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Day: May 6, 2020

May 6, 2020

COMMUNITY RALLIES TO MEET FOOD RESOURCE NEEDS OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY RESIDENTS AFFECTED BY COVID-19 SBC FOOD RESCUE LAUNCHES ONLINE COLLABORATION HUB

(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) — Organizations across Santa Barbara County are coordinating emergency food assistance programs in response to the impacts of COVID-19. Dozens of groups that include the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, the Central Coast Commission for Senior Citizens, United Way Home For Good Santa Barbara County, Salvation Army, and Community Environmental Council are taking action to combat food insecurity and coordinate resources to help feed a growing number of residents in need.

 “Unemployment and rising poverty related to the pandemic are deepening the difficulties faced by people already at risk of hunger, and affecting thousands who are experiencing food insecurity for the first time,” said Judith Smith-Meyer, Marketing Communications Manager for the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County (www.foodbanksbc.org). 

“The Foodbank is running 54 certified SAFE Food Net distributions, home deliveries for seniors, and Chef’s Kitchen, a pilot program designed to provide prepared meals to seniors, while also helping local restaurants. This is in addition to continuing to meet the food needs of 90% of our regular 300+ nonprofit partners who remain active, including residential programs for recovery, trafficked children and more.”

Seniors are particularly at risk of COVID-19 complications. Many are staying home to stay safe while others may already be homebound, making it especially difficult to access nutritious food on a daily basis. The Senior Connection program is a specialized information and referral program for senior citizens and family caregivers. “Normally, our Senior Connection program offers a variety of services and supports, but our feeding services have been expanded to ensure seniors have food and meals to address their health and safety needs,” explained Joyce Ellen Lippman of Central Coast Commission for Senior Citizens. For free information and referrals for seniors, please call 800-510-2020 or go to www.centralcoastseniors.org.

People without homes are also increasingly vulnerable. As restaurants, day centers and meal shares closed, it became necessary to identify additional food resources for our unhoused neighbors. United Way is working with the Salvation Army and multiple partners, including local restaurants, to meet this important need. 

To maximize efficiency and reach the most vulnerable in our community, all organizations supporting charitable food donation, delivery, or distribution are encouraged to sign up for the Santa Barbara County Food Rescue informational hub (www.sbcfoodrescue.org/submission-resources-information-hub/), a resource created by Community Environmental Council’s Santa Barbara County Food Rescue. “Our network matches donors that have excess, nutritious food with organizations serving food insecure populations,” stated Julia Blanton, Santa Barbara County Food Rescue Coordinator.

“We are still leaning into this work, with over 15,000 pounds of food rescued to go to those in need during the coronavirus, but we also rapidly scaled up coordinating efforts in response to COVID-19 to help identify needs and fill gaps in food distribution efforts across private, public, and nonprofit sectors.” The Santa Barbara Foundation and its funding partners provided support to help this rapid expansion through their COVID-19 Joint Response Effort for Santa Barbara County. 

To maximize efficiency and reach the most vulnerable in our community, all organizations supporting charitable food donation, delivery, or distribution are encouraged to sign up for the Santa Barbara County Food Rescue informational hub (www.sbcfoodrescue.org/submission-resources-information-hub/), a resource created by Community Environmental Council’s Santa Barbara County Food Rescue. “Our network matches donors that have excess, nutritious food with organizations serving food insecure populations,” stated Julia Blanton, Santa Barbara County Food Rescue Coordinator. “We are still leaning into this work, with over 15,000 pounds of food rescued to go to those in need during the coronavirus, but we also rapidly scaled up coordinating efforts in response to COVID-19 to help identify needs and fill gaps in food distribution efforts across private, public, and nonprofit sectors.” The Santa Barbara Foundation and its funding partners provided support to help this rapid expansion through their COVID-19 Joint Response Effort for Santa Barbara County. 

The hub’s collected information is available for other organizations to view and can be filtered to focus on an agency’s area of interest, including matching chefs and caterers looking to create prepared meals with agencies that serve those dealing with increased need due to COVID-19. 

Governor Newsom recently debuted the Great Plates Delivered program to support in-home meal delivery for seniors. “While the Governor’s Great Plates feeding program is an opportunity to assist underserved seniors throughout the state, various organizations and advocates in Santa Barbara County already answered the call to action and have come together to meet the needs of our community,” said Kelly Hubbard, Director of Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management. “These organizations have deep-rooted partnerships with the communities they serve and know how to quickly and effectively coordinate food resources to meet needs.” 

