The San Luis Obispo County COVID-19 adjusted case rate has dropped to 9.4, according to updated reopening metrics released on Tuesday.
This meets state criteria to allow the resumption of outdoor sports. Last week, the state issued a new guideline saying that organized and recreational sports for young people and recreational sports for adults can be resumed starting February 26 in counties where COVID-19 case rates are 14 or less cases per 100,000 people.
Last Tuesday, the SLO County adjusted case rate was 15.6. It has been dropping every week since the Southern California home order was lifted and the county returned to the purple level.
County positivity rates have also dropped this week, with the overall positivity rate and the Healthy Places Index (HPI) positivity rate now at orange levels (3.2% and 3.8% respectively). Another week like this and the county could move to a less restrictive level.
The county public health officer, Dr. Penny Borenstein, previously stated that the SLO county could move from the purple layer to the red layer if both positivity rates remain at orange levels for two weeks. Otherwise, the county’s adjusted case rate must reach 7 or less.
San Luis Obispo County Department of Public Health
San Luis Obispo County public health officials also reported 42 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the county total to 19,500 confirmed cases on February 23.
The county also added an additional COVID-19-related death. So far, SLO County has recorded 221 deaths attributed to the virus.
Health officials say 22 people are hospitalized. Another 596 are recovering at home and health officials say 18,642 people have recovered.
Nineteen of the 38 licensed and staffed ICU beds in the municipality are currently occupied. Seven of them are taken by COVID-19 patients.
Breakdown of cases by location:
- Paso Robles – 3,859
- San Luis Obispo – 3,660
- California Men’s Colony (Inmates) – 2,377
- Atascadero – 1,817
- Nipomo – 1,467
- Arroyo Grande – 1,375
- Grover Beach – 803
- Ocean – 669
- Templeton – 589
- San Miguel – 481
- Los Osos – 446
- Morro Bay – 400
- Cal Poly (campus residents) – 341
- Pismo Beach – 309
- Atascadero State Hospital (patients) – 206
- Cambria – 174
- Shandon – 138
- Santa Margarita – 128
- Creston – 80
- Cayucos – 68
- Avila Beach – 27
- San Simeon – 21
- Bradley – 7
The locations of an additional 50 cases are under investigation and eight others are listed as “others”, which includes communities with fewer than five cases. The Department of Public Health is not identifying these locations.
The testing sites of the COVID-19 community are currently open to the public in San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, Morro Bay, Grover Beach and Nipomo.
Appointments are available, but walk-ins are also being accepted. Click here to schedule an appointment.
San Luis Obispo County is vaccinating health workers and residents 65 and older. For details on how to make an appointment, click here.
For more information on the county’s COVID-19 response, visit readyslo.org.