COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations on the rise in Lompoc area

LOMPOC, Calif. – The number of COVID-19 cases are on a rise in Santa Barbara County, and hospitalizations related to the virus are also up.

As coronavirus cases spike on the Central Coast, the Lompoc Valley Medical Center is working to meet the community's needs.

“We’re doing okay, we currently have 6 ICU beds, currently, 5 are occupied,” said CEO of Lompoc Valley Medical Center Steve Popkins. 

As of Friday morning, a total of seven people are being treated for the novel coronavirus, and other patients have been in and out for the past month in a half.

“The patients aren’t necessarily long term, so it's a pretty, typically a pretty quick turnover of patients,” said Popkins. “So that number could change rapidly.”

The number of COVID cases in Lompoc are spiking.

“We are in partnership with both the city as well as the community leader in that community to address prevention efforts, to address disease mitigation efforts,” said Director of Santa Barbara County Public Health Department Van Do-Reynoso.

But Lompoc is not the only city, the trend is also happening in Santa Maria and other cities across the County and Central Coast.

“All areas are increasing unfortunately, because we have wide spread transmission,” said Do-Reynoso.

As Public Health officials try to slow the spread, Lompoc Valley Medical Center asks everyone to continue taking safety precautions.

Popkins said, "hang in there."