SB County Public Health shares local hospitals’ responses to COVID-19
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. - There are now 32 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Santa Barbara County.
Of the 32 cases, 8 are in Santa Maria, 2 are in Santa Ynez Valley, 5 are in Orcutt, 1 is in Lompoc, 11 are in Santa Barbara, and 5 additional cases are listed as other in "South County."
21 of the confirmed cases are recovering at home, 3 people are hospitalized, and 1 is in the ICU in critical condition. 8 of those who have tested positive are considered to be fully recovered.
Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital said on Thursday they have 23 patients for whom COVID-19 results are still pending. Nine of the patients who have been tested at the hospital, both positive and pending, are in critical condition.
Local hospitals have been cautious even with unconfirmed patients, using significantly more personal protective equipment recently.
“Given the scarcity of the test supply, the testing kits, we have to assume that anyone with a respiratory, influenza-like illness could have COVID-19,” Dr. Henning Ansorg of County Public Health said Thursday. “So therefore, the health care providers in the hospital have to protect themselves as if they were dealing with a patient who was confirmed.”
The County says people must continue to follow health orders and practice social distancing to give local hospitals their best chance to handle this pandemic’s peak.
“Even at peak times of viral illnesses, we will hopefully be able to meet the demand for ICU beds, ventilators and the like,” Ansorg said.
Just in case space becomes extremely limited, the County says it is working on finding alternate sites in Santa Maria, Lompoc and Santa Barbara that could house less severe COVID-19 patients.
“Sort of step-down patients who don’t require such a high level of hospital care,” Public Health’s Jan Koegler explained. “And that way we can decompress the hospitals.”
Meanwhile, as of Thursday, the U.S. already reached more confirmed coronavirus cases than any other county, including China.
“It really is very much surprising to me,” Ansorg said of the updated national numbers. “I just found out right before the press conference and I must say, I’m actually really in shock about that… I’m really alarmed, I have to say. I’m really alarmed by these numbers.”
Despite the uncertainty, the County says there is still a chance to stay prepared locally.
“We are actually trailing behind larger epicenters of this pandemic,” Ansorg said, referring to the number of confirmed cases. “And therefore, we do have the opportunity to learn from their successes, and also from their challenges.”
Santa Barbara County is providing updates on the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department's website.
County press briefings will be broadcast on KEYT NewsChannel 3, the News Now Channel and streaming on our website.
