A new COVID-19 record was set for the U.S. with more than 100,000 cases reported in a single day. Those growing numbers are concerning health officials on a statewide level, as well as locally.
San Luis Obispo County reported 74 cases on Thursday, the highest number seen since August.
“There are a lot of concerning numbers coming out right now," Cal Poly student Jordan Dacquisto said. "I do have someone who’s immunocompromised in my family, so as a local, that kind of made me worried.”
SLO County is approaching 5,000 cases since the pandemic began in March. Local health officials are once again warning the community about the potential for more restrictions in the coming weeks.
“We want to move forward, not backward and we can turn this around before it negatively impacts the entire county,” County Public Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein said in a statement.
Health officials are blaming the recent spike on the growing fatigue fueled by the months-long pandemic.
New positive tests of COVID-19 were also seen on Cal Poly's campus Thursday. Seventeen of those were reported from off-campus students and nine were from on-campus students.
“I’m sure that over Halloween, I know that there were definitely some parties that people went to that definitely spread it," Dacquisto said.
Cal Poly released a statement to students Thursday evening, tracing the increase to three factors:
1. Several campus sorority chapters holding unapproved, off-campus events that have not been managed according to local and state health and safety guidelines
2. Some student residents in our Poly Canyon Village apartments holding social gatherings that do not adhere to local and state health and safety guidelines
3. A number of students ignoring isolation and quarantine orders and interacting with other students known to be positive for COVID-19 without wearing masks and/or maintaining physical distancing.
Some Mustangs say they don't see an issue on campus.
“Lately, I’ve been seeing students really taking the precautions as best as they can," Cal Poly student Russell Sorbo said.
However, campus and county officials continue to stress the need to stay safe and follow health guidelines.
