Currently, there are 23 people infected with COVID hospitalized within county lines; two weeks ago, there were 10. | Credit: Courtesy

With Fiesta right around the corner and summer in full bloom, Santa Barbara County health officials are expressing heightened concern over a significant increase in COVID cases. 

As of July 29, the county reported 403 active cases of COVID, an increase of 55 percent from the previous two weeks. On that day, the county reported 102 new cases. With a case rate of 9.8 new cases per 100,000 people, that would put Santa Barbara County squarely in the purple tier if the state’s four-colored tier system were still operational. On the first day of July, by contrast, the county was reporting only nine new cases with only 57 active cases throughout the county. 

Currently, there are 23 people infected with COVID hospitalized within county lines; two weeks ago, there were 10. 

According to County Public Health stats, the new infections reflect a shift in demographic tilt. No longer are the preponderance of cases so heavily slanted toward North County, and a majority are younger, with 18- to 29-year-olds making up most of the cases. And by far, most have not gotten vaccinated yet. 

As of July 20, 86 percent of new cases had not been vaccinated. That means 14 percent of the new cases had gotten at least one shot. 

Public Health Director Van Do-Reynoso is exhorting everyone eligible for vaccination to get vaccinated. “There are still 149,688 persons eligible to be vaccinated in Santa Barbara County who have not been vaccinated.” 


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