Santa Barbara County is reporting the deaths of six more people who had COVID-19.
Health officials say all of the patients were over the age of 70. One case was associated with an outbreak at a congregate living facility.
Santa Barbara County has had 285 deaths attributed to COVID-19.
The county also added 226 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, bringing the county's total to 27,754 confirmed cases as of January 28.
Health officials say 193 people are currently hospitalized; 25,784 people have recovered.
The Public Health Department reports that 68 of the county's 78 staffed ICU beds are currently occupied. Fifty-one of them are taken by COVID-19 patients. Eleven ICU surge beds are in use.
Breakdown of cases by location:
- Santa Maria - 9,583
- Santa Barbara - 5,010
- Lompoc - 2,873
- Orcutt - 1,475
- Goleta - 1,432
- Lompoc federal prison - 1,078
- Guadalupe and North County unincorporated areas (Sisquoc, Casmalia, Garey, Cuyama, New Cuyama) - 1,077
- Carpinteria and South County unincorporated areas (Montecito, Summerland) - 1,051
- Isla Vista - 940
- Unincorporated Goleta Valley and Gaviota - 919
- Santa Ynez Valley (Solvang, Buellton, Santa Ynez, Los Alamos, Los Olivos, Ballard) - 809
An additional 1,507 cases are listed as "pending" location.
Three free community coronavirus testing sites are open in Santa Maria, Buellton, and Goleta.
Additional testing is available next to the Santa Maria Health Care Center on Tuesdays through Fridays, and a mobile testing unit is also now in operation at CenCal Health in Santa Barbara.
The mobile testing unit will be moving to Ryon Park in Lompoc on February 1.
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.