Santa Barbara County is reporting the deaths of seven more people who had COVID-19.
Health officials say three of the patients were between the ages of 50 and 69-years-old and four were over the age of 70. One of the deaths was associated with an outbreak at a congregate-care facility.
Santa Barbara County has had 243 deaths attributed to COVID-19.
The county also added 325 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the county's total to 25,405 confirmed cases as of January 20.
County data shows the number of new cases is 24% below the two-week average; however, the number of active cases is up 3%, deaths are up 50%, and the number of hospitalized patients is up 7%.
Health officials say 206 people are currently hospitalized; 22,546 people have recovered.
The Public Health Department reports that 65 of the county's 71 staffed ICU beds are currently occupied. Fifty-two of them are taken by COVID-19 patients. Eleven ICU surge beds are in use.
Breakdown of cases by location:
- Santa Maria - 8,858
- Santa Barbara - 4,465
- Lompoc - 2,621
- Orcutt - 1,368
- Goleta - 1,291
- Lompoc federal prison - 1,078
- Guadalupe and North County unincorporated areas (Sisquoc, Casmalia, Garey, Cuyama, New Cuyama) - 984
- Carpinteria and South County unincorporated areas (Montecito, Summerland) - 948
- Unincorporated Goleta Valley and Gaviota - 847
- Isla Vista - 835
- Santa Ynez Valley (Solvang, Buellton, Santa Ynez, Los Alamos, Los Olivos, Ballard) - 739
An additional 1,371 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.
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.
For more information on the county's COVID-19 response, visit publichealthsbc.org.