4 more coronavirus deaths reported in Santa Barbara County

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. - Four more residents of Santa Barbara County have died of COVID-19, the public health department said Friday.

Two people lived in Santa Barbara, one lived in Santa Maria, and the other was a resident of the unincorporated Goleta Valley/Gaviota area.

Three were over the age of 70 and the other was between the ages of 50 and 69. According to the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department, two people had underlying health conditions and two were associated with outbreaks at congregate living facilities such as nursing homes.

A death is considered to be coronavirus-related when the 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 days or weeks to verify.

In addition to these 4 deaths, the county also reported 136 new cases on Thursday. 161 people are hospitalized, 44 of whom are in the ICU.

For a complete breakdown of COVID-19 cases in Santa Barbara County, click here.

Santa Barbara County officials will be holding their weekly coronavirus briefing Friday at 4:30 p.m. You can watch the news briefing here.