Santa Barbara County extends indoor operations restrictions until September

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. - The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department has extended its health officer order that prohibits many businesses from doing business indoors.

The health officer order that bans gyms, barbershops, salons, places of worship and other non-essential businesses from operating indoors will remain in place until Sept. 10.

The restrictions were put in place by the county back in July. The order will be revisited again in the coming weeks to decide if modifications will need to be made.

The county also added additional business sectors to the order:

In-person higher education like colleges and technical schools are not allowed to hold indoor lectures. Courses that offer specialized indoor settings that cannot move to remote learning are permitted as long as the courses follow state guidelines.

Indoor parties, including wedding receptions, are also prohibited as part of the health officer order. Outdoor wedding receptions are allowed as long a state guidelines related to places of worship are followed. These restrictions are part of the county's goal to reduce gatherings.

Rodeos and public equestrian events are prohibited, and organized sports and team sports are also not allowed as part of the order. The order includes adult and amateur team sports. Professional sports without a live audience and youth sports training and conditioning is allowed as long as state guidelines are followed.

The full Health Officer Order can be found here.