Santa Barbara County added 181 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the county's total to 29,009 confirmed cases as of February 2.
The county is also reporting five more COVID-19 related deaths. To date, there have been 303 total deaths attributed to the virus in Santa Barbara County.
Health officials say 161 people are currently hospitalized; 27,452 people have recovered.
The Public Health Department reports that 65 of the county's 76 staffed ICU beds are currently occupied. Forty-eight of them are taken by COVID-19 patients. Ten ICU surge beds are in use.
Tuesday morning, the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department briefed the County Board of Supervisors about the mixed bag of COVID-19 results during the month of January.
Active cases peaked on January 13 with 3,256 cases. But in the second half of the month, the Health Department reported a more than 50% decrease in active cases. As of Feb. 1, they numbered 1,288.
Health officials also reported that from January 18-28, the number of COVID-19 related deaths rose 29%. Meanwhile, between January 18 and February 1, ICU availability improved from 7% to 17.1%.
Currently, health officials said, Isla Vista is the only community they're tracking that has seen the number of new cases per day continue to rise. All other areas have seen declining daily case counts.
Updated reopening metrics were also released on Tuesday, and Santa Barbara County remains solidly in the purple tier.
To move to the next tier, the county's adjusted case rate per 100,000 residents must be 7 or lower. Currently, it is 47.2.
The test positivity rate must be 8% or lower to move to the red tier. Currently, in Santa Barbara County, that metric is 11.2%.
The two metrics did improve slightly compared to the previous week when they were reported to be 49.5 and 13.3%, respectively.
Updated metrics are released on Tuesdays.
Breakdown of cases by location:
- Santa Maria - 9,980
- Santa Barbara - 5,276
- Lompoc - 2,992
- Orcutt - 1,522
- Goleta - 1,485
- Carpinteria and South County unincorporated areas (Montecito, Summerland) - 1,136
- Guadalupe and North County unincorporated areas (Sisquoc, Casmalia, Garey, Cuyama, New Cuyama) - 1,118
- Lompoc federal prison - 1,079
- Isla Vista - 1,012
- Unincorporated Goleta Valley and Gaviota - 975
- Santa Ynez Valley (Solvang, Buellton, Santa Ynez, Los Alamos, Los Olivos, Ballard) - 842
An additional 1,592 cases are listed as "pending" location.
Free community coronavirus testing sites are open in Santa Maria, Buellton, and Goleta.
A mobile testing unit is also now open at Ryon Park in Lompoc.
Appointments are required at all locations. Click here for information on how to make an appointment.
Walk-in only testing is available at the Isla Vista Theater from noon to 5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and no appointment is required.
Santa Barbara County is currently vaccinating health care workers and residents 75 years of age and older. For details on how to make an appointment, click here.
For more information on the county's COVID-19 response, visit publichealthsbc.org.