COVID-19 cases rise as SLO County enters holiday season
San Luis Obispo County is now in the heart of the holiday season, and health officials are seeing a notable rise in COVID-19 cases, the latest data from the Public Health Department shows.
Public Health reported a total of 181 new cases from Tuesday to Friday, including 87 cases on Thursday. That’s the highest number of cases the county has seen in a single day since the end of September.
The uptick is also evident in the number of active cases, which jumped to 289 on Friday. That represents an increase of more than 100 cases since Public Health last reported data on Tuesday.
The agency didn’t report any new deaths on Friday. Locally, 365 people have died due to the virus since March 2020.
The number of people with COVID-19 in local hospital intensive care units is also on the rise. Five of the 12 county residents receiving hospital treatment were in the ICU.
The ICU count had fallen to as few as two just a couple weeks ago, but it has been increasing ever since.
Daily COVID-19 case breakdown
Here’s how local coronavirus case numbers from the past three days break down day by day:
Wednesday: 45 Thursday: 87 Friday: 49
The agency on Nov. 12 released data showing that unvaccinated people account for 77% of COVID-19 cases, 82% of hospitalizations and 72% of deaths since June 15.
The county Public Health Department is not providing information about how many newly reported individual cases, hospitalizations and deaths involve vaccinated and unvaccinated people due to resource limitations and privacy concerns.
Instead, Public Health is releasing weekly data showing the percentages of unvaccinated people who’ve contracted COVID-19, received hospital treatment for the virus or died from it since June 15.
New COVID-19 cases by city
Here is where new COVID-19 cases were added in San Luis Obispo County, according to ReadySLO.org:
North County
Atascadero: 16
Paso Robles: 13
Templeton: 6
San Miguel: 2
Santa Margarita: 2
Shandon: 2
South County
Arroyo Grande: 35
Grover Beach: 8
Nipomo: 20
Oceano: 8
Pismo Beach: 10
SLO and North Coast
San Luis Obispo: 36
Cal Poly (campus residents): 5
Los Osos: 5
Morro Bay: 5
The locations of 20 cases were listed as “other.” A total of 180 cases remained under investigation.
SLO County coronavirus cases by the numbers
Here are the total number of COVID-19 cases in communities throughout San Luis Obispo County.
Paso Robles: 6,154
San Luis Obispo: 5,585
Atascadero: 3,267
Arroyo Grande: 2,426
Nipomo: 2,385
California Men’s Colony: 2,383
Grover Beach: 1,355
Templeton: 1,094
Oceano: 965
Los Osos: 806
San Miguel: 746
Cal Poly (campus residents): 714
Morro Bay: 678
Pismo Beach: 558
Cambria: 291
Santa Margarita: 242
Shandon: 236
Atascadero State Hospital: 212
Cayucos: 127
Creston: 124
Avila Beach: 54
San Simeon: 38
For a detailed look at local coronavirus cases by age, occupation and more, visit ReadySLO.org.
Where to get a COVID-19 test and schedule a vaccine appointment
Free coronavirus testing is available at clinics in San Luis Obispo, Grover Beach, Paso Robles and Morro Bay. To make an appointment, visit emergencySLO.org/testing or call 888-634-1123 to register by phone.
To make an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccine or booster, visit MyTurn.ca.gov or call 833-422-4255. The county Public Health Department is also administering vaccines and boosters on a walk-in basis at clinics in San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles and Grover Beach. To find shots at pharmacies near you, visit Vaccines.gov.
The clinics are open Monday and Wednesday, Thursday, Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed noon to 1 p.m. for lunch), and Saturdays for vaccines only from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The San Luis Obispo clinic is located at 2191 Johnson Ave., the Grover Beach clinic is located at 286 South 16th St. and the Paso Robles clinic is located at 800 Pine St.
For more information, visit RecoverSLO.org/en/when-and-where-can-you-get-vaccinated.aspx.
