San Luis Obispo County is reporting the deaths of three more people who tested positive for COVID-19.
Health officials say the patients were between the ages of 70 and 100-years-old.
San Luis Obispo County has had 70 deaths attributed to COVID-19.
The county also added 68 new cases of COVID-19 over the long holiday weekend, bringing the county's total to 9,539 confirmed cases as of December 28.
Eleven new cases were added on Friday, 28 cases were added on Saturday, 22 cases were added on Sunday, and seven cases were added on Monday.
The case numbers reported Monday by SLO County Public Health are much lower than the numbers reported on the state's website.
For example, on Friday, the state reported 245 new cases of coronavirus in San Luis Obispo County.
County health officials say they first noticed a difference between the state's reporting and their own last week and learned that the state changed its method for alerting counties of new cases.
Local health officials say they're now working to review new data from the state and make sure they are tracking and tracing all new confirmed cases.
As a result of this, as well as decreased testing over the holiday weekend, they are expecting to see an increase in case counts over the next several days.
Currently, 59 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 in San Luis Obispo County, including 12 patients who are in the ICU. Another 2,016 people are recovering at home and health officials say 7,380 people have recovered.
According to the State of California's online COVID-19 dashboard, there are currently 20 ICU beds available in San Luis Obispo County.
Breakdown of cases by location:
- Paso Robles - 2,162
- San Luis Obispo - 2,052
- Atascadero - 838
- Arroyo Grande - 668
- California Men's Colony (inmates) - 652
- Nipomo - 650
- Grover Beach - 379
- Oceano - 318
- Templeton - 292
- San Miguel - 276
- Cal Poly (campus residents) - 256
- Los Osos - 190
- Morro Bay - 178
- Pismo Beach - 144
- Atascadero State Hospital (patients) - 107
- Shandon - 84
- Santa Margarita - 79
- Cambria - 66
- Creston - 41
- Cayucos - 37
- Avila Beach - 14
- San Simeon - 8
The location of 36 additional cases is under investigation, and another 12 are listed as "other," which includes communities with fewer than five cases. The Public Health Department is not identifying those locations.
Community COVID-19 testing sites are currently open to the public in San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, Morro Bay, Grover Beach, and Nipomo.
Appointments are required at all locations. Click here to schedule an appointment.
For more information on the county's COVID-19 response, visit readyslo.org.