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Issues With State Coronavirus Data Tracking Raises Questions About Stats For Central, South Coasts

A glimmer of optimism about some of the coronavirus statistics on the Central and South Coasts may be gone this morning.

Santa Barbara County Public Health officials say issues with the state’s coronavirus data counting system means numbers for the last week may be off, and on the low side.

Santa Barbara County Public Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg says it's a state issue, a glitch in the system.

But, it's the latest issue for Santa Barbara County.  Last week, the county announced there was a data problem transitioning to the state system, which led to 28 deaths in the county not being tallied.

The Public Health Officer says the issue is strictly with data, and isn’t impacting vital issues like test results coronavirus patient care.

Henning notes that aside from the data tracking issues, one thing is clear.  Santa Barbara County is seeing a strong uptick in new coronavirus cases among younger people.  He says more people in their 20’s are being diagnosed than those in their 50’s and 60’s.

The state is hoping to get the data issues fixed in the next few days.  Until then, counties in our region have posted disclaimers on their health department about the posted statistics

And, Henning says to insure there are no new problems tracking the death toll in the county, those numbers are literally being tracked, and double checked the old fashioned way with paper and pencil.

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.