Active COVID-19 cases in Santa Barbara County hits 13.5 month low

SANTA BARBARA, Calif — The spread of COVID-19 in Santa Barbara County is at its lowest since March of 2020. Santa Barbara County Public Health officials state there are 67 active COVID-19 cases in Santa Barbara County. 15 of which are along the coast in cities between Carpinteria and Gaviota.

COVID-19 active cases have been steadily dropping since its peak on January 13 at 3,256. On May 8 there were 99 active cases, dipped below 100 for the first time in over a year. The previous double-digit active cases was on Cinco de Mayo 2020 and 93 active cases. Other notable lows were November 2, 103 active cases and June 2, 101 active cases.

Current active COVID-19 cases are the lowest Santa Barbara County has seen since March 2020. On April 1, 2020, there were 86 active cases of COVID-19.

Santa Barbara health experts contribute our low active cases to the increase of COVID-19 vaccines. Public Health officials state 48.5% of eligible Santa Barbara County residents are fully vaccinated. And 60.3% of eligible residents have received their first dose.

Cottage Health infectious diseases specialist, Dr. Lynn Fitzgibbons, said if we continue this tread of vaccination we could eradicate the virus. “We have some experience with this in infectious diseases. We have diseases like smallpox and like polio where vaccines really did manage to effectively eradicate them from our population. We have experience with this. And I think that’s in the realm of possibility.”

Santa Barbara County Public Health officer, Dr. Henning Ansorg, is cautious when it comes to the possibility of 0 active cases of COVID-19. “Unfortunately, the truth is, it will never go to zero. COVID is here to stay. So there will be a little bit of COVID activity, but you know it needs to be very minimal so that nobody dies from it. Nobody needs to be hospitalized from it. So that is what we’re shooting for. The more people that are vaccinated the less the risks are for everybody.”