COVID-19 Outbreak at County Jail Gets Worse as County Numbers Climb

By edhat staff

The COVID-19 outbreak at the Santa Barbara County Jail has gotten worse as the county’s overall daily cases and deaths continue to climb.

Twenty-three additional inmates and six additional Sheriff’s Office personnel have been found to be COVID-19 positive.  This brings the total number of inmates testing positive at the County Jail during the pandemic to one hundred twenty-six and the total number of Sheriff’s Office employees who have tested positive for COVID-19 during the pandemic to eighty-eight.

Four of the inmates tested positive during intake screening.  The remaining nineteen are part of an outbreak currently being managed in one of the housing units within the main jail.  All inmates in the associated housing areas were screened and offered testing, reports the Sheriff’s Office.

All COVID-19 positive inmates are either housed in negative pressure housing areas or housed separately from the general population. All of the affected housing areas are being quarantined and closely monitored by medical staff, reports the Sheriff’s Office. 

One of the inmates that tested positive on intake has been transferred to Cottage Hospital for unrelated medical reasons.The current number of active COVID-19 positive inmates in the Main Jail is thirty 

On Thursday the Public Health Department reported 512 new cases with four additional deaths. One individual was between 50-69 years of age and three of the individuals were over 70 years of age. Three resided within the City of Santa Barbara and one was in Santa Maria. One death was associated with an outbreak at a congregate facility and three were not. 

There are currently 1,938 active cases in the county. Of those, 178 are hospitalized including 59 in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Both Santa Barbara County and the greater Southern California Region are at 0% ICU availability.

Detailed data and trends can be found on the community dashboard.