The COVID-19 case numbers are continuing to grow on the Central and South Coasts, and public health officials are alarmed.
Santa Barbara County’s case rate is now at 9.8 cases per 100,000 people. County Public Health officials say the numbers have reached critically high levels. If the state was still using its COVID-19 color tier system, the county would be in the most restrictive purple tier.
Ventura County is also reporting the impacts of a surge, with 9.7 cases per 100,000 residents. 346 new cases of the virsu were reported during the three day period from Wednesday to Friday.
Many of the new cases in the region are the highly contagious COVID-19 Delta variant.
Santa Barbara County officials say more than 86% of its new cases are among the unvaccinated. San Luis Obispo County is reporting 98% of its documented new cases are among people who didn’t get shots.
