Day: April 29, 2020

April 29, 2020: SANTA BARBARA COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA WILL BEGIN COMMUNITY-BASED COVID-19 TESTING

(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) — Beginning the week of, May 4th an initial COVID-19 testing site will be opened in the city of Santa Maria. Residents in Santa Barbara County will be able to be screened for community-based COVID-19 testing. If a community member is eligible, the person can schedule an appointment for in-person COVID-19 testing. Testing will happen by appointment only. No walk ins will be tested.

Persons living throughout Santa Barbara County can call or go online by this upcoming weekend to be screened for symptoms and risk factors, and if they are eligible they will be scheduled for an appointment in the city of Santa Maria. If you are acutely ill with COVID-19 symptoms, please contact your medical provider and remain at home. This location will be the first of three Community-Based Testing Sites coming to Santa Barbara County. These sites have been identified by the state of California and are supported by state and local resources. Future sites will be opened in Lompoc, CA and Santa Barbara, CA in the coming weeks.

“Our county welcomes this new testing opportunity and is pleased to expand access to our community members,” shared Van Do-Reynoso, Santa Barbara County Public Health Director. “This expanded COVID-19 testing option will be in Santa Barbara County for the next few months and possibly longer. Testing services will cycle through key locations identified by the State. With additional testing, will also come expanded contact tracing and increased resources dedicated to safe quarantine and isolation housing, if needed. We are here to support our community through every step that comes after being tested for COVID-19.”

As a California Community-Based Testing Site, residents will be able to screen their symptoms and risk-factors online or by phone, and if eligible, schedule a testing appointment. Persons with one or more COVID-19 symptoms and asymptomatic, essential workers will be prioritized. More information about how to be screened and how to schedule an appointment will be forthcoming later this week.

Stay Connected:

County Public Health: www.PublicHealthSBC.org, Twitter and Facebook
County of Santa Barbara: www.CountyofSB.org, Twitter, Facebook
2-1-1 Call Center: Dial 211 or outside the area, call (800) 400-1572
Recorded Information Line: (805) 681-4373
Community Wellness Team Information and Referral Line: (805) 364-2750

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April 29, 2020: SANTA BARBARA COUNTY ANNOUNCES EIGHTH DEATH OF PATIENT WITH COVID-19

Eighth Additional Confirmed Cases Also Reported

(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) — Santa Barbara County Public Health Department (PHD) is reporting that an additional person has died of COVID-19 related complications. The individual who passed resided in the City of Santa Maria and was in their 60s with underlying health conditions.  As of today, there are 485 confirmed cases of COVID-19 of which 360 have fully recovered.

“We send our sincerest sympathy, during this time of sorrow, to the individual’s family and loved ones,” said Henning Ansorg MD, Santa Barbara County Public Health Officer. “As we continue to flatten the curve, it is extremely important now to remain vigilant with our social distancing practices. What we are doing is working, but we must stay the course as we are getting closer to the reopening process.”

Although most cases of COVID-19 exhibit mild or moderate symptoms, PHD recommends additional measures to prevent exposure among vulnerable people, including the elderly and those with underlying health conditions (such as diabetes, cancer, immunodeficiency, asthma, COPD and others). PHD recommends that residents, especially those who are vulnerable:

  • Stay home except for essential tasks. Ensure you have a two-week supply of medication on hand.
  • When engaging in essential tasks away from home, remain 6 feet away from others and wear a facial covering.
  • Wash your hands with soap and water regularly.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
  • Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
  • Keep surfaces clean by wiping them down with a household disinfectant,

Information for the 8 new confirmed cases can be found below.

Ages of new confirmed cases reported:

0-171
18-290
30-494
50-692
70+0
Age Suppressed1

Locations of new cases reported:

South County Unincorporated Area includes communities of Montecito, Summerland and the City of Carpinteria0
City of Santa Barbara and the unincorporated area of Mission Canyon1
City of Goleta0
Community of Isla Vista0
Unincorporated Area of the Goleta Valley and Gaviota0
Santa Ynez Valley including the Cities of Solvang & Buellton, and the communities of Santa Ynez, Los Alamos, Los Olivos and Ballard0
City of Lompoc and the communities of Mission Hills and Vandenberg Village2*
City of Santa Maria1
Community of Orcutt1
Unincorporated Areas of Sisquoc, Casmalia, Garey, Cuyama, New Cuyama, and the City of Guadalupe1
Location Pending2

*One case is an individual incarcerated at the Federal Prison in Lompoc.

Eighty-one (81) people are recovering at home, thirty-three (33) are recovering in a hospital, eleven (11) of whom are in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), three hundred sixty (360) have fully recovered, and three (3) are pending an update. Eight (8) deaths have been reported.

Please visit Santa Barbara County’s coronavirus web page for other preparedness resources and updates at https://publichealthsbc.org/.

For general questions about COVID-19 and precautions currently recommended by Santa Barbara County Public Health, residents may call the 2-1-1 Call Center 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by dialing 2-1-1 if calling from within the county; or (800) 400-1572 if calling from outside the area.

Stay Connected:

County Public Health: www.PublicHealthSBC.org, Twitter and Facebook
County of Santa Barbara: www.CountyofSB.org, Twitter, Facebook
2-1-1 Call Center: Dial 2-1-1 if calling from within the county; or  call (800) 400-1572 if calling from outside the area
Recorded Information Line: (805) 681-4373
Behavioral Wellness 24/7 Access Line: (888) 868-1649
Community Wellness Team Information and Referral Line: (805) 364-2750734

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