A fifth resident of San Luis Obispo County has died due to COVID-19, health officials reported on Saturday.
According to the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department, the individual was in their 70's and had multiple underlying health conditions.
The patient passed away at home and the cause of transmission was community spread, health officials said in a press release.
“Losing another member of our community is heartbreaking,” said County Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein. “We feel for the friends and family of the patient. This is an unfortunate reminder that COVID-19 is spreading in our community.”
Dr. Borenstein says people at higher risk should stay home as much as possible. All residents, regardless of risk factors, should take precautions to limit the spread of COVID-19, health officials said.
“As our community expects to be added to the State’s ‘watch list’, it is important that our community continues to do our part to slow the spread,” Dr. Borenstein said. “This means staying at home, maintaining six feet of distance when leaving the house, and wearing a face covering in public if you can.”
As of Friday, 905 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in SLO County; 616 have recovered; 264 are currently recovering at home and 10 are currently hospitalized, with five in the ICU.
The first COVID-19 related death was reported on April 4th.
