Wednesday was another very tough day in the battle against coronavirus on the Central and South Coasts. 622 new cases were reported, including the highest daily total yet for San Luis Obispo County.
Ventura County had 254 cases, Santa Barbara County 172, and San Luis Obispo County 196. The overall total since the start of the pandemic now stands at just under 44,000 people.
The death toll stands at 382.
Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo Counties are part of the state’s Southern California monitoring region. The region was hit by stay-at-home orders when the available ICU capacity for the 11 counties fell below 15% percent last weekend.
The regional capacity stands at 7.7% Thursday. The numbers in our area are better. Ventura County’s available ICU capacity is at 8.9%, and Santa Barbara County has 49.5% available capacity.