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Coronavirus updates: Cal Poly sports postponed due to COVID-19; nursing home outbreak

Tribune - 7/30/2020

Jul. 30--San Luis Obispo County added 21 coronavirus cases Wednesday, bringing the local total to 1,710 cases since mid-March.

On Wednesday the county also reported an additional coronavirus-related death tied to a nursing home in Templeton that has had more than 30 cases among residents and employees.

Meanwhile, cases among Cal Poly students, faculty and staff have risen significantly.

Here are your local updates for Thursday:

COVID-19 cases at Cal Poly have tripled since June

Cal Poly now has 18 confirmed cases of coronavirus among students, staff and faculty, according to Cal Poly's website. Of those patients, 11 are currently located in San Luis Obispo County.

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The university is releasing little information about these cases due to privacy reasons, Cynthia Lambert, a communications specialist at Cal Poly, wrote in an email.

Cal Poly has not specified how many students have gotten the virus, or how many faculty or staff members, Lambert wrote.

Big West Conference postpones sports through end of year

Many Cal Poly sports, including men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer and women's volleyball, have been postponed until 2021 due to coronavirus.

The Big West Conference announced their decision to postpone fall sports through the end of the calendar year, affecting a number of teams at Cal Poly.

Fall activities for spring sports including baseball, softball, men's and women's golf and men's and women's tennis have been canceled.

A decision on Big Sky football, which Cal Poly is a part of, could come next week, possibly Tuesday or Wednesday, said Eric Burdick, Cal Poly's associate director of athletics for communications.

Santa Barbara County adds 91 new COVID-19 cases

The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department reported 91 newly confirmed coronavirus cases Wednesday, including 30 in Santa Maria, Noozhawk reported.

In a brief video posted Wednesday on the county's YouTube channel CSBTV20, county Public Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg urged "everybody to please take this seriously."

The number of COVID-19 patients being treated in local hospitals dropped by one -- to 79 -- with 24 in intensive care units.

As of Wednesday, there were 629 total hospital beds available, including 128 ICU beds. There were 148 ventilators available in the county.

Overall, the county had 349 active cases of COVID-19 as of Wednesday. The countywide case total stood at 6,021 -- up 739 from last week on Wednesday.

More than 30 coronavirus cases tied to Templeton nursing home

More than 30 residents and staff at Vineyard HIlls Health Center, a skilled nursing facility in Templeton, have tested positive for coronavirus.

Four residents and one former resident of the nursing home have died since the outbreak began.

The first Vineyard Hills resident who tested positive died July 17, while a former resident who was hospitalized after being released from the facility died July 23.

Two more Vineyard Hills residents died Tuesday, and and a fourth resident death was announced Wednesday afternoon.

According to Compass Health, which owns the nursing facility, two Vineyard Hills residents with declining respiratory status were on hospice care as of Wednesday -- one at the facility and another at a local hospital.

12th SLO County resident dies due to COVID-19

A 12th San Luis Obispo County resident has died due to coronavirus, the county announced in a news release Wednesday.

The resident was in their 80s and lived at Vineyard Hills Health Center in Templeton, a skilled nursing facility that is currently experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak among staff and residents, according to the county.

As of Wednesday, four residents and one former resident at Vineyard Hills Health Center, a skilled nursing facility in Templeton, have died due to COVID-19 since the outbreak began, according to the release.

SLO County elementary schools could reopen in the fall

San Luis Obispo County elementary schools could hold in-person instruction this fall if they meet certain criteria, county public health officials announced Wednesday.

According to a county news release, San Luis Obispo County Superintendent of Schools James Brescia and county public health officer Dr. Penny Borenstein sent a joint letter to local elementary school leaders this week, notifying them of the process to apply for a waiver that would allow the schools to reopen this fall.

The county Public Health Department will begin accepting waiver application submissions Wednesday.

How does SLO County measure up to state coronavirus standards?

Coronavirus cases in San Luis Obispo County have continued to climb in recent weeks, reaching 1,689 cases Tuesday. So what would it take for some county business sectors to reopen?

A modified state order, according to the county public health department.

Some local business sectors, including gyms, hair salons and tattoo parlors, had to close their doors once again July 16 because Aan Luis Obispo County was in violation of the state's reopening criteria for three consecutive days.

Weeks later, the county continues to add cases at a rate that exceed the state criteria. However, even if San Luis Obispo County's case rate once again meets the state's criteria, it will take a modified state order to allow the closed business sectors to reopen.

San Luis Obispo County was placed on the state's watchlist for failing to meet the case rate requirement -- one of six criteria it must meet to remain open.

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