San Luis Obispo County Health officials say a backlog of COVID-19 cases in the state database is delaying the reporting of those cases at the local level.
Local officials are now reviewing those cases and expecting the total number of confirmed cases in the county to surpass 10,000 by the end of the week.
County health officials say the state has recently started a new process to quickly assign suspected cases to a jurisdiction. Those cases should then be inspected at the local level and reclassified by a local health officer as a confirmed case to ensure the accuracy of the local data.
“Ensuring that we track cases accurately is paramount to our response to the virus and slowing its spread,” said Dr. Penny Borenstein, County Health Officer. “Don’t wait for the data to update. Protect yourself and your community: wear a mask, don’t collect, stay home when you’re sick and get tested.”
Health officials say the state’s new reporting process will not affect the number of hospital cases or the number of locally reported deaths.
San Luis Obispo County currently has the highest number of active cases ever at 2,093. Fifty-nine people are in hospital, including 12 patients in the ICU. That is also the highest number of hospital cases in the province, according to the health department.
San Luis Obispo County reported 63 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the county’s total to 9,602 confirmed cases since the pandemic began.
The deaths of 74 county residents are attributed to COVID-19 infection.
To learn more about the county’s COVID-19 response, visit readyslo.org.