Santa Barbara County declares local health emergency

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. - Santa Barbara County Public Health officials have declared a local health emergency.

The announcement was made before a public health press conference in downtown Santa Barbara.

Large gatherings and events have been canceled throughout the area after Gov. Gavin Newsom recommended events with more than 250 people be postponed. Santa Barbara County will enforce those recommendations set by the governor.

Paige Batson, MA, RN, PHN, Deputy Director for Community Health - Santa Barbara County Public Health Department reiterated that there are still no cases of COVID-19 in Santa Barbara County. Nine people are currently under observation for the disease. There are 198 cases in California with four deaths.

There are 17 labs that are testing for the coronavirus.

Santa Barbara County District 1 Supervisor Das Williams explained the declaration to our newsroom.

"The main thing is that the provisions from what the state put out is going to be mandatory here. What that will mean is that the gathering of 250 people will be prohibited and the gathering of smaller groups will implement a two-seat distance," Williams said. "We need to make sure that we can slow down any possible spread of the virus. The purpose of it is to prevent and/or slow down the spread of the virus. It is important to note that this does not apply to normal school attendance."

A similar declaration was made by Ventura County Thursday evening.