Santa Barbara County Public Health officials reported 29 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the county's total to 32,436 confirmed cases as of March 9.
Health officials say 47 people are currently hospitalized; 31,761 people have recovered.
The Public Health Department reports that 42 of the county's 76 staffed ICU beds are currently occupied. Fifteen of them are taken by COVID-19 patients.
Santa Barbara County has had 424 deaths attributed to the COVID-19 virus.
Updated reopening metrics were also released on Tuesday. Santa Barbara County remains in the purple tier for now.
To move to the next (red) tier, the county's adjusted case rate per 100,000 residents must be 7 or lower. Currently, it is 9.7, down from 13 last week.
The county's positivity rates are both now in orange tier levels. The overall test positivity rate dropped from 5.1% to 3.6%. The health equity positivity rate, defined as the test positivity rate in the county's most disadvantaged neighborhoods, is now 5.1%, down from 8.2% last week.
Breakdown of cases by location:
- Santa Maria - 10,933
- Santa Barbara - 6,079
- Lompoc - 3,400
- Orcutt - 1,712
- Goleta - 1,688
- Carpinteria and South County unincorporated areas (Montecito, Summerland) - 1,300
- Isla Vista - 1,245
- Guadalupe and North County unincorporated areas (Sisquoc, Casmalia, Garey, Cuyama, New Cuyama) - 1,241
- Unincorporated Goleta Valley and Gaviota - 1,117
- Lompoc federal prison - 1,088
- Santa Ynez Valley (Solvang, Buellton, Santa Ynez, Los Alamos, Los Olivos, Ballard) - 965
TESTING
Multiple free community coronavirus testing sites are open in Santa Maria, Lompoc, Buellton, Santa Barbara, Goleta, and Carpinteria.
Appointments are required at those 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.
VACCINATIONS
Santa Barbara County is currently vaccinating health care workers, residents 65 years of age and older, and workers in the education/childcare, food/agriculture, and emergency services sectors. For details on how to make an appointment, click here.
For more information on the county's COVID-19 response, visit publichealthsbc.org.