Santa Barbara County reports 9 more COVID-19 deaths

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. - The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department reported nine new coronavirus-related deaths on Thursday. These deaths bring the county's COVID-19 death toll to 223.

There have been 63 COVID-19 deaths reported in Santa Barbara County since Jan. 1.

According to the public health department, four people were residents of Santa Maria, three lived in Santa Barbara, one was a Goleta resident and the other lived in Lompoc.

Eight of these deaths were people over the age of 70 and one was between the ages of 50 and 69. Six had underlying health conditions and five were associated with outbreaks at "congregate care" facilities, according to the public health department

A death is considered to be coronavirus-related when the county health department receives a death certificate that lists COVID-19 as the cause of death or a significant contributing factor in the death. The process can sometimes take several weeks to verify.

In addition to these nine new deaths, Santa Barbara County reported 418 new coronavirus cases Thursday. For a complete breakdown of COVID-19 cases in Santa Barbara County, click here.