To be connected to food resources, call 211. For senior-specific services, call 800-510-2020.

For more information on ways to donate, volunteer or otherwise support the Santa Barbara County community during COVID-19, please visit the County of Santa Barbara Public Health Department website at https://publichealthsbc.org/volunteering-and-donations/.

Stay Connected:

County Public Health: www.PublicHealthSBC.org, Twitter and Facebook
County of Santa Barbara: www.CountyofSB.org, Twitter, Facebook
Santa Barbara County Call Center (833) 688-5551
Recorded Information Line: (805) 681-4373
Community Wellness Team Information and Referral Line: (805) 364-2750
Behavioral Wellness 24/7 Crisis Line (888) 868-1649

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by Leslie Robinson-Stonein COVID-19
May 6, 2020

May 6, 2020: NEW CONFIRMED CASES OF COVID-19 IN SANTA BARBARA COUNTY

(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) — Santa Barbara County Public Health Department (PHD) reports an additional seventy confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the county today. The total number of confirmed cases is 613 of which 355 have fully recovered. Today’s total number of confirmed cases include an update as a single case reported previously was determined not to be a case

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 70 new confirmed cases can be found below.

Ages of new confirmed cases reported*:

0-170
18-291
30-491
50-692
70+1

*Age data for confirmed cases of persons who are incarcerated will only be shared in aggregate totals on PHD website.

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 Canyon0
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 Village66*
City of Santa Maria3
Community of Orcutt1
Unincorporated Areas of Sisquoc, Casmalia, Garey, Cuyama, New Cuyama, and the City of Guadalupe0

* Sixty-five cases are individuals incarcerated at the Federal Prison in Lompoc

Forty-three people are recovering out-of-hospital, 24 are recovering in a hospital, 10 of whom are in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and 11 are pending an update. Nine 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
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

Read More
by Leslie Robinson-Stonein COVID-19
May 6, 2020

May 6, 2020: Santa Barbara County COVID-19 Response- Press Conference

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by Leslie Robinson-Stonein COVID-19tags press conference
Santa Barbara County Public Health Department | © 2022 Santa Barbara County. All rights reserved.

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Descargo de responsabilidad/Translate Disclaimer

El Departamento de Salud Pública del Condado de Santa Barbaba está esforzándose para asegurar que todos tengan la información al corriente en respecto al Coronavirus.  Nosotros estamos en proceso de desarrollar un sitio de web completamente en español para nuestros visitantes.  Sin embargo, en este momento, la página PublicHealthSBC.org contiene algunos materiales con traducción ofrecido por el traductor de Google.

  • El traductor de Google, un servicio proporcionado por Google, realiza todas las traducciones directamente y dinámicamente.
  • El condado no tiene control sobre las características, funciones o rendimiento de los servicios de traducción de Google.
  • Las traducciones automáticas no deben considerarse exactas y usarse solo como aproximación del contenido original en inglés.
  • Este servicio está destinada únicamente para la asistencia para aquellos con ingles limitado y es una medida temporal.
  • Algunos elementos no se pueden traducir, incluyendo botones de imagen, menús desplegables, fotos gráficas, o formatos de documentos portátiles. (pdfs).
  • El condado no respalda directamente al traductor de Google y no afirma que es la única solución de traducción de lenguaje disponible para visitantes.

Para información adicional, favor de llamar al 805-681-4373.


Cierre esta ventana emergente después de hacer su selección


The County of Santa Barbara Public Health Department is striving to ensure that all have the most up to date information regarding the Coronavirus. We are in the process of developing a complete Spanish website for our guests.  However, as an interim measure, at this time, the PublicHealthSBC.org website contains some materials provided with translation software powered by Google Translate.

  • Google Translate, a third-party service provided by Google, performs all translations directly and dynamically.
  • The County has no control over the features, functions, or performance of the Google Translate service.
  • The automated translations should not be considered exact and used only as an approximation of the original English language content.
  • This service is meant solely for the assistance of limited English-speaking users of the website as interim measure.
  • Some items cannot be translated, including but not limited to image buttons, drop down menus, graphics, photos, or portable document formats (pdfs).
  • The County does not directly endorse Google Translate or imply that it is the only language translation solution available to users.

For additional information, please call 805-681-4373.