Santa Barbara County Public Health officials see increase in demand for COVID testing

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. –   Santa Barbara County Public Health said the demand for COVID testing has plateaued but is still high.

The department said the increase in testing began in the beginning of August and has continued since.

Public health made adjustments in response, including expanding hours throughout the county. 

Officials said among the top reasons for the increase include testing mandates by employers and students returning to the classroom for a new school year. 

“We were running at about 30% of our capacity being utilized throughout July,” said Santa Barbara County Public Health Matt Higgs. “Then we had peak days where we are 120% of capacity being used at some of our testing sites over the last month or so.”

Public health is encouraging employers to get their own in-house testing rather than using a community site.