At Thursday’s press conference, Santa Barbara County Public Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg released details about an additional six individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 today — bringing the county’s count up to 32 from 26. Of the cases, 21 are recovering at home, three are in the hospital — one of whom is in the ICU — and the remaining eight have recovered.
The six who tested positive today range in age from their thirties to sixties, Ansorg said. Two of them reside in Santa Maria, two in the Santa Ynez Valley, one in Lompoc, and one in Santa Barbara.
On the topic of social distancing and its success in Santa Barbara, Ansorg said the county’s drastic lifestyle changes may cut the amount of projected COVID-19 cases in half or more — if everyone continues to do their part.
“In Santa Barbara County, we are fortunate that in this emergency we are actually trailing behind larger epicenters of this pandemic,” Ansorg said. “Therefore, we do have the opportunity to learn from their successes and challenges.”