of us have heard about," Do-Reynoso said.
Do-Reynoso says the serology testing could be up and running in two to three weeks, which could ultimately allow for more testing.