COVID cases slightly rising in Santa Barbara County

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – COVID cases have increased by 20% in the last two weeks throughout Santa Barbara County.

An uptick is being reported in San Luis Obispo County too.

“We started seeing this, I want to say Mid-April,” said County Public Health Director Van Do-Reynoso. “So really coinciding with spring break, travel and gatherings.”

To help address COVID, state officials are  going to distribute treatments at the Santa Maria Fairpark and in Goleta at Direct Relief.

“There will be nurses, and there will be access to telemedicine,” said Do-Reynoso. “Whereas the antivirals will be prescribed.”

Newschannel spoke to lompoc valley medical center about the hospitalization rate at the facility

“We have one covid patient in the house right now,” said LVMC Chief Operations Officer Naishadh Buch. “Even that is an incidental patient, meaning they came for something else and they happened to be covid positive at the time.”

But doctors say just because the number of hospitalizations is low, doesn’t mean they will keep their guard down.

“We’re still in a pandemic, it is still a concern,” said Dr. Buch. “And so we need to be prepared.”