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Glitch In Data Means Santa Barbara County's Coronavirus Death Toll Is Nearly Double Previous Total

A technical glitch led to a major error in the undercounting of coronavirus deaths in Santa Barbara County.  It’s nearly double what had been previously reported.  It happened in the transition from Santa Barbara County’s manual counting of coronavirus data to a state data system.

Santa Barbara County officials say they just discovered there were 28 previously uncounted coronavirus related deaths.  It takes the death toll in the county from 32, to 60.  County officials say the death certificates didn’t end up in the proper system.

The additional deaths bring the region’s total to 151.  Ventura County has had 76 deaths, and San Luis Obispo County 15. 

The number of coronavirus cases in the region Friday also topped an unfortunate milestone, the 15,000 mark.

There are 15,284 cases, with 358 new cases reported Friday.   241 of those cases were in Ventura County.  Ventura County has 7334 cases, Santa Barbara County 6167, and San Luis Obispo County 1783.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.