There’s definitely mixed news about how the Central and South Coasts are faring with the latest COVID-19 surge.
Ventura and Santa Barbara County Public Health officials say they are seeing drops in the some of the key numbers, including new daily case counts and hospitalizations. But, the outlook isn't as positive in San Luis Obispo County.
"Omicron probably peaked in numbers days ago," said Ventura County Public Health Officer Dr. Robert Levin. "Hopefully, we're on the downswing now," he said. "We'll probably continue to see significant numbers on that downswing....we'll continue to see more cases for weeks to come."
The county's hospitals are still packed. Steve Carroll is Ventura County Emergency Medical Services Administrator. "The ambulances are still having some challenges," said Carroll. "Monday, we had 43 patients holding, waiting for rooms in hospitals across the county."
Still, he says overall, it's much better than it was two weeks ago.
Santa Barbara County Public Health officials say they are also seeing improved numbers.
The situation is not as optimistic for San Luis Obispo County. The county reported 2134 new cases since Friday. It averaged 590 new cases a day for the last two weeks, which is an all-time high.
The county had a total of 4844 new cases in the last week, which is more than San Luis Obispo County had in the previous two months combined.
County health officials throughout the region say the answer to the crisis hasn't changed for the last few months. It includes people wearing masks indoors, and being fully vaccinated including boosters.
