Santa Barbara County reported 50 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, the largest one-day jump of confirmed infections since the start of our regional coronavirus outbreak in March. The vast majority of these new cases ― 45 ― are in the City of Santa Maria, which has become a hot spot of transmission. While the city accounts for 24 percent of the county’s population, it is now home to more than 50 percent of all county COVID-19 cases (excluding the outbreak at the Lompoc prison complex).
Health officials also reported another death on Friday, bringing Santa Barbara County’s total to 16. The latest casualty was a resident of Lompoc in their sixties with underlying health conditions.
During a press conference Thursday, Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg addressed Santa Maria’s disproportionately high number of cases. “At the moment, we are seeing an increase in cases in that area,” he said. “We are actively working with individual communities in and around the city of Santa Maria to identify sources of infection and spread of the virus.” Ansorg suggested the jump could be explained by recent increases in testing in that area.