Santa Barbara County Public Health Department Director Van Do-Reynoso | Credit: Daniel Dreifuss

In what has been the biggest spike yet, the number of positive COVID-19 cases rose from 32 yesterday to 47 today, according to Dr. Van Do-Reynoso, the county’s public health director.

At the Friday press conference, Do-Reynoso reported that of the 15 new cases, two are in Santa Maria, one is in the unincorporated part of of Goleta Valley, two are in Goleta, nine are in Santa Barbara, and one is in an unincorporated part of South County.

Of all 47 positive cases, 31 are recovering at home, 11 have fully recovered, and five are in the hospital — two of which are in the Intensive Care Unit. The patients range in age from under 10 years old to their 70s.

“We are experiencing a significant uptick of new confirmed cases in the county,” said public health officer Dr. Henning Ansorg. “This is an expected development given the high infection rate of this novel coronavirus.”

Ansorg also said that the turnaround time for test results has improved dramatically — a positive development which also contributes to the spike in confirmed cases.

“This has helped us greatly in identifying and isolating high priority cases and limiting exposure,” he said.

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