SLO County COVID-19 cases reach record highs

January 14, 2022

By KAREN VELIE

San Luis Obispo County health officials reported a record high number of COVID-19 cases on Friday, with a 14 day average of 342. The Omicron variant now represents about 90% of local cases.

During the past three days, 1,846 SLO County residents officially tested positive for the virus and three died—one in their 50s, one in their 60s and one in their 90s. San Luis Obispo leads with 325 new cases, followed by Paso Robles with 238, Arroyo Grande with 189, Atascadero with 117, Nipomo with 105, Grover Beach with 95 and Los Osos with 86.

In institutional settings, during the past three days, 205 patients at Atascadero State Hospital, 88 inmates at the California Men’s Colony and 80 Cal Poly students living on campus have tested positive for the virus.

At the SLO County Jail, there are currently 59 inmates and 23 custody personnel with the virus. At SLO County’s Psychiatric Health Facility, 17 of the employees have tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in the facility limiting patient admissions.

The number of SLO County residents in hospitals receiving treatment for the virus also increased with 51 currently hospitalized, six in intensive care.

In SLO County, 37,862 people have tested positive for the virus and 378 have died.

There have been 6,555,842 positive cases, and 77,828 deaths in California.

More than 65,747,814 U.S. residents have tested positive for the virus, and 870,587 have died.

In addition, the number of people infected with the virus worldwide continues to increase: 323,499,076 cases with 5,544,998 dead